Holiday Fun with Barb Owen – Parts 1 and 2

The holiday celebrations are well underway! Almost every year, my husband (Clausman) spends weeks with wood chips flying as fast as his knives and gouges can move. This year he carved quite a few renditions of Santa Claus as well as several adorable Snow People. Once the carvings are finished, I take over and spend many late nights painting, after I finish my other work for the day. It’s always exciting to see each personality emerge. We collaborate about the accessories that each piece needs to complete it. This year Clausman hand carved dozens of snowballs, quite a few pipes (including corncob pipes), several birds, a dog, and a cat. Each tiny wood piece requires the same precision and a LOT of attention so no errant knife cuts happen!

You can see each carving and hear the little stories that accompany them during Part 1 of Drama-free Friday. (Technical Difficulties necessitated 2 Parts for this show.) Some of the pieces are so tall that showing proved to be challenging! 

Next up – Christmas cards. I don’t mail a lot of cards, but I love having a stash of cards to use for special or overlooked gifts. I’d much rather give a card I made than a commercial card – although I keep a stash of those, too, 😉

Several years ago I drew images inspired by the art of Joanne Fink to use as card fronts. I scanned the inked drawings into my computer so I could print multiples each time. I print them on White Card Stock. After the printer ink is thoroughly dry, I decide how to color them. During Drama-free Friday, I used images that I sprayed with diluted SEI Tumble Dyes. The dampness from the sprays warped the paper, but a warm steam iron flattened them again.

I colored each illustration with Prismacolor Premier and Prismacolor Scholar pencils. Blending is easy with a Blending Stump and Odorless Paint Thinner. All details are Gelly Roll Pens. The Metallic Gelly Roll Pens are especially nice for holiday cards. For a little sparkle, you can’t beat the Clear Star Pen!

A Black Card Stock mat behind the artwork really helps frame it before attaching to a pre-folded 5” x 7” card base. I always add some Archival Ink around the edges, too.

Be sure to click the images below to see details.

I’m so grateful for each of you – for the time you spend with me – for your kind comments – and just for YOU being YOU!

I wish you a peaceful holiday season and a very Happy New Year!

Until next time ~

Remember to Get Creative today! It's Easy!!

Barb

PS: The next LIVE episode of Drama-free-Friday will be January 5th, 2018. I hope you join me so we can create and chat together.