CommUNITY: Inspiration from Joe Sysavath

Hi friends! Today we are here with an installment of our monthly series, CommUNITY, where we share artwork from artists who we'd love for you to get to know. CommUNITY is about embracing and honoring the creativity of individuals who are often underrepresented. By sharing art from a diverse group of creators, we hope to not only bring inspiration to this papercrafting community we all love so much, but also support and empower individuals to be their authentic selves as they create and share. Look for a new CommUNITY guest artist right here on the blog each month. Today our amazing guest is Joe Sysavath!

I got the crafting bug when I first decided I would create Christmas cards for my nephews and nieces. A year later, I decided it was something I wanted to do on a regular basis and that I would start posting on IG. It has since been almost 3 years and I’m still loving it. My most favorite medium is watercolor. I do, however, enjoy challenging myself to use other mediums and create cards in many different styles. Crafting and painting to me is so relaxing. It allows me the opportunity to free my mind from the day-to-day grind. Crafting for me will be a life-long journey.

Card 1:

I first started out stamping the image from Better Together on watercolor paper. To color the stamp, I used watercolor pencils and took a wet brush to move the colors around.

Next, I created the turquoise blue background using acrylic paint. I then added the sentiment from the same stamp set. Finally, I mounted the finished work to a top folding card.

Card 2:

The Love is Love Bold Prints background stamp is definitely a favorite of mind. I used it to create the background by stamping it on watercolor paper and then heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Next, I gave the background a wash of yellow and green watercolor paint to bring out the words.

Finally, I added the Hands of Hope Fancy Die and heat-embossed with embossing glitter to create a focal point in front of the background. I did not add an additional sentiment because I wanted the words from the background to be the focus.

Card 3:

I must admit, I also love this Olive Branch stamp set. It is so beautiful. As I mentioned from my bio, my favorite medium is watercolor. So, this stamp was perfect for just that. I stamped the olive branch on watercolor paper to make it look like it's hanging.

Next, I started with creating the background. Once that was dry, I started working on coloring in the olive branch. The sentiment is from the Better Together stamp set. Finally, I mounted it on a top folding card base.

Joe, thank you so much for sharing your phenomenal cards and talent with us today! You can find more of Joe's stunning creations over on Instagram.

Thanks for stopping by,

CM622 Olive Branch \| Hero Arts [ HA ]	DI817 Hands of Hope Fancy Die (C) \|... [ HA ]	CG710 Love Is Love Bold Prints \| Hero... [ HA ]
CM565 Better Together \| Hero Arts [ HA ]	PW122 White Detail Embossing Powder \|... [ HA ]	PS400 Hero Hues Dove White Top Folded... [ HA ]