September's Open Studio

As always, I welcome the chance to have students join me for Open Studio! The next one will be held Saturday, September 14 and Sunday, September 15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Available to former and current students or anyone with prior marbling experience, Open Studio is great for those who want to continue to practice marbling but who may not have the space to set up their own studio. Or maybe you want to test out a new tank size! I'll have the large tanks (20"x25") available as well as the half tank (15"x19"), medium tanks (11"x14"), and the small tank (5"x7"). While I don't teach during this time, I am in the studio to answer any questions. For more information about Open Studio, click here.

To sign up, send me an email (Cheers "at" BarbSkoog "dot" com) with the date(s), time frame, and tank size you want to work in. Looking forward to seeing you!

So Excited About This...

Since working on pieces for Triptych Fusion, I've been experimenting on a ton of different materials ~ ones I normally would not have thought of marbling on had it not been for the show. One of these "new" materials is transparencies. Turns out, marbling on transparencies is not the easiest thing in the world to do ~ but it is a lot of fun once you get past the frustrations (or once you just let go of the frustrations). I have a couple of pieces that I really, really like but knew a traditional frame wouldn't do the marbled transparencies justice...I mean, they are transparencies after all and the light should shine through them for the full effect, right? After searching for what seemed like forever and a day for the perfect frame and not finding what I wanted, I decided to make my own ~ floating frames a la contemporary style. And am I in love!

This first one is two transparencies on top of one another (frame size = 11x14).

As you can see in the photo below, all four sides of the frame are open, allowing light to shine through front and back:

This one is a transparency on top of a photo I shot (of a cardinal in a tree at my parent's house) a couple of winters ago when in Minnesota (frame size = 8x10).

A better look at the construction of the floating frame:

I love the look ~ and functionality ~ of these frames. Not only can they be hung on a wall, they also are able to stand upright on a flat surface like a shelf, table, or mantle. And I am very, very happy with the way the light is free to move all around the artwork ~ front, back, left, right, top, bottom. Even in the most dimly lit room, you can tell this open frame best maximizes the beauty of working with transparencies and adds depth (and an almost 3-D quality) to the piece.

These two "experiments" have inspired me to work on a series of marbled transparencies. We'll see what happens...

Marbled papers + Calligraphy and Script = Gorgeous!!

Just a really quick post (with down and dirty photos!) about a project I'm working on with the talented artist, Amy Siu. She and I are coming together to bring words of inspiration, hope, passion, and joy as well as thought-provoking quotes on cards and matted art.

As you can see, her script is STUNNING! I can barely take my eyes off these papers. And I love how in many pieces she wrote with the "flow" of the marbled energy on the paper.

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This is just our first round of goodness and now that I have in my hands our collaboration efforts and see how she works on my paper, I am so inspired to hit the studio and make some pieces just for her.

Better photos and more info on this beautiful collaboration coming soon!!

July Header

Ha! Hello, July! Where did you come from?! I'm excited about this month's header. It comes from one of the fabric pieces I marbled a few months ago for my "clutch collaboration" with fashion accessory designer, Jeanie Joe. Here is the full image:

And here is another shot of a different part of the same fabric piece:

I have to admit I really loved marbling on black fabric ~ but it comes with a downside: not all colors show up. It was a true act of exploration and discovery trying to figure out what would work and what wouldn't. In the pieces above, believe it or not, I used Golden's Yellow Oxide.

I'm also giddy about the font my name is in. I've wanted to use this font for ages ~ but never found the right background until now.

Jeanie Joe has been very busy these past few weeks stitching and tucking and clutching preparing for the South Pasadena Arts Crawl where she'll have some of our clutches for sale at Lilly. Stop by and see what other wonderful creations she'll have on hand ~ you won't be disappointed by her style, quality, and creative expression. I'm certainly not!

Jeanie Joe at the South Pasadena Arts Crawl Saturday, July 13 5 p.m. ~ 9 p.m.

Lilly ~ 1504 Mission Street, South Pasadena

UPDATE: Jeanie Joe will be at my old stomping grounds for the Arts Crawl: Book'em Mysteries!!!!

Jeanie Joe at the South Pasadena Arts Crawl

Saturday, July 13

5 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Book'em Mystery ~ 1118 Mission Street (next to Mission Wines)

Diversity

One of the things I was most thrilled about with the Taproot editors was that they selected a wide variety of styles of my work to publish ~ and the above piece is a perfect example of that.

This is definitely not your traditional pattern. It is solely my personal spin on the art form. Actually, I really can't take credit for COMING UP with the idea for this image. I was simply reacting to what the bath was (or, more appropriately, wasn't) allowing me to do.

It was a hot, hot day. My bath was old. The wind was picking up. Humidity was nonexistent. Wildfires filled the air with ash. The conditions could not have been worse for marbling. But I just had to get into the studio despite the fact that Mother Nature was not on my side.

With nothing at all but the desire to create something ~ anything ~ I stepped up to the tank, tossed all expectations and ideas aside, and just did what the bath allowed me to do that day. It turned out to be one of my favorite moments in the studio.

Up close, this piece feels like a relief map of a secret world ~ I see rivers and valleys and mountains and roads and islands and lakes and forests. Step back and the there are suggestions (hints? clues?) of....something. I see a shape ~ but I'm not gonna share. I don't want to taint your perspective. You'll have to discover your own "something."

"Dry" is featured in the Summer 2013 issue of Taproot magazine (Issue 6: Water). The piece measures 10"x13" and is created on my favorite paper, Arches Text Wove from France. Brilliant Purple, Cad Red, Payne's gray, Indian Yellow Hue, and Light Blue make up the show. You can purchase "Dry" here.

It is also part of my Favorites postcard set:

Yellow + Red = a Giveaway!

I love the colors red and yellow together. As a kid, I used to pull out the yellow and red M&Ms and make a little pile of them off to the side. I'd then greedily eat all the other colors while saving the yellow-red pile for as long as I could.

I have always wanted my bedroom walls to be painted in bright yellow and the door a bright red. (And I will someday. I just haven't found the right house to do it in yet.)

Back in Minnesota, every year I grew a wildflower bed that included yellow and red Japanese poppies.

Red and yellow beet ravioli? Yes, please.

Sadly one of the hardest colors to achieve in marbling is a pure, robust red. It has to do with the pigments that make up the color, which do not do well when diluted nor when spread across the top of the bath. However, there are two ways to work around this. The first is to marble on red paper. While this is an effective technique, it 1) sort of feels like cheating, and 2) makes it very difficult to spot color ~ that is, place your color exactly where you want it to be and no where else.

The second way around the red challenge is to compress the paint in the bath so much, it has no choice to be red. And that's what I did with this piece.

Untitled 383 is one of several pieces in my "Miniature 24" series. As I mentioned in my previous post, and as the series name implies, all were created in my "mini tank" which measures 5" x 7" (I normally marble in a 20" x 25" tank). One of the advantages with the mini tank is that is allows you to fill your tank with paint quickly (sometimes too quickly, which is the disadvantage), giving you those bright, bold vibrant colors without your design starting to degrade. You see, as soon as the paint hits your bath, it starts to disintegrate. So the longer you work on a piece, the more the paints break up and do funky things (an effect one can use to one's advantage, of course...but only if the intention is to do so. Otherwise, it's just frustrating!). It can take less than a minute to fill a mini-tank where as it takes three to four minutes to fill the big tank to create the same vibrancy.

Those precious few minutes make a huge difference.

Untitled 383 is one of my favorites ~ not just in the "Miniature 24" series, but of all the pieces I've created. When I found out Taproot magazine was using it as their opening page, I couldn't have been happier.

This image is available in the Miniature 24 postcard set:

GIVEAWAY!! Tell me what you see or like in the images above and you'll be entered into a drawing to receive your own Miniature 24 postcard set! Leave your thoughts in the comments by midnight on Friday, June 7.

~ Comments now closed...and the winner is Annika! ~

New June Header

I figured it was only appropriate that the header for this month comes from one of my images that appeared in the recent issue of Taproot magazine.

Untitled 371 is one of several pieces in my "Miniature 24" series. Just as the series name implies, all were created in my "mini tank" which measures 5" x 7" (final piece sizes are 4" x 6"). Since I normally marble in a 20" x 25" tank, there was a lot of adjusting going on, to say the least. It was an adventure in patience, discovery, steady hands, and determination. I was truly surprised at how much you can do in a small tank that you can't do in a large tank. And I was just as surprised that I couldn't do things in the small tank that I could do in the big tank. It took my marbling to a whole new level.

The piece above was such fun to create. I've played around with concentric circles in my larger tank in the past but in the mini one, you not only get many more circles in, you have greater ability to control how tight (or not tight) they are. As a result, I think you can create a more dramatic sense of movement ~ which I find totally exhilarating.

