C is for Cardinals

 

Spring is Coming and with it more birds for us to watch out the window.  

I love   

cardinals

They stick around all winter and are a beautiful sight on the feeder 

when all is white & they add their shock of color.  

  The top bird is from The Graphics Fairy. She offers links to an amazing 

treasure trove of vintage images for personal use.

This fancy guy is from Sarah Suplina. I follow her on Instagram and am amazed by her little 

intricate creatures from layered pieces of paper paper. You should check her out.

One of my favorite fiber artists, Ann Wood, has a pattern for little song birds.

She recently posted an add on to the pattern to turn them into crested birds 

such as cardinals. There may be a couple of these in my future.

 Need to raid the red fabric scrap pile. 

With no intention on my part my first 3 A to Z posts have been about winged creatures.

That is going to change tomorrow. 

Stay healthy & safe everyone.

Summer Workshop Part 2 PBI

Outside the facility grounds at Ox-Bow there is a set of stairs. 302 of them to be exact.
Many days several PBI participants would migