I took a weekend workshop in Encaustics and I have found I love working with wax! So for this month’s theme for the Sketchbook Challenge, Flowers, I thought I would use it as my inspiration for my designs. I like taking classes in different mediums, it really makes me think out of the box. If you don’t know what Encaustics are, follow this link that explains this unique and ancient medium. But basically Encaustics are pigmented waxes that can be used like paint, you can carve into it, embedded objects into the wax and make really cool collages! (some of my photos might not be the best since I took them with my phone)
Here is the set up with the waxes on a pancake griddle to keep them liquid.
This is a shot of my messy table.
I like stylized flower designs and used these doodles as part of my inspiration for my work. I love the shape of a leaf and it ended it up in a lot of my pieces I started in that workshop.
As I played with the wax, I started embedding shear fabrics that I has also painted with the waxes. It is fun to use porous fabrics in the wax to see how that add to the design that is already on the board. (you want to use natural fabrics because the synthetic fabrics will melt.)
I did enjoy carving into the wax and then putting wax into the grooves. When it cools, you can scrap off the wax and you have these really cool lines in your piece.
I used a dental took to carve into the wax.
I use the carving technique in this piece with the teal, white and light yellow lines. It makes the designs looks like they are floating on top of the piece.
I also used flower clip art to get ideas for some monoprinting in wax designs and drawing with oil pastels on top of tissue paper. The tissue paper is laid on the griddle and you can draw on it with wax or oil crayons to get really smooth lines. After you finish your drawing, you can use it as a collage element in one of your encaustic pieces.
To do a monoprint, an anodized aluminum plate is used to conduct heat and it helps to see the colors you will be using in your print. I was hooked on this method and did a lot of monoprints on fabrics and papers for future projects.
If you get a chance to try Encaustics, I encourage you to take the leap. It is a lot of fun and can get addicting. For more information on Encaustics check out the R&F Paints and YouTube. I learned a lot from watching videos on YouTube on different techniques too!
Here is one of my posts for February’s Sketchbook Challeange. I am still working on my pup paintings and decided I wanted to get an up close photo at a cool angle. Now, trying to get a dog to stand still while you get close to their face is a feat. But I finally got Justin the Black Lab to look at me when I kept repeating the word “treat”.
After I did a series of photos of Justin, up close and personal, I choose this one and did a drawing in my sketchbook. I was experimenting with colors and background designs.
I have transfer a line drawing to canvas and will be working on the painting in the next few weeks.
My goal is do to a series of these type of images on fabric too. Here is one I have started on of a bull dog. (I drew this one on my Ipad)
This is stitched on a quilt sandwich with hand painted fabric and hand embroidery. Don’t just love this face!! So ugly he is cute!
I know I am late in posting this..but I still wanted to share it. 
Your Sketchbook Challenge director says…”are you ready for your close-up?”
Getting close-up is about taking a new perspective, finding a different view and appreciating the little things. Here are three ways you can try this.
ONE Take a photo or find an image. Now FOCUS on one small area of the image and sketch that. Forget about the big picture, this is the small picture. Do you know the Indian allegory of the three blind men and the elephant? When we focus on one part of the elephant and close our eyes to the rest, the leg becomes a pillar and the tail a rope. Forget what your big picture mind is telling you and see with new eyes.
TWO Find something to ZOOM in on. Go all the way. If you can’t see the molecular structure, you’re not close enough. That might be an overstatement, but you know what I mean. Get uncomfortably cozy with something and draw what you see. You will have points taken away though if you zoom in on a bee. What is it about bees that people must photograph in macro? Let’s have some imagination here and let the bees have their privacy.
THREE Perspectives change when you go from landscape to close-up, so see what happens if you VIEW something from a much closer perspective. How does it feel different when you’re viewing it from afar, versus striking distance?
Check out my photos below to see the source for my close-ups. I’ve zoomed in on one aspect of each image and found something completely new!
However you do, do, do it, make sure it’s CLOSE-UP in February.
I am always looking for ideas and find these great website that help with doodling skills. I once had a student tell me she couldn’t doodle and I needed to teach her how. I just figured everyone doodled….there was no correct way. So, for anyone trying to doodle and can’t get the hang of it, here are some helpful sites and suggestions.
“Zentangle method is a way of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns. It is fun and relaxing. Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being.”
This is a great technique that has prompts. You can buy books with ZenTangle ideas and kits. Plus they have a blog that has some really interesting posts.
“Doodlers Anonymous was founded to celebrate our addiction, and like any other, we’re hooked. The need to draw, sketch, and doodle is constant. We doodle on almost anything we can find — pencil in a moleskine, marker on a napkin, ink on a torn receipt, sharpie on concrete. And we do it habitually — while on hold, in a meeting, during class, or while we should be sleeping.”
It is free to join this site and there are some wonderful doodles on here. A treasure trove of ideas. They have featured artists and an email newsletter to keep you up to date on the sites postings.
You can doodle online and using a screen capture download it to your Desktop to save. 
“Print out as many as you want and please share them with others. These pages are perfect for all ages, kids to adult.”
