Hello Lovelies,
I was all set to put together a blog post with yummy gifts especially for artists- all the beautiful, luxurious, well crafted and shiny things, so many beautiful things that seduce us mixed media artists, the things we probably wouldn’t buy ourselves but which we’d love. I’d planned to follow up with this post about what our artists actually want. In the end I just didn’t feel to share all the “Stuff”, the commercialisation of the festive season and our sacred creative process. Really the most important thing in art making is the showing up to the process and to your creative impulses- time, space and inspiration. The rest is icing.
So, for fun here is what our artist’s actually want from Santa Baby ( if you want the other post as well, the list of gifts for artists, just let me know in the comments).
Tell us in the comments below- what does your inner artist want for Chrissy?
Galia Alena
The other day I was talking to Natalie and what we are both missing, heart ache missing, is travel. I LOVE to travel, to see the world anew with eyes of wonder, to explore, to be curious. to step out of my “normal” life, to meet new things, new ideas, new beauty. I love to create beautiful travel art journals which hold precious memories. These are some of my most treasured things. The adventures fill my creative well with inspiration that I draw on in my practice in countless ways. Even now, almost 2 years since my last travel adventure, I am dipping in to those experiences for inspiration almost daily. So what I really want is an adventure. Alas since that is going to be a hot minute or two before it looks viable I’m going to go for something a bit more tangible: a kiln.
I love working with clay, hands in the stuff of the earth, shaping it into beautiful things which is then alchemically transformed through fire. This is a practice I first started years ago when I was going through some, let’s say. trying times, with my children and the bullying they were experiencing. The physical practice of working the clay (as good as a punching bag) and then the creative transformation, got me through. When I moved back to Australia one of my missions was to find access to a kiln which was not so easy. When I finally did, Covid put a hamper on that. Perhaps a kiln of my own is the way to go, just a small one. I’d like a wheel as well but since I love to sculpt, I thought a kiln would be the place to start. It is on the top of my list right now, and since it is probably a bit big for Santa Baby to get down the chimney I am saving my pennies.
Holly McLaughlin
I'm all about creating layers and textures in my paintings. I've recently been playing with a few acrylic mediums that I had never much used previously. Those are matte super heavy gel, glazing medium, and clear texture gesso. I've enjoyed using these items so much that I've almost gone through my current stash. I'll be adding more of these to my Christmas wish list! When acrylic paint is mixed with the super heavy gel, you get an almost oil paint-like consistency and yummy thick texture that retains brush strokes. It's also a fun consistency for applying paint with your palette knife. Along with creating areas of thick texture, It's a medium that just feels really good to move around on your substrate. You could also use the heavy gel as an adhesive for collage or for sealing your finished piece. Glazing medium allows you to turn your acrylic paint into a transparent wash of color so that interesting marks and details underneath can still peek through. Previously I had used water to thin out my acrylics, but I'm getting much nicer results with the glazing medium. Finally, I've recently been applying clear gesso between layers. Clear gesso has more tooth than white gesso, so it gives more of a grainy texture that I appreciate. I love the look I get from dry brushing acrylic paint on top of clear gesso. With several layers of these mediums applied by the time I'm finished, it gives my paper an almost leather-like feel that I quite like!
Natalie Eslick
Santa baby, just slip a cabin in a cool alpine forest under the tree for me
I have been thinking hard, pondering with cups of tea, wistful gazes out into my yard, walking meditation, daydreams and thought exercises...what exactly, as an artist, would I like Santa to bring me this year?
And all I can think of (I will be honest it is what I think about a LOT) is something that most definitely won't fit under the tree. But it does contain trees.
All I want for (our summer) solstice, is time alone in a deliciously rustic, comfortable, inspiring cabin in a cool, alpine forest. I will bring the art supplies, and between the two, magic will be made.
This has been an extremely busy year for me, and collectively we have had such an emotional, uncertain couple of years, that most of all what I want (and what we all need!) is rest, quiet, connection and rejuvenation.
For me, that is anywhere quiet and cool (Australian summer and I are not friends. I top out at 25 degrees C. I am a delicate flower that wilts in the heat!). Far enough away from towns or cities to feel remote (though not necessarily actually remote), large windows that can be opened to cool breezes and birdsong, closed for cosy nighttime fires; a comfy sitting chair for reading and sketching and imagining; a table for my traveling easel; a kettle and copious teas; a bath (spa bath for extra points). There should be trees - lots of them - covered in mosses and lichens and fungi so small my nose almost touches them to get a good look. There should be the sound of wind whispering through leaves way up high, the rustle of tiny padded feet bouncing or meandering through underbrush and leaf litter. It should smell green and earthy and nourishing. My nose and cheeks will be cool to touch as I sit at the base of a tree sketching, absorbed in the intricate detail. My pulse slows, my breath is deep and nourishing, my heart feels full. Absorbed by infinite shades of green my artist's well is filled, inner harmony found, wonder and curiosity peaked. I feel connected to my Earth, to my practice, to my quest for reciprocity through creative process. Bonus points for chocolate covered strawberries on the table when I get back in after another day of painting plein air, sketching my surroundings, and taking in the magic that we are surrounded by. Shall I meet you there?
Fonda Clark Haight
Hey if you guys are anything like me….you have a wish list as an artist. What’s on my list this year? You may be surprised by my answer lol. Here’s the thing, for years and years I bought all the “in” supplies. The newest and shiniest. And yet I still come back to the same things over and over. Those of you who know me…you know that I am all about my caran d’ache neocolor 11’s and the stabilo. Add in some clear gesso, a few paints, and an old book and I am good to go. So this year my list is all about comfort. As I age, I realize that I cannot sit for long periods of time anymore. Last year for Christmas I bought a chair. A really expensive comfy chair. That helped but the bottom line is I can’t sit for long periods anymore no matter what chair I’m using. So these days I am looking for a standing artist’s desk.sy
Kristy Kensinger
Yasutomo Bamboo Sumi Brush
I love working in inks and watercolors. After a trip to Japan, I fell in love with sumi-e art and the beauty in simplicity with just brush and ink. This isn’t my photo I found it online but I have one of a similar brush as well I included.
Jenny Grant
I would love some XL Graphite sticks. I want to continue to draw and paint bigger and become even bolder in my art. I think that the yummy graphite sticks will give be a great tool to do just that.
Robin Sturis
I think the best gift I could receive right now would be 3 large gallery wrapped canvases. They are an invitation to paint and they are hard to buy for myself because they aren’t all bright and exciting like a new paint color. I’d ask for 3 because painting in multiples frees me up to be bolder and more experimental. I haven’t painted on a manufactured deep canvas. We used to make our own in art school where there were tons of tools, you could actually find a straight 2x4, and I had the hand strength to stretch the canvas. So the more I write about this the more I realize how perfect this gift would be.
Workshops with these artists:
