TIME TRAVELER | Online Class

Time Traveler - Online Workshop Kalbach Koopsen Valk

I’m beyond happy to announce I’m part of this very special workshop – Time Traveler!

I’m teaching along with my amazing friends Nathalie Kalbach and Birgit Koopsen in this three-week online workshop that goes on sale today and begins on August 17th.

Become a Time Traveler with us! With this course, Nat, Birgit and I will help guide you through space and time, finding inspiration from different eras in history.

Each teacher has chosen a time and will show you mixed media techniques and design motifs inspired by their modern take on that period.

The goal is to create three different handmade book projects using Gelli® plate printmaking techniques and favourite mixed media techniques unique to each teacher.

You will get three different artistic perspectives and oodles of fun and creative ideas to try.

Sign up TODAY for Early Bird pricing: Today, 5 through 8 August 11.59 EST this course is just $89 USD. From 9 to 17 August 11.59 EST Time Traveler will be $99 USD. And then, from 18 August the course will be its regular price of $139 USD.

Check out the promo video below:

Time Traveler will begin on 17 August and will run for three weeks, with a new video publishing each day.

There will be a total of 21 videos, over five hours of video in total, as well as supply lists and additional lesson content in the classroom to help you along the way.

All the videos are downloadable and available to you to enjoy at your own pace.

Here are some of the topics covered in this workshop:

  • Mixed Media techniques
  • Gelli Arts® gel plate printmaking techniques
  • Bookbinding techniques
  • Tips and tricks for translating inspiration into art
  • Creative ideas to take to all your artmaking, art journaling, cardmaking, and beyond!

Sign up HERE for this one-of-a-kind take on creating personal, expressive mixed media art in book form from three talented teachers.

Time Traveler - Online Workshop Kalbach Koopsen Valk

The Stencilfied Journal 2019

Marsha Valk | The Stencilfied Journal 2019 - Prompt 5 Stairway To Heaven

The Stencilfied Journal is a 24-week StencilGirl® Collaboration Challenge hosted by the fab Tina Walker. Each Monday from January to June, Tina has revealed a song prompt for us to play with (using stencils by StencilGirl® Products).

Marsha Valk | The Stencilfied Journal 2019 - Prompt 6 Thank You

This round wasn’t as successful for me as the first round during the summer of last year. Which is a shame, because I use song lyrics in my art journal all the time and, I immensely enjoyed the six prompts I did end up doing!

Marsha Valk | The Stencilfied Journal 2019 - Prompt 7 Counting Blue Cars

I figure it has something to do with my schedule at the beginning of the year and the fact that song prompts require more (mental) steps than last year’s ‘doing, not thinking’ type prompts.

Marsha Valk | The Stencilfied Journal 2019 - Prompt 8 Beautiful

I may, or may not, do a couple more of the prompts. I’m certainly not abandoning this little journal. I still love the pocket size, and I want to see it filled to the brim just like last year’s!

Marsha Valk | The Stencilfied Journal 2019 - Prompt 10 Another Brick In The Wall

Tina has written up a farewell post on her blog, with some of the stunning pages the other participants created. Visit her here: The Stencilfied Journal 2019 – Tina Walker

Marsha Valk | The Stencilfied Journal 2019 - Prompt 11 Cat's In The Cradle

Please note that though I am a columnist for StencilGirl® Products, this is not a sponsored post. I participated in this collab because it’s fun and I think Tina is thebombdotcom!⠀

Gelli Arts® & DecoArt® Collaboration | Summer Fun

Hi there! Gelli Arts® has teamed up with DecoArt® for some ‘Summer Fun’, and I’m here today to share the video I contributed to their blog collaboration!

For the collab, each of the participating Gelli Arts® Artists was gifted a box of DecoArt® Americana Premium paints and mediums to play with.

The theme ‘Summer Fun’ made me think of summer days in the yard and of vacations abroad.

Marsha Valk | Gelli Arts® + DecoArt® collab: Summer Fun mixed media collage monoprint

How-to

I’ve recreated a photo I found in Elle magazine. I started by sketching it on computer paper; then I scanned the sketch to reverse it, and to print multiple copies.

