Waterways Project:Japanese Paper Play

Watercolor, acrylic ink, India ink
300 lb watercolor paper

I've been playing around with some Japanese paper and collage. But mostly, I'm preparing for a speaking engagement tomorrow night. If you are around, stop by and you can see all the books in person. I've just up loaded
Nina's whole book also.

More later!

Studio Warm Ups

4" x 4"
watercolor and ink on paper

I've been using these small sheets of paper as studio warm ups. Great way to get the hand and the paint moving around.

A recent favorite pod cast is this one on stem cell research. Did you know that fetal stem cells are too developed to be used in research. Takes some of the emotional punch right out of the arguments not to use them!

Pamphlet Stitch Journal Tutorial

Assorted Pamphlet Books
All made from recycled materials
Making a Simple Pamphlet Journal

In anticipation of my demonstration at the library, I wanted to post this demo for creating your own pamphlet stitched journal. I used a discarded watercolor drawing for most of the journal covers shown here and a cereal box for the one in the upper right had corner. A cereal box makes a wonderful, light weight, inexpensive cover for the books. The cardboard is just the right weight and can be embellished any way you wish. This one has a picture of a Robert Motherwell drawing on the side not shown and I call this book "A Spoonful of Motherwell" in homage to the master.

My books are created with a rather casual approach as I'm interested in filling them up more than creating a perfectly bound book. Keeping a relaxed attitude helps make the process "no tears" too.

So here are the instructions:


Tools
Awl or nail to punch holes
Card stock for cover
Filling paper
Sturdy thread and a needle
Bone folder or spoon to crease signatures and cover


Choose a cover paper or cardboard and the paper you wish for the signatures. I usually make the signatures first and fit the cover to it. To make this book, I folded a sheet of 8.5" x 11" resume paper in half (the hamburger way not the hot dog way, though you could make a book in that shape if you wished.) You can use 3,4 or 5 sheets of paper to make your journal but the more pages in your signature, the larger the swell will be. Make sure you use the bone folder to crease each page and then nest the pages. Bone fold the completed signature too.

Make the cover 1/8 " larger on the top, bottom and opening edge.


Make a jig
A jig is simply a pattern used to create holes in the spine of the cover and the signautres that line up perfectly. Using a piece of scrap paper, cut a piece that's 2" wide and as long as the spine. Fold it in half the long way. Fold in in half the other way. This intersection marks the middle hole for the jig. Create 2 more placement holes by folding the short edges to the center and creasing.


Line up the jig inside the folded cover and poke three holes in the spine.
Do the same for the signature.


Now you are ready for some minimal sewing. Nest the signature inside the cover, lining up the holes. Leave a nice long tail.
Thread up your needle and poke the needle through the center hole from outside to inside.
Next, poke the needle through the top hole going from inside to outside.


Now, sew through the bottom hole going from outside back to the inside.


Last stitchs: Poke the needle through the middle hole and bring it outside the spine again and tie off the 2 ends. Your finished. If you like, you can tie on beads to these end threads or make a tassel and tie that on.

Update on the Flying Pictures Project

Des Plaines River
Watercolor and ink

Today's big news is that I finally scanned Glen's Flying Pictures Project journal and created a slide show over at our blog. That completes all seven books documented! I'm getting ready for my lecture/demonstration next month and having a really wonderful time reminiscing. It's so amazing having the books in my hands and reading all the annotations people wrote to go with their pictures. Getting ready for the presentation makes me miss all of my fellow flyers.

The weather has been rainy and cool all month. Almost all the leaves are down now and DH and I hope to get out side on the next sunny day. Happy Halloween everyone!

The Last Flowers of Autumn

Here are a few pictures from my garden and neighborhood with the last few bits of floral color. I'm really loving how the more linear aspects of the trees are beginning to peek out from the falling foliage.

On my other blog , I'm taking today about my process on how to bridge the gap between an idea I have and how to express that idea visually. What do you do when confronted with a problem of visually expressing and idea?

Flying Pictures Project Grows Wings Again

Five of the Seven
Flying Pictures Project Journals
(This photo would have been much better had Robyn taken it in her Italian back yard!)



In the Spring of 2008, I invited three web friends in distant countries to help me plan a traveling artist's journal project. Our group eventually became seven artists on three continents united in our desire to have fun and exchange art and we launched The Flying Pictures Project. Now the project journals,( unfortunately not the participants), will be united for a display at the Oak Park Public Library. I'll be speaking about our process, fun and art work Thursday evening November 12 at 7PM at the Oak Park Public Library. The journals will be on display for the month of November and you can see them up close on the night I'm speaking. They are really beautiful in person. The photos do not do them justice!

I'll also discuss how anyone can start a journeling project and demonstrate how to make a simple pamphlet journal. With very simple tools and daily paper ephemera anyone, even people without art training, can create a rich, satisfying visual journal.

For information about other events at the library you can look at the November calender here.

Turtle Lore

Walk Slowly
Listen Gently

Sketchbooks

Through some really nice contacts from the gallery, I have been offered this top notch flat file for a really great price and some sweat equity. (Thanks to DH and the other team members for shoehorning these babies into our modestly sized car!) all my paper is now safely stored and not cluttering up all the corners. It makes me feel so professional.

I've been appreciating this fallow time in the studio. I'm drifting, dreaming, collage and of course, playing in my favorite way: mixing media. Here are a few pages from my sketch book. The safest place I know to experiment is between it's black, inexpensive covers.


Tools of the Trade Sketchbook #1

Here are a few of the ideas I've been absorbing this fall. All of these ideas are fermenting away and I'm beginning to get inklings of a new direction for my work.

This show by Robert Motherwell in the Block Museum at Northwestern University was absolutely wonderful and well worth the trip.


Tools of the Trade sketchbook page #2




I've been listening to a program calledRadio Lab and their most recent episode is about death and the after life. I know this sounds like a morbid subject but actually, the show was very interesting. Given that no one has come back to tell us what life is like on the other side, RL has found many interesting takes on the subject; eleven to be exact.

Tools of the Trade Sketchbook page #3

I love this art show and for a limited time you can see this show on line: Art 21

This is an interesting series too:Craft In America



Tools of the Trade sketchbook page 4

More later......

Kiswaukee In The Rain and Norman Ackroyd

As Craig and I paddled along last Sunday on the pristine Kiswaukee river, we were suddenly in a light rain. Craig had suggested, providentially, that we pack 2 ponchos and so we remained quiet dry and comfortable.


Recently,while enjoying my current art break, I've found the most beautiful etchings by Norman Ackroyd. I'm inspired by his luminous and spiritual landscapes. How elegant and simple black and white can be! Makes me want to break out the charcoal.

When I was painting plein air this summer, I went out mostly in June and became very attached to the filtered light of a rainy day. There is something other worldly about the soft focus of that light.

Conscious Tool Use

North Avenue Beach
September 09
Watercolor sketchbook

I've been thinking about life's many rhythms lately.


Internal Rhythm
Breathing, heart rate, digestion and rates of healing require time and can't be rushed.

Natural Rhythms
Today is the first day of Autumn and I want to pay attention to the subtle daily changes of the season. It's my favorite time of year.

Web Rhythms
When I'm logged on to the web, my goal is to remain aware of the first two kinds of rhythm (especially my breath) while working and learning. The ability to move quickly in the digital age is a double edged sword for analog beings. I'm aiming for a more conscious use of digital tools. The computer is only one tool in a long succession for us homo sapiens.


I recently watched an interesting documentary film calledManufactured Landscapes The film follows photographer Edward Burtynsky to his chosen locations in China and Bangladesh. His photos are beautiful and haunting all at once and film is a work of art in its own right.

You can hear Edward Burtynsky speaking in thisTED Lecture.

Happy Autumn to those of us in the Norther Hemisphere.