Sketchbook Challenge Blog Hop

Hello, welcome to The Sketchbook Challenge Blog Hop.  If you make a comment on this blog you will be in the drawing for 2 different prizes.  Winners will be drawn by me on Friday the 29th.  Don't forget you have to make a comment for me to add your name to the qualifiers.

The prizes:

A one year membership to KathyAnne Art worth $35.00.   You will be able to access a new workshop every month as a member and all the monthly workshops that are already on the site.  Also the royalty free images are free to members.  You can visit my Inside KathyAnne Art blog to see workshop descriptions for the member free workshops -

Another prize is the book "Making Handmade Books: 100+Bindings, Structures & Forms by Alisa Golden given away by Art Plantae Today  a $19.95 value.

Now this one if for everyone.  I am giving a coupon for a workshop on my KathyAnne Art site-
Studio Journals Mini Workshop a $15.00 value.  All you have to do is hop on over to Digital Alternative Journaling site to my new post Building Journal Pages on my iPad to get the coupon code.  All the information on how to retrieve the code is in that blog post along with the word to put in the coupon code box in the cart on KathyAnne Art.  Simple as that.

Enjoy some pictures of my project from the book.

It was wonderful to be asked to participate in The Sketchbook Challenge book.  Since my work starts with digital images, all the textures and elements in my Forest Book 2 piece featured in the book are digitals on some type of alternative surfaces.  Elements is the chapter that my work is in.

In this image you can see a composition using digitally printed watercolor paper and encaustic on the right.  On the left the page is comprised of digital prints on recycled beverage cans strung on thin hemp and crocheted together before attaching it to the page.

The page on the right is digitally needlepoint canvas with digital prints on lutradur heat distressed and attached to the canvas.  The lutradur has been torn and layered with wire and beads and a border of beads runs around the lutradur composition.  On the left is a mixture of textured elements and a digital print on tyvek.  The tyvek is cut into small pieces and then melted to stack with wire and twigs.

 This part of the sketchbook contains the images and information from my photoshop files.  This is about the watercolor paper prints that were torn and assembled with encaustic in the first picture of my Forest Book 2.

This part of my sketchbook has some pieces of test prints that didn't get into the final project.  It also has pictures of my digitally printers plates that are on one page of Forest Book 2.

Mission:Small Business and KathyAnne Art

I just registered for a $250,00 small business grant and for my application to get considered I have to have 250 people vote for my business.  I would appreciate any of you voting for KathyAnne Art and here's how.   Go to Mission:Small Business and then on the right hand bottom click on Log in and Support.  You can log in with your facebook log in.  Then under Vote Local!  Type in Kathyanne Art under the business name  and you will be able to click vote.  That's all there is to it.

Digital Prints on Recycled Beverage Cans and Crochet

Needle arts have always been a major part of my art life.  I learned to crochet when I was 7 and made a ripple afghan that was anything but exact in the ripple department.  It was pretty pitiful, but it was so much fun I didn't worry if the ripples were a mess.  Much later in the 70's crochet was popular so there were always plenty of patterns around for me to make endless pieces in crochet.  Now I tend to leave patterns behind and just figure it out and crochet when the inspiration hits.

Today I still always have a crochet project going and when it comes to assembling my beverage can digital prints, I crochet pieces together.   Yesterday Kathryn who blogs (on her website)  Crochet Concupiscence sent me an email to tell my a piece of my crochet work was highlighted on her blog "20 Creative Things a Crocheter Can Do With Paper" You can see my piece and others in her post.

This got me to thinking how much crochet I have been doing in the last couple of weeks with my beverage cans so I thought I would share a bunch of pieces front and back and then show you how I start these pieces.  They are labor intensive and a bit wearing on your hands, but rewarding.  These pieces are small, nothing larger then 12" x 12".

Detail 

 Front

Back  

The general plan with these pieces are to string the can pieces and crochet together. 

Many of the pieces are then secured to a piece of hardware cloth so they can be hung.

 Front 12" x 12" piece

 Detail

 Detail of back

Back

You can see I started with a small square and then crocheted the rest of the rows around the square.  I

approached the first piece on the page the same way.

 This piece rolls together and can be hung in the round.  It is 8" x 20"

This would actually be the inside of the piece since it naturally rolls together.

 This piece is 10" x 16" with the height of 2.5"- the loops of the beverage can are rather long.

