Cynthia Shaffer

My Life At A Glance : : Fall 2012

As you have probably noticed I'm not the type to blog too much about my life, my kids or what's going on around here but thought I would give you a little glimspe of what my fall has looked like.

Dropped my oldest son Corry off at college, TCU in Fort Worth Texas ... and yes, that's all he packed!

Still have one kid at home and yes, I love to watch Cameron play baseball for Villa Park High School.

Taught a couple of photography classes and made some new friends along the way ... I'll be teaching Photo 101 again on February 23rd!

Did some photography of a few models for a modeling agency. Beautiful girls if I say so myself!

Photographed lots and lots of books here in my studio and out and about with my assistant ... Thanks Becky! 

Became completely addictied to boxing!

Joined in on the annual block party.

Aiden enjoyed the bike parade as well as cousin Tiffany!

Oh, and then Danita came to town and taught an amazing class at Studio Crescendoh and I got to be the class helper!

Then a relaxing day at the beach with Danita, Saul, Marielena and Leo ... 

Then back to TCU for parent weekend where Corry showed us some of his recent art projects.

And of course my favorite ... we went to the football game!

Somewhere during this time, the moon was huge and my husband and I had fun snapping photos.

Cut and sanded some birch panels for paintings and for grounds for some books I was shooting.

Photographed the lovely Tracy Verdugo at a workshop put on by Christy Nimeh.

And put a little paint on a canvas while I was there!

Sold 3 paintings at a gallery show at Studio Crescendoh.

Took lots and lots of photos of my pups Harper and Berklee.

Bought some fun parts and pieces at Glitterfest yesterday ...

And today ... in like 3 hours ... I'm off for a much needed week long vacation to Hawaii with a couple of friends, lots of yarn, a new book and of course my camera bag stuffed to the brim!

 

 

Collected Intuitions : : Saturday, October 6th!

So a few us artist types have been painting away for a few months now and the day has finally come to show our work ... Come see what we've been up to. 

You may remember here where I shared a few of the paintings I've been working on ... these pieces will be there for sale as well as a few other!

Saturday, October 6, 2012

7:00-10:00

Santa Ana Artist Village Walk

Santora Building

207 N. Broadway St. Suite L

Santa Ana CA 92711

 

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

On Art Journaling and Doodling

It's a funny thing ... I have never thought much about art journaling, except to think that that's just not for me. I'm not an art journaler type. And then again, maybe I am, but not in the way most people think of art journaling ... Who knew?

I have a few books, old book, that I carry around with me and when my mind needs a rest from life, baseball, photography, I'll whip that book out and just start doodling.

I've found out that before I can paint, like on a canvas, I have to get paint on some sort of surface, just to get the juices flowing again and to be reminded of the feel of the paint ... and ... to quiet my mind.

So what do I paint on, you might ask. Well sometimes it is a panel of wood, canvas or, as of late ... the doodles in my books. 

Without thinking too much and often late at night, like tonight, the paint comes out and happens to land on these doodles. 

And of course being the stitcher type that I am ... next thing you know ... I'm hand sewing on the pages with big running stitches and French knots. Oh how I love to hand sew!

I'm not sure if these pages are "done" ...

 I'm not worried about finishing anything right now, just happy to have my doodles and these old books to embellish, paint and sew!

 

Photography Class .... Taking Your Camera Out Of Auto Mode!

I'm so excited to be teaching this class again!

Photography 101
Shooting Beyond Auto Mode
with Cynthia Shaffer 
1-Day Workshop on
April 28, 2012 :: OR :: May 19, 2012  

If you have ever thought  about getting that DSLR out of Auto Mode ... Come and take this class. We cover a ton of info ... but I promise that by the end of the day you will be shooting in Manual Mode! 

Hope to see you in a couple of weeks!

Golden Demo and Paints

Last Sunday, a handful of us painter types were invited to Studio Cresendoh to learn about Golden paints and to hear Chris Cozen talk about this wonderful product.

After I quick intro by Jenny Doh, Chris was off and demoing and playing with paint, glazes, pastes ans so much more ... my head was spinning right from the start!

Chris gave us a quick overview of how Golden paints came to be and how the quality and the care behind the products can truly be felt in every tube of paint they produce. She explained the difference between pigments that are mined from the earth and then talked about the colors that are developed in the lab ... I was amazed and loved hearing all this information. It all made so much sense and now I understand why some colors sort of glow and why some are flat.

Golden provided a ton of paint samples and well as already prepared boards with their Fiber Paste and different Molding pastes slathered on them ... then we got to play!

So much fun and such great vibrant colors!

I brought with me a 12 x 12 inch canvas to play with and to add a bit of color so that that scary white canvas wasn't staring at me.

Here's Christy Nimeh, showing me her canvas she worked on ... how come hers looks all finished and pretty?

Mine, not so! After I came home that day, I couldn't stop playing and painting ... not sure where this will end up, but for not, this is what it looks like.

And here's JenEve ... posing just a little once the camera was aimed at her! Too cute.

And Jenny, forever the art collector ... purchasing one of Chris Cozen's beautiful works!

Thanks for a great morning Jenny and Chris!

 

 

 

The Studio is Ready!

Photography 101 class is tomorrow and the studio is all set up and ready to go!

And with a little luck the rain will stop right around 2:00 so we can go outside and get some great photos of the neighborhood.

In the studio I have a few different vignettes set up ready to be shot.

And then at the tables I have small pieces of art, cookies and flowers ... just waiting to be photographed.

If this group of ladies is anything like the last class ... everyone will love playing with this set,making this fabulous bokeh.

So ... stayed tuned and I'll post some photos of our fun day together.

Jennifer Mercede : : Amazing Class!

Can I just tell you something? Jennifer Mercede's class this weekend was amazing. This was her first class she has ever taught and let me tell you ... it was amazing, and she was an amazing teacher!

This is the one painting I did finish ... and I love it! It's actually really big, like 30 x 30 inches. I loved all the doodling and and all the layers and then more layers ... then more doodling ... then we covered it all up and started again.

On Saturday, the morning started out with a few fun warm-up type games ... so fun!

then Jennifer talks with all a little about how the weekend was going flow ... and what we were to expect ... and she was constantly asking us if the pace was ok, or if she could help in anyway ... so sweet!

And in no time were all blind folded and had to doodle all over our big canvases! So fun.

I thought I had covered my entire canvas ... or that the pen was not working at all ... 

Next we were to pick just one color and slather it all over the canvas ... not paying any attention to what was being covered up.

Then came the doodling and mark making ... and random words, what ever words were popping into our head were to be written down.

Next ... more doodling and random painting dripping and splattered.

And most of this painting so far has been done with these random house paints that I picked up a Home Depot for little to no money!

I was really having fun with the doodling ... these marks were all made with my left hand!

And just about the time I was kind of liking my painting ... we had to cover up 90% of it with random paint! I cringed at first, but then fell in love with it again.

Of course there would be a final challenge ... we had just one hour to finish our paintings ... needless to say ... I was sweating at this point ... but I did it ... I even had a chance to get some advice from Jennifer on a few things that were not feeling right.  Finished with a few monents to spare and  I loved my painting all over again!

This is one other piece I started to work on ... but ran out of time ... not sure where it's headed!

And this piece is still in the works ... hmmmm ... What to do next? Maybe more doodling ... always a good thing to do when you're stuck! I need to remember that!

 

Tag Explorations

 

Crescendoh is featuring my tags this week ...

You can find the entire tutorial here in the Gallery section!

Enjoy and Happy Crafting!

Uniform Project : : The Making of the Little Black Dress

After a little bit of brainstorming, I was off and running, searching for the perfect black/dark gray fabric to make our uniforms from. 

We decided on the middle fabric that I found at Fabric Land, my local high-end fabric store. Here's a couple reasons why we loved this fabric ... First we all liked the deep dark color and secondly, the fiber content is a polyester and rayon blend. Easy to wash and wear, and that poly will make the dress industrial strength and the rayon adds a little bit of fluidity and swing.

After taking Jenny's measurements, I then drafted a pattern for her, referring to a little sketch I had drawn and shared with everyone. OH how I love to draft patterns. It had been a while since I had really drafted a pattern and had to use my skills from my days in the garment industry. I loved it then and love it now. There's a bit of creativity in drafting a pattern ... your brain needs to be able to think in 3D terms and there is also a certain amount of math and science involved, which I also love! 

After cutting all the pieces out, I then over-locked or serged all the edges and did a quick stay stitch around the neck front and back and marked the center front with a long hand sewn basting stitch.

Next, I pinned all the pieces together and then basted all the seams together, yes, I run over the pins with my sewing machine!

This dress can be worn forwards or backwards and the insertion of this little pleat in the back or front, depending on how you are wearing it, really gives the dress that extra little flare.

After fitting the dress to Jenny, little to no alterations were needed, so I sewed over all the seams and then pressed them open, set the sleeves, dropped in the facings, marked the buttonhole placement and then stitched the 10 buttonholes! Yes, 10 ... count them. Oh, then came the buttons ... I decided to just use a random assortment of vintage and not so vintage black and gray buttons that I found in my black button mason jar.

And then to finish the dress ... the hem!

Check out Jenny's blog today and check out how many people are receiving fresh clean water! 

She's got this dress all dolled up and ready for a day out!

 

Project Home Ec and Water.org

Have you visited Jenny Doh's blog in the past few days? If you have then you know that she is at it again. This time, in the spirit of the Uniform project, Jenny is wearing a uniform, a little black dress (designed and stitched by yours truly) everyday for the next 365 days, all in an effort to raise money for Water.org.

There's a few of us that will be doing the same, but probably not to the extreme that Jenny is taking it. My promise was to wear my not-so-little black drees, whenever I take a class, teach a class or meet with friends or am at Bible study and so far ... that has been 18 days in a row now!

In addition to wearing the black dress daily, we have all agreed to not purchase any new clothes for a year and instead, make do, mend and alter what we already own.

Welcome ... Project Home Ec.

Come join us won't you? 

 

Photography 101 : Bring It On!

I just spent the last several hours setting everything up for my Photography 101 class tomorrow and I can't wait!

There's 1 spot left in tomorrows class, and a few spots still available in the March 17th class.

Small vignettes and sets are peppered throughout the studio, so that after everyone has a pretty good grip on the basics, it will be all about playing and practicing!

I'll be shooting while tethered to my computer so everyone can see what happens when I change aperture, lenses and perspective.

If you're interested in joining us, check out the class registration information here!

 

The Painting Studio : : Exploring, Sharing, Being

The Painting Studio is a safe place to explore ...

A place to share heart felt stories ... 

To be encouraged ...

It's a place to learn new skills ...

To make a mark or 10,000 ...

The Painting Studio is a place to listen ...

It's a place to connect with the essence of our loved ones ...

And a place to give a little piece of ourselves in every brush stroke ...

To try new things, then cover it up and start anew ...

It's a place to bring back the old and be willing to start fresh ...

And a safe place to make really bad choices ...

And best of all, it's the perfect place to see something through the good, the bad and then on to the even better and finally ...

To completion ... at least for now!

 

 

 

The Kits are Ready!

The kits are ready and my rolling crate is all packed with all the goodies needed for the 'Oh So Cozy' class this Saturday.

There's 3 very cute gift-giving projects being taught, just in time for the Christmas. This scarf is what I will be teaching ... Rolled Rose Brooch instructions included.

And in case anyone wants to purchase a cute gift for that crafty friend,I've put together a few rolled rose brooch kits with pre-cut strips, ready for crafting!

There's still a little time to sign up ... so hop on over here and check it out!

 

 Hope to see you on Saturday!

Shrink Plastic Projects : : Tutorial

I just can't seem to stop ... I'm in love with this darn shrink plastic. Check out some of my recent projects ...  this sweet little 'Art Saves' brooch.

 

Or this oh, so cute necklace ...

And why not ... on a simple white card?

Or ... glue it on to a card and embellish it with pearls and wire.

I just love the simplicity!

Here's What I Did:

• Sand a panel of white shrink plastic with fine grade sandpaper.

• Grab your favorite stamps and black StazOn ink, and stamp the image on the shrink plastic.

• Add a wash of color with chalks or pastels and pom poms and Q-tips.

 

• Add some dots and doodles with a black permanent marker.

• Punch hole in the piece to add beads and jump rings.

• Heat according to the directions on the shrink plastic package, or use a heat gun and a pie tin.
• Watch the plastic curl up, shrink, then flatten.

• Embellish with pearls and beads and add jump rings to hang as a necklace or glue on a pin back!

Way too cute if you ask me!!!

Hope you take some time to craft and play this week!

 

Stamped, Collaged & Watercolored : : Journal Tutorial

I recently enrolled in a super fun on-line class taught by Roben-Marie Smith. Her class is called Mixed Media Mayhem. You may have already heard about her class but in case you have not ... let me tell you ... it is GREAT! 

