Our Purpose

Illustrating quotes is one of my favorite things to do. So when Lesley Riley put out a call for submissions for a book called Quotes Illustrated: 100 Works of Art Inspired by Words, I answered the call. And guess what? The quote above will be published in the book!

I can hardly wait to check out all the quotes and artwork in the book.

If you want to check it out too, Quotes Illustrated can be purchased from Amazon or directly from CreateSpace.

Give Thanks

Good advice any day--but especially today. Wishing all my friends in the US a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A Poetic New Journal

The minute I picked up this old paperback book, I knew I wanted to turn it into a new journal. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the color and pattern on the cover.

I filled it with a tan colored cover stock that I've had forever. I used a corner punch to round the corners of each page because I thought it just called for rounded corners.

I glued the book covers to another piece of card stock to give them a bit more weight and rounded those corners too. Then I glued a piece of soft black leather to the covers and bound it all together with some gifted thread using the long stitch. I made a mistake and the pattern on the back cover ended up upside down--oops.
 

I considered cutting out the title to make a window opening for my own title, but then decided to leave it as is. How could you not love that old penguin logo on a book called "The Metaphysical Poets?" Really, what does that mean? I gave myself about ten minutes to figure it out then realized I really didn't need to know in order to just appreciate the graphic beauty of this old book.

I plan to use this as a note taking journal and a place to scribble down whatever is inspiring me at the moment. Who knows--maybe I'll even manage to include a few metaphysical poems.

When Housework Pays Off

For me, housework is a necessary evil. I only give it my full attention when either 1) company is coming to visit or 2) I just can't stand the mess for one more minute. Either way, I'm a half-ass housekeeper at best. Good enough is alright by me and I've been known to quickly stash things away just to get them out of sight.

A few weeks ago I was in a I-can't-stand-the-mess-anymore mood, so while I was stashing some things away I found a couple of doodles that had been stashed on a previous cleaning spree.

Finding these again made me smile and was well worth the price of tidying up. Now I want to get out my doodling supplies and make a new mess.

An Adventure So Big It Needed Its Own Journal

Last month I went on a grand adventure to visit my daughter in Bangkok, Thailand. Even though she’s been living in Thailand for over a year, it was my first trip there. (or anywhere, for that matter.) 
 

 

Before I left, I made a journal and filled it with a variety of papers and bound it with a long stitch binding.

The image on the cover came from an old book I rescued from the landfill.

I packed a small bag of art supplies that included markers, glue sticks, a travel watercolor set, a burnisher, washi tape, a ruler, and a tiny pair of kid’s scissors which was confiscated by security on the way home. 

I journaled every single day and included whatever ephemera I accumulated or found while I was there. 

 

The more I wrote, the easier it became and the more I wanted to write. 

 

I did a good job of estimating and rationing the pages because I ended up filling the book without running out or having too many empty pages.

It truly was a grand adventure, and one that I can relive over and over whenever I page through my journal.

A Peek Inside My Journal

At the beginning of the year, I wrote about the journal I made from painted paper. I use this journal as a place to record my art-related activities and have been slowly filling it up with a lot of writing and bits of this and that. I love the look and feel of the painted paper, but sometimes writing on it can be a little tricky. I've had to experiment with a variety of pens and have to give the ink time to dry to avoid smears and blurs. Although I think most of it looks OK, it doesn't allow me to be as spontaneous and write as often as I'd like. Maybe I'll use a combination of painted and plain paper when I make the next one.

Abundance

Glue It Tuesday

I unearthed a few collages while cleaning up the studio recently. I put them under some books to flatten them out and then forgot all about them.
 

They may or may not be finished, but I thought it would be fun to share them for Glue It Tuesday over at artsyville.

Paint, paper, and glue...three of my favorite art supplies! Happy Tuesday!

Glue It Tuesday

I had so much fun working on last week's collage for Glue It Tuesday at artsyville, that I dove into the scrap pile and came up with another one. This one reminds me of copper pennies.

Glue It Tuesday

I can't believe it's taken me this long to post something for Glue It Tuesday over at artsyville considering how often my fingers are covered in glue. I'm working on a project that involves punching circles out of book pages and I had to try and do something with the "leftovers." I just can't stand to see a single scrap of paper go to waste--which probably explains why collage is one of my favorite art forms. I'm pleased with how this came out so there may be a whole series of these in the works soon. I've punched a lot of circles and I have a lot of leftovers!

Happy Tuesday and happy gluing!

Journeys - An Exhibit by the Altered Book Group

As promised, here are photos from the Journeys exhibit of altered books which opened last Thursday. The photos are not the best, but I hope you can get an idea of the wide range of art created primarily from books. There are eight artists represented here.

It was a "hands on" exhibit and people were encouraged to handle and read the books.

I love the way the folded book sculptures look on the bottom shelf of the display case.

This shelf held my tea cup books on either side of a book object holding tea bags made from book pages. The back of the case is mirrored which allowed the books to be seen from all angles. It also made taking a decent photo quite difficult!

I think this case is gorgeous and the perfect height for displaying books.

There were several sets of hanging shelves which displayed a few of the smaller books, including my set of miniature books made from used tea bags, silk, book pages and text.

Here is a closer view of the tea bag books and the shots below give a better idea of their size.

I'm sorry I didn't get photos of the gallery when it was full of people delighting in the art of altered books. We had a really nice turn out for the opening, and people seemed genuinely enthusiastic about the artwork displayed. Many people had never seen altered books before and it was fun to see and hear their reactions.

I feel a huge sense of relief to have the show opening now behind me...and at the same time...can hardly wait to choose a theme for next year and start working on more altered books!