My Marbling Students are the Best!

I've blogged before about people who have taken my marbling classes who have either incorporated their marbled pieces from class into their own work (like elle's marbled mandala) or who fall in love with marbling and take it to a whole new level (like Steve's marbled bark). Well, it was such a joy to get yet another email from a student showing me what she did with her latest round of marbled papers. Mel has taken both my Experience the Tank and Beyond the Tank classes...and I must say, she is the best gel-gitter there is on the planet. They always come out perfect. And to watch her do one puts you in a trance ~ she's very calm and zen about it!

Mel uses her marbled papers to make her own note cards and below are two examples she sent me. The background is made from the marbled paper she is designing in the photo above (which, of course, is a gel-git)! And the leaves are cut from another marbled paper she made in that session.

How perfect are these? The background totally looks and feels like the wind and the leaves look like they are swirling about on the card. I half expect them to come flying off! (Click on photo for larger image.)

I cannot say enough about how enjoyable I find the people who take my marbling classes. Marbling clearly attracts a certain "element" ~ those who are adventuresome, who enjoy a little mystery and magic, who see the beauty in air bubbles and can laugh at spilled paint, and who, above all, feel compelled to create and learn and share...and have fun while doing so.

At least that's the type of people I've been fortunate to have in my studio this past year. I hope 2013 brings me the same!

2013 Calendars ~ A Year-long Journey of Marbled Images and Musings

I am still an old-fashioned, paper-calendar kind-of-girl. I've tried to keep my schedule online but I find it very cumbersome. Somehow, I always end up scheduling things IN THE WRONG YEAR. I'm not kidding. I try to book something for November 15, 2012 and it ends up on November 15, 2013. Which is not at all helpful come either one of those days. Plus, some things are just easier and faster to simply write down. I was out to lunch with friends the other day and the waitress whipped out an iPhone-looking thing and started to tap our order into it. It. Took. For. Ever. I was all, really...you can't write this down and then go away and tap it into your little system? I've only got an hour with these ladies and 10 minutes of it have now been wasted on you sliding your finger across that stupid pad while making huffing sounds. There's a reason why pens and paper continue to exist in this digital world.

So I am once again printing a 12-month calendar with my favorite marbled images I created this past year. In addition, each image will be accompanied by a quote ~ or, to put it another way, marbled musings by yours truly.

The month-by-month planning calendar is a compact size (5" x 11.5") and is great for kitchens, work spaces, and even for toting around in your purse (which I do all the time). It is spiral bound which makes it easy to lay flat on a desk or hang on a wall.

It is an exceptional value at just $13 including shipping or personal delivery by me!

If you're interested in purchasing one, please send me an email at Cheers "at" BarbSkoog "dot" com by November 16. I will ship them around December 10.

Below are the images included in the 2013 calendar (the images will not have my website address plastered all over them). You'll have to buy the calendar to see my marbled musings!

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What the World Needs Now...

You may recall me mentioning Mary from Book'em Mysteries. She and her hubby Barry have hosted me at every one of my South Pasadena Arts Crawl marbling demos. Mary is an absolute gem of a lady. Calm and reassuring, yet a dry (and wicked) sense of humor. She is a retired school teacher so you can, of course, see where both of these attributes were strongly developed. I always give Mary, a fan of my work, something marbled as a thank you for being a generous and gracious Arts Crawl host. I do, after all, come into her store, move displays around, and make her stay until 10 p.m. (way past her bedtime) on those nights. It's the least I can do. The first time I gave her a framed marbled hummingbird. Another time, she chose some marbled boxes. And yet another time, my cards. This last Arts Crawl, I asked Mary what kind of thank-you gift I could give her...I was starting to feel guilty about forcing my work upon her...when she said, "There's one thing I would like."

"Talk to me," I said. "Name it and it's yours."

She told me her son sang with orchestras all over the world and most recently worked with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on the premier of "What The World Needs Now...The Music of Burt Bacharach," which he conducted and co-produced.

"Could you the marble sheet music so I could frame it and give it to him for Christmas?" she asked.

Could I? Of course!

We talked color a bit and I set to work this past weekend marbling various patterns and designs on the sheet music to "What the World Needs Now is Love." It's a great song...it really is...until you end up singing it over and over again in your head all weekend long.

On Sunday, I brought Mary six very different versions of the marbled sheet music and she picked out her favorite (which also happened to be my favorite). I then matted and signed it for her. And now it's on its way to London. I hope her son likes it as much as we do!

Well, Hello November

This is the full image from which November's header was created. And it's an overmarble (see yesterday's post)!! I am so drawn to the color saturation in parts of this piece (hello Golden's red oxide on navy paper!). And I love how the chevron in the upper right corner looks as if it's swaying in a breeze. The ghostly stones underneath feel like they are housed deep within a healthy river where the water runs cold and clear and the plant life (shades of green and blue) is strong and vibrant.

This is exactly why I love overmarbles ~ the added texture and layers create scenes so alive and engaging you can't help but want to dive right into it! (Or at least reach out and touch it to see if it's real.)

This is also one of the pieces hanging in the SoPas Gallery right now as part of the South Pasadena Arts Council's inaugural members' exhibition.

Also in the exhibit are amazing pieces by nine other artists:

• Melissa Alcazar,Visual Artist and Musician - Her two pieces in the exhibition couldn't be more different from one another. One is playful, bright, and glittery with soft edges and the other is serene and neutral with an Asian feel to it. I'm drawn to them both and her diverse work just underscores her talent.
• Rebecca Tager, Ceramic Artist - Oh how I love ceramic fine art and Rebecca's pieces don't disappoint. Who knew circles and squares could be so much fun?!
• Joan Lamensdorf, Original Paintings in Pastel, Oil, and Acrylic - I have no idea how Joan gets the colors that she does or how she gets them to sing from the canvas but she does. You may find one of her landscape pieces in my home soon.
• Lisa Saint, Artist - Drawing with stain on wood. Yes. For real. You have to see it to believe it. Even then it seems unreal.
• Lesley Paige Rutherford, Artist - Lesley's drawings are so intimate and personal ~ I love her Summer Harvest piece (beets!) and Emmett was drawn to her Shakespeare's Garden.
• Dominique Heffley, Fine Artist - Dom's whimsy pieces draw me in and make my imagination run wild. She only has one piece in the show so I highly recommend checking out her website for more of her work. It will be worth your time.
• Don Bloom, Artist - I love what Don does with water-cut metal, hand-carved plastic, and images to make the most fascinating clock art. His "Mean Green" piece is out of this world.
• Kevin Mentzer, Fine Artist - Kevin's process is as interesting as his panel work. Inspired by meditations, you are on a journey with him as the colors he chooses and the shapes that evolve as interpretations of his experiences are sure to mesmerize.
• Mira-Lani Bernard, Hypergraphia Pictures - Love, love, love. The compulsion to write (and do I mean compulsion) forms the foundation of Mira-Lani's work (other noted hypergraphia artists include Vincent van Gogh and Fyodor Dostoevsk). The words along words and over words and around words take on shapes and forms Mira-Lani never purposely sets out to do. Another piece you have to see to believe.

You can still check out the exhibit, which is free and open to the public and runs through November 30. It's a true delight to experience as you walk from one artistic style to another ~ and yet it's hung just right so the exhibit flows and doesn't feel disjointed. There is something there for everyone to enjoy. And who knows, you may even find a piece you want to take home (all artwork is for sale) and end up making an artist happy at the same time!

SPARC Members’ Exhibition October 23 - November 30 SoPas Gallery ~ 1121 Mission Street Open M-F, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

This Photo Makes Me Happy

Why does it make me so happy?

1. The marbling bug strikes again! These three lovely women made up the Beyond the Tank class I held mid-October. They all had taken an Experience the Tank class previously ~ and had to come back for more!! How awesome is that?!
2. They trusted the process! They are pictured here with their overmarbles ~ a technique in marbling where you marble over a previously marbled piece. They were all hesitant to do the overmarble at first ~ not because it's a difficult technique (it's not!) but because they didn't want to marble over one of their creations. I convinced them that an overmarble would enhance their already beautiful work and take it to the next level. Look at the smiles on their faces...they were THRILLED with their results.
3. They were great studio companions! This photo puts me back in the studio with them again. They were such a delight to marble with ~ creative, adventuresome, supportive of one another, receptive to learning. There was so much action in the studio ~ it was non-stop fun!
4. Inspiration! When I look at this photo, I can't help but feel totally excited ~ and compelled ~ to hit the studio this weekend to work on a few personal projects.

