Brenda Pinnick -news, ideas, events and more...

well, hello!

It's been awhile! 

I took a little sabatical from social networking (or networking in general, for that matter.) I needed some time to rethink a lot in my life and to examine what's working and what's not working. I'm convinced this is a healthy thing to do from time to time - taking time for ourselves, to listen to our heart, to heal some old wounds and make exciting, healthy plans for our future. Once I did just that, I was overwhelmed with creative energy and am currently working on several collections, all at once! AND, they are reflective of my new attitude and renewed passion for art making. LIFE IS GOOD!

Here's a little prayer I heard recently which I think is worth sharing...

I love this. 

Thanks for visiting!

Final day!

For those of you who have been participating in my daily card making, giveaway week, today it your last chance to make sure you've posted on EACH DAY, on BOTH BLOGS in order to be eligible to win the 

.............

From Faber-Castell-  Red, Yellow, Green and Blue Mixed Media Samplers, Red/Yellow & Blue/Green Gelatos, Red/Yellow & Blue/Green Writing Sets. In other words, THE WHOLE ENCILLADA! What a terrific prize from the genius minds of the Faber Castell team! 

And from me, a place to put all that amazing product to work - The winner will receive a full admission into my upcoming webinar workshop series, beginning in January, 2012! I've decided to finally, after being asked over and over, to create on-line workshops for my BRENDA PINNICK COLOR U, so 2012 is the beginning of my on-line teaching program! If you are the winner, you will be mailed a certificate with your admission information. 

The first workshop series is a combination of color exploration and learning done in mixed media format, using a variety of both art and craft materials. The series will be done in 8 sessions, available for viewing at your convenience! These lessons are both fun and educational and you will NEVER LOOK AT COLOR IN THE SAME WAY AGAIN - I promise! With my fine art and design education and years of professional experience, I am ready to share techniques and knowledge you can't get just anywhere AND, I make it FUN! Yes, you could buy tons of books, spend hours reading and practicing and, even take college level classes to gain the knowledge I'm ready to share, but wouldn't you rather enjoy learning while having fun creating? 

If you didn't win and would like to know more about this exciting series debut, please join my mailing list and everything you need to know will be in your in-box soon! ( dear hubby...Christmas gift idea...)

Thank you for joining us over the last week and tomorrow morning, before noon est., the grand prize winner will be announced. So- if you haven't already done so, go back into each day's post, on both blogs and leave your comments, answering the question posed for that day.

See you tomorrow!

Day 6 card and giveaway with Faber Castell Design Memory Craft!

Welcome to day 6 of my 7 day card crafting / giveaway week!

Thank you for all the thoughtful comments, it's so interesting the different points of view on the floor color choices. Each suggestion could totally work in that space - I've decided on a clean, clear apple green for my floor. Green is energetic while grounding. It also invokes creative thinking and is easy to look at for long periods of time, (think of a beautiful, rolling pasture or forest). Green is considered a neutral and it is wonderful as a stand alone hue to combined with a variety of other hues...perfect for my studio! 

WINNERS -Friday's winner is Cori and yesterday's winner is Kimberlee, as chosen by random number generator. Congrats, Kimberlee and Cori, please send me an email with your mailing address! brenda@brendapinnick.com

Today's prize- Day 6 Red Ink & Aquarelles Set, Red PITT artist Pen Set, Red/Yellow Gelatos, AND, from me, you will win a set of fabric fat quarters ( 4 ) from my last collection, Couleur Vie. Even if you don't sew, these fat quarters are great for all types of crafting including scrapbooking, card crafting and more.

Tomorrow is the grand prize and it's pretty darn wonderful!!! ****** In order to be eligible to win, you must have commented on every single day, on both blogs -here and on http://designmemorycraft.typepad.com/ 

so if you haven't already done so, go leave your comments on each day's post and you might be the LUCKY WINNER!

Today's card-

Once again, I used my Piccadilly Circus stamps and Faber Castell BigBrush Markers to create this purse card.The circle is made from a piece of diecut chipboard and metallic paper, cut from my new dies for jewelry making, found here, on the Sizzix website or in various retail outlets. If you would like this pattern, just join my mailing list today and it's yours for free! I'll email it to you personally.

Thank you for your continued visits and I so look forward to the big day tomorrow!! See you then!

Thank you Cori for pointing out that I left out my daily question! (never post before morning coffee)

Today's question- Do you feel you understand color theory and all it's complexities? If no is your answer, would you be interested in taking an on-line class to learn more about color? 

Day 3 card and giveaway with Faber Castell Design Memory Craft!