This is the back:)

Now let's see how they all start-  

I print the beverage cans- you can actually find my ebook on printing beverage cans on my kathyanne art site the title is The Complete Guide to Digital Printing and Assembling Beverage Cans.  It is also available on Nook and Kindle.  

After the cans are printed and varnished and ready to go I cut them in the size pieces for the project - punch holes and then string them onto colored hemp.

When I string the cans I don't put tons on.  As I want to add can pieces I just cut the hemp, add pieces then tie the hemp back to the piece and crochet.  So as you see in the pic above I chain stitched and then I crochet the pieces into the crochet chain.

Every other row I crochet without can pieces.  Otherwise it is totally unruly and there is no room for the cans.  As it is I pack them in.

Please visit my Digital Alternative Sites to get more information on digital printing.  These sister sites are about my digital alternative print processes. 

Digital Alternative Surfaces

Digital Alternative Studio

Digital Alternative Journaling

These sites also have tutorials.  They are new sites and I am in the process of building the content on them.

The Sketchbook Challenge

Well it's almost here "The Sketchbook Challenge" a book by Sue Bleiweiss.  My piece Forest Book 2 is included in this wonderful book as well as the studio journal mapping the creation of my project.  I will be excited to see the book and will probably only have to wait a few more days for my copy. 

There is some exciting news since there will be a blog hop among the artists (this includes me) who have work in Sue's book. The blog hop celebration starts June 25th and ends July 10th.  There are $1200 worth of prizes that will be given away from the artists participating.  Winners will be drawn randomly from comments on the posts during the blog hop.  Each artist will chose people from their comments for the prizes they will give away.  For more information see Sue's blog post today.

My piece is of course composed of many digital prints and then assembled on 6 pages 10" x 12" to complete the Forest Book.  Each page is a separate creation containing digital prints on surfaces such as lutradur, metal printers plates, watercolor paper, beverage cans and more.  Encaustic and crochet  is used as well as other techniques in the assemblages of the pages.    More to come as we gear up for the blog hop.

Oh and before I forget I will be giving away a  years membership to KathyAnne Art, my member website.  The value of this is $35.00, but the beauty of it is the over 700 royalty free images and the monthly workshops that currently total over 40 with new ones every month.  Remember to visit here on June 27th and comment on my post to get your chance to win.  The winner will be drawn from the comments on the blog post from the blog hop.

Also I will have a free coupon code for the workshop on my KathyAnne Art site that was created based on my studio journal seen in the Sketchbook Challenge book.  Anyone who reads my blog that day will be able to find that coupon code from a url I will post and then download and enjoy their free workshop.  You can access the workshop description for "Studio Journals Mini Workshop" on my Inside KathyAnne Art Blog.

I also have another give away- Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings, Structures & Forms by Alisa Golden Total retail value $19.95!  

Be sure to join all of us as we celebrate the release of Sue's book!

Forest Book 2  Front and Back Cover

Detail shots below

HOORAY, it's Monday!

One of my favorite things about Monday right now is that no matter how much I have to do or what state my studio and work is- I go to an hour and 15 minute  yoga class at Bend Yoga here in Prescott.  They only opened months ago and since I love hot yoga and could take classes only when I traveled- I was really excited to see they were here.  So I started with 2 days a week, went to 3 and now a couple weeks ago added Mondays!!!  I am back in my studio now and ready to start my day and although I worked my butt off for a bit earlier- I am energized and flowing creative energy.

On the agenda, more writing-  I have started my book on digitally printing alternative surfaces. For today I will finish the chapter on my 6 printers so readers can see just how I use all my printing tools.   This book will be crammed full of all sorts of information on my digital printing process.  I will do complete how to's on surfaces I have been creating and sharing and some new.  There will be information on printing with all 6 of my printers so surfaces will be designed for non-art printers also.  Coming up when I have finalized my table of contents I will post it.

Front of a cheesecloth skin.  The image is a detail of one of my digital mixed media pieces on slightly dyed yellow cheesecloth.

This shows the back of the above print on a cheesecloth skin.  The yellow tone of the dyed cheesecloth is visible as the base of the print.

JuliAnne Kaplan- Photographer

I’d like to introduce a professional photographer out of San Rafael California, JuliAnne Kaplan.  
About her work JuliAnne says  "My work is typically abstract and minimalist using natural lighting to highlight color and texture.  


