DogmawBlog » Tutorial

Making a Pillow Bead

johoff — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:54:10 +0000

This video was on my previous blog, but somehow it didn’t make it here. So this is a command performance of “how to make a pillow bead using a press”.

ATC Boxes

johoff — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0000

This week I thought I’d share the ATC boxes I make, along with a few hints in case you want to make your own. If you aren’t familiar with ATC’s, they are Artist Trading Cards. The one rule that makes an ATC derives from their origins: the dimensions of the ATC must be 2.5″x3.5″. They are not for sale, they are for trading. If you have a piece of artwork the same size as an ATC but want to sell it, it is called an ACEO instead. (artist card editions and originals)

I wanted to show you some pictures, so I went to ArtFire and did a search for ACEO’s. They are at the bottom of this post, and clicking on one will bring you to the auction site where you can get a better view of them. As you can see, they don’t even have to be made out of paper!

In any case, I found these cute little white metal tins at the Mercantile Store in Pendleton, and decided to decorate them. This one I colored with chalk inks and heat set them. If you don’t heat set them they will smear forever! The base colors are blue and purple, with a darker purple on top. Each layer needs to be heat set individually. (ask me how I know) Then I took some cool gears I had and put them on too, just for a little added texture. I’ll be showing you more boxes later this week!

Lighting your work for sale online

johoff — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 13:25:00 +0000

I have a terrible time taking pictures where the color looks right, and the background doesn’t distract from the item I want to sell. Things that shine, like glass and metal, are extra difficult to photograph. So I went to the local expert at the Clemson Arts Center, Del Kimbler, and he was generous enough to take a look at my photos and tell me how to fix them.

1. Don’t have a distracting background. For this quilt, I put it up against the side of the house. Although our house is white, you can definitely see the siding which creates additional lines distracting from my piece.

You can also see that my piece didn’t hang flat because of the breeze outside that day. Outdoor pictures are a last resort. A better idea is to get an inexpensive easel and put a piece of white non-shiny cardboard on it. That would have given me a stable non-distracting background to shoot on.

2. Use only one kind of lighting. While it matters what type of lights you use (halogen, incandescent, ott lights, outdoors, florescents, etc) use only one kind at a time. This picture was shot using a mix of ott lights and incandescents. Each one has a different spectrum which makes it hard to get true colors. This piece is actually lavender, not brownish.

In fact, Del suggested not using ott type lights at all. It has some spikes in the color spectrum that make it difficult to get true colors. He said that for the best image, halogen lights are the way to go.

3. Use a light tent! A light tent diffuses the light shining on what you are trying to photograph, so you have fewer “hot spots” (really bright points of light) in your picture. Fewer hot spots means less editing. Here is a 32″ light tent I bought from Harbor Freight. It folds down for easy storage in case you don’t have a permanant place to take pictures. At $28.99, it is cheaper than trying to build your own, which is what I did the first time.

4. Last, but not least, be sure to show off your work! Take it places, show it to perfect strangers and hand out your card, especially if they complement you on it first! Put it up for sale on your favorite auction site. I’ve been using Etsy and Artfire. I’m terrible about listing every day (which is what you are supposed to do to keep people coming back to your store) but I tend to go on listing frenzies. That is what I did yesterday afternoon with these 2 pieces, and a whole bunch more besides.

So good luck, and I hope this helps! Oh, and if you are thinking of using Artfire, I am still looking to sign up 5 more people. If I can do that, I get a free account for life! Then you can sign up 10 people, and get free listings for yourself too. So pleasepleasepleaseplease use my link to sign up.

Using a Pillow Press

johoff — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:42:00 +0000

I had requests for information on how to use a pillow press. Rather than do a standard still picture tutorial, this morning we made a video! It isn’t perfect, but I’m pretty sure you can get the idea from watching it. Oh, and if you want to see it slightly bigger, it is on youtube as well.

I’m in Glass Line Magazine!

johoff — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 21:27:00 +0000

Yep, I have a new tutorial using Satake glass in the latest issue of Glassline Magazine. You can’t see it very well, but my name is on the front cover.

I got an extra issue so I could pass it on to one of my lucky blog readers! All you have to do is post a comment to this blog saying one nice thing you have done this week. I’ll pick a name out of a hat this Wednesday evening, and the lucky winner will get a free copy! Signed or unsigned, you choose.

EDIT: people have asked me what I mean by “nice”. Nice could be you didn’t flick boogers on your boss when he really deserved it. Nice could be giving your friend a “thumbs up” on her new hairdo when it really looks like something a poodle would wear. You pick!