Amplify: Steve Loya

As we’ve all been staying at home on lock down and quarantine, we need connection more than ever, and I believe that only by uplift each other will we make it through this COVID-19 crisis with our sanity. Ever since this began, one thought — one word has been popping into my mind with greater and greater frequency — amplify. It’s too easy to focus on all of the negativity, and it eats away at your heart. I’ve been thinking about how we need to come together and help amplify the positivity that others bring to the world, and I’ve been loving how artists, musicians, writers, and performers have been stepping up. And I want to do my small part.

I want to start highlighting, uplifting, and amplifying my fellow creative folks — some are good friends of mine, some are social media connections, some are just folks that I admire, and some are downright heroes of mine. I just want to share them with my little slice of the world.

I want to start off with artist and educator Steve Loya.

I have known Steve for nearly 30 years, and we met our freshmen year at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1991. We were both art education majors, but we didn’t meet in an art class or an education class. We met through Steve’s roommate when I needed to borrow a word processor for an English class, and we’ve been friends ever since.

It has been a pleasure watching Steve’s journey these past 29 years, and I am continually blown away by his prodigious output and his willingness to explore and experiment with new materials and new styles.

Steve has always been a lover of nature whether it was wondering the woods around his house where he grew up just north of Pittsburgh, PA or hiking the Appalachian Trail near his one now in Northern Virginia. Steve has explored that love of nature in his sketchbooks with countless drawings and sketches of trees, animals, and plants, and also in more resolved work like his Endangered Kingdom and Trees I’ve Known series. With his Endangered Kingdom series Steve researched a wide variety of endangered  animals and created an ink drawing of each animal on a watercolor background giving each animal a crown with unique details. As the title suggests, his Trees I’ve Known features a wide variety of trees that Steve has drawn in person.

Besides nature, Steve uses his imagination as a source of inspiration and is known for creations he calls Splotch Monsters. His process is simple. He typically creates a splotch from watercolor or ink, allows it to dry completely, and then draws in details with a variety of pens creating whimsical monsters. Sometimes he is more random with the splotches, and at other times, he is more controlled with the splotches. But there is always a good amount of chance and unpredictability with them.

Recently Steve has been exploring abstract painting using acrylic paint on canvas. In these paintings, he builds layers of paint allowing spontaneity and chance to have a vital role in the process. These paintings are very much inspired by Steve’s love of music, and have been influenced by the notion of chromesthesia, which is when a person sees sound as color. Though Steve doesn’t have chromasthesia himself, it provides a way of thinking about sound and music.

I admire Steve not just for all of the artwork that he puts out, but his ability to get his work seen. Over the years, he has had his work displayed all over in Virginia, Maryland, and DC whether it’s been part of group exhibits or solo shows, and it seems that he’s always got some show coming up.

It’s been so much fun being a witness to Steve’s journey. He’s such an inspiration! You can check out a recent podcast episode where I interview Steve here.

To see more of Steve and his creations make certain to check out his website, blogs, and social media!

Website: www.steveloya.com
Blog: www.goflyingtrtl.blogspot.com
Blog: www.asplotchmonsteraday.blogspot.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/splotchmonsterisland
Instagram: www.instagram.com/sloya72
Instagram: www.instagram.com/splotchmonsterisland

Materials Monday: Paper

What sketchbook do you use? That’s probably the number one question that I get asked, so I thought that I’d tackle that question and expand it into a discussion about paper since the reason that so many people ask about the book is that they want to know about the paper that’s inside of it.

Here are a few of those things to consider the next time you go to choose paper or a book.

Paper Characteristics
Probably the first thing to think about with paper is the weight since it determines the thickness. Thin papers tend to buckle and bleed more than thicker papers, and anyone who wants their work to be flat, will probably want a thicker paper that can stand up to wet materials. You can get a general sense of a paper’s weight and thickness just by it’s type. Sketch paper tends to be rather thin, drawing paper is a little thicker, and mixed media and watercolor papers tend to be thicker and can handle wet materials with little buckling and bleeding. But even among the same type of paper, there are various weights that might get a bit confusing. Paper is usually marked in pounds (lbs.) here in the US, and that number comes from weighing 500 sheets of a certain paper at a certain size, but sometimes different sizes of paper are used. That means that two different papers can be marked as 90lbs. and one might be thicker then the other. Kind of odd, but look closely at paper, and you’ll see examples of this. It’s more accurate to look at the grams per square meter (gsm, or g/m2). So a 150gsm paper will be thinner than a 190gsm paper.

The next thing is to think about might be the surface texture of the paper, watercolor paper tends to have the most texture of the papers I’ve mentioned, and is often described as hot pressed and cold pressed with hot pressed being smoother than cold pressed. But hot pressed paper still has a slight texture which doesn’t make it ideal for mixed media — great for wet media like watercolor or painted ink, but not so great for drawing. Sketch paper and drawing paper are much smoother and are often described as smooth or vellum (slightly textured), but they don’t stand up as well to the wet materials. Then we have mixed media paper, and even mixed media paper can have smooth or vellum surface.

Then there’s the sizing. Sizing is usually a plant-based starch, an animal gelatin, or a synthetic substance that is applied to paper to regulate how the paper absorbs water. That’s why sketch and drawing papers don’t always handle wet materials — not so much because they are thin, but because they do not have the appropriate sizing. You may have had an issue in the past when you’ve painted on a piece of paper or in a sketchbook only to have the paint soak immediately into the paper. That’s the sizing, and it means that you can have a thick drawing paper that isn’t good for wet media, because it isn’t sized like a watercolor or a mixed media paper. The sizing on the watercolor and mixed media papers allows the wet media to sit on the surface longer before soaking in enabling the paint or ink to be pushed around a bit and dry at a slower rate.

Another thing to think about with paper, is what is it made of. You might have thought that all paper was made out of wood pulp, and most paper is. But for many companies the highest quality paper is made from 100% cotton and is often referred to as rag paper, but paper can be made of other materials as well. Yupo paper is 100% polypropylene, so basic plastic, and isn’t absorbent at all, and Yasutomo makes a mineral paper that is 80% calcium carbonate bonded with a small amount of plastic.

There are a lot of considerations when thinking about paper, and I haven’t even mentioned bristol board, pastel papers, newsprint, and so many others. Now that I’ve bored you with all of this paper knowledge, let me share with you what I like to use and why I like it.

Journals
For my large 11x14 inch hardbound everyday journal, I like a Strathmore 400 Series Hardbound Sketch Journal. It has 192 pages of 89gsm sketch paper that holds up pretty well to the wet materials that I use, but there is a lot of buckling and sometimes materials bleed through. It just doesn’t bother me. The pages flatten out pretty well from the book just being closed, and the bleeding isn’t too bad. For my Journal Friday time-lapse videos, I use an 11x14 inch Strathmore 500 Series Hardbound Mixed Media Journal. It has 48 pages of 190gsm paper that is 100% cotton. The thick paper buckles slightly, but not much allowing it to lay fairly flat while filming. It’s a thick paper and doesn’t allow materials to bleed through.

Though Strathmore has been my go to for quite a few years, I have gotten into Stillman and Birn, and I’ve been using some of their 5.5x8.5 inch hardbound sketchbooks lately. I really like their Epsilon Series which has 124 pages of 150gsm white paper with a smooth surface. It can buckle a bit, but it’s a nice paper that flattens pretty well from the book being closed, and it doesn’t bleed through.

So with books, there’s a trade off — the thicker the paper, the fewer pages, but the less buckling and bleed through.

Papers
For drawing, I love the Strathmore 400 Series Recycled Drawing paper. It’s a bright white 130gsm paper that I use for drawing with graphite or ink, but it can stand up to light washes of paint, though it can buckle quite a bit when wet. I only use it with graphite or my drawing pens. 

For mixed media work, I love the Strathmore 400 Series Mixed Media paper. This 300gsm paper is great for building layers of wet materials, but it’s smooth surface is also perfect for drawing with graphite or ink. It’s my go to paper for most of my stand alone mixed media work, though it warps a little bit when wet. I can build up layers of watercolor, watercolor pencil, ink, and collage, and it handles acrylic paint, as well. Recently, I’ve tried out Strathmore’s 500 Series Heavyweight Mixed Media paper. This is a 100% cotton paper that is a staggering 570gsm and can stand up to all types of media.

I hope that I haven’t shared too much about paper, but I feel like I’ve covered the basics so that you can go out an pick something that is appropriate for your work. But like anything, try it out, and find what you like best.

I get no compensation for these recommendations, and I simple share the materials and the brands that I like and personally use.

Live Stream Journaling

I recently did a 10 part live stream series on Facebook where I shared lots of my basic techniques for working in the visual journal. You can find them on my art studio FB page and on YouTube, but I thought that I would gather them here in one place on the blog.

If you enjoy them and get something out of them, I’ve set up a support page in the online shop for anyone to offer a bit of financial support. I appreciate any support if you’re in a position to offer any. Thank you!

I hope that you do enjoy, and happy creating!

John C. Campbell

I was very fortunate to spend last week teaching at the renowned John C. Campbell Folk School in the mountains of western North Carolina. I’ve known about Campbell for quite some time, and I probably heard about it fifteen years or so ago when I was teaching at the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT) and learned of it and other schools like it, such as Penland and Arrowmont. Ever since teaching at NCCAT, I had dreamed of teaching at places like this, and this past week, it came to be.

John C. Campbell is a special place. Secluded in western North Carolina, it’s a haven for craft and art enthusiasts, and it has a studio for nearly every discipline. At any given time throughout the year, a hundred or more students and instructors are working in blacksmithing, wood turning, quilting, jewelry making, and much, much more. I was fortunate to spend my week in the Paper and Book Arts studio and work with nine wonderful students.

We dove into the visual journaling in a class called Beyond Blank Pages. I designed this class to be a bit different than other journal classes I have taught, and we approach the journal in a slightly different way, though we use many of the tried and true techniques that I have used and taught for years. The main idea of this class was to rethink what a book can be and to weave a visual and written narrative among, between, and through the pages. We thought about creating connection and interactivity as we painted, collaged, and wrote. We cut and folded pages, created windows, tunnels, and doors that went through pages. We tore the edges of pages, and connected spaces with color, lines, words, and more.

Through it all I wanted the students to go in with no preconceived ideas and, as Lynda Berry suggests in her book Making Comics, to let their hands wander a bit and discover something new. So they painted and collaged and wrote and cut, as they allowed ideas to flow. Eventually they each struck on a theme, an idea, or a notion that would drive the work. It was amazing to see how each took a different path in their books as a result of letting go of their resistances, judgments, and attachments. Each one had a unique take. They didn’t finish or fill the book, but instead walked away with the beginnings of a special book and ideas of how to continue the journey.

It was an amazing week, full of power and discovery — filled with laughter and tears. I am filled with such gratitude, and I can’t thank, Jen, Thea, Dana, Eileen, Julie, Jo-Ellen, Vicki, Barbara, and Robin enough. I can’t wait to go back!

Connect, Inspire, and Grow

It’s been quite a while since I sat down, and created an honest to goodness blog post. I was posting Journal Friday videos here for a while, but that has slowly tapered off simply because it’s easier to post the videos directly to social media. check out my Facebook and Instagram pages for them.

Still there’s a part of me that loves to share more in depth through the blog — to sit down and allow thoughts to stream out, but it seems that I’m too busy, too tired, are just too lazy. The unfortunate consequence has been that the blog has been a bit neglected, so I decided to sit down today and share a bit about what’s been going on in my world lately.

Since September, I’ve been teaching and traveling quite a bit, trying to share my art and my process with as many people as possible. That has meant workshops at the art center that I manage, traveling to the beach for Art and Soul, and partaking in several art education conferences in different states. It’s meant a lot of driving, some flying, and a lot of good conversations along the way. I finally have a lull in the action.

I love connecting with folks, and though I love connecting virtually through social media, this blog, and my podcast, I love it even more when I can connect face-to-face with folks, and not only share my words, but share my art and my journals.

I won’t go into all of the details, but there was one major take away from all of this traveling and teaching — art is a very powerful, transformative process. Again and again, I heard from people how art, especially the visual journal is a life changer and a life saver. I’ve always known that from my personal experience, but connecting with so many people in different places really drove it home for me. I think I may have lost sight of that, and these past couple of months have me rethinking and reevaluating my approach.

The gears have started to spin, and ideas have started to flow. I can’t wait to share more as time progresses. Until then, thank you so much for being a part of this journey!

Journal Friday #119: Make A Difference

Today’s Journal Friday is all about connecting with others. I started with some reflective writing with my Inktense pencils and built up layers of paint, ink, collage, and paint marker.

Journal Friday #118: Stories Connect Experiences

I wanted to try something a little different today, so I started with some ink drawn ovoids and used a color that I don’t use often — orange. I eventually through in some red and brown, and ended up with a color scheme that I use often. I looked back at some older journal pages and decided to stencil in the numbers and letters and to use some thick outlined squares.

I wasn’t certain of the words or theme for the spread, so I quickly flipped through my current everyday journal, and came across notes that I’ve been taking as I re-read Seth Godin’s This Is Marketing. Although Godin is talking about marketing, I just love the message the three phrases convey.

I finished off the spread by using some white paint to a transparent film to the squares.

I also want to share a flip through of my first Journal Friday Journal. I’ve been using a Strathmore hardbound mixed media journal to create the spreads for my Journal Friday time-lapse videos, and I’ve filled my first one. This week’s and last week’s Journal Friday spreads were done in a new journal, so I wanted to do a quick flip though of the filled book. I hope that you enjoy!

Journal Friday #117: Magnificently Creative

Today’s Journal Friday spread was inspired by some ideas that have been bouncing around my head recently. I firmly believe that everyone is creative, but unfortunately, many people don’t believe that they are creative. I think it’s always good to be reminded that we are truly creative.

I used my Derwent Inktense Travel Paint Pan sets to begin the spread and slowly built up layers. The spread ended up more open than my usual spreads, and I’m not certain if I like it or not. The spread feels a bit unfinished. But that’s part of the challenge of making these time-lapse videos. I keep them to a minute so that I can share them on a variety of social media, and that can mean that sometimes spreads can progress at different rates.

Journal Friday #116: Change It Up

For today’s Journal Friday, I wanted to do something a little different — something to change things up a bit. I began by limiting my materials to just water-soluble graphite, some pens, and a little collage. I then decided to use marks, lines, and shapes that I don’t use all that often. It’s good to try new and different things, especially when things seem a bit stagnant and stale.

I’m not 100% happy with the results, but that’s the nice thing about art. There are always more art to make!

Journal Friday #115: Where I'm Going

So, once again I’m late in posting my latest Journal Friday. I created the video on Friday, and posted it to social media, but I didn’t have time to make a blog post. But here' it is now. My schedule has gotten a little less hectic, so hopefully, I’ll be better about posting Journal Friday on Fridays, and also posting more content in general on the blog.

But this spread uses my typical arsenal of materials — watercolor, Inktense pencils, pen, collage, and paint marker. But I wanted to do something a little different this time, so I incorporated some observational drawing into it. I created a continuous contour drawing of myself from a photograph. With this technique, I didn’t lift my pen as I drew, so the idea is that it’s drawn in one continuous line. I did forget to draw a small portion at first, so I had to go back and add an eyebrow. I tried to put the pen down where I had picked it up at last.

Though this spread doesn’t have any words or journaling, a phrase kept going through my head from a song lyric by hip-hop artist Sage Francis. In his song Runaways from the album Personal Journals, Sage asks, “If I don’t know where I come from, how do I know where to go?” Though not explicit in the final outcome, I love how it informs the work.