Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Cover of the Funky Chunky Journal

This is the cover of the Funky Chunky Journal:

 In this detail, you can see the frame inset into the cover.  The central gold embellishment was created with Mold n' Pour and a large button. Then the mold was filled with  hot glue. Once the glue was cool, I covered it with gold leaf. This is one of the techniques that I teach in my class X-treme Gilding.


Monday, August 29, 2011

More pages from art journal

Here is the continuing development of the art journal.  I named it "Funky Chunky Journal."
On this page: inkjet transfers of butterflies and Bob Dylan, my own Tempis Fugit stamp, and torn pieces  of calligraphy from various projects.


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Pages with windows

Cutting windows into pages is one of my favorite techniques.  The placement of a window is challenging, because the opening reveals whatever is "underneath" that page -- on the right and also on the left. Windows act as frames for art -- either a section that is intentionally designed, or a little happy accident.




Monday, August 22, 2011

Adding embellishments

Each day that I work in this book I am building up the layers.  I have seen some beautiful projects lately, and am aware that I am dimensionally challenged!  In these pages I am incorporating embellishments that have some depth to them. I am also adding cloth and fibers for more texture.







Sunday, August 21, 2011

Pages with pockets

As I am working in this journal, I am trying different techniques and ideas. Here are some pages with pockets and tags. 





Tuesday, August 16, 2011

How I work

In my art, I am all about process. I love to sit and letter and can get absorbed in that. When I am done lettering, it's easy to sit back and say, well, that is finished. A few years ago I began to cut up some "failed" calligraphy pieces, and it was a wonderfully liberating experience.  All of a sudden, the pieces weren't precious, and the quality of the lettering didn't matter. Neither did legibility.  There is a lot of freedom when the pressure to be perfect is taken away.

So, here are some pages with my own lettering torn or cut up.



Monday, August 15, 2011

Changes over time

Part of what I love about these kinds of sketchbooks is that I can go back and update, or add to what I have already done.  It is helpful to let some designs sit for a while, and then reevaluate them, and make changes.  

This spread a few days ago: 


Same spread with white paint added:

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Untitled Sketchbook continued

Here are a few more pages from the sketch book I am currently working in. Not my usual color palette, right???  I find it challenging to break out of using the same palette all the time. I used walnut ink for the browns in the backgrounds.




Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Interrupting the e. e. cummings book

Last month after I moved my studio back home, I made a commitment to work on art for 15 minutes a day.  There were no more excuses for not creating since all of my supplies are upstairs, and not across town.  I was inspired by Melissa Dinwiddie's motivational blog.
This morning, I found a post written by another artist (Elizabeth Michelle Remy) about health challenges, specifically migraines. Since I woke up with one this morning, and was feeling sorry for myself, her words really hit me. 
So, I decided to take the time to photograph the things I am doing in my 15 minutes, and share them here. 

I am working on a small handmade journal with a lot of pages.  They started out similar to these:



Then I added lettering, stamping and torn papers:



Here are a few more, some of my favorites so far:




More to follow....

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

e. e. cummings book

I worked on this little book over several months.  The paper is Arches Text Wove.  The darker backgrounds are paste papers. The inside pages are decorated with dye based ink and stamps.