Day 6: Our Favorite Things-Art Supplies Series: Paper - Pt. Deux!

Welcome to Day 6 of
"Our  Favorite Things - Art Supplies!" Series.  

In no particular order; Jodi, Penny, and Jean will take turns sharing a few of
their creative must-haves.

Hello, gang -- Penny here, again.  Did I throw you with the title for todays post?  My love of paper is indeed voluminous -- quite worthy of spilling into another rapturous post.  Today, I am speaking specifically about handmade papers.

There is something of the luxuriant and exotic inherent in handmade paper.  Many of them have the feel of fine textiles.  The crisp translusence of rice papers offer myriad possibilities; while sturdier natural fibers in banana paper or Nujabi can easily be finished to mimic leather (!) If bold, vibrant color is your thing, there is a world of color at your fingertips as you peruse lokta, mulberry, and other handmade varieties.

I had the good fortune to meet a family of paper-makers on a trip to Seoul, South Korea in the spring of last year.  In the short time I was in their tiny, street front shop *practically a stall* I encountered fellow shoppers that included:  a mother and daughter buying HUGE sheets of handmade paper to cover the walls in their dining/living room, university students purchasing papers for art projects, and a handful of fellow lovers of the refined pulp.

Another of the many reasons I love handmade papers is for their versatility.  They make for lovely additions to many forms of creative expression -- collage, card-making, home decor, and *of course* book making.

Patchwork Papers
A sewing-themed collage with a background of handmade papers
"quilted" with smaller squares of seed catalogue illustrations.

Grass (2 of 3)
Collage on 300 lb. water color paper.

Handmade paper as book covers
highlight the construction of this journal.

So...  How about you? 
What is your favorite way to
incorporate the beauty of handmade papers
in your creative endeavors?

For your chance to win our Fabulous ReMe Favorites Prize Package, please post your answer to the question below, in the comments section.  You'll also earn an extra entry for each time you share this post on social media.  Just be sure to post a link to your share here for us to count your extra entries.  (All entries must be received by 12:00 Noon, EST, on September 3, 2015.) 

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It's not too late to join us on Ocracoke in October!

Please use the link on the upper left side of this page to register.

When the link disappears, we’re full to capacity.

Stick around as the countdown continues.  We look forward to sharing with and learning from YOU.  

Day 3: Our Favorite Things-Art Supplies Series: Paper!

Welcome to Day 3 of
"Our  Favorite Things - Art Supplies!" Series.  

In no particular order; Jodi, Penny, and Jean will take turns sharing a few of
their creative must-haves.

Hello, gang -- Penny here.  In the continuation of our current series, I'm excited to share one of my favorite things with you:  Paper!  I fully realize that, to many, this will come as no surprise at all.  I am known to be quite the Paper H.O. *Heartily Obsessed*  Today, I am speaking specifically about art paper(s).


Far and away, my favorite Art Papers to work with are those from Strathmore.  I work most often from padded stock.  This is for several reasons:  
    -  it is economical (allowing one to accumulate variously sized papers for customization without multiple cuts to acheive 'standard sizes')
    -  it is frequently available at local retailers (either through Art Supply outlets, such as Jerry's Artarama -- or through mass market retailers, like Michael's or AC Moore)
    -  it is readily available in many formats/finishes, and allows me to tailor the finished project to the job it is designed for.  My favorite papers for Art Journaling are Mixed Media and Watercolor papers; while a better/less bulky choice for writing and/or sketching is Hemp Charcoal Paper
    -  it is rather easier to store than larger/bulkier parent sheets of paper. 

Plenty of options in size, format,
and paper finishes

Speaking of parent sheets (or, whole sheets of paper -- often 22x30 in. or larger), when it comes to working from larger stock it is hard to beat the luxuriant feel and substantial structural flexibility of Stonehenge -- a 100% cotton, printmaking paper made in US.

Luminous, rich, and with a superb feel
Stonehenge offers limitless possibiltiies for the book maker.

So...  How about you? 
Do you have a favorite Art Paper that is your "go to"
when building a book or
working within a commercially produced journal?

For your chance to win our Fabulous ReMe Favorites Prize Package, please post your answer to the question below, in the comments section.  You'll also earn an extra entry for each time you share this post on social media.  Just be sure to post a link to your share here for us to count your extra entries.  (All entries must be received by 12:00 Noon, EST, on September 3, 2015.) 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

It's not too late to join us on Ocracoke in October!

