A Potpourri of Ideas and Answers and a Couple of Bowls to
Put Them In. . .
Some finished bowls, some answers to your questions, some inspiration of the best kind . . .
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Today’s post is a mixed bag of goodies (or should I say bowl of goodies?)
We get some interesting questions in our Comments, and though we answer them on the spot, some readers don’t get back to older posts to get their answers, so every now and then, we’ll take a minute to answer them.
And we have a couple of finished bowls to show you for inspiration.
And finally, speaking of inspiration, I have a link for you - to a blog that may change your life by showing you some ways to change your mind.
Bowls
No, I did not get my bowls decorated that fast! This one was a gift from my friend, Rebecca Schneider, a fantastic folk artist who also gifted me some time back with the whole idea of using Celluclay as a serious medium.
This bowl is 13” in diameter and is done with acrylics. The edge treatment is really creative. Rebecca strung a single strand of sparkly seed beads and glued it all along the rim with Elmer’s glue. She’s a real fan of using down and dirty art supplies to create high and mighty art effects.
And this beauty is by my friend, Paula Owens and it is currently being shown in a gallery in Washington (state).
Paula says the bowl is huge, was slumped (formed) on a big Yoga Ball, and took forever to dry. Maybe when she reads this post, she’ll tell us how she applied her color. I would ask her but I already bugged her too much to send the photo.
Oh, and Paula has this advice: Take the time to shoot a nice photograph of each piece when you finish it. You never know when it will be rushed out the door and you’ll have to take a quick snapshot that has a bad background!
If enough of you send me photos of the bowls you make, I’ll create a photo gallery of them for sharing. Send 72ppi photos about 5”x7” and email them to gallerydsf@cre8it.com. Put “Bowls” in the subject line.
Reader Question:
“I find a real difference in lead softness and color between different brands of 3H pencils. Which is your favorite?
My favorite is the Prismacolor Turquoise brand. The 3H lead is light but it’s still a nice sketch line that I can see, and it erases very cleanly.
Reader Question:
“What is that printer with waterproof ink you were raving about awhile back?”
I have had a Kodak 5300 3-in-1 printer for thirteen months now and have to say, although there are some quirks in the interface with the Mac, I love it. And I love the cost of the ink which is pigment ink - archival and waterproof - and the whole refill runs about $22. I wrote a full review of this printer here:
That review will fill in the details, and I can now add some updated information. Twice in the past year, I have gotten clogged nozzles in the printhead. This is very common with pigment inks because they are thicker. It has always meant throwing my Epson Durabrite printers away in the past and having to buy new ones. But the Kodak printhead is removable. You can’t buy replacements, but Kodak sends you one - with a new ink supply - at their cost! All they ask is that you return the clogged one to them in the postpaid box they provide. I have done this twice! But the last time, tech support gave me some hints to avoid clogged printheads: Turn the printer off and back on every couple days (I leave my printers on all the time), and set the printer to “Sleep” when not used for 15 minutes. This cuts down on the warmth of the interior environment and helps keep the ink from drying out.
What I Love: Waterproof prints that transfer great with the Sheer Heaven transfer method and don’t bleed through Moleskine Sketchbook pages (important to me). I love the photo print quality (Kodak knows how to do that), and I really love the fact that my Waterproof Inkjet Canvas feeds through without needing a leader sheet.
What I Don’t Love So Much: Although photo printing time is fine, some Mac software prints really slowly (like FileMaker Pro). Kodak admits that they don’t ”talk” to Macs so well and they are always offering free driver and firmware updates from their websites. There is none of that problem with PCs.
New Model: The next generation of this printer is the Kodak ESP 5, which is supposed to solve many of the issues with the older model. I would recommend getting the new version. Because Kodak is not a big name in inkjet printers, many of the office and electronics stores don’t carry it, so it’s easiest to buy online.
The Art of Living Well. . .
I have mentioned my amazing sister, Cassie, many times over the years. She’s amazing in many ways, but one of the big ones is that, ten years ago, she turned a diagnosis of MS into a stunning lifestyle change which has kept her symptom free, and which has led her to a life uncommon. Through lectures, seminars, and especially her writing, she has helped thousands of people make the changes in their lives that allow them the happiness, peace, and fulfillment they seek.
She has been writing and editing for a women’s magazine in California for awhile and has just stopped doing that in order to work on her upcoming book. I have convinced her that a blog would be the perfect way to “warm-up” for her writing sessions, so she started hers yesterday - and what a start!
She is one of the best writers I have ever encountered and is also blessed with the best ideas. I want to let you all in at the beginning so you don’t miss a word. Here is her blog link - (and she has an RSS feed so you can subscribe now that you are all experts at that!):
Also, here is a video clip on You Tube where you can meet both Cassie and her nervous system which she has named “Nellie”.(You know - “Nervous Nellie). She was speaking at a Women’s Conference in California:
My Sis is my hero, and it will be obvious why I feel that way.
Cre8it Studio Cookbook
Well, I love our new tutorial set up - except for one thing. Many of you may have noticed that the photo page would not print for you. It’s not you - it won’t print for me either.
So I have made up a “Recipe” in PDF format and have put it on the website in the “Studio Cookbook” which is something I have wanted to launch for awhile. Eventually, I will have Studio Cookbooks for sale which will explore a medium or process in great detail - like Pan Pastels or Sheer Heaven Transfers, etc.
But meanwhile, it’s a good place for free recipes that back up the projects in our blog. They’re not fancy but they print easily!
So, if you want to print our Handmade Paper Bowls project, just go to Cre8it.com and click the Studio Cookbook link:
I am including a lot of links this time, so please remember to Right-Click them so they will open in their own window and not lead you away!
