Artella's Daily Muse interview

My interview and bio were posted yesterday, but I've only now figured out how to get back into Blogger. To access the interview, the ID is "february" and password is "artiste" without the quote marks.

Artella's Daily Muse is a content-rich online newspaper for arts and crafts, with motivational essays and lots of fun and creative stuff available to members. You can sign up for a free two-day subscription to try it out.

Art-to-Buy at the Dayton Visual Arts Center

I spent such a long time browsing at the Art-to-Buy showroom at DVAC that I had to feed the parking meter twice. Artists are so amazingly creative with the gift items that they bring to this venue every year at the holiday season. The variety is unbelievable, from pottery and paintings to artistic tambourines.


Quilters offer wall hangings and potholders. There are scarves: dyed silk and knitted in stunning colors. Felted hats and handbags, both practical and dressy. Funky, funny and elegant ornaments hang from trees throughout the gallery. I found handmade books and calligraphy that took my breath away (and some of my cash.)


The handmade jewelry is spectacular: silver, ceramic, beaded and glass earrings, necklaces and bracelets. There was a good crowd there this afternoon. I hope there will be even more shoppers buying the artwork, paintings and photographs for gifts. It's a great way to support art and local artists.


Every wall is covered with art. Here a rack of wonderful handmade ceramic mugs and framed artwork share a space with more pottery and gifts on stands. The work is professionally and lovingly created and displayed, as well as reasonably priced. We are very fortunate to have such a great place to buy original art during this annual exhibition. 118 N. Jefferson St. in downtown Dayton.

Creative quilter's site

Cathy Jeffers has a new web site. I love her colorful, creative quilts and fabric pieces. "Lexis at 13," shown here, is included in Chapter 2 of The New Creative Artist. I've always loved quilts. My mother and grandmother collaborated on many while I was growing up, following traditional patterns. In recent years quilters have elevated the once humble quilt to fine art with their original designs and exciting colors. And even earlier quilts are now getting the appreciation they deserve for the ways individual quiltmakers selected colors or altered patterns to express themselves. Google Art Quilts for links to the work of many talented contemporary quilters.

Dayton Visual Arts Center

DVAC is fifteen years old and celebrating its birthday with an all-member show in its new space at 118 North Jefferson Street in Dayton. The gallery is a great venue for such a show, with lots of wall space to hang pieces of every size and shape. I visited the show yesterday and was impressed with the wide range of creative arts represented. Pastel, oil, watercolor, acrylic, graphite, clay and fibers are just a few of the media used. Collage, assemblage, weaving, quilting, ceramics, sculpture and metalworking are some of the techniques. Skill levels range from amateur to accomplished professional. I love a show with that kind of diversity, even though I don't necessarily like all of the work I see. Tables and columns display the three-dimensional pieces, which are sometimes overlooked if you tend to pay more attention to the art on the walls. Don't miss them! The show wasn't juried, but will be judged for awards. It will be a difficult job with so many fine pieces to choose from.

Artists' Trading Cards

My friend sent me this link on artists' trading cards. You can see why artists enjoy making these art miniatures. The author, Youmana Medlej is an artist in Beirut, Lebanon, who has a wide variety of art and essays on her www.cedarseed.com, website. Browse awhile.

What is art?

One of my artist friends is painting ATCs. Artist Trading Cards. Little miniature paintings that are exchanged with other artists who are also painting the small cards. Is it art? Well, in my opinion, if you think it is art, then it's art. (Pause here for screaming in denial or approbation.)No one will ever agree on what art is. Here is my top ten list:
10. It's art because the artist says it is.
9. It's art because the artist loved doing it.
8. It's art because no one can prove it isn't.
7. It's beautiful.
6. It's functional, as well as beautiful.
5. It's well designed.
4. It connects people in a spiritual way.
3. It communicates with other people in a unique way.
2. It says something that can't be said in words.
1. It expresses feelings.

What's your top ten list of what art is?

Trying something old for a change

Artists are always looking for something new and creative to do. Why not try something old--like suminagashi? The subtle Japanese art of marbling has been around for hundreds of years but it seems to have been pushed into the background by fancy marbling having specific patterns and bright colors. One thing I like about suminagashi is that you can use plain water as the surface instead of having to mix wallpaper paste or carageenen. I decided to try this technique a couple of weeks ago. I followed directions in a book, but my attempt was a complete failure. I was so disappointed, but I was determined to make it work. The ink I was using kept sinking and the more I added, the more it sank. It was frustrating, because the book said you could use almost any kind of ink or paper, but nothing I tried would work.


I found a couple more books in my library and some sites on the Internet that gave instructions, and I figured out what I was doing wrong. So I tried again. This time it worked. I found just one kind of ink that worked for me and one type of paper, so I didn't bother to experiment with materials. Instead, I played around with colors and subtle organic patterns.

Here are the materials I used: a plastic box 10" x 15" with 1 1/2" of water in it.
two oriental-style brushes with hair 1" long
Bombay India Ink, black and colors
Kodak Photo-Flo 200 dispersant (also called surfactant)
a small plastic palette with six wells

Put 1 teaspoon of ink in one well and 1 teaspoon of water in another. Add 1 drop of dispersant to the water and stir well. Load one brush with ink, the other with water. Then just barely touch the tip of the color brush to the water. A pale spot of ink will spread on the water. Touch the tip of the dispersant brush to it and it will force the ink into a ring. Touch again with the paint brush, and continue to alternate brushes until you're ready to make your print. Reload your brushes if necessary. Any disturbance to the surface--a toothpick pulled across it or a puff of air--will move the ink into patterns.

I used sumi-e paper, printing on the rough side. The paper should be smaller than your water container or it will catch on the sides and spoil the pattern. Hold the paper at diagonal corners and roll it onto the surface decisively from one corner to the other. After you lift the print, place it on a board or tray and rinse it in the sink with an indirect spray of water to remove excess ink. If you don't rinse, the excess ink will soak into the paper and make the print fuzzy. Lay prints on newspapers and paper towels to dry. (Set these up before you begin the process.)

You can skim the water with a strip of newspaper and make another print, but I got better results when I changed the water for each one.


The organic forms and delicate colors fascinate me. The patterns show up best when you lay the marbled papers on a white surface. I plan to use my marbled papers in collage and even to write letters on them.

Go to this link on the art of Japanese marbling, Suminagashi. Here's a site with more step-by-step instructions.

Have fun!