Rebecca Wachtman

I don't know if you've had the chance to look at Strathmore's free online workshop s, but they usually have an interesting variety of options.  Sometimes painting or drawing, sometimes journal-making...always interesting - and always taught by some pretty wonderful artists!  They are go-at-your-own-pace and include discussion groups and a gallery to share your work. This year, the workshops include:  Sketchbook Fury – the Art Ninja’s Guidebook.  Taught by  Graham Smith  Starting March 7th, 2016.   A 4 video series by Graham ” the paper junkie” Smith: MMA (mixed media artist) Black Belt, illustrator, filmmaker, and nerd – on sketchbook strategy, building drawing skills, developing ideas, and executing finished art.  The workshop will cover:  Build Your Dojo,  Overcome Fear,  Plan the Attack, and  Art Battle The Mind of Watercolor.  Taught by  Steve Mitchell  starting May 2nd, 2016. Watercolor is one of th...

Applying resin As the title of the post suggests, I have been SUPER busy lately! I am working on how to set up my studio in a slightly larger space (with better lighting and more walls).  I'm trying to figure out if I can fit in all my furniture PLUS a table or two for teaching small classes (not sure it's going to work.. but I am trying!!) I am diligently working through Jacqui Calladine's Wild Creative... which I've discussed in previous posts.  I'm finding it very helpful -- but a bit distracting too (because I want to do more of it!) Of course I'm a mom, wife, and have a full-time muggle-job... that all keeps me very busy as well! And I'm working feverishly on my resin bowls (which take a lot of time, but my mind is just HUMMING with ideas!). A pink bowl at the very beginning stage Of course, the creating part is what I want to spend most of my time on, but it is hard to focus solely on that with all of my other activities! ...

Isn't he gorgeous? I am LOVING Jacqui's Wild Creative .  It's fun to look at my business, my art, and my personal life all though a somewhat different lens than normal.  This week, Jacqui challenged us to come up with 3 words for growing our businesses (and ourselves).  Hers were: Clarity, Value, and Big.  All excellent words! I've been thinking about what my words would be... and I too, would choose BIG... but I have 2 others that I are different from hers. BIG - (perhaps the word should be BIGGER).  I want to start working on projects that are bigger in size (a great challenge because of the small space I have to work in!).  I also want to start thinking bigger ... making bigger collections, applying to bigger shows, and gaining bigger sales.  PLAN (or PRE-plan) - I will admit that when it comes to my art (and to my crafts), that I just let whimsy carry me forward (oooohhh... shiny thing!).  Because of this, I am easily distracted and ...

A View From The Ferry (now awaiting reuse!) Have you created things that you don't like, didn't sell, or otherwise just didn't work for you?  I sure have!! Some of my art pieces that haven't sold, now grace the walls of my home.  But I have a small home, with little wall-space...so it behooves me to figure out another way to use my artwork - specifically, my silk paintings. IF I've wrapped my silk paintings around a canvas or board, and attached it with pins or tape (in other words, easily removable), then I can simply unpin or untape it and it's ready to use for something else (A View From The Ferry is one that I've unpinned and am now trying to decide how to reuse it).   Sunflower Quad BUT if I've attached my silk painting to a canvas using Acrylic Matte Medium... well that's a whole new experiment in how to reuse/recycle! My latest idea is to remove decoupaged silk from the canvas - leaving the canvas in tact (but with a really coo...

Original photo used for Magnolia's Life Recycled In a previous post, I told you that I'm following Jacqueline Calladine's Wild Creative .  She's encouraging her followers to open their hearts and souls to be more creative, more inspired, and more in tune with their true wants and desires (both in their art, as well as in their personal lives).  This last week, she challenged us to think about what is holding us back from creating... and from stepping forward to begin our next project.   I thought long and hard about it and found that I actually have 2 issues when it comes to creating.  My first is just as Jacqui said in her Facebook post: "Have Courage To Take The First Step". Cropping in on what I want to paint To begin a big art project (or any size project really), seems daunting (if not flat-out overwhelming) because there is often SOOOO much to do.  So instead of beginning  my art project, I am amazed at my ability to find other things to ...

Jacquiline Calladine - photo by Tanaya Caim I have come to know a lovely artist named Jacqueline Calladine (learn more about her and her wonderful ideas and artwork at www.jkcalladine.com) .  She is currently working on an inspirational and motivational journey she's referring to as Wild Creative.  In it, she challenges us to look within at our true motivations for what we do.   I love the process of being introspective and thoughtfully reviewing the choices I'm making both in my personal life and my artistic/business life!  I find her methodology unique and it provides some interesting insight about myself. One of the first questions she asks is:  "What are the core values that drive your creative practice and/or business?"   Most of us set goals for ourselves that are based on what we deem to be success, but often success is a somewhat nebulous thing which is in reality, defined by societal norms and NOT by what our soul is really searching for!...

Tulips Revisited (notice the fine line details?) I am feeling rather good - I managed to finish 2 silk paintings this week (which is pretty good for me because I work full-time and am a mom and wife!).   The first one I finished is another tulip painting.  I am rather pleased with how it turned out.  I used the same base design for it as I did for Stained Glass Tulips Too.  My motivation for that is to show everyone (both online, and in shows) the differences between the traditional Serti method (or painting with resists that prevent dyes from flowing outside of the resist lines), and the Sistek method (a stop-flow method which uses a variety of chemicals to greatly reduce the speed at which dyes flow).   Stained Glass Tulips Too (The dark resist lines make it look like a stained glass piece) As you can see, in Stained Glass Tulips Too, there are big lines outlining all of the major shapes (the lines are left by the resist), and while shading is...