Seren
I LIKE ROUND THINGSThe envelope project has been great fun…and the envies have actually come back home…I only have about 15 people who have not submitted their envelopes. Which really isn’t a huge number in the scheme of things, but disappointing because I’m short for the number of issues I wanted to create. But I’m taking the proactive approach and have been working on a set of envies of my own. I figure if I create a couple every few days should be in pretty good shape and they won’t all look the same.
What I mean by look the same is that when I create art in a single sitting it seems that I want to use the same techniques and colors on each project. It’s almost as if I’m perfecting the idea with several versions…but that means I end up with 5 or 6 (and yes, its almost always 5 or 6) version of a “look”. I especially fall into that trap with color. 
PERFECTION IS OVERRATED
BLUE AND GREEN: A CLASSIC COMBOWhen I come into the studio I usually have a color on my mind…and so everything I create that day in the studio is rooted in that color scheme. As you probably all know by looking at my art, I love red and orange tones and use them all the time. When I make a conscious decision NOT to use my favorite colors, I almost always turn to green and purple. Blue is my least favorite color and if you see it in my artwork, it is a huge deal…the use of blue, for me, is always purposeful. I never start with blue on my mind. Though I really don’t know why.
DOWNTOWN DUSKI also get stuck with technique or product themes. For my envelopes I was having fun playing with letter stamps and acrylic paint. Since the next issue of my zine has a paint and ink focus, I was having a lot of fun playing with acrylic paint and solvent-based rubber stamp ink. I had a lot of fun trying to recreate Minnesota skies. I have come to find that Minneapolis has some of the most incredible sunsets/rises I’ve ever seen.
I have also found that the short stockiness of the skyline gives the city’s sunsets a hopeful, working-class feel that inspires me. I tried to recreate that look for some of my envelopes. I started out with the two red/orange based envelopes…just working on perfecting the color blending. I did simple rubber stamps to spruce those up…and then moved on to the skylines. I could cut my own skylines, but I like these very much…and I like using the same one over and over again…why I don’t know…and I can be sure they are exactly the same because they are a die cut from Archiver’s. I buy inexpensive black paper and cut several (last Thursday I cut 35 of them) to use in my stuff. 
SUMER SKYS
I hate going to Archiver’s so I try to do everything there that I need in one sitting so I don’t have to go back very often. I don’t hate it because it’s a bad place, I hate it because it’s always too damn hot in the EP store, the classroom is always crowded and the cutters are always a mess…broken, missing blades or just plain cut poorly. The aisles are too close together to get through easily with a purse and a basket…and the whole basket thing sucks profusely as well. It’s a very crafty place…which is not a bad thing, it just is. I have a crafy vibe to some of my stuff, but an artsy vibe at times too…hmmm…and sometimes the two side collide in an explosion of weirdness…and either way, I still find myself standing in Archiver’s, sweating and using the die cut machines.
If you want to see more of the envelopes that I've made, check out the gallery.
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