I used the multiple copies to cut several stencils of the scene, each to use with one or two print colours. The stencils (and cut out masks) also helped with printing multiple layers.

I mixed the DecoArt® Americana Premium paints to create colours that (kind of) matched the original photo, and I created texture plates by applying Texture Medium to scrap pieces of cardboard with a Gelli Arts® mini printing tool.

The ‘Summer Fun’ theme also reminded me of colourful dresses, so I decided to use another photo from the same magazine as a reference to draw a lady onto computer paper.

I painted her head first. Then I used Matte Medium and gel printed tissue paper to collage the multicoloured dress.

Once the collage was dry, I pasted the lady onto the gel printed scene with the same Matte Medium, and then I enhanced the print with shadows and added details using paint markers and coloured pencils.

Preserve summer memories

As mentioned, I used photos from a magazine as a reference to create my gel print, but you could also use a personal photo as the jumping off point instead. Wouldn’t it be fun to record a summer memory this way?!

Visit the Gelli Arts® blog to see what the other participating artists have created.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful summer (or winter)!

Materials used

Gelli Arts® 12” x 14” gel printing plate
Gelli Arts® 8” x 10” gel printing plate
Gelli Arts® mini printing tool
4” roller

DecoArt® Americana Premium Mediums Matte Medium, Texture Medium, White Gesso
DecoArt® Americana Premium Acrylic Paints Burnt Umber, Cadmium Orange Hue, Carbon Black, Cobalt Teal Hue, Dark Grey Value 3, Dioxazine Purple, Phthalo Green-Yellow, Primary Cyan, Primary Magenta, Primary Yellow, Pyrrole Red, Quinacridone Magenta, Titan Buff, Translucent White

Please note that none of the links in this post are affiliate links! However, if you use the code MarshaV at check out on the Gelli Arts® website, you get 10% off an order over $20, and I earn a small percentage of the sale.

Stencils

StencilGirl® Products Letters on Box stencil by Daniella Woolf
AALL & Create Stencil #9 by Autour de Mwa, Stencil #12 by Autour de Mwa, Stencil #32 by Carol AndCo, #36 by Aida Domisiewicz

Other

Magazine (Elle)
Computer paper (A4)
Cardboard scraps
Paper (A3)
Tissue paper
Craft knife + cutting mat
2” roller
Scissors
Black pen
Pencil
Paint markers
Coloured pencils

StencilGirl® Column | Create Themed Monoprints with StencilGirl® Stencils

Marsha Valk | StencilGirl® Column: Themed Monoprints

There’s a new column up on the StencilGirl® Talk blog!

In it, I share a video of me creating these monoprints inspired by the film ‘Isle of Dogs’, a Van Gogh exhibition and a couple of recent personal projects, using StencilGirl® Product stencils designed by Mary Beth Shaw, Nathalie Kalbach, Carol Wiebe, Daniella Woolf, Andrew Borloz and Rae Missigman.

Go to the StencilGirl® Talk Blog to read the column and to see the complete list of stencils, masks and materials used!

Have a wonderful week!

n*Studio | Vacation Mode

Marsha Valk | n*Studio: Vacation Mode

It’s my 25th turn on the n*Studio blog today! Which is super cool but also bittersweet as it’s actually my goodbye post…

I’m leaving the n*Studio Creative Squad!

I’ve just had a look at all of the projects I created in the past two years. Wow, did I make a lot of different things! And I remember all of the projects well, not in the least because Nat and Kim always make sure that there is an excellent theme for each month.

I can honestly say that there is a story behind every single n*Studio project I did and to me that makes my time with the Squad really special. The combination of the themes and Nat’s stamps and stencils challenged me in the very best way possible.

I experimented, even made some videos and always tried to come up with something fun. I’m incredibly thankful that Nat invited me to be part of her awesome team and it was an absolute pleasure to be a part of it!

There’s an overview of all of my projects (and that of my fellow Squad members) on the Creative Squad page on Nat’s website, if you’d like to have a look too!

This month’s theme is Vacation Mode, and there’s a step-by-step of how I created the cards above here: Vacation Mode – Marsha Valk

Enjoy your day!