❤💕❤ On a personal mission to do good, one Dot at a time! ❤💕❤
Hello!
Welcome to the personal blog & artistic outreach mission of Meredith Stepka! 😊 The ultimate goal here is to help those in need, through the giving of Dot Art designs. This is the place where you can find unique, one-of-a-kind works of art for your charity benefit, mission trip, fund drive, or to keep for your very own!
Being a genuinely Cheerful Giver is the goal of my life & prayer of my heart. To worship God through creating & giving my art is a great joy & privilege. So, if I can be a small blessing to you, or to someone you know in need, I hope you’ll let me know! I’m constantly seeking opportunities to offer my art in aid for others… Below are the options I offer for your consideration:
- Charity Event/Auction: Choose an available piece from my Gallery, or request a design with unique shapes/colors to your event (i.e. shades & tones in pink for Breast Cancer Awareness,etc.) to be donated 100% FREE- suggested donation amounts DO NOT apply here. ** With your permission, I will also share your event & info on my blog & via Facebook. ** Memorials, benefits to raise funds for families in need, etc.
- School/Nonprofit Group/Mission Trip: Choose an available piece from my Gallery, or request a design with unique shapes/colors to your event (i.e. school colors) to be donated 100% FREE- suggested donation amounts DO NOT apply here.** With your permission, I will also share your event & info on my blog & via Facebook. ** To help you raise money for your club, trip, etc.
- Personal/Gift: Available Gallery pieces will have a suggested donation price listed, based on the size of the piece; designs commissioned upon request will also have a suggested donation quote, based on the size of the piece. I emphasize that donation prices are suggested, because ANY donation offered will be accepted, without question, be it within, lower, or higher than the suggested range. 80% of your donation will be submitted to either Joni & Friends, or Shriner’s Hospitals for Children (you are welcome to choose, if you wish!). The remaining 20% will go into my Craft Kitty to replenish supplies.
- Pet Memorial Plaques: 5″ & 7″ Pet Memorial Plaques available in my Gallery, or upon request, will have a suggested donation amount listed. 80% of your donation will go to the local Humane Society/ASPCA of your choice. The remaining 20% will go into my Craft Kitty to replenish supplies.
- Dots for Dimes: Choose any size stretched canvas, canvas panel, or wooden plaque, and I will create a design; each Dot in the design will be worth one dime. This option is suggested to businesses or large groups, looking for a creative option to raise funds for a charity, cause, or benefit.
In my Gallery, you will not only find my Available designs & Works-In-Progress, you will also see examples of other designs that have found homes. I believe it’s important to note that, although I often utilize various stencils/shapes for the skeleton of my designs, I DO NOT duplicate or repeat my own designs, and I DO NOT copy the designs of other artists. I never record video, or write down the particular color palette, tool/brush sizes for a design. (As many of my larger pieces take upwards of 20+ hours to complete, stopping to write each tool change/size or shift in color would become very tedious & disrupt my creative flow.) Much like a snowflake, each painting is one of a kind & no two will ever be exactly alike, and I strive to maintain that creative integrity.
I DO accept color palette/scheme requests & color challenges, as well as requests to include particular shapes (i.e. hearts, shamrocks/clovers, etc) for designs, and I am willing to use similar palettes to those I’ve used before.
FAQ’s:
- How long have you been Dotting & why did you start? I started Dotting in September of 2018 after sifting through Pinterest for several months, collecting ideas & inspiration. In all honesty, I had TONS of craft acrylic I wanted to use, and lots of different surfaces to cover. I realized I was way too much of a neat freak to do Mixed Media collage, I’ve always loved design & details, and I’m pretty sure I have OCD… I absolutely loved the elements symmetry & balance; I found the whole process very relaxing & comforting.(Which was enormously helpful as I needed a distraction from the overwhelming & stressful goal of trying to conceive while plagued with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome… more on that later.)
- Are those BEADS?! Nope…! I use various brands of craft acrylic to paint my designs; using beads would be a form of mosaic. However, I will sometimes add gems & rhinestones for a little extra pizzazz, though!
- How long does it take you to finish a painting? It depends on the size… Not including the time it takes to base-coat the surface, drying time, & sealing, a wooden plaque with a 7-inch diameter takes me approx. 8-14 hours, and an 11.5-inch diameter vinyl record takes approx. 20-25 hours.
- How do you make your designs so symmetrical? Although there are other Dot Artists who are able to ‘eyeball’ spatial measurements, I started by using basic rulers, protractors & a compass to draw out my skeleton guidelines in chalk pencil. Dot Artists such as Lydia May, offer guideline & decorative stencils, and Etsy shops such as The Dotting Center, also offer wonderful reusable stencils that provide outlines for the Lotus, Torus, other circular designs. Sweet Willow Designs has a super-useful set of petal-shaped stencils I enjoy, also!
- Do you have a YouTube channel or teach classes? No, not at this time… I don’t intend to develop a channel, ever… (But, never say never, right?!) And as for classes, at this point, I’m not prepared to teach. Possibly, in the future, I will come up with something fun to share, locally. If I ever do so, I will partner up with my dear friend Diana, who owns My Girlfriend’s Jewelry Box on Broad St. in Waverly, NY. She is wonderfully creative & often holds classes at her shop!
- Who inspired/helped you learn Dotting? Elspeth McLean, Kristin Urhig, Lydia May, The Dotting Center, and several other YouTube ‘Dotters’ really got me started, and I highly recommend checking them out! Also, joining Facebook dotting groups was a major encouragement & inspiration to me!
I invite you to Subscribe to my page & share with your friends! Check back in with me to see: NEW, Available Dots for Donation; My Works-in-Progress, Adopted Pieces, & to read my blog posts!!!
A Cheerful Giver 