Off to Adult Summer Camp

Oh man, it's been ages since I've been here.  My goal to post more?....life happens.  Broke my wrist in March cross country skiing. Non dominant hand thank goodness. So things came to a halt for awhile. Working for the only Hand Surgeons for miles around in our area I just went to work early the next day & got myself a nice cast. We just don't bounce like we used to at the over 60 mark.

Having nicely recovered I'm off to PBI (Paper & Book Intensive) at Ox-Bow in Southern Michigan in a couple days. http://www.ox-bow.org/  Looking so forward to 10 days of uninterrupted creativity! Plus the vibe and people there are wonderful. Not to mention the food is great. 

                      In the meantime a few pics of more recent endeavors, books, travels. This years Valentines, post cards.

             A trip to Charleston South Carolina with friends. Such a cool place filled with history.
       met the most amazing young man at the library Society. His blog is fabulous. Check it out
                                                         Brien Beidler

                         A little fun book with slip case done with stencils and Akua ink. 

                                     Another with mono prints and bits of hand made paper

I'll be back with lots of thoughts on the inspiration I find at PBI & of course I'll take lots of pictures.

Journal Page Prep

Good days for hunkering down in the studio space. Temps way below freezing for a few days. But we are hardy stock here. 

 Wanted to share some of my journal pages, hopefully to inspire others to get in there and just play!

It's always a nice jump start to getting the brain working in a creative direction. Once the hand starts moving the ideas usually flow.
My go to format is these:
 






I like the 9X12 size.  A little big for travel but I make room for it as feels the most comfortable to me.
   Then I doctor it up to my liking on the cover.

 

I dive into the scrap trunk of painted fabric or create a new piece that I sew onto the cover after
I've painted the edges with acrylic. Yes I do that on my sewing machine. Canvas seems to give the cover longevity and protection from wear.
 Over time I found it important to leave a couple pages blank at the front to create an index.It's loose but it helps me find notes, ideas, etc. I want to refer back to.

 I'm one of those people who have a hard time with a blank page, even if I am just writing to clear my head...so I embellish. Light applications of acrylic or water color allow writing on top.

 

Here I will mention one of my favorite "tools" for texture and adding lines is hardware cloth.

 

One piece I have cut to to fit my journal pages. Water down some acrylic, apply with a stencil brush and voila. A grid in which to write.
 I'll be back tomorrow with more. Time to feed the cat & get ready for my day job.  

All Knotted Up

A quick post before I'm off to work & then a much needed and art retreat with two friends.

About twice a year my little art cohort gets together a friends cottage on a sweet little lake near by. No cooking, no husbands, no spiffing ourselves up for the world. We always pack way too much to play with, but that's OK. We all have different mediums we focus on but the time away & sharing is so enriching. I am one lucky gal to have these opportunities.

Here is my ATC for this month. I love celtic knots!

 They are time consuming, meditative. The back ground is walnut ink on Arches Text Wove. Hand made walnut ink I boiled from shells. Found out totally by accident that when dried in the sun it gets darker & darker. I'm all out so will need to make more this summer.


and here is the finished dresser for the new space in our lower level. Love the strong yellow we picked for the drawers. Lots of coats, but worth it. I have a new appreciation for 2nd hand furniture.

Have a great week end all! I know I will.