Inchie Maze

As many of you know, I really like mazes. I like to draw them, and have loved drawing mazes since middle school. So, when we were asked to do a fun project for the Inchie Blog Hop, I knew I should make a Valentine maze.

I started with a 2" Inchie Arts Matboard square in a light cream color. I grabbed my fine little 0.03mm Multiliner and started drawing my Valentine maze.

Just so you know, there is a solution to this maze, I don't know what it is, but there IS a solution! It took me a couple minutes to finish drawing the maze. Now for color.



Mat board is a bit softer fibered than the papers I usually work on, so I wanted to do as little blending as possible in order to prevent bleeding. I've played with Inchies a lot over the last few years, so I knew that I could get away with starting dark and adding my light back in, and that would prevent bleeding more.

I started with a dark purple "glow" to the background with V17. I kept the edges rough so they will be easier to blend. Just so you know, the color dries lighter than you think on this surface, so I added another coat of color after the base coat had dried. This helps me get the darkness I want.


Next I came in with my lighter, BV13 to blend the V17. I was careful to avoid over-soaking the paper, as I wanted the other hearts to be lighter.

Then I proceeded to color and blend the smaller hearts as I usually would, starting light and adding dark.

I used RV02, R43, V12, V04, B41, BV00, and RV10

I finished my cute little Valentine by coloring a piece of ribbon with my V17 marker and glued it on the back using the X Press It Gel Glue.

I know that my secret Valentine at work today would love it! (I had to wait to post this in case she saw it online before she made it to work today). She is an aMAZEing person, so she totally deserves a cute little maze valentine.

Remember, if you are local, stop by the Oregon Asian Celebration this weekend to see the Copic demos in the Youth Art Room.

I hope you have a very happy Valentine's Day. Be sure to give something handmade to someone this weekend!

Be My Inchie!

Welcome to the Colorful Copic & ART SQUARES blog hop!  

You are in for treat today as Copic pairs up with the ever popular Art Squares by Inchie Arts.  There are so many things to love about this pairing! 

Did you know: 

• Art Squares are the perfect canvas for creating small-format art!
• They come in 6 sizes (1 inch, 1.5 inch, 2 inch, 3 inch, 4 inch, and ATC).
• Art Squares come in 7 colors (black, dark gray, light gray, kraft, dark cream, light cream and white).
• They are perfect for wet or dry mediums.  
• Copic markers and inks look amazingly vibrant and deliciously rich on Art Squares!
• Copic multiliners glide smoothly across the surface.
• Work on the “top” or toothy side for the best results. 
• You can mix and match your mediums! No warping, bending or curling.  

You can find more information about both Copic products and Inchie Art Squares at the links below. 

Copic Website

All In An Inch - Inchie Arts Blog

Our teaching and design teams have been challenged to put marker (or ink) to these precision-cut matboard surfaces and see what happens!  (You are not going to BELIEVE these samples… trust me - they rock!)

Hop along with these talented designers as they show you some more interesting and exciting ways to pair up two great products!  

Elizabeth Allan/Jill Foster

Michele Boyer

Lori Craig

Sharon Harnist

Michelle Houghton

Dina Kowal

Cindy Lawrence

Lisa Lee

Debbie Olson

Colleen Schaan

Sherrie Siemens

Marianne Walker- click to see my project!

Blog Winner!

It was so nice to read all the comments welcoming Jennifer!  Here is the winner randomly chosen on Sunday:

Maria said...

Huge congrats to Jennifer! She is a fabulous artist! My favorite copic colors are any of the reds and blues B00, BG15, R24, R29...etc!:-)And, thanks for the chance to win!:-)

Congrats Maria!! And, thank you all again for participating. 

Welcome Jennifer Dove!

Welcome Jennifer dove to the Copic Fine Art team!!

The Copic Regional Fine Art team is a little different than our Papercrafting team. The Fine Art Teaching Team is made up of a bunch of super-talented professional artists and instructors who travel across the country demoing and teaching at fine art stores and art schools. 

I bumped into Jennifer again a few months ago, (it had been years since I'd last seen her.) We had so much fun coloring cactus! After chatting with her, I was so happy when she agreed to accept the Fine Art team invitation. 

Jennifer has been using Copics since 2010 and her passion and enthusiasm are apparent to everyone she works with.  As an artist by nature, Jennifer is currently busy teaching Copic Boot Camp retreats, working on her own DoveArt Designs stamp line, and designing in mixed media, jewelry making, card making and altered arts.  She also has a number of video classes available with Annie’s Publishing.  She is very excited to be adding this new teaching venture into her line-up.  

We know that Jennifer will ROCK THE SOCKS OFF of those art schools and stores and we are so thrilled to be able to welcome her to the Copic teaching family.  

To see more of Jennifer’s work, check out her blog at just4funcrafts.blogspot.com
___________________________________________________________

In celebration of Jennifer’s joining us, we want to give YOU a chance to celebrate too.  Our current Papercrafting Teacher Team has joined up for a welcome hop and we are EACH giving away a Copic T-Shirt to one lucky winner. 

To be entered here on my blog, please leave a comment telling me what your favorite Copic color is... just for fun!  Comments will be closed at midnight on Sunday and I'll post the winner here on Monday. 

Visit the blogs below for another chance to win & make sure to stop by Jennifer’s Blog and give her a big welcome! 

Lori Craig
Jennifer Dove
Michelle Houghton
Cindy Lawrence
Debbie Olson
Colleen Schaan
Sherrie Siemens
Marianne Walker -- That's me!

III Academy

Coming Soon! III Academy

I am so excited! For the past few months we have been working with two incredibly talented artists to bring you the most amazing tutorial-story. Chihiro and Alisa are some of our newest staff members, and they are cooking up some of the sweetest things I've ever seen. (If you've followed the Copic blog over the past year or so, you may have already seen some of their great manga coloring tutorials.)

Soon, we will have regular installments of awesome tutorial Mangas (Japanese comic books) teaching how to use ALL the Copic markers and other art family products imported by Imagination International, Inc. (III- that's us!). Did you know that we sell more than just markers?

So, hop over to the Copic website and check out the teaser images for our new III Academy.  Meet Chihiro and Alisa, and  their fun new III Academy characters. You can also download some free, sweet Valentine images to color.

And please, if you stop by the page, leave a comment here for Chihiro and Alisa, letting them know how excited you are as well!

Free Winter digi art

Many of my friends and family are enduring a very bad blizzard in the Northeast this week. In thinking about them, I drew this little picture that I wanted to share with you. If you are stranded in your home, but you still have heat, electricity, and the ability to color, maybe coloring this snowman will give you something to fill your hours.

So, from my desk to you, please enjoy this free digi image. May you be warm and cozy, and have no reason to brave the elements this week!

Upcoming events!

Demos and classes in Oregon

Over the next few months I will be a lot of places in Oregon. If you live nearby, I'd love to see you at one of my events. I have classes I'll be teaching to adults, teens, and kids, so be sure to check it out!

Saturday, Jan 24th  Tigard, OR  Coloring classes at  Main Street Stamping and Stationary in Tigard, OR. Contact their store for more information and to register. 

Saturday, Feb. 7th  Springfield, OR  Springfield Public Library 11am to 1pm, Tracing Memories class for adults. We will be coloring images from around Lane County.

Sat-Sun, Feb. 14-15th  Eugene, OR  Oregon Asian Celebration 1-4pm each day in the kids' art room. All ages

Saturday, Feb 28th  Tigard, OR  Coloring classes at  Main Street Stamping and Stationary in Tigard, OR. Contact their store for more information and to register. I will teach coloring Easter Images, Tracing Memories, and Airbrushing.

Thursday, March 5  Eugene, OR U of O Bookstore, main campus location, Proudly Oregon event. I'll be making some great marker drawings and answering questions. (the photo is from last year's demo, where I am coloring a photo line art of a building on the U of O campus).

Saturday, March 14 Eugene, OR Girls Rule! for girls ages 9-14 and a caring adult. I'll be teaching some fun drawing workshops. More info later.

Monday, March 23rd Springfield, OR Springfield Public Library kids' Eric Carle art workshop. We will be making some great Eric Carle-style images. (Similar evens will be held in April at the Eugene Libraries.)

Classes and Workshops near you

We have a new Copic website! Visit the Copic classes website for a full list of 2015 classes and locations near you. Scroll down the page to see all the workshops and which classes are open now and which classes will be opening soon, since we have most of the year already posted. Note: if you take all three workshops in a location on one weekend, you get a $50 discount! See website for more info.



Feb. 6th Phoenix, AZ Standard Certification taught by Debbie Olson

Feb. 7th Phoenix, AZ Intermediate Certification taught by Debbie Olson

Feb. 13th Seattle, WA More Faces & Hair, taught by Michelle Houghton

Feb. 13th Seattle, WA Vintage values and Monotones taught by Michelle Houghton

Feb. 13th Seattle WA, Dress for Success: Coloring clothing and Accessories, taught by Michelle Houghton

Feb. 20th Houston TX Standard Certification taught by Lori Craig

Feb. 21st Houston TX Intermediate Certification taught by Lori Craig

Feb. 20th Orlando, FL Standard Certification Taught by Cindy Lawrence

Feb. 21st Orlando, FL Intermediate Certification Taught by Cindy Lawrence

Feb. 27th Detroit, MI More Faces & Hair//Vintage Values and Monotones taught by Debbie Olson

Feb. 28th Detroit, MI, Dress For Success: Coloring Clothing and Accessories taught by Debbie Olson

March 6th Calgary, Alberta More Faces & Hair//Vintage Values and Monotones Taught by Sherrie Siemens

March 7th Calgary, Alberta Dress For Success: Coloring Clothing and Accessories Taught by Sherrie Siemens

March 13th, Chicago, IL Standard Certification taught by Lori Craig

March 14th Chicago, IL Intermediate Certification taught by Lori Craig

March 13th St. Louis MO More Faces & Hair//Vintage Values and Monotones taught by Michelle Houghton

March 14th St. Louis MO, Dress For Success: Coloring Clothing and Accessories taught by Michelle Houghton

March 13, Dallas, TX Standard Certification taught by Debbie Olson

March 14, Dallas, TX Intermediate Certification  taught by Debbie Olson

March 20th Hanover, MD Standard Certification Taught by Cindy Lawrence

March 21st Hanover, MD Intermediate Certification Taught by Cindy Lawrence

March 20th Portland, OR Standard Certification Taught by Sherrie Siemens

March 21st Portland, OR Intermediate Certification Taught by Sherrie Siemens

Upcoming:

April 10 Phoenix, AZ More Faces & Hair//Vintage Values and Monotones

April 11th Phoenix, AZ Dress For Success: Coloring Clothing and Accessories

April 17th Charlotte, NC More Faces & Hair//Vintage Values and Monotones

April 18th Charlotte, NC Dress For Success: Coloring Clothing and Accessories

April 17th New Jersey,  More Faces & Hair//Vintage Values and Monotones

April 11th New Jersey, Dress For Success: Coloring Clothing and Accessories

April 24th Indianapolis, IN,  More Faces & Hair//Vintage Values and Monotones

April 25th Indianapolis, IN,  Dress For Success: Coloring Clothing and Accessories