Australia 2017: Post 4

Still recounting my recent month in Australia and happy that you are joining the adventure here. We started in Melbourne (Post 1), headed to Ballarat (Post 2), and then to Lismore (Post 3), all as part of my adventure with Fibre Arts Australia. I then headed to Sydney, the focus of this post and the last stop on my journey.

First up was a visit to my mate Sallianne McClelland, of Art is You fame.

We caught up, made plans and spent way too much time across from each other on our laptops trying to keep up with our inboxes.

I taught two Art is You pop-up workshops.

Day 1 was 52 Card Pickup. I always have fun teaching this.

My demo deck

Student work in progress

Day 2 was Mixed Media Mashup. Anything goes in this class and I was very impressed with the creativity and variety  of the work.

Happy campers

Speaking of Art is You - plans are being made for 2018 and 2019. Sign up here to be the first to hear. And join the Art is You Movement here.

After my "work" ended, I had a few days to relax in Sydney.

Saw some amazing exhibits at the Museum of Contemporary Art

Gordon Bennett

Lena Yarinkura

Jenny Watson

Saw the Opera House from a distance...

...and close up

Got together with Linda Lucas and her husband Ron (and there is that Opera House again)

Visited the stalls at The Rocks

Ferried to North Sydney for a different view of the Harbour Bridge and the Sydney skyline

Took 1,000 photos at Luna Park

Visited Wendy's Secret Garden

Found my first book on the shelves of Kinokuniya Books

Saw the most magnificent and moving outdoor art installation 

In the end, I was ready to stay and ready to head home. Happily, I have plans to return again in July 2018. Will be teaching again in Ballarat (workshop full), Lismore (registration open), and Sydney (to be announced). May have a few surprises down under to announce as well. Stay tuned...

Make it Your Own: Eclectica

I always find it exciting when I come across artwork online that incorporates my product lines. Seeing how different people use these items in such creative ways is always inspiring. I love the wide variety of styles and unique choices.

Today I am featuring artwork I have found that uses my newest stamp sets from PaperArtsy: Eclectica 5 and Eclectica 6.

Ann Chuang

Nikki Acton

Kate Yetter

Kate Yetter

Anne Redfern

Ruth Mescall

#ARTifacts: June 2017

Artifacts (plural noun): objects made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest.

ARTifacts (plural noun): a collaborative project for 2017 documenting adventures in art.

Every year I have so many "art memories" from my travels, my teaching, my adventures in NYC, and my studio work. I have decided that 2017 will be the year of ARTifacts where I document my adventures in art for the entire year in a physical book. Always wanting to be inclusive, I turned my project into a no-rules collaboration.

Participants were asked to find or make some sort of artist book, planner, scrapbook, 3-ring-binder, folder, or other container to document their creative experiences, whether they be in art, craft, or anything else.  As you can see below, each and every participant put their own creative twist on this project. And it is never too late to join. Email me at shap97@gmail.com if you would like to participate.

-------------------------------------

JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, MAY

JUNE 2017

Raylee Syrch

Kelley Fewer

Karen Campbell

Karenann Young

Julie Short

Gwen Lafleur

Kathy Fritz

Monique van Dijk

Barbara Greve

Donna Ellis

Jeanie Bernard

Bleubeard and Elizabeth

Wen Redmond

Cecile Graven

Celebrating 1809

 My blog is 10 years old today. 

10 years ago today I started The Altered Page. I feel so very fortunate that all these years later, my blog is still going strong. I had no idea back in August 2007 where this venture would lead and am grateful for all the creative opportunities that have come my way as a result. I am on the ride of my life and enjoying every minute. 

I send thanks to each and every one of you for your visits, comments and support. I would not be where I am without you and am thrilled to be part of this creative community.

Some interesting factoids:

-My blog started 1 year after Twitter was born and 3 years before the existence of both Instagram and Pinterest. Facebook was already a toddler at 3 years old.

-In that time I have published 1,809 posts - which averages to just about 1 post every two days.

-Hey There Delilah by the Plain White T's was the number one song on the day of my first post.

-The number one movie that day was Rush Hour 2.

-It took 11 days before I got my first comment. Thanks a million Esmeralda.

-You amazing people have left a total of 35,986 comments on my posts (not including spam).

-I am still using the original template I started with, a canned design which I now look at as a vintage throwback. You know, kind of like a flip phone.

-Having a blog completely changed my life and has sincerely enabled me to be the artist I am today.

Giveaway:

How can it be a birthday without a present?

One person will win a $100 gift certificate to my online shop. Ten people will each win a $10 gift certificate. The random numbers table will choose. To be eligible, simply leave a comment on this post. Internationals welcome of course. Giveaway will close end of day on Sunday 8/13.

Thank you all for being a part of my adventure and journey. Cannot wait to see what the next ten years brings!

-------------

The giveaway is now closed. Thank you for all your wonderful comments. The 11 winners will be contacted by email.

A Man with a Plan

I am a man with a plan. Well...planner that is. For the first time I have decided to commit to journaling my daily life in art for an entire year. Note how that was worded. I am not journaling every day but by the end of the year I will have an entry for every day of the year. 

I am limiting my entries to my creative activities.

That way I will have a documentation of my life in art for 2017.

At the end of the year I will decide whether to continue into 2018.

You can read more about my planner and see additional images in my guest post today on the Spellbinders blog. 

-------------------

My journal was created using all the components from the book kit I designed for Spellbinders. It includes 

3-Ring Binder

 Refill Paper Packs

Change-A-Page Journal Die Set

Grab-A-Tab Die Set

Would love to see how you document your creative life. Feel free to share details or a link in the comments so we can see if you have a plan.