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!

Journeys

Hi everyone! I apologize for my long absence from the blogosphere, but I’ve been working diligently to focus my efforts on making art for the show advertised above.  (That’s no small feat when you’re the president and founder of the Society for the Easily Distracted!) I joined the Altered Book Group this past summer, and I’m thrilled to be able to participate in their annual show at Loganberry Books. Journeys is the theme of the show, and what a journey it’s been for me. Joining this group of talented artists was just what I needed to inspire me to really think about my art and my creative process. So much of what I’ve been doing lately has been experimental, trial-and-error attempts at a much more focused kind of art making than what I’m used to. I guess I didn’t feel inclined to share during the process, which is why things have been so quiet around here. I’d like to invite anyone who is in the vicinity, and who enjoys altered books or quaint independent book stores, to stop in and see the show while it’s up during the month of April. If you can’t make it, don’t worry, I’ll be posting photos as well.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

By the light of the wintery moon, January was filled with plenty of indoor fun.

Sipping tea and altering books.

Painting paper to use in a brand new journal.

Learning a new binding technique.

Journaling.

Watching movies and stitching up bits of fabric.

As I work my way through Jude Hill's Spirit Cloth 101.

And fabric piles up under the coffee table like snow drifts in the driveway.

Quietly Creating

As I say goodbye to 2012 and wait eagerly for 2013 to commence, I am doing what I enjoy most--quietly creating. I think it's a fitting way to end one year and begin another.

I've been drinking a lot of tea, and saving the bags for future projects.

I deconstructed a number of books written in languages I cannot read, and dyed them in the kitchen using foodstuff. These were done with beets.

And these with blackberries.

I made a little tea cup and saucer to hold tiny books made from tea bags and altered book pages. These pages were dyed with onion skins.

I used the scraps left over from the tea cup and saucer to start a paper art quilt. I just love the beautiful shades of yellow made from the onion skins.

This is what I've been quietly creating as I contemplate all the wonder, joy, adventure, and creativity that I hope 2013 will bring our way. Thank you for coming along on my art adventures and for your comments, enthusiasm, and inspiration throughout the year.

Happy New Year my friends!

The Slowest Sketcher in the Midwest

That's me. My second watercolor Moleskine is finally complete. It was started in September 2010 and is a bit of a hodge podge that includes pages for sketchcrawls, Illustration Friday, List It Tuesday, and a few quotes and random pages of notes.

We started a small sketching group at work, and we try to meet at lunchtime once a week to sketch together and share other art interests.

I rarely (make that ever!) complete a sketch during one lunch hour. I will often spread it out over several sittings--sketching in pencil first, then inking the sketch, then adding color, and finally adding text. Quite often, the last three steps are not even done on site.

Sometimes, many, many months elapse between the steps.

Sometimes longer. This sketch took about a year to go from a pencil sketch to an inked one. I did go back to the statue to ink it on site. It was interesting to note the subtle differences in how I "saw" the statue the second time.

On this day I tried really hard to choose a subject that I thought I could complete in one sitting. It didn't happen. I still had to finish it at home.

There are even a few sketches in the book that I've deemed "abandoned." I'm pretty sure they will forever remain unfinished. That's OK. It will remind me to be grateful for the many moments I was able to capture and hold forever between the pages of my sketchbook.