Featured Artist - Kim Smith

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:
KIM SMITH

How did you find Paper Traders? 

I was referred to the group a year or so ago by someone I knew from another yahoo group...she has since left PaperTraders and I don't recall her name. I loved the variety of swaps that Papertraders offers and also that they are rated for skill level. It's a very nice group to swap with!


How long have you been a member?

 I joined about 2 years ago, was inactive for a while and now am an active member once again.


Where do you live?

 I live on a small hobby farm in Gettysburg, PA but I am originally from Baltimore, MD.


How have your surroundings affected your art? 

 Our property includes a small patch of wooded area so I get alot of inspiration walking in the woods. Also taking care of our horses and my dog Bear really help me to stay centered. I tend to be a bit scattered at times and being outdoors really helps me to find my creative muse, especially when I'm feeling a little 'dry'. I also love to wander all the great antique/thrift stores in our area....I get LOTS of inspiration and ideas from browsing antiques and vintage odds 'n ends.

Please share a little about your own art experience. 

 I have been creating for as long as I can remember. I loved  to draw and paint when I was in grade school. I was considered artistically gifted and went to summer school at the Maryland Institute College of Art for two years. This was around 1966 and it was so cool going to an art college in downtown Baltimore when I was so young. I saw alot of amazing art done by the older students during that time and I think that exposure has influenced my mixed media art now. I stopped drawing and painting when I was a teenager, something I now regret. But at the same time I found that I loved to make things....so began doing needlecrafts, sewing, crochet and mosaics. In my thirties I learned to weave and to make soft sculpture dolls. In my forties I went thru another dry spell and then one day I came across an issue of Belle Armoire magazine and there was a crocheted shawl on the cover. I made that shawl and then started looking at the other Stampington magazines. I bought an issue of Somerset Studio and I've been obsessed with altered art/mixed media ever since!


Do you have a blog or photo site?

http://www.tabithalenox.blogspot.com


What are some of your favorite techniques or genres?

I adore anything to do with beeswax and am currently learning to do encaustic painting, something I've always admired. I am very simple when it comes to creating...give me scissors, a glue stick, vintage paper/images...and something sparkly and I'm a happy girl!  I also would like to learn how to solder but I don't have much patience when it comes to things like jewelry making. As anyone who's been to my blog knows, I take ALOT of online workshops. I learn so much from each and every class. My current obsession is altered tins so that has been taking up most of my creative space these days. I also have several altered books in progress but they take a little longer so I try to have smaller projects to work on in between so I don't get burnt out. I love vintage, gothic, steampunk, grungy as themes for my art. I like art with a sense of whimsy, with lots of layers to pull you in and a touch of glitter...can't forget the glitter!



Who are some famous artists whose work you admire and what especially appeals to you about this?

I love Mark Ryden's work, although his art is a little strange sometimes...but his faces and the use of color are so beautiful. I love Mucha, Waterhouse and the illustrations you find in vintage fairytale books.


Describe your work area... Do you have your own studio or craft room?

I have a small spare bedroom to use as my craft room but it doesn't have much natural light so I do most of my art at the dining room table or kitchen counter. My computer, printer and tv are all accessible from the dining room so it works really well. I painted the spare room pink so my hubby and son wouldn't be tempted to put anything in there and that's where I store all my art 'stuff'. I also collect vintage dolls and clothing so I keep that in the 'pink' room too!

What tips or tricks have you found to help carve out a niche for your supplies and art?

Clean out your stuff and give away what you are no longer using or no longer makes you excited! I do a blog giveaway occasionally where I clean out my art stuff and sort it by color...the winners choose a color and get a box of art stuff from my stash. I have found it's one of the best ways to motivate myself to try something new, by cleaning out that unused stuff and clearing the energy for something new to come in.

Please share a little about your family and pets...

