On My Desk: Liberate Your Art 2016

Another year has passed since we talked about the Liberate Your Art Swap hosted by Kat Sloma of Kat Eye Studio. Read about the swap here: http://kateyestudio.com/liberate-your-art-postcard-swap

The idea behind the swap is to get artists and photographers thinking about reproducing their work and sending it out into the world. Many of us create one of a kind (OOAK) pieces and move on. But… the life of a particular piece is not limited to its original if you can reproduce it. We’re not talking about large professional quality prints for sale, although you can certainly take your artwork in that direction if you wish. We simply use the art to create postcards. Small. Simple. Easy.

This is my third consecutive year participating in this swap and it never disappoints. You might think it would be boring year after year, but rather, I find it more challenging as I go along.

Read about my first year here: https://trashbubblesandlifeslittlebits.wordpress.com/2014/04/17/liberate-your-art-follow-up-and-blog-hop/

Read about my second year here: https://trashbubblesandlifeslittlebits.wordpress.com/category/liberate-your-art-2015-post-card-swap/

This year, I chose two images to work with. The first was a photograph I took of some colored pencils that, to me, was striking.

The space off to the right felt empty. I almost abandoned the use of the photo for that reason. Then, I had the idea to pair it with one of my favorite quotes about color and this is what transpired…

The colors changed from my original in the uploading/printing/scanning process. Sadly, there was no way to prevent that. My preference was for the brighter, truer, more crisp colors, but I am satisfied with the final product, knowing that if you don’t see them side by side like this, you don’t know there is a difference.

The second image I worked with was a 4×6 collage I created using Crow About StudioB elements from Nancy Baumiller. You can find the image packs I used here: Funky Borders: http://www.mischiefcircus.com/shop/product.php?productid=23280&cat=0&page=1 and Tree Lovers & Things: http://www.mischiefcircus.com/shop/product.php?productid=23281&cat=0&page=1

The Wallflower

Once again, the colors were more muted than I’d intended. Firstly, I do not have a laser printer with which to print the image packs for use in collage. Secondly, re-scanning/printing further changes the colors. For my purposes, the softer more muted colors were okay.

Vistaprint was my printer of choice for quantity and cost concerns.

Five printed postcards are required for the swap. I’m not sure if I will choose one design over the other, or if I will send a mix of the two. I also need to art up the envelope I’ll be sending them in. That’s what’s on my desk today.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

 

Liberate Your Art 2015 Postcard Swap – Blog Hop!

Once again, The Liberate Your Art Postcard Swap has been an enormous success! Today, we are celebrating our success with a blog hop… A little trip around the globe to share the fruits of our labor with each other and with all of you.

My piece for the swap began as a humble two page spread in a glue book. And it was transformed into a postcard that I was happy to distribute. Here are the before and after scans…

Before: the original two-page spread

After: Printed at VistaPrint, lost the bright colors, but otherwise, it came out okay.

These are the pieces I received in the official swap, throughout the month of March…

From: The Contemplative Gardener, this piece sustained some damage, having been torn in the postal machines, but it is still very beautiful.

From: Paint A Masterpiece, this sampler arrived. Very nice! Would make a great marketing tool!

From: Melissa Parks, this blonde angel tells us to ” let your light shine.”

From: Meena Schaldenbrand, a quilt entitled “Savor Every Second, Value Every Day.” I’m sure the photographic postcard fails to do the quilt justice.

From: Ungala, “A Tribute to Women.” The black border frames the piece nicely.

I was saddened to receive the final postcard. It is always a “Thank You” from Kat, signalling that the swap has officially come to an end.

From Kat Sloma, “Imminent Downfall.”

Before the swap officially started, we were clamoring to trade with fellow artists. As I had only created one postcard design for this year’s swap, I elected to wait until after the swap to see if the folks received mine officially. That way, if they did, I could send another design. If you are one of the folks to whom I owe a postcard and you did not receive the one pictured above in the official swap, let me know and I will send it on to you. If you received the one pictured above and I still owe you a side swap, let me know and I’ll send out something different. I apologize for not keeping closer track of these side-swaps and want to honor my commitment.

These are the postcards I received in the side-swaps. Spoiler Alert! They are pretty AMAZING!

From: Janice Darby

From: Jill Eudaly

From: Kat van Rooyen

From: Amy Irwen

From: Sherry Harmes (Both of them!)

It was another enjoyable, successful and inspiring swap season, thanks to Kat Sloma’s organization and hard work, and thanks to all the participating artists!

If you haven’t seen it, you can check out the swap video here:

http://kateyestudio.com/2015/04/liberate-your-art-2015-blog-hop.html

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

 

 

 

ICAD to Valentine

Last year, while participating in the http://daisyyellowart.com/ ICAD (Index Card A Day) challenge, I came up with the following piece…

I began with a 4×6 scrap of cardboard and layered it up with paint and ink. Details were added using scraps of paper and metal wings which had been saved from a broken angel bookmark in years gone by. In the end, it was a simple piece, but it made me happy whenever I looked at it.

Recently, when I placed a postcard order with moo.com, I allowed for twenty copies of One’s Heart’s Flight to be printed as Valentines. If you’d like to try their services, you can find a 10% discount through this link: http://www.moo.com/share/w65wcy

In years past, I had created unique Valentines by hand, often with hand-stitched details. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but in the end, I was not disappointed.

Despite being unsure as to whether I would use them this year, a time crunch dictated the necessity. I was glad to have them on hand and hope my friends will be happy to receive them.

Wishing all of my readers and followers all the love their hearts can hold!

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!

In the Mail: Postcards from Moo!

As much as I love to stretch a buck, I also love to get maximum performance from each piece of art I create. Scans of everything I make help to ensure multiple appearances.

This time around, scans were used to create these postcards at moo.com. The clock piece was mail art sent to a friend some time ago. The bird was one of the icads I designed last summer for the icad challenge at http://daisyyellowart.com

My order arrived over the weekend. It was my first experience using moo. Impressed by the quality of the product I received, I found the paper heavy and the finish glossy. It more than suits my purposes for the Liberate Your Art 2014 Postcard Swap. Learn more about the swap here: http://kateyestudio.com/liberate-your-art-postcard-swap

My Valentines came in this order too, but they’re top secret!

If you’d like to try your hand at creating postcards from your artwork or photography use this link to head on over to moo and save 10% off your first order. http://www.moo.com/share/w65wcy

As always, I would enjoy hearing what you think and seeing what you create.

Happy Trash to you, until we meet again!