Back to the Future

When I started RELICS & ARTIFACTS ® it all began with just a few simple pieces. I have always been a collector of well, just about everything, from rocks, shells and porcelain to jewelry, pottery and ephemera. I still have lots of things from when I was a really young kid. Fast forward to today and while those collections have grown in size I’m still searching out much the same kinds of things. One of the first resin craft blank castings I made were from a group of antique milagros and ex votos. I paired them up with 18th century hand carved angel wings that were actually attached to large figures. Making the molds was tricky it was hard wrangling the pieces and not damaging them in the process. Those first hearts sets turned out to be some of our best sellers and when my original molds bit the dust I didn’t want to risk it again so we discontinued those sets. I finally worked up the nerve to take molds from the antiques again and here we are with several reissued set and some new pieces as well. Hope you love them as much as we do!

You Can't Change The Wind, But You Can Adjust Your Sails- Jennifer Pipe

Those of you who know me know that the art classes I teach (and a significant portion of the art I create) are based on a lot more than just creativity. Almost everything I do is deliberately and lovingly infused with principles and practices of self-discovery. It’s my niche. And I believe so fully in the power of art as a personal growth tool, that I built my entire business on it. 

To that end, the art I make for myself is often infused with messages and reminders that I need to hear. This piece I created is no different. The year 2020, in its oft-challenging entirety, has reminded me that there is very little in this world that we can truly control outside of the things we say, the actions we take, and the things we think. Sometimes, when things feel thoroughly out of control, we forget that regardless of what is going on in the world around us, we still have complete and unwavering control over one very important thing: OURSELVES. 

We get to choose how we react. 
We get to choose how we show up. 
We get to choose how we respond. 

And, there is tremendous power in that choice! The quote on this ship will be a trusty reminder of that when I feel tempted to resort to blaming, finger pointing, and not accepting the consequences of my actions and inactions. It encourages me to take personal responsibility whenever possible, and to focus on my desired outcome as opposed to focusing on the challenge(s) at hand.  Because, at the end of each and every day, we can’t change the wind, but we can certainly adjust our sails.

Here’s How I Made This Boat:

My husband and I took a trip into a local antique shop and I saw this boat. I figured it would make a nice decoration for one of the mantles in our new home and I knew I would be able to alter it and make it fit our aesthetic. 

·       I then started by coating the entire piece with a thin coat of clear gesso. 

·       Once the gesso dried, I painted it with my base coats. The sail was painted with a coat of acrylic paint, and the base was painted with a contrasting color. 

·       I knew I wanted a focal point on the sails, so I added some contrasting, abstract splotches of Liquitex acrylic inks (I used two shades of blue and a gold). I layered the colors, and made sure I dried them in between so the resulting colors wouldn’t be muddy. 

·       I splattered a bit of paint on the sail and the body of the boat. 

·       Then, I took out some stamps from my collection and added the quote, the number “4” on the sails, the waves on both sides of the hull, and the letters “ri” on the back of the boat. 

·       Once all that was dry, I started working with some products from the Relics and Artifacts line. 

·       I adhered some of the gold Daisy Chain Dresden Trim around the base of the boat. It made the base of the boat pop a bit and helped to bring out the golds in the painted sail. 

·       I then started painting and layering assorted sizes and shapes of the Helios laser cuts, knowing that I wanted to adhere them to the sails for a gorgeous 3D effect. I chose paints in gold and bronze for the Helios pieces. 

·       Then, I used one of the Roman Sun Coins, noticing how it fit perfectly as a focal point in the center of the Helios pieces. I painted the coin white and brought out all the details with layers of a fiery orange wax. 

·       I then assembled all of the pieces together using a 3D medium, and then once they were completely dry, I attached them to the boat using Apoxie Sculpt.  

·       *Tip: if you are going to stamp a quote on your artwork, practice on a piece of paper first to ensure that it will fit. Nothing worse than starting to stamp and realizing you actually don’t have enough space. 

The end result of this project is gorgeous and it came out exactly as I hoped it would. I can’t wait to give it a place of prominence on the mantle. 

My parting challenges to you this month: find some of your favorite products from sandraevertson.com, sit down to play, and incorporate an inspiring quote or reminder into your project if you can. Then share your projects with us in the Relics and Artifacts Facebook group—tag me in your post so I can be sure to high five you and show your post some love!   

Thanks for reading and happy creating, 
Jenn Pipe 
MUSE Design Team Member 2020

OUR TRIBE By Sandra Evertson

This has been such an enjoyable month of Art and Friendship, the match up of the RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Ambassadors and Canvas Corp Brands Design Team has been challenging and fun! 

It has given us all the opportunity to work with each others products and integrate what we do, share and exchange ideas, styles and stories.

I wanted to create a piece that was a sort of representation of OUR WONDER FILLED TRIBE, you, me, him, her, them and they... all of us.

I made tightly wound "beads" out of canvas strips that symbolize what a close and like minded group of art makers we are.

And combined several packages of RELICS faces to show the beautiful diversity among us.

I painted us all in shades of deep verdigris Nile blue, turquoise and bronze, and if you look closely you can see that each face is different but equally beautiful... United yet Different, how great is that?!!

Next came spritzes of fine gold glimmer because we are rich in talent, kindness and support of one another, yes, we all shine. Aren't we lucky?! 