JuliAnne contacted me at the end of 2010 to make plans for a one on one workshop in my studio in February 2011.  I had seen some of JuliAnne’s photography by visiting her website and was drawn to her interesting photographic world.  Her photographs lend themselves to all sorts of alternative surfaces.  What I didn’t know about JuliAnne was that she was a bit conservative in many ways and somewhat timid.  What I mean by this is that JuliAnne likes to structure her world a bit and my out of the box approach was an entirely new way for her to think.

Well think she did and in returning home she was so excited about what she had learned she immediately purchased a new Epson 7890. JuliAnne also got many of the supplies together she would need to embark on this new endeavor of digital printing alternative surfaces.  Now we need to dial it forward a year to 2012 and the ink still hadn’t been removed from the plastic packages and her printer was (after it being in a box in the garage for awhile) just freshly put together and in plastic in the corner of her computer studio. 

Luckily I was on my way to San Francisco to participate in a workshop and JuliAnne was in the need of getting her studio put together in such a way as she could actually print.  It was like a match made in heaven since I was available to spend some time setting up her printers and getting everything set so she could print alternative surfaces.  

If you visit my Digital Alternative Journaling site, you will be able to read the pages of my iPad journal about our journey through some of the set up and the significant results we had digitally printing some incredible surfaces. It was one of those- you had to be there, but humor was a LARGE part of our time together and both of us smile each time we think about our experience.  Three pages of my journal are posted from April 5, April 6 and April 9.  (You can click on each date to take you to the individual posts.)

Ms. Kaplan recently told me “the work you do has been the BEST THERAPY I have ever had!  I’m even learning how NOT to make my bed in the morning!!!  Your one-on-one workshops have really helped to stretch my comfort zone and as a result, I am quickly seeing and entirely new phase of my works emerge after shooting since 1970....”  

Visit JuliAnne’s website to get familiar with her photography.  Some of her work will appear in my upcoming book about digital printing alternative surfaces. 

Digital Printing Alternative Surfaces

Don't you just love the internet?  I recently returned from teaching a 3 day workshop for the Texas Federation of Fiber Artists.  I was also the juror of their show "Fiberwerkes 2012 and I gave the keynote at the dinner "Untwine Your Mind: Beyond Fiber". It was a brilliant week and I was surrounded by all sorts of wonderful people.  It was a great time and recently a couple people blogged on the event.  Diane Sandlin who was my "angel" in the classroom and everything else.  Then Leslie Tucker Jennison who is in the 8 That Create group I am in.  It was great to meet Leslie for the first time.  When you visit the link that is attached to Leslie's name, go back and look at this link also- it is about the workshop Leslie too from Mary Ruth Smith.  Mary Ruth was one of the instructors at the conference.  She was also one of the artist's I juried into the show and her work is just awesome.

Diane and Leslie beat me to any blogging on the subject and I wanted you all to see their posts.  I know for myself that every time I teach a new group or meet other artists interested in digital alternative surfaces I get all sorts of ideas on pushing this process.  So many ideas came to me when working on my keynote and researching the artists for my keynote.  I continue to grow, get tons of new ideas and spark my creativity!!!

So today along with the other links I will show you how to access one of my new domains.

Digital Alternative Surfaces.  I am building content in a few new places which will keep me hopping I the blog category and keep me creating and pushing the digital surface.  This is going to be a great year for creativity, but aren't they all? 

Bits and Pieces in Construction

Still thinking about this piece.  I know what I want to plug in the layers, but there is a ton of work left.  Since I am leaving for Texas to teach at the Texas Federation of Fiber Artists Conference I will have to let it sit till I get back.  The layers consist of a digital print on wire mesh, digital print on beverage cans and there will be slivers of beverage cans that have digital prints in between.  It will be very crushed up. As you can see the layers fall off of each other right now.  I may be able to get a few pieces done just to see what it looks like, but there is tons to do before I leave and my keynote to finish today.  Those pesky images need to be in place and work:)

Pushing Forward with Digital Printing Alternative Surfaces

Going forward there are so many ways to push digital printing on alternative surfaces.  This new workshop that will take place in my studio on June 16 and 17 this year will take ideas further while sticking safely inside the perimeters of current printers.  Here is the information for this workshop.

Pushing Forward with Digital Printing Alternative Surfaces

June 16 and 17, 2012 

9AM to 4PM

Kathyanne Art Studio

930 S. Cowboy Springs Trl.

Prescott, AZ  86305

Workshop fee of $375.00 for the 2 days $50.00 supply fee due at workshop.