While I was waiting for some of the sprays and paints I ordered to arrive, I decided to dive in and watch the first few videos. Her technique is loose and uncomplicated ... don't think too much and just start. I love that! And the one thing that I found myself totally in awe with ... the movement and motion of her hands ... very inspiring!

 Here's a glimpse of what I've been working on since watching Roben-Marie's videos. This is not exactly what she is teaching in the on-line class, but this what I was inspired to make on my own. I'll post my work from her class at a later post.

Here's what I did:

• On a panel of watercolor paper, smudge and swirl a couple of colors of watercolor paint. Let dry.

• Using a rubber stamp (Stitches and Dots) and brown ink pad, stamp the image randomly on the panel.

• Dribble water onto the stamped image and move the ink around to smear. Dab with a paper towel to soak up the excess water.

• Add gesso with a paintbrush or your finger and randomly smear it over the stamped area.

• Using stencils, brown ink and a sponge, mark up the panel , then smear stencil image with water. 

• Add another layer of gesso and let the panel dry. (Use a heat gun to speed up the drying process)

• Using Letter stamps (Best Life Alphabet) and the brown ink, add letter and words to the panel and again, smear with dribbled water.

• Adhere an image from an old book page and a scrap of inked paper.

• Using a sewing needle and thread, stitch a running stitch through the panel.

• Continue to add more watercolors and gesso to the panel and sprites and splatter inks.

• Using a fine tip permanent marker, journal thoughts and words and then swipe it with another layer of gesso.

• Ink the sides of the panel and using your finger, smudge and smear the edges.

• Add small accents of bronze metallic acrylic paint.

After I have a bunch of these panels collaged and painted I'll be stitching them into an art journal ...

Stay Tuned!

Reverse Auction for Japan

Wow, wow, wow ... What an amazing group of artist! Check out the art here on Jenny's site. It's a reverse auction which means that all the art starts out at a certain price the first week and as the weeks go by, the price will lower.

 

I know that several of the pieces have already sold, so if you see something you like, and you want to help out the good people in Japan ... jump on it!

: : Art Saves : :

 

 Read my Art Saves story here at crescendoh.com.

 

 

Not to worry, it's a quick read!

It's Almost Time : : Stash Happy Patchwork!

In just a week or so, ok May 3rd to be exact, Stash Happy Patchwork will hit the shelves of the book stores. Very exciting ...

If you want a signed copy of the book, you can purchase it here at Crescendoh.com and you'll also receive this patchwork heart ornament that I made.

 

And here's a quick video that Jenny made!

So I'm thinking that I may need to scoop up my mom and Jenny (Jenny's latest book Signatures Styles will hit the stands on May 3rd as well) and go out for a little celebration lunch, then a quick stop at our local Barnes and Nobles!

Happy Stash Happy!

It's Time

One thing I am not is someone who changes her purse or tote every other day. I usually find a tote I like and wear the heck out of it, or I'll wait until my mom looks at me and says, "It's time."

So, here's my new tote. The best part, I took an existing tote and altered it to be the shape I wanted. I cut down the sides, painted circles on the front and then added some fabric circles and a little free motion stitching for the stems and stamen. 

 

Next I stamped  Art Saves, with the acrylic paint and then backed it with a bit of batting and a panel of burlap, then stitched it to the tote. I stitched a second stamped panel to the back pocket.

The back of the tote actually has two pockets on it, perfect for holding my keys and my cell phone that I can never find when it rings.

And finally, I sandwiched the side seams with jute webbing and stitched up one side, around the strap and down the other side!

How cute is this?

 

Oh So Tweet

Clear glass ornaments are the perfect blank canvas, just waiting to be embellished. For years now I have been quilting, painting and stitching on transparency film, rolling it up and popping it into ornaments.

The possilities are endless, but for these I used Pam Garrison's adorable clear stamps, Sweet Tweets.

Just cut out a small circle from felt, stamp your image using StazOn ink and then paint with acrylics.

You can go here to get a bit more info on how to cut the pattern for the transparency and see yet another variation of my clear glass ornaments using transparencies.

To attach the felt to the transparency,center the painted circle then just do a little free motion quilting around the outer edge.

Not sure if these ornaments will actually make it on a tree, they might just stay in my studio and hang from a favorite twig, or be givien away as gifts. 

Happy Stamping!