Thanks, ladies, for such a magnificent afternoon together!

I'm teaching Experience the Tank classes this month on Sunday, November 11 and Saturday, November 17. I'd love to have you join me in the studio for some marbling fun and creativity!

Marbling Delight

Once again, I am truly humbled by the response I received during my marbling demonstration at the South Pasadena Arts Crawl on Saturday evening. Men, women, adults, teens, and children alike embraced the beauty of marbling and the unique process in which it happens. People asked GREAT questions, were engaged and enthusiastic, and their comments and reactions made me see marbling in new ways.

I always finish a demo exhausted ~ but completely inspired at the same time. I have several new ideas born from conversations with people at the event that I can't wait to explore.

A BIG thank you to Barry and Mary at Book'em Mysteries Bookstore for hosting me...again! They let me come in, move their displays around, and take over my little corner of their store in front of the window. They are a true gem in this community ~ both as individuals (Mary has a wicked sense of humor) and as business owners (they've been an independent bookseller for 20+ years).

I've said this before but it's worth repeating: how many communities can boast that they've got a bookstore on Main Street?! And how often can you walk into a bookstore and talk to the owner, request a recommendation for a book set in Australia, and have an immediate response ~ as Emmett did on Saturday? Yeah, not many of us can. I feel very fortunate on so many levels to have Book'em in my community...and if you live in South Pasadena, you should too. Visit them and show your support. They have an amazing line up of author readings, book club activities, and writing groups ~ not to mention an entire store full of mystery books!

Bringing Marbling to the Masses...

Or at least to South Pasadena!

I'm very excited to share the news that I have three pieces in the upcoming exhibition at SoPas Gallery in South Pasadena, where the South Pasadena Arts Council (SPARC) is having its inaugural juried members' exhibition. Twenty four pieces ~ from paintings and drawings to sculpture and ceramic work (and, of course, marbling!) ~ by 10 local artists (including me!) will be on display at the gallery from October 23 through November 30.

As many of you know, I am on a mission to increase awareness of the art of marbling. This centuries-old, beautiful art form (rarely known about by most) deserves to be celebrated by all ~ art lovers, museums, galleries, schools, casual and professional artists alike! Participating in juried exhibitions and shows is one of my favorite ways to show off the creative potential of marbling as a fine art.

There will be an opening reception for the exhibition on Saturday, October 27 during the South Pasadena Arts Crawl! I'll be at the SoPas Gallery from 5 p.m. - 6 p.m. and then I'll be heading across the street to Book'em Mysteries Bookstore to do a marbling demo from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Hope to see you at the opening reception or the marbling demonstration...or both!

SPARC Members' Exhibition Opening Reception Saturday, October 27 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. (I will be there from 5 p.m.-6 p.m.) SoPas Gallery ~ 1121 Mission Street

Marbling Demonstration Saturday, October 27 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Book'em Mysteries Bookstore ~ 1118 Mission Street

41 for 41: Kayak Elkhorn Slough

Full-day kayak, sunset kayak, walking beaches, hiking nature reserves, star gazing, sunrise coffee....

(click on any image to start slideshow)

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Marbled Mandala

I received the most wonderful gift in my inbox the other day. Artist elle Warren (and no, she does not capitalize her first name...which I just love!) took my Experience the Tank marbling class this summer. She brought with her stretched canvas that she wanted to marble on. Marbling on canvas, specifically when it's already stretched, can be a bit a tricky (especially for a beginning marbler), but once you figure out what works and doesn't work (and how to lay it down without getting air bubbles), you can have a lot of fun with it. As a talented artist already, elle took to marbling instantly and created some spectacular pieces in class...both on canvas and on paper. When I asked her what she intended to do with her creations, she said she wanted to incorporate them into her art. I was so excited to hear that and asked her to keep me in the loop on her work.