I am happily married to a wonderful man who supports my art obsession and we have a son who will be 21 yrs old in December. He commutes to college and is a great kid. He is into computers, video games, etc.  He doesn't 'get' my art but he's also very supportive. We have our dog, Bear, who is the sweetest, happiest dog I have ever met. He's an Alaskan Malamute, weighs over 150 lbs and is 3 1/2 years old. He likes to go to Petsmart because they always give him dog treats and one of  his favorite things to eat is the roses in my garden! 

This is Bear!

We have three horses....my horse, Scout, is an Appaloosa gelding, a very, kind gentle soul. And then we have two Haflinger geldings, Jake and Micah. They are very sweet but always in some kind of trouble. Having horses keeps me very busy but I love it!

One day I would like to have miniature horses...goats or chickens might be fun....and pot belly pigs are growing on me, they look so cute in the pictures I've seen! I love animals and would like to have a larger farm one day so I can grow my 'herd'.

Gallery: Altered Cabinet Cards

Abby L

Beckie H

Cathy C

Darlene R

Addicted to Altering

I think we as artists see objects differently that others.   What is it that they say, "One man's garbage is another man's treasure".   This applies to the little gems that we have tucked away in our art rooms (and other places throughout the house) awaiting inspiration.   I asked the question of Paper Traders members a couple of weeks ago, "What is the most interesting item that you ever altered?" and got some very creative responses.

Actually the idea was spawned by Lorna's altered hat box.   How amazing is this?  From hat box to stage!

Beckie Holso altered a box and a glove:

You can read more about Beckie's process of altering the box here and the glove here on her blog.

The clever Aimslee transformed a cigar humidor for her husband:

 
And yes, my cupboards are full to brimming with alterable objects too!   Here are some of my creations:

Altered CDs:

Microscope Slide Mailer:

A package that once held chipboard letters (I actually bought it for the box!!):

A wooden Christmas box:

As you can see, anything is fair game for altering!   Thank you to all of the talented artists who shared their artwork.

"Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue" Challenge

This Challenge is now closed.

Our new challenge,
is all about ships and boats.
Create a boarding pass,
a luggage tag,
a shipping label, etc.
And, there are literal thousands
of free images out there on this theme.

Bon Voyage!

You don't have to be a member of Paper_Traders Yahoo Art group to participate

but if you would like to join us and be privy to even more great paper crafting swaps and

challenges plus better than ever artistic support, that would be super!

When the challenge closes, we will pick a winning piece that best showcases the theme

of the challenge and/or supply requirement.

 Challenge Rules

1. Make a paper craft, mixed media or digital piece of art ( any size). The theme is

  "Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue". Your art must feature a ship or boat on it.

2. Post your art to your blog, Flickr, Picasa (online albums). Mention

   our name PaperTraders Art Blog with a link back to this post.

   You are more than welcome to grab our button and post it on

    your blog as well.

   The last day to post for this challenge is November 14th, 2011.

3. After posting your "Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue" art on your site,

   come back to this post and  use the Simply-linked widgit below

   to leave us a link to your post/image.

   You must include a direct link to your image or post,

    not a general link to your album or blog.

  NOTE: after using the Simplylinked widgit, you will need to refresh the page for
   it to show your submission link.

   Or you may create a link within the comment box below:

   All you will need to do is copy and paste the url address of your post found

   at the top of your browser window.

4. The winner(s) will be awarded our "Trader Treasure" blog badge which

     they can choose to feature on their blog.

    Their art will also be posted on the PaperTraders Art Blog for 2 weeks.

Free images to get you started!

credt 

credit

credit

credit

Member Inspiration

by Cathy C.

by Aimeslee W.

by Beckie H.

by Heather R.

Faux Batik Tutorial

Sample by Beckie Holso

FAUX BATIK TECHNIQUE   by Connie Holso

There are numerous ways to create a batik look in your paper craft projects.  This one is really quite easy to do and you will only need supplies you probably already have if you are a stamper.