These are PDF coloring sheets and are free to download and share. Lots of great ideas on this site.
This site animates your doodles. It is fun watching the doodles and drawing come to life.
There are people that use use Moleskin sketchbooks to draw in. I have several and love them. All different sizes and kinds for you to choose from. There are sites just dedicated to Moleskine drawing. Here is a Flickr Group to post your Moleskine doodles,plus if you do a Flickr search there are lots of different doodle groups.
Doodle by Jim Bradshaw
If you have some doodle sites you would like to share, please leave a link in the comment section.
Doodle by Werdnus_Roo
Remember that National Doodle Day is March 5th!!
I was delighted about this month’s Sketchbook Challenge theme since Doodling is my main inspiration for my artwork. I like the letting go and just playing with shapes and designs..never knowing what I will come up with. I try to fill up a page in my sketch book as a challenge to my creative side. As soon as the page is filled, I pull out my trusty isolation frame to find my ideas for my next painting or embroidery.
Here are examples of my doodles and how I go about finding my next compositions.
Once I decided, I make small drawings of what my compositions might look like. Here I can play some more with the designs.
Above is an example of ideas I have for some small paintings. I make several versions using my large doodle designs as a jumping off point.
Above are some of my Doodle paintings I have been working on.
(I like to paint when my hands begin to hurt from all of my hand embroidery. Also, I can see using these designs in my collages and mixed media pieces too.)
Here are somes pieces where I used a doodle as my inspiration and made it into a mixed media collages using paper, embroidery, beading and painting.
Have fun with this month’s theme.
Special Prize Giveaway Announcements:
How to be eligible for prize drawings:
Information on how to upload photos to flickr can be found here.
Winners will be chosen based on random draw on 1/31/12 and announced on the Sketchbook Challenge blog either on that day or on 2/1/12.
I love going to these places that sell old house furnishings for people restoring old homes. I came across some wrought iron fences, grates or gates leaning against each other and I loved how the spaces and designs blended together. Plus the peeling paint is awesome!!
I cropped my image and did a drawing of just the top part of the photo.
I was wondering what I would use this drawing for and I got an idea! Santa brought me a new Android camera/phone for Christmas and I thought I would play with some of the Photo Apps that are available. Wow..I never thought I would be able to be so creative with my phone! Here are some of the filters I used on the drawing.
I made my drawing “fat”.
Here it is in Fish Eye.
Mirror image vertically.
Mirror image horizontally.
Opposites
Colored and Curved
Colored and Mirrored
Mosaic
There are a bunch more, but you get the idea! I can see a lot of different ways I could use this as a fiber art or embroidery piece. It is nice to take a drawing and make it into a whole new image!!
Happy Holidays Everyone!!
Susan Sorrell :>
www.creativechick.com
I got to decide the December challenge for the Sketchbook Challenge website! I thought I would use my camera and sketch book to give a creative challenge to myself and the group. You can interpret “Trashed, Ruined and Decay” in anyway and I hope you will run with it. I am always snapping photos of rust, dumpsters, piles of trash, old homes, etc….I don’t know why I am so fascinated by stuff that can’t be used anymore..maybe because I am a recycler.
Poe Mill, Greenville, SC
Here are some photos of one of my trips to a place where trash seems to accumulate here in Greenville, SC. Poe Mill was a textile mill here in Greenville, SC that burned down years ago. Since then, it has become a dumping ground for the neighborhood. Also, some parts of the buildings can be seen and rolls of fabric that are rotting out in the open.
I am always picking up stuff too, that I drag back to the studio. Like this old and broken sprinkler head I found while mowing grass this summer.
I decided to draw it from different angles and it would make a cool composition for an embroidery!
Here are the definitions of Ruined and Decay:
1. Total destruction or disintegration, either physical, moral, social, or economic.
2. A cause of total destruction.
3.a. The act of destroying totally.
b. A destroyed person, object, or building.
4. The remains of something destroyed, disintegrated, or decayed
5. A gradual deterioration to an inferior state
Also, I ran up on a great website of photos on urban decay that are really interesting. http://blueblots.com/photography/urban-decay-photography/
(If you find a link or a photo, please share it with the group!!)
I am always getting ideas for my fiber art from trash dumps and the like. Here is a piece I did called Debris.
This is the original photo that inspired this piece. I played with in in Photoshop and cropped it to get the desired design that I have up above.
I love taking photos of rust, decay and trash and find it really inspiring.
I hope you do too!!
The theme for December is Trashed, Ruined and Decay
How to be eligible for prize drawings:
In order to be eligible for one of the December prize packages you must post at least one photo of a sketchbook page related to the December theme to the Sketchbook Challenge Flickr group and you MUST tag one of your photos with the code “dec258″.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE ONLY TAG ONE OF YOUR PHOTOS with this special code!
It is not necessary to tag more than one and it will not increase your chances of winning.
Information on how to upload photos to flickr can be found here.
Winners will be chosen based on random draw on 12/31/11 and announced on the Sketchbook Challenge blog either on that day or on 1/1/12.