Deposit of $190.00  balance paid 30 days before workshop.

Contact me for registration- payment by check or paypal

My In-Studio Workshops have a 4 person limit

In order for a student to participate in this workshop they must have digital alternative printing experience.  A prerequisite such as my In Studio workshop on April 28 & 29,  “Getting Started with Digital Printing Alternative Surfaces”.   If you have not taken one of my digital printing classes before, you can take my online course “Getting Started with Digital Prints on Uncommon Surfaces” from the KathyAnne Art site to prepare.  Contact me for details.

This workshop will focus on extreme surface preparation for alternative digital printing.  We will be experimenting rather then creating finished prints, but you will print.  Cutting edge surfaces will be the goal.  We will also experiment with after print processes like encaustics.  Sewing may be included, but I have several machines and plenty of supplies.

We will use altered kozo bark and pound it into amate bark paper, dry, coat and print.  Amate bark is an amazing surface for printing if constructed correctly.  This technique may be used with other fiber.  Surfaces will be built and techniques shown to make sure substrates will print safely.  Feel free to bring some prints or pieces of prints to experiment with some of the after process ideas.  Some of my prints will be available to use so that students will be able to experiment with some construction ideas.

This will be an adventurous and uniquely experimental day.  

A laptop will be helpful.  Images may need to be altered to fit the size and the look of your surface.  I will have jump drives to move and load images for printing.  

When building surfaces elements may be added that could affect the look of the final print.  We will scan and/or photograph these types of surfaces in order to create a print based on the substrate. 

Bring lunch since there is no place near to get something to eat.  I have water, diet soft drinks and ice tea and will have some snacks.  There are a few errors in some of the gps tracking for directions.  Let me know where you are driving from, so I can give you correct directions.  

This studio is in a rural area on a dirt road.  I do have animals around including a cat in case you are allergic.  

Be sure to wear comfortable clothes that won't matter if you get some type of product on them.  If you want to wear gloves while painting or applying products please bring them.

Come with your imagination, questions, ideas and desire to explore.  We will deal in what if's while we create extreme surfaces that safely print on my printers.  Any questions feel free to call.

Getting Started with Digital Printing Alternative Surfaces

In Studio Workshop set for April 28 and 29, 2012

For all of you who want to learn to print on digital alternative surfaces.  

Getting Started with Digital Printing Alternative Surfaces

April 28-29, 2012

9AM to 4PM each day

Kathyanne Art Studio

930 S. Cowboy Springs Trl.

Prescott, AZ  86305

My In-Studio Workshops have a 4 person limit.

Workshop Description:

This workshop will focus on printing alternative surfaces.  Where digital printing is concerned my goal is to discover the possibilities between the surface created, the inkAID precoat used and the printer capabilities.  One of the goals of this workshop will to be experiment and build surfaces that will take us into the basic new ideas of digital printing.   We will use an Epson Stylus Photo R3000 for most of the printing.  This will be hands on experience with Epson printers.  We will also create a couple of surfaces to print on the Epson 1100 Workforce for hands on experience with a straight pass through non art printer.

We will prepare and print metal mesh and beverage cans along with fabrics and surfaces we build from scratch.  Students will get a well-rounded look at the digital printing process with alternative surfaces.  At the same time preprinted surfaces will be available for students to use to get an idea of innovative ways to assemble digital prints and create studies for future projects.  I have supplies and tools for us to experiment with assembling metals.  

A laptop will be helpful. Images may need to be altered to fit the size and the look of your surface.  When building surfaces we may paint, dye or add elements that will easily be seen in the final print.  In this case students will create an image file that reflects the look of the prepared surface.  We can scan and/or photograph your surface to get a better idea of the effect the prepared surface will create.  I will have jump drives to move and load images for printing.  

Bring lunch since there is no place near to get something to eat.  I have water, diet soft drinks and ice tea and will have some snacks.  There are a few errors in some of the gps tracking for directions.  Let me know where you are driving from, so I can give you correct directions.  

This studio is in a rural area on a dirt road.  I do have animals around including a cat in case you are allergic.  

Be sure to wear comfortable clothes that won't matter if you get some type of product on them.  If you want to wear gloves while painting or applying products please bring them.

Come with your imagination, questions, ideas and desire to explore.  We will deal in what if's while we create surfaces that safely print on my printers.  Any questions or registration contact me.