So you can imagine my pure delight when I got an email from her with the above photo. The second I saw it, I gasped. Is it not just amazing?! She created a mandala on the marbled canvas. What an appropriate pairing of artistic styles (why didn't I think of that?!!)! Just beautiful!

It makes me so happy to see people like elle and Steve embrace the art of marbling, find a place for it in their creative hearts and talented hands, and take me along for the ride. This is my hope ~ my ultimate dream ~ for this ancient art form: to find new friends in this modern world who will bring it to new levels.

Back in the Studio

Oh, happy days! Cool temps and high humidity are here! That can only mean on thing: MARBLING TIME! Yeppers, I hit the studio this weekend. My original intention was to clean up and re-arrange things to prepare for the upcoming fall session of marbling classes, but once I got in there and with the weather cooperating perfectly, I couldn't resist the call of tank!

I had some prepared paint leftover that somehow survived the recent heat wave so I used those colors up while testing out new paper I got last month. And I loved the paper! It worked out beautifully--meaning it took the paint nicely, the colors popped, the paper held it's shape well and was easy to lay down in the tank, and it's a high-quality paper that will be good to frame or to use in bookbinding or for other art projects. I'm really excited to start using it in classes.

I have enough bath for another dozen or so sheets and then once that's used up, I guess I'll have to go back and do what I intended to do before getting distracted: clean and prep the studio for a new season of marbling students...which is just as exciting to me as the perfect marbling day!

Autumn is Here...Sort of

Another day, another temp in the triple-digits. Ugh. This heat is getting REAL old. At dusk on the evening of the Harvest Moon a couple of days ago, my hubby and I went for a walk. Not only did we stop to stare in awe at the huge, creamy-ecru moon that hung in the sky over undeveloped Elephant Hill (the last of the undeveloped land in our neighborhood, which will stay that way because thankfully the developer sold it to the city and the city has now turned it into a park), we were also blessed to see a Great Horned Owl, who flew right over us and landed at the top of a palm tree. Because of the tree's location on the side of the hill, the owl was just slightly above eye level from us and no more than 25 feet away. It hooted here and there, we watched it turn its head from time to time, and then after about five minutes, it took off, silently soaring down the other side of our hill and out of our sight.

This month's header is in honor of that experience. This pattern is called Scallop, though I've also seen it referred to as Bird's Wing.

Harvest Moon, Autumn, Great Horned Owls...now if only the temperature would drop so it would REALLY feel like fall.

Just Do It

“The most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.”

— Randy Komisar, The Monk and the Riddle

To Print or not to Print...

I have mixed feelings about making prints of my work. Part of the beauty of marbling is that each piece is one of a kind. It can never be replicated again. I can use the same paint colors, lay them down in the same order, create the same design out of them, and use the same paper to print on...but in the end, I will end up with two distinct pieces of work. They may have similarities, but to me and to others, they will appeal to us in different ways. Another reason I'm hesitant to make prints of my work is that it changes the feel of the piece. When people see my work online and then see it in person, they always exclaim, "Oh, wow! It looks so different." And it does. Prints seem to flatten the life out of my pieces. Some artwork looks just fine reproduced. My marbling, not so much.

But perhaps the biggest reason I hesitate from making prints is I like saying to people, "This is original. You are the only person to posses this image. It was made with my hands and comes from my soul. It is unique and no one else on the planet has it but you."

In a world where everyone is on Facebook (except me!), everyone has an iPhone (except me!), everyone watches Mad Men (I don't even have cable), and everything seems to be massed produced from China, I like thinking that there is still something INDIVIDUAL and SPECIAL out there, something like nothing else...besides snowflakes.

And yet...

I am not shy about my goal to bring marbling to the masses and one way to do that is to expose my work to a broader audience in an efficient way that doesn't compromise the integrity of the art form. (Yeah, can you tell by the marketplace vernacular that I've been thinking about this for a while now?) I have several artist friends who have licensed their work to companies that in turn put their images on everything from totes and t-shirts to plaques and pillows to note cards and bookmarks. And my artist friends make a lot of money in the process. I'm not saying the commercialization of their work or the financial reward is bad. Just the opposite. It gives them boundless opportunities: the recognition opens doors to more places in which to feature their work and the money is a source of income that allows them to focus on creating more.