I have to admit, when I first saw this piece blown up to fill an 8.5"x11" page, I was a little astounded. It seemed so, well, LARGE. But it also allowed me to see new images in the piece ~ new ways to interpret the pattern and patterns. I've always been a big fan of using scale as a tool during the creative process ~ but it never occurred to me to use it AFTER the process as well.

What a game changer. My mind is already racing with new ideas.

Marbled Clutches ~ Now Available for Pre-order!

So how's this for super awesome... As I mentioned in a previous post, I am working with fashion accessory designer Jeanie Joe on creating handmade clutches using my marbled fabrics. And, as I mentioned on Facebook a week ago ("Friend" me if you're interested in following me there too), I recently completed a studio session where I marbled more than 15 yards of fabric for our clutch collaboration. That can only mean one thing: CLUTCHES FOR SALE!

We are now taking pre-orders for one-of-a-kind, gorgeous, beautifully hand-crafted clutches!

Before we bring our inventory to boutiques, you have the opportunity to pick your marbled fabric and have a clutch made just for you! For more information, visit the special Pre-Order Clutch Sale page.

Here's just a glimpse of a few patterns you can choose from:

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Don't miss out on this great opportunity to snag your favorite marbled design on a roomy, stylish clutch that will have heads turning!

Taproot Magazine and Me

I am beyond thrilled to announce that my work is featured in the latest issue of Taproot ~ a gorgeous, full-color, art and lifestyle magazine filled with thoughtful personal and photo essays, alluring projects and delicious recipes, engaging poetry, and art that makes you swoon. (Gee, you can't tell that I'm head-over-heels about this publication, can you?)

Taproot is one of those magazines you want to sit down with, a cup of coffee or glass of wine in hand, and read from cover to cover. Immediately. At first, it's all eye candy. You turn page after page after page, excited to see what images and headlines pop out at you. After that, you settle into a few of the essays, finding yourself right there where stories want to take you. Then, you go back to the beginning and comb through the rest of the issue, dog-earing pages that have websites, people, or ideas you want to come back to. Next thing you know, you're a changed person. I hate using the word "inspired" as I think it's overused these days but seriously, after reading Taproot, that's exactly what I am: inspired. Two future projects of mine were conceived and modeled after a few Taproot articles. And I love the way they describe their audience as people who strive to live their lives "closer to the ground."

Taproot is also ad free. That, People, is the bee's knees.

This issue's theme (Issue 6) is WATER and, well, it only seems appropriate that the centuries-old art form of floating paint on water graces the pages. Three of my pieces are full-page section dividers, such as the one below:

I am also excited that they let me ramble on a bit about the art form, giving me a few pages to talk about my marbling experience and showcase some of my other work.

It was a beautiful process working with the Taproot team. I've worked with several editors and graphic designers over the years and by far this was the most pleasant experience. Helpful, responsive, supportive, enthusiastic, open...what a difference it made. If the people BEHIND the scenes behave this way, just imagine what the pages IN the magazine are like.

So go subscribe now (you can also buy single issues...but trust me, you'll want more).

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll talk about some of the pieces featured in Taproot and the stories behind them ~ stay tuned!

Stories within Stories within Stories

The above beauties are being shipped out today to a new home. My canvas journals are, in my humble opinion, rockin' awesome. I love them. The canvas covers alone make them unique ~ the fact that they are marbled canvas is just icing on the cake. What I also like about the canvas covers is that they are durable. They can withstand coffee (and wine) spills, being shoved into and taken out of travel bags, and even being tossed across the room on those less than perfect days. And the fun doesn't stop on the outside ~ inside the journals you'll find more gems: marbled signature wraps and small, inspiring charms sewn right into the binding.

While I'm over the moon about the journals, they take FOREVER to make. Bookbinding is not my specialty so everything is done slowly, by hand, slowly...and then slowly some more. I don't "mass produce." Even when I cut, fold, and weight down the signatures, I do it one journal at a time. (All the REAL bookbinders out there are shaking their heads right now.)

I usually only sell my marbled journals during the holidays, specifically at the annual Peach Tree Gallery Holiday Show. But to build up enough inventory, I have to start making them about this time of the year. Did I mention it takes me a long time to make one? Yeah.

Last year, when the last journal was made for the show, I thought to myself, "This is WAY too much work for such little financial reward. I'm not doing this again." But when I pulled these babies out today and got them ready for shipment, I fell in love with them all over again.

They. Are. Beautiful.

Really, they are. And they vibrate with an energy that is both invigorating and soothing. Whoever has one holds something special ~ every detail from the button clasps and colored thread to the embellishments, charms, and matching marbled signature wraps has been thoughtfully decided upon. As I am making each journal, I'm envisioning its own journey ~ how it will be used, who has it, what the hands holding it look like, how it is held, where it is kept and where it is pulled out to be written or drawn in, what the journal itself means to the person.

My journals have stories even before they have stories.

Many of you who know me know I'm not a big consumer. I don't buy things just to buy things. Nor do I like to receive things just because it's an occasion like a birthday or Christmas. And given the choice between a gift (I bought you jewelry!) and an experience (I bought you tickets to a play OR hey, I'll take you to lunch!), I'd choose experience every single time. I think that's why I can't "just make" journals. I don't make "stuff." I make experiences.

And my journals are a way to experience the beauty of marbled canvas (something I've never seen anywhere else before). Their simplicity allows for the freedom of expression without the pressure to do so. The charms are there to give pause...or to inspire. But most importantly, whether it is realized or not, they are an integral part of my own personal marbling experience ~ the journey I am on as a marbling artist, the journey to bring marbling to the masses, the journey to create something that cannot be found in the slick pages of a catalog, behind a computer screen, or in the storyline of an over-produced television show.

So as these beauties are leaving my world and entering a new one, I'll return my attention to marbling canvas over the next few months and see what new paths this next round of journals will take. Who knows where I'll end up, but wherever it is, you know there will be a story behind it.

May's Header

When students pull a paper off the bath, I can tell immediately what they are thinking ~ because I think the same thing when I pull my own papers off the bath: what's wrong with this piece? It's a natural question not only in a learning environment, but specifically in the marbling environment. And it's a necessary question with marbling because its answer (or answers) dictates how you are going to marble your next piece: change up the order of the colors as you lay them down, thin the bath, thin the paints (or re-mix them), increase the humidity in the room, change papers, be more careful when laying down the paper (to avoid hesitation marks or air bubbles), or simply let go of whatever it was you were trying to accomplish and start on something totally new (a completely respectable option!).

Or sometimes, a piece is technically well executed but it simply didn't turn out the way you expected it to based on what you saw in the tank. This happens for a couple of reasons: 1) students forget that the tank is a mirror image of what ends up on their paper, and 2) the background of the tank is not the same as the background of the paper and so the colors, contrast, and opacity don't always translate the way we think they are going too.

So how does this relate to this month's header? Well, I hated ~ HATED ~ this piece when I pulled it off the bath. It was an overmarble (I think twice) and there were hesitation marks, weird spots where the paint didn't take (or I didn't alum well enough), and some of the colors when marbled over other colors made new colors that were icky.

BUT...

There were PARTS of the piece I liked a lot. And this is the message I tell students when I see them being critical of their work: sit on it for three days and then come back to it. And when you do, take a 5x7 or 11x14 mat and go over the piece and look at the DETAILS, not the sheet as a whole. Get up close and personal with your work. You will find hidden GEMS in there. I promise.

When I started scanning sections of this piece, I immediately saw the beauty in it and it has become one of my favorite images thus far this year.

This is such a lesson in life too: the big picture isn't always pretty but somewhere in there, there are little gems waiting to be discovered ~ and celebrated ~ by you.

Absent ~ But Present

I know, I know ~ I've been quiet (VERY quiet) this past month. Just wanted to let you know the blog posts will be returning again ~ and with consistency! April threw some interesting (and wonderful) opportunities and adventures my way ~ which in turn sparked ideas ~ which in turn lead to WORK ~ which in turn lead to more opportunities and to more ideas and to more work and...well, you get the point. I'm excited to be (finally) sharing news and updates on projects as well as the "homes" I've been securing for them. And when I say "homes," I'm talking about galleries, publications, shows, and more!

Even though some things are still works in progress, I'll talk about the process of getting to where I want to go. It's not always pretty ~ rejection, failures, slogging through the details ~ these can be a real downers, but at the end of the day I am just so happy to call "artist" my profession that I'm more than okay with taking the bad with the good.

I have a lot to catch you up on. Stay tuned!

