Print Making by Hand Workshop

I made a decision

to put a plan in place

to counteract the 

disequilibrium

of having my only child go away 

to college in the fall.

The first and only step 

I've come up with so far:

get your ass outta the house. 

In the spirit of doing just that

I joined two local Meetup groups.

The first is

 Philadelphia Blues Meetup

and the second is

South Jersey Mixed Media Artist Meetup.

My first venture outta the house

was a Print Making workshop

led by Dolores Poacelli.

We met at the Medford Arts Center, which is a spacious, comfortable place to spread out and make art!

Dolores is a patient, supportive,

talented, excited and most

important in my mind,

generous sharer of techniques and supplies.

 

She helped me think 

outside the box.

Priceless.

And shared a Master's work:

Attending the workshop was a great group of friendly talented artists! 

 Here is proof of talent:

 

 

 I know its not 

politically correct

to have a favorite 

but screw it 

it's my blog

and this print below

SLAYS ME.

good job outta you, Andrea.

 

Here are pics of 

my prints:

I thought I should 

keep it simple

so the night before I googled

stencil images of the lotus

to use as a guide.

 I brought my favorite

colors to print, 

turquoise and red.

I hated paying $21 for a brayer. I'll just have to make sure I use it a lot. 

I eyeballed the pics I brought

and we used all kinds of tools

to imprint our designs in soft foam. 

My foam:

 Really cool alert:

check out the tp roll covered in 

adhesive foam designs. When rolled on paper it looks like this:

About this time, after lunch,

I was feeling my new and unwelcome

menopausal information overload

combined with the wearing off

of pain meds.

I had to leave a little early but not after Generously Thanking

Dolores and Kathy, the teacher and organizer of the group. 

Thank you again, to the 

talented women in the group:

Angela, Andrea, Deb, Kathy,Joy or Lois confused on that,

and one other artist with beautiful long curly hair

that for the life of me I can't remember her name.

Damn menopause. 

I apologize and please comment me your name.

Oh, Deb has a show coming up!! 

Congratulations! 

June 2012 Exhibition

Deborah Pey

Palmyra Cove Nature Center

and Andrea has art for sale on etsy. Please visit her shop.

Dolores,when not in her studio, also teaches at the

Perkins Center for The Arts.

Please contact them for a listing of her classes. 

I give her an A++.

cuz it's my blog

and I can.

xoS

Etsy Question for my Bloggin Buds

Here is a question I 

posted on facebook

March 5.

I can't figure out how to link

to that particular post.

So go to my fb page and scroll

back to March 5. 

There are many practical

comments that just might

help you out with etsy as well.

I thank everyone who 

commented on fb.

If you are reading this blog

please friend me on fb if you

haven't done so already.

(Susan Rae Sager on fb)

I love to see the art you

are creating! 

So, back to my point. 

I received a comment on this question that has 

really really really 

made me think.

And I would love to 

get your opinion on it. 

The comment is from

Stewart Gill paints aka

Amazing paint that is 

pricey perfection.

teehee.

So here is the Question I posted: 

To all my art friends who sell on etsy: I need advice. I've been on etsy for 2 years and have made 2 sales. I understand the economy and that my art may not appeal to everyone. There must be things I can do to promote my shop. What advice can you give me. Is there a blog or book you recommend about how to jump start my shop. Should I close and reopen? do I need one of those long ugly names for each print "blue dragonfly painted print of original art" instead of "Dragonfly Print"? I do use tags etc. Here's a link to my shop. I would appreciate any input and constructive criticism. Bring it. I can take it!!! thanks in advance. 

And here is what 

Stewart Gill Scotland commented:

Hi susan, I wanted to encourage you to think about the core reasons why you make art in the first place....who are these people in the etsy netherworld that you hope will buy from you...do you really need the money from selling your work (and can you earn that money more efficiently doing other stuff) or are you translating 'sales' into 'artistic merit' - canyou get a sense of value and purpose from other ways (blog, the opinions of those you really trust)....how much time away from actally making REAL ART is it going to take to negotiate all the bizarre little online ways of raising your profile....and is that worth it???? WIll you look back in 5 years time and think i wish i'd spent more time getting tag lines and 'LIKES' or I wish I'd made more art, not felt so harrassed with the kids, housework etc etc etc!!!!! Sorry for ranting....it's just your question raises an eternal one that all us artists face - How do we know that what we are doing is meaningful? I wish you every success in finding the right path to truly enable your creativity to be at the forefront! xxx

I love this comment.

It has actually rocked my world

since I read it March 5.

I haven't figured out 

how I feel yet. 

What do you think?

I would love to hear

your thoughts!

xoS 

oh and here is a 

gratuitous hot guy pic

for hanging in there

with this wordy post:

You're welcome.

teehee.

xoS

Drawing Love

I love to draw.

Learning to draw 

is really about learning to see.

Below is some Toby practice.

I got bored of looking at him and switched to this other face.

I think I like to draw females

more than males.

The drawing below I did along side

my suzi blu video class:

Mixed Media Portraits. 

Suzi covers Angel faces, The Goddess and The Poet, and

Tudor type faces. 

This is the second drawing 

I've done which is purely 

from my head. 

Meaning I wasn't staring at 

a photo trying to recreate it.

I was working along with suzi

but my drawing does not really look like hers except for around the lips.

It's so exciting to learn a 

new technique. I really

super sucked

at drawing in the beginning.

But Misty Mawn told me to

practice, practice, practice. 

So I do. 

And I love it, which is the

most important thing. 

I think that this drawing looks

like my bosses daughter:

I didn't do that 

on purpose. 

I guess all little kids

share similiar features tho.

I just happen to think this

little girl is extraordinary.

Here is my Tudor face attempt.

It's the evil 3/4 face attempt.

Warning: this sucks.

 Told you.

But that's OK.

It sucks less than

last months attempt. 

teehee.

So you want to try a new pencil?

OMG.

Derwent Inktense Pencils.

They make practice

that much more fun.

You will need a coupon.

They are pricey.

But your art is worth it.

Enjoy!

And it's true.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

Unless you don't need to.

Then I hate you.

teehee. 

xoS

ATC PLAY

Sometimes

you have to go back 

to your roots.

Artist Trading Cards

are my first love.

And my first foray 

into mixed media art.

I'm going through

an upheaval aka

disequilibrium.

My only chick is about to 

leave the nest.

Themes are running around here.

Middle age, 

and 

Launching my kid

are fighting for time

in my freakin psyche.

It's like an 

emotional roller coaster

around here. 

I wonder if 

I could be analysed

by these 

seemingly random

ATC subjects 

that just popped

into my head. 

Me thinks there is

a conspiracy afoot.

teehee.

Thanks for looking.

And I hope 

you are experiencing

more equilibrium than

disequilibrium.

xoS