Please use the link on the upper left side of this page to register.

When the link disappears, we’re full to capacity.

Stick around as the countdown continues.  We look forward to sharing with and learning from YOU.  

Day 2: Our Favorite Things-Art Supplies Series: Acrylic Paints!

 Welcome to day 2 of "Our  Favorite Things - Art Supplies!" Series.  In no particular order; Jodi, Penny, and Jean will take turns sharing a few of their creative must-haves.

Happy Friday!  Jodi Here, carrying on with  our ReMe art supply love fest, day 2.

While I don’t have any pics of myself at age  5 or so to prove it, I believe my love affair with paint began one  sunny day while attending the  church pre-school.  I specifically remember me standing in front of an easel, dressed in my paint splattered smock admiring my abstract work that resembled a banana floating over blobs of color.   (My abstracts have changed only slightly since that time...heehee ;)

 (My abstracts have changed only slightly since that time...heehee ;)

“It’s brilliant!” the teacher said.  I happily agreed. 

It was perhaps the first spark of motivation that I needed to embark into a variety of painting endeavors while young.  Paint by numbers.  Coloring books that had watercolors embedded in the bottom of the pages.  Later on in middle school and high school, I clearly remember gigantic jars of cheap acrylic paint that looked good enough to eat.  And then like many,  my interests diverted to other things, some creative and some more ‘practical’.  Music, drawing, writing, and then I stopped it all for working in the field of retail management and banking.   Diversion or no diversion, the love for painting never completely died, it was simply put to rest until it was ready to come out again. 

When we first started talking here at “ReMe” about doing a favorite supply count down, without hesitation, my first supply that came to mind that I can’t live without is Acrylic paint.    The type of acrylics that I favor have changed over the years.   Having grown in my own skills and knowledge of what makes a great paint.  I truly appreciate the depth of color and the vibrancy of professional grade acrylics, despite the higher costs.  It's worth it.  Spend the extra bit of money for the vibrancy of color!      Without a doubt, there is no comparing the lush creamy pigments of a bold soft body paint. It's hard to resist colors that dance off the canvas. There are some pigments that practically sing with joy they minute they hit your substrate!  I’m in love with the sheerness of transparent fluid acrylics and have a penchant for the man made colors of the Quinicridone and Phthalo family.         When feeling playful and looking for additional ‘jazz’ to liven up my work, the shimmery quality of acrylics mixed with mica flakes in the Silks Acrylics are perfect to grab.

Some of the many fabulous Silks Acrylics that I'm enamored with.

Can you tell that these are well loved and certainly very much used little soldiers?  How I love me some Golden Paints!

I love the creamy soft body acrylics that Liquitex creates.  Yum Yum.

When you love something, just go BIG. I love Matisse paints too and have found it's just more economical to go big when you use a ton of  the colors.   Here you see just a glimpse of my table. As you can see, it's full of fun supplies and must have tools :)

I love to get my fingers into the paint.

I love the fact that acrylics are versatile and can be transformed by glazes, washes, stains, and embodied with textures while mixing in mediums.  Whether layering, scratching into, writing over, building up texture, mixing together, scraping, brushing or dripping, I’m in my happy place with acrylics.

Some of my favorite brands are Golden, Matisse, and Liquitex, and Colourarte.  If I had to choose 4 or 5 or 6 , or 15 colors that are my current favorite here they are :  Aqua Green Light (Matisse),  Permanent Violet Dark (Golden),  Australian Sienna (Matisse),  Baltic Green (Liquitex),  Green Gold (Golden),  Cobalt Teal (Matisse), Light Blue Violet (Liquitex),  Quinicridone Magenta (Golden),  Diarylide Yellow  (Golden);  Olive vine Green, Ginger Peach,  Key Lime,  Plumeria,  Snap Dragon,  Cinnamon Brown  (all Colourarte Silks Acrylics).

I’m just looking at my table right now and it’s fairly obscene how many colors of paint I own.

Who am I kidding, it’s hard to choose one color that is my 

favorite or just a few. 

One of my new abstracts...here you see several of my favorite colors in their glory and mixed with each other to come up with my own signature palette of colors.

