Under the Weather

So I have been working on the next video for PBD but have been under the weather with some kind of a stomach bug the last few days, culminating in my hanging out in the bed yesterday. Ugh! It was another grey, overcast day so it made it easier not to want to do much anyway. I have begun to feel better this morning and will get busy again with the video. If not today, then Monday for sure I will get it done.

Just the low-down on what the video will present will be about the Faber Castell Gelatos. There are lots of reasons to love these multipurpose pigment sticks, mostly because they are just FABULOUS! They can be used on any surface and my favorite feature is that they can be used on fabric like a watercolor. Yes, when I want a more watercolor effect on fabric the Gelatos are my go to tool, because sometimes I need that lighter pastel color on my work. The variety of colors make it virtually impossible not to find the one you need and they are highly mixable for even more. They do have the larger, Double Scoops, if you need to use a lot of color on a large surface and do not want to run out. They last forever too, I've had mine for at least five or six years and they are still as good as the day I purchased them. They can be heat set with an iron on medium heat and using a pressing sheet so as not to risk burning or scorching. And try this for another great effect.....dissolve them in water and `use them in a spray bottle to spray them on your fabric! How cool is that!

There are also tons of YouTube videos of demos with Gelatos and their various uses. They are not only informative but a lot of fun to watch too.

Here is the link to the Faber Castell Gelatos web page: http://www.fabercastell.com/design-memory-craft-us/products/gelatos

Also, I want to mention an article I read in the September/October edition of Cloth, Paper, Scissors, a mixed media magazine I subscribe to that has tons of wonderful information in it. The title was "Nothing Up My Sleeve (Releasing the Creative Spirit) by Michael deMeng, and it likened the creative process to magic tricks because artists literally take nothing and turn it into something. I thought it was a pretty cool analogy, and though it may be similar in that respect, anyone who has worked on a creative piece knows it doesn't magically happen, exactly. It is comprised of the tools and elements the artist has at his or her disposal, however it also incorporates a lot of dreams, hopes, aspirations, love, and of course, sweat. So in the end I guess it could be declared somewhat magical for the ethereal components it contains, as well as those it evokes.

Thought nugget:
"Every artist was first an amateur".
~Ralph Waldo Emerson