You will need:

• White mulberry paper
• Rubber Stamps –crisp bold images work best
• Clear embossing ink
• Clear embossing powder
• Heat tool
• 2 or 3 different colored dye ink re-inkers
• Spray bottle of water
• Clean copy paper
• Iron

Be sure to cover your work surface to protect it, this can be a bit messy.  Start by stamping images with the clear ink all over the mulberry paper and heat emboss with the clear powder.  Apply ink by dripping drops onto the stamped paper.  Immediately spray with water to cause the ink to spread around.   When you are pleased with the look, lay the mulberry paper between sheets of copy paper and iron.  The embossing powder will melt into the copy paper.  Peel away immediately (while still hot).  If it sticks, reheat and pull off.  You may want to change paper and iron another time or two to remove all of the glossiness of the embossing.  This will make it look more like real batik.  After ironing crumple it up a bit to give it a more authentic fabric look. Tada you are done!

Product Spotlight: Glue

So, I was originally going to write this post about adhesives in general but I had SO MANY glues, tapes, dots, foam squares, etc. that I decided to "narrow" things down a bit and just stick to glues.  As you can see from the photo, I have A LOT of those too  =)

I use all of these for various purposes but I do have a few favorites in the bunch...

PPA "Perfect Paper Adhesive" - This is my absolute favorite for delicate paper collage.  I just glop some on the canvas, lay down the paper, and glop more on top, spreading everything with a foam brush.  It dries smooth and matte and holds everything together invisibly.  I even use this on the thinnest layer from a napkin - just be very gentle.

Nori glue - I recently discovered this and instantly fell in love with it!  This is a very slow-drying thin paste which is excellent for delicate papers and tissues.  Because it dries slowly, there is plenty of time for repositioning.  It's super smooth so you can literally slide the papers around once you lay them down to get them in just the right place.

Pioneer glue stick - This is the absolute best glue stick I have ever used!  You can even glue metal embellishments on with this stuff.  Incredible.

Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive - I probably use this glue more than anything else you see here (except for maybe my Pioneer glue stick).  Believe what it says: this glue is VERY fast drying!  Once your paper's down, it's down to stay; make sure you work quickly.

So, which are your favorites?  Do you use something that I don't have on my table?  If so, I'd love to hear about it...  Who knows?  Maybe I'll find a new favorite  =)

Our Halloween Challenge!

This Challenge is now closed.

Our Halloween Challenge has a couple of twists to it
as we are calling it " Spiders Hate Orange".
We want you to use spiders in it but NO orange.
Think outside the box of the black and orange,
traditional color combination.

You don't have to be a member of Paper_Traders Yahoo Art group to participate

but if you would like to join us and be privy to even more great paper crafting swaps and

challenges plus better than ever artistic support, that would be super!

When the challenge closes, we will pick a winning piece that best showcases the theme

of the challenge and/or supply requirement.

 Challenge Rules

1. Make a paper craft, mixed media or digital piece of art ( any size). The theme is

  "Spiders Hate Orange". Must contain spider(s) and have no orange color in it. 

2. Post your art to your blog, Flickr, Picasa (online albums). Mention

   our name PaperTraders Art Blog with a link back to this post.

   You are more than welcome to grab our button and post it on

    your blog as well.

   The last day to post for this challenge is October 30th, 2011.

3. After posting your "Spiders Hate Orange" art on your site,

   come back to this post and  use the Simply-linked widgit below

   to leave us a link to your post/image.

   You must include a direct link to your image or post,

    not a general link to your album or blog.

  NOTE: after using the Simplylinked widgit, you will need to refresh the page for
   it to show your submission link.

   Or you may create a link within the comment box below:

   All you will need to do is copy and paste the url address of your post found

   at the top of your browser window.

4. The winner(s) will be awarded our "Trader Treasure" blog badge which

     they can choose to feature on their blog.

    Their art will also be posted on the PaperTraders Art Blog for 2 weeks.

Free images to get you started!

Member Inspiration

by Beckie H.

by Cathy C.

by Karen B