And so it Continues

In the process of creating my new series, I had quite a few boo-boos, ehs, and oh-that-didn't-work moments. The thing about marbling is that once your image is transferred from the tank to your paper, that's it. It's permanently affixed. There's no going back to the original piece for touch ups, tweaks, or adjustments. You just have to start over. And start over. And start over. So while I have eight just-what-I-wanted pieces for the series (ones that I consider frameable and worthy of an exhibition appearance), I have about three dozen pieces that didn't make the cut. But I also recognize that, with a little work, these pieces could be an extension of the series ~ offshoots as it were ~ three of which you saw in yesterday's post. And of course, to get to those three, I went through another round of boo-boos, ehs, and oh-that-didn't-work moments. And that's what I'm sharing with you today. I found that with the right cropping and a few additional overmarbles, these too could look fantastic.

For example, the image below started out as the original cluster of circles surrounded by white space but when I laid the paper down, I must have trapped an air bubble and one of the circles ended up a bit ugly-funky. By itself, surrounded by all that white space, that air bubble stuck out like a sore thumb. But, with a Stone overmarble using the same colors as in the circles, I had something I liked.

You can hardly notice the ugly-funky air bubble in the middle circle on the bottom row!

The next piece below started out as the circle clusters surrounded by a Stone pattern. I did not like the way the circle clusters turned out ~ not enough color rings to them ~ so I decided to overmarble with a more intricate traditional pattern (a Non-Pareil) in hopes that it would pop right out of those circles. Well, it didn't pop at all. It just looked, eh. So once again I employed the overmarble ~ larger stones ~ as well as a light Moire and I got something I was much happier with:

And finally, like the piece above, the piece below started out as circle clusters surrounded by stones but I did not like the lack of color in the circles. So I overmarbled a Gel-Git (in white space) over the circles. But that still looked empty to me so I once again overmarbled a Gel-Git but this time over the entire piece. This, as it turns out, is my favorite original "boo-boo."

So this new series has taken quite a few twists and turns but everything originates from the same vision and idea ~ the 70s images and colors with a contemporary spin. Once all these pieces are put next to each other, not only will the entire picture be complete, there will be a complexity to it that brings depth to the overall series ~ and that has totally taken me pleasantly by surprise.

And More from the New Series

A few weeks ago, I blogged about a new series I was working on. While I'd love to show you the final results of that amazing four-day studio session, I can't do that just yet. You see, they, as well as several other pieces, are under consideration by a publication that wants to use three of my marbled creations in their full-color, quarterly, art and lifestyle magazine! (More on that when I can talk about it in greater detail.) In the meantime...

What I can share with you are some pieces that EVOLVED from that original session that I am JUST as excited about. I worked on these yesterday ~ after an overwhelming itch to create didn't subside, I decided to clear my calendar and spend most of the day playing in the studio. I'm so glad I did!

I've employed several techniques here. The most obvious is the overmarble ~ an Italian vein ~ which gives them their final look.  The first marbled layer is the group of bull's eyes. In that original layer, I created white space around the bull's eyes using a dispersant. As you can see in the piece on the far right, I used dispersant again to squish the bull's eyes closer together (something I didn't do with the other two). Then I decided to do each Italian-vein overmarble in one of the colors from the bull's eyes ~ from left to right: red oxide, cobalt turquoise, and yellow oxide.

I have a couple more variations that incorporate the white-space, bull's-eye background that I will post tomorrow. Stay tuned!

And if you too are feeling the need to create ~ GO DO IT!! Don't ignore the call. Amazing things will happen ~ mainly, happiness will ensue!

It's a Clutch!

Remember last year when I took that fabric marbling class from the amazing Pat K. Thomas at the Arrowmont School of Art? Yeah, well, there were a few pieces I couldn't part with simply because 1) I loved them and 2) I knew they had a destiny and I just had to be patient and let it reveal itself to me. And reveal it did.

I met self-proclaimed "maker of stuff" and fashion accessory designer, Jeanie Joe (yes, that's her full name...and yes, I have to say it that way because it's so fun to do so) through a project I was working on for the South Pasadena Arts Council. She was at my house looking at some of my marbled papers and said to me, "Too bad you don't marble fabric. I could make some great clutches out of it."

"Ummm, Jeanie," I said. "Please hold." I turned around, walked into my studio, and came out with a little surprise for her. "Will this work?" I asked smugly as I handed her the fabric pictured below.

Yes, folks. It worked just fine. I present to you, the very first Jeanie Joe - Barb Skoog handmade, marbled-fabric clutch:

How can you not be completely and totally in love with this clutch? I can't wait to marble more fabric for Jeanie Joe and see what kind of gorgeous clutches, totes, handbags, and other purses she comes up with.

This is going to be fun!