Here you can see that my students have a love of color, too.  All across the country, I've had the blessing to be surrounded by eager students and art enthusiast that share an affinity of color and texture in their acrylic painting journey.

I hope you had some teacher, friend, family member or even total stranger tell you that you are brilliant and have a touch of magic in what you do.  It can lead you on an amazing journey of discovery and passion for that thing that will make your heart spill over in happiness.

As you can see here, one of the first affirmations I received at the age of 5 (whether it was truly warranted or not) has led to some great experiences and an ever growing love for art supplies and all things creative.

So for your question, tell me what colors are you in love with at the moment and 

brands?  Tell us who you are ‘seeing’ this week!

For your chance to win our Fabulous ReMe Favorites Prize Package, please post your answer to the question below in the comments section.  You'll also earn an extra entry for each time you share this post on social media.  Just be sure to post a link to your share here for us to count your extra entries.  (All entries must be received by 12:00 Noon, EST, on September 3, 2015.)

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BTW-----We would LOVE for you to be with us for our flagship ReMe retreat on Ocracoke Island .


There’s still time to join us on Ocracoke in October!

Please use the link on the left side of this page to register.

When the link disappears, we’re full to capacity.

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Visit  Jodi's Etsy shop and see what's new!

Check out Jodi's online workshops which are all on sale now through the end of August.

Creative Workshops

Arte Village

Sharpie Markers! - ReMe Retreats' Favorite Art Supplies - Day One

Today we'll kickoff the "ReMe Retreats' Favorite Things - Art Supplies!" Series.  In no particular order; Jodi, Penny, and Jean will take turns sharing a few of their creative must-haves.  In the following, we'll begin with Jean's Ode to Sharpie Markers.

Journal Page in Sharpie by Brittany Gabel.

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My sister, Janet, is 18 months younger than I am.  As the children of practical parents we often had duplicates of the same toys and clothes, and Mom and Dad would use a Sharpie Marker to distinguish our individual treasures.  This is my earliest memory of a Sharpie Marker at work, and for as long as I can remember, Sharpie Markers have been strategically placed around our home.  

Sharpies were sacred and taboo then.  Sacred, because they held the mystique of something reserved "for adults only".  Taboo, because our parents recognized the inherent danger of them in our creative little hands.  My coffee table, which was once my parents coffee table, still bears the mark of some of my earliest work underneath its top, a self portrait, strategically placed where I was certain that no one but me could see it! 



As I began to identify myself as an Artist, Sharpies played an increasing role in my life.  I used them in Artist Trading Cards, Inchies, and in other Mixed Media works.  Their bold mark making ability and the extensive array of colors in which they were available thrilled me to no end!

During my transition into the world of jewelry and metal arts, Sharpie Markers served as my earliest form of patina.  This was in the days before I knew that a patina was a patina.  I would color my finished metal piece with a Sharpie Marker and wipe ink from the high spots of the piece with a bit of alcohol.  This is a technique that I still use from time-to-time today.

Today, Sharpies rule when it comes to a resist in my metal etching!  When I travel to teach, I always bring several dozen, and  I generally keep two or three different colors and point sizes in my purse just-in-case I need them.  

Etching with a Sharpie Resist results in consistent deep results.

Journal Page in Sharpie by Patty Sieck.

And of course, Sharpie makes more than permanent markers!  There are water based paint markers, oil based paint markers,  counterfeit detectors, metallics...and neons...and highlighters... oh my!  

In closing, and for the sake of full disclosure, "Hi.  My name is Jean, and I'm addicted to Sharpie Markers."  

(Please respond together with, "Hi Jean!".)
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For your chance to win our Fabulous ReMe Favorites Prize Package, please post your answer to the question below in the comments section.  You'll also earn an extra entry for each time you share this post on social media.  Just be sure to post a link to your share here for us to count your extra entries.  (All entries must be received by 12:00 Noon, EST, on September 3, 2015.)

Please share your love of Sharpies with us.  How do you use them?  Which is your favorite?  Do you too fear a world without Sharpies?!?!?  

Thank you for visiting, and be sure to check back tomorrow for another chance to win.

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There’s still time to join us on Ocracoke in October!

Please use the link on the left side of this page to register.

When the link disappears, we’re full to capacity.