So I am struggling a bit with these two ends of the spectrum. I'm sure there is a happy ground somewhere in there and I'm bound to find it (or rather I should say "determined" to find it). I bring this up today because I received in the mail note cards I had printed through Shutterfly which feature a few of my pieces. And you know what? I like them. They look pretty good and I didn't get an icky feeling in the pit of my stomach seeing my work reproduced.

So maybe this is how it starts...baby steps. Maybe I just need to allow myself to ease into the idea rather than jump into the deep end. And nothing says I have to go all one way or the other.

I will make one promise to myself though: to always do what feels right--what feels best--for a piece. Between my heart and my stomach, the answer will be clear.

Fall Classes to be Announced Soon

So many of you have been very patient as I restructure my class offerings and map out my fall line up. Well, your wait is soon to be over! I'm really excited to share with you my new classes and schedule, which I will announce on Wednesday. I hope you will find something that will inspire you to try your hand at marbling (or dive right into the deep end). From intro classes to weekend immersion classes to open studio time, there is bound to be something to satisfy your marbling cravings. And I would love to have you join me in the studio!

Also mark your calendars for the South Pasadena Arts Crawl on Saturday, October 27 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. where I'll be doing another marbling demonstration. This is a great opportunity to check out my teaching style. More details coming soon.

And will someone PLEASE turn off the heat over here. Another week of 90s is upon us and it's getting REAL old.

Love this!

One of the warnings I give people when they take one of my marbling classes or check out one of my demos is that marbling is addicting. People initially laugh this off as crazy babble by a crazy artist but by the end of class or after being unable to tear themselves away from my demo, they realize I am right. I don't know what it is specifically about marbling that makes it so, but it is true. Marbling is addicting. Once you experience it, you start to CRAVE it. It's not that you just LIKE it. Or that you WANT to do it. No...you actually feel DRIVEN to pursue it, COMPELLED to get to your tank, ITCHY to start laying down paint. And to further prove my point, I present to you Exhibit A: Steve.

Steve was one of the first people to take my Experience the Tank class. Shortly thereafter (within a day or two, I believe), he bought all the materials to begin marbling on his own--a tank, carrageenan, alum, paper, paints. He even made his own rakes and combs. And despite only having access to a very small space in which to marble, he manages to make it work and make it work well. And he does so frequently.

Steve has emailed me photos of his marbled papers and it thrills me to see his work evolve. He's even framed some of his pieces and found other creative ways to use them, such as displaying them in those travel mugs that you allow you to insert paper (or photos) into them. But what REALLY blew me away was what he emailed me about the other day: he was marbling on BARK.

Yes, BARK. As in the stuff that comes from trees.

I've been marbling on wood lately but it's milled wood. The bark Steve is marbling on is stuff straight from nature. Pure and unaltered. He's collecting the bark from deadfalls and fire-pit debris in the mountains and from a park near his home. (And no, he's not ripping it off trees! He's just picking it up off the ground.)

I love this for so many reasons. First of all, the pieces are BEAUTIFUL. I can totally see these hanging on my wall (and I bet you can see them on yours too!). Secondly, I love seeing Steve's confidence in marbling soar so much that he feels comfortable to take it to the next level. Thirdly, I love that he's experimenting. This is what I wish so much for the art of marbling: INNOVATION. I respect and admire and enjoy traditional paper and fabric marbling but I am also drawn to the idea of pushing the boundaries (materials, tools, application) to see what happens. This is also the reason I like to teach marbling classes...every student brings a fresh perspective to the execution of marbling. And that is so fun to experience.

The weather here is still icky enough to put my marbling on hold for another few days but in the mean time, I'll be collecting bark on my neighborhood walks so that when the weather does cooperate again, I can hit the studio for yet another WILD marbling session. Marbling in extra large, marbling in mini, marbling on ceramic and wood, and now marbling on bark...where will it end?!!

I hope it never does.