Welcome to day 3 of my card crafting series and give-away! 

Yesterday's winner is...conniemelancon! Congrats, Connie! You've won your choice of two prints from my Etsy store! You'll need to send me your addy - brenda@brendapinnick.com then I'll get them sent to you.

OK, let's show the card already...

We talked about color combinations earlier and here's one I'm all over lately. This combo is relaxing with the turquoise but refreshing with the greens. A small bit of yellow adds some happy, which we all love!

For this card, I used my Sizzix products, available on HSN.com or from various craft supply stores across the country or the web. The base is cut from my Decorative Edge Stationery Die, using Strathmore's Bristol board, one of my Favorite surfaces to work on. The embossing was then done using one of my Sizzix Embossing Folders, the Birds and Flowers set, also on HSN.com, a terrific value kit including 10 folders!

For the coloration, I used Faber Castell's Big Brush Markers and watercolor pencils. I love the mix of strong saturated hues with softer tints of the same hue. The pencils are great for subtle blending - I used a little bit of water to create soft transitions in the coloring. Even though the markers are India ink, while they are still wet, you can use water to dissolve them and move them around, using a small paintbrush.

Okay, now for day 3 prizes: From Faber Castell, Yellow, Green & Blue sets of Art GRIP color pencils and from yours truly, one of my embossing folder two-packs, available on Sizzix.com

And finally, today's question, inspired by Carla's comment about her husband- Do you and your husband or significant other or best friend tend to like the same general family of hues? 

Leave your comments here and on Faber Castell Design Memory Craft Blog to be eligible to win!

Oh, and please tell your friends about my 7 day giveaway! 

looking for the rainbow

As I was walking Paisley this morning, I realized I was doing it again. I have a habit of always  looking down when I walk. I've had people point this out to me on more than one occasion. I have no idea where or when I picked the habit up but every once in a while, I find myself still doing it. This morning was one such occasion. We were on the most beautiful part of our country road, situated between a meadow and a pine forest. I was deep in thought about the day's work ahead of me, making my mental lists of business chores and what art needed to be finished today. As I realized I was walking with my head down, I immediately looked up to realize there were 3 beautiful deers just a stone's through from me! I almost missed seeing them! 

This makes me wonder - how many times do we get so focused on our daily actiivities that we forget to look up and see the wonder of the unexpected, the new, the different and in this case, the beauty? 

And conversely, how often do we focus too much on what other people are achieving without really focusing and appreciating that which is right at our feet? 

your unique style

It's something many of us struggle with as artists. Maybe you're like me - I'm one of those people who is blessed/cursed with being able to work in many styles. There are days when I want only to do abstract paintings and then there are days which I long to go outside and paint plein-air. And because I'm also a graphic/ product designer, some days, it's typography and package design I'm fixated on. I guess this has served me well, I'm able to meet the needs of plenty of different types of manufacturers from crafting to gift and homegoods, while satisfying my own creative needs as well, which is very, very important to do in order to grow and expand as an artist.

What I've realized in this past year is that my unique vision comes in the form of color. No matter what art I'm working on, for me, color is the message. The palettes that I use are what bind all my efforts together. Whether it's pattern, icons, type, graphic and even jewelry making, color is the most important component to my work. Now I know that. Finally. Gheesh. It's like Dorothy and her ruby slippers, it was there all along. I spent way too long trying to decide my "style". MY STYLE IS COLOR. 

 

I read posts  and see images on facebook of many emerging artists, from Etsy and elsewhere, who are basically trying to be someone else in their work. A recent success story of an Etsy artist being discovered by a big gift manufacturer has spurred all kinds of wannabes within that community. This artist has tons of "followers", almost in a bizarre way. The artist doesn't have the years of experience that many of my artist friends have. Nor does this artist have years of business experience. But, because her art hit a note by being at the right time and in the right place with the right message, people want to know her secrets and are willing to pay big, big money. It's an odd phenomenon, really. I wonder just how long it will last? It has a lot of people scratching their heads... including me. I hope they really are getting their money's worth, not a bunch of hype and wishful thinking. Making a living as an artist is HARD WORK. When I meet someone new and tell them what I do, the inevitable "oh how fun!" response comes out of their mouth even before I've finished my sentence. Yes, when you have a big hit, when the money comes (actually, it's more like if the money comes ) there is that feeling of being so blessed to be able to do what you love. I am grateful for this - many people get in their cars and go to a job they hate every day of the work week. sad. But, they know that there is a paycheck waiting for them on the other end. Oh, and benefits like paid vacation, medical, dental, 401Ks. It's awesome to be an artist but don't let anyone tell you it's easy. It isn't.

If you're a new artist, the best advice I can give you is to make A LOT OF ART. A. L.O.T. - fill your basement with mistakes, as I have. Don't worry about being trendy, don't copy others, just be your own true self while learning technique. Look at many different models of success, not just one. Enjoy the process, even though sometimes growth is painful. Learn from it. I've been making art since I could hold a crayon. I've never even considered being something other than an artist. But guess what? I still learn every day and yes, I throw away more work than you will ever know! You've got to let the ugly out in order to get to the beautiful...just let it out. 

A little help from my friends....

It's not often I ask for help. Almost never. BUT, I really, really needed some help these past couple of weeks and put out a call to some friends here in the States who work in the crafting industry. Carol Heppner ( Queen of Creativity )and Lisa Rojas ( The Stamping Queen ) were so kind and generous, I want to thank them publicly for their HUGE contribution to my HSN show, airing on Monday, 9/26/11. I also want to thank the Faber-Castell Design Team for their help! They created projects showcasing my stamp line and Faber-Castell gelatos, big brush pens and more from the new Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft line. 

I asked Carol to share a bit about herself here on my blog as well as a couple of pictures. First, look at the card she created using my stamps!

This card is a mini work of art! Thank you Carol! 

Here's Carol's information if you would like to hire her for project design. She's the consummate professional! Read all about her below-

Learn more about  Carol-

As a mixed-media artist, writer, and design member of the Craft & Hobby Association, I work with various craft manufacturers and national craft publishers, providing them quality design services to assist in growing their business and inspire consumers. 

Through my books, published articles, and Internet articles, I show crafters how to create fun projects in many different mediums.   I love working in paper arts, but I am also passionate about batiks, wearable art, and digital photography.   

I am a bit of a chameleon in my style – or I should say, styles.  I am equally comfortable working in a grunge or aged look as I am with ultra feminine, frilly style and every style in between.  Many times, my style is inspired by the company for which I am working or the needs of the project.  It can be altered by the audience who will view it as well.  This is a plus when working with many different manufacturers, publishers and editors.  If there is one signature that you can pin to my style, it would have to be an asymmetric look.  I find asymmetric composition to be more interesting.  

I really enjoyed creating greeting cards with Brenda’s new Sizzix® Textured Impressions, XL BIGZ stationery die with a decorative edge and her new line of rubber stamps.  They made creating the cards so much fun and allowed me to be a chameleon -- because they worked with every style I tried.  Her rubber stamps worked beautifully and the images came out so crisp.  Each set can produce as many different looks as you can imagine.

 If you like the look of the cards I created, you may enjoy my new inking tutorial that can be found on my blog,http://heppnerstudio.blogspot.com.   Carol’s Chronicles is a new publication that deals with paper art tutorials.

*******Tune into HSN on Monday, Sept. 26 for a full day of incredible crafting values. See Brenda in the 12 noon hour, eastern time, showing and selling her Sizzix Textured Impressions and her own stamp line.
    

Creativity and Perseverance

This past week I've been reflecting on creativity. I've been in a highly creative mode lately, to the point of even designing in my sleep and waking with so many ideas I am overwhelmed. I'm so grateful for this. Although, it does make the days seem way too short.

When I was growing up, we lived on a country road two miles from town. We had a small toy drawer with maybe 10 or 12 items we three children shared. Actually, we spent most of our time playing outside. We lived in an old farm house with several outdoor buildings. One was a chicken coop, one was a corn crib and the other one was a livestock scales house. There were fields and streams nearby, lots of apple trees to climb, a large garden and on the east side of our land were lots of grapevines and berry bushes - all fodder for creative play.

We made a teeter-toter from a fallen log and the stump. We used whatever we could find to make things, like pretend food or forts or tunnels. It was a great way to develop creative thinking and I'm glad I had the opportunity to play in that way. I wish all children could experience this wonderful way to use their imaginations.

Edwin Land (co-founder of Polaroid Co.) said, "An essential aspect of creativity is not being afraid to fail."

Remember being a child and believing you could do anything? I convinced myself I could fly and jumped off the side porch. When I landed on the ground, I remember thinking that I just had to try harder next time. And I did. Again and again and again. Now I fly in my dreams! So, in a way, I did succeed ; ) I believe it's a fine line between perseverance and knowing when to quit, one I think we all struggle with. The good thing about creativity is that it can be nurtured and it seems to grow exponentially. If you're stuck, just start anywhere. Use a new tool or a different approach to get you started. Sometimes just creating in a different space can change the way you think. Try it- it works!