I let the paint just do what it wanted, it blended, pooled, puddled and flowed freely, resting in all the right crevasses just where it was meant to be. 

Sometimes when creating it seems to take forever to get where you want to go with a piece, other times it comes fast and furious, every step just fell into place and before I knew it I was done and feeling fulfilled with what was looking back at me. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for being just who you are, for sharing your thoughts, feelings and emotions through your creations. We are all unique and we are all unified by our love of ART. 

RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Visage

RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Facia Familiaris 

RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Figureheads

RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Persona 

Canvas Corp Brands Canvas Stitched Book 6 x 12 CVS3447

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Verdigris

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Sugar Maple

Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Golden Orange

Acrylic paint Orange, Yellow, Brown, Turquoise, Red, Olive

Colored Embroidery threads

Tacky Glue

Egyptian Faience Beads

"From the Tribe" with RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Guest Ambassador DeeDee Catron

This month's "From the Tribe" RELICS & ARTIFACTS® Guest Ambassador is a woman of incomparable talent.  She's been in the industry for quite some time and has worked with a multitude of people to include Donna Downy.  It is our pleasure to introduce DeeDee Catron as February's Guest Ambassador.  Grab a coffee, a comfy seat, and let's let DeeDee show us what she's all about!

"I am a Mixed Media Artist | Instructor | Designer sorting through the ever expansive mixed media world in an effort to conquer ALL.THE.THINGS. I can never settle on one medium or one technique and I truly love to throw them all together. I live in Las Vegas and I teach classes both locally and abroad. I also offer occasional paid eCourses and tons of free mixed media demonstration via my YouTube channel."

DeeDee's work of art is absolutely mind blowing in its composition and construction.  We'll let her share the story.

Hello Relics & Artifacts Tribe! I'm super excited to be here today sharing a project I worked up specifically for Sandra and the amazing team. I've been a long time fan of the girls who work the Muse and Toil was a labor of love inspired by each and every one of them.

Toil started out as a political statement and evolved into a much more personal expression. It's about keeping the balance between respect and courage.

Between wants and needs,

Between light and dark,

Between life and death.

It's about the inner struggle and which wolf we'll feed today. 

Toil encompasses a lot of symbolism and there are a lot of struggles on the piece. The contrast in texture between the smooth resin and the harsh grungy masking tape is so appealing. The full figured Renaissance style face versus the feeble old skeleton makes my heart race. It's always fun for me to start a project, watch it morph, finish it and then talk about it.  When Mr. Catron saw the finished piece he blurted out, "It looks like a mausoleum!" and I was so happy about that! It wasn't something I INTENDED but what a cool final effect, right? 

What do YOU see when you look at Toil? What emotions are stirred, if any? I really look forward to conversing with you about the art. ♥

DeeDee's art invokes thought and is every bit as evocative as it is provocative.  She's so graciously put together a Snapguide tutorial for you on how to create a piece like this one.  Beautiful, powerful, thoughtful and so full of soul, we thank you for sharing your creativity with us.  For more about you can connect with her on her website, Facebook, Instagram (@deedeecatron), and YouTube.

Supply List:
Relics & Artifacts® Egg Shrine
Relics & Artifacts® Archangels
Golden Fluid Matte Medium
Golden Carbon Black Fluid Acrylic
Golden Heavy Gel
Liquitex Glaze Medium
Liquitex Gesso (P) (White & Clear)
DecoArt Media Gray Fluid Acrylic
UmWowStudio Star Confetti Chipboard
UmWowStudio Angel Wings Chipboard
Stabilo Marks All
Amazing Crafting Products 2 Part Clear Cast Resin
Mona Lisa Gold Foil
May Arts Ribbon
Tim Holtz Rubons
Tim Holtz Alterations & Configurations Box
Sand paper, scissors, heat tool, clay tools, baby wipes, canvas strings, plastic skeleton, paint brush, measuring cups, stir stick, vintage italian text, paint cup, water, coffee, graphite pencil, vintage dictionary page, masking tape

"Explore the Possibilities" with RELICS & ARTIFACTS® and ICE Resin®

Hello!  Hello!  We have a BRAND NEW challenge for all of you Relics & Artifacts® fanatics out there!  Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to stretch your creative muscles, broaden those artistic horizons, and get down and dirty with resin!  

Since we now carry Susan Lenart-Kazmer's renowned Ice Resin®, what better way to welcome this brand new product into our creative folds than showing us what magic you can work.  Pair together this jeweler's grade resin with any Relics & Artifacts® resin piece and upload it to The Tribe on Facebook.  Please be sure to label your photo with #RAExplorethePossibilites in order for it to be considered for the prize.  

Prize?  Wait what?!  Yes!  There are prizes for first and second place and these prizes are way more than just bragging rights, though those are equally awesome too.  This round of prizes will include product from both RELICS & ARTIFACTS® and Ranger!  Totally awesome, I know.  

One more little thing to keep in mind.  Please be mindful of copyright etiquette.  Replications of any part of Relics & Artifacts® line or packaging are not only unallowable, it's also extremely uncool.  Please be careful to observe and adhere to copyright standards and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask any of the Ambassadors or Relics & Artifacts® Powers That Be.

Good luck and don't forget that hashtag, #RAExplorethePossibilities, when uploading your project!