I have made a LOT of junk journals over the past 3 years but have stopped because I've been more interested in painting and creating mixed media art.  But masking these "pockets" for inserts makes me re-think this diversion.

I watched a class from Roben-Marie Smith on Sketchbook Revival and it inspired me so much I immediately went to my studio to see what I could create.  I love the fact she is a fiber artist too so she used many of the things I also have in my studio.

Sometimes, creating collages is frustrating but this time, my creative ideas kept coming fast and furious.  So I made 3 pockets and could have made more but I ran out of time.  I don't know what I will do with these -- start another junk journal?  Use these pockets to create a journal of just pockets?  All I know is that it was a satisfying way to spend a creative day at my studio!

I LOVE making my own stamps, stencils, and other mark-making tools.  So when I heard about Natural Earth Paint, I immediately ordered their kit so I could make my own watercolor paint.

Today, I spent hours making my own paint using their pigments.  It was really easy!  The colors are indeed, earth tones.  These are colors I have not collected in my watercolor palettes so this is a whole new palette for me.  

Tomorrow, I will experiment with mixing the pigments together to see what other colors I can make.  So faar, my only concern is that the kit does not contain a pure yellow so I imaging trying to mix a green and an orange will be difficult.  You can see that there are two pigments that are very close -- the yellow ochre and orange — and the red and burnt sienna.  

These swatches reflect the fully saturated color with no water added.  Once the pans dry, I will add water to these pans to see if the color changes. 
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I had a fun day and can't ewait to use these paints in future projects.  If you are interested in how to mix your own watercolors from this company, here's a video.  If you haven't heard of Sketchbook Revival, this is a free course from 30 different mixed media artists.  I have joined for the past several years and it's a lot of fun.  I always learn something and this year, I was introduced to making my own watercolor paints!  Already worth my time!

Every year there iis an art fair in the park where I live.  So today I walked to the park and strolled around the fair.  I always hope to discover at least one new artist that captures my imagination.

This time, it was Mel Mendez and his wife Lucy.  

I love to see fiber artists demonstrating how they create their art and Mel was doing just that.  When I see the work that goes into weaving, it really blows my mind.  The way Mel manipulated the pedals and the shuttle was masterful.  But when you see this, you realize how much time it takes to create even one small weaving. 

I asked him if he had made all the rugs included in his booth and he told me his whole family was involved in this art form.   Mel learned his skill from his father who came from a long line of weavers in Mexico.  I am happy that this family business has been adopted by younger generations.

I love making grids with 2 inch squares but now, I'm experimenting with using the same colors and materials to create a larger piece of art.  For this spread, I realized that having more space to work in made a huge difference in the outcome.  The small squares had too much black in them but when I worked on a larger surface, I was able to change that and I think it's much more interesting.

I'm half way through my 8th grid sketchbook.  Haven't found another obsession yet.

These "Spirit Guides" creatures are now featured at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  This one is over 10 feet and I loved the patterns on every surface of this imaginary animal.  

Created by the workshop of Mexican artists Jacobo and María Ángeles, these brightly colored and richly patterned sculptures depict imaginary hybrid animals that act as both spirit guides and astrological embodiments of human character. Inspired by the Zapotec calendar, Spirit Guides is an unforgettable outdoor experience reminding us of the profound connections that bind us to the inhabitants of the natural (and cosmological) world.

Denver's Cherry Creek Art Festival is one of the premier festivals for artists in the country.  It's really hard to be juried in so the artists who exhibit are among the best in the country.

I always go hoping to discover new fiber artists and this weekend, I did!  I had a chance to chat with Camille McMurry about her creative process.  She is also a Denver fiber artist like myself but what impressed me was the large scale of her pieces.  Her compositions were interesting and her color palette was intriguing.  She is also skilled at weaving and incorporating different textures in her work.

I look forward to seeing more of her work.

I'm still working on this series and here is my latest composition.  I'm enjoying the layering  and  final contrast with black stenciling.

This is one of the pieces I donated to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Musuem fund-raising auction this year.

The fabric is made from a watercolor piece I painted and sent to Spoonflower to be printed on fabric.  Then, I hand embroidered all the stitches on top.  

I hope it raises some serious money for this museum.

It's not often I have a photo of my art hanging in a home but when my step son and daughter-in-law came to visit me in my studio, they saw this piece and asked if I would give it to them.  They said they had the perfect spot to hang it.  It is a large piece called Tribal Dance and  now that I see it on the wall, I would have made it even larger to fit that space, given the size of the bench.  

But seeing it from afar, I'm so glad I added the orange to an otherwise blue palette.  These complimentary colors really make everything pop.

And, I'm also happy it is not hung where sunlight will fade the fabrics.  Having the windows on the top and side will give it enough light to see the piece without damaging it.  I can't wait to see it in person!

My continuing series on grids.  This time, instead of painting directly on the sketchbook, I'm cutting up pieces of gel printing pages I've made before and re-arranging them on the grid.  I love this  since it gies me even more ideas for making compositions.