Saturday, April 28, 2012

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
and the second is
My first venture outta the house
was a Print Making workshop
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
and Andrea has art for sale on etsy. Please visit her shop.
Dolores,when not in her studio, also teaches at the
Please contact them for a listing of her classes. 
I give her an A++.
cuz it's my blog
and I can.
xoS


Wednesday, April 25, 2012

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

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

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:
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.
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

Sunday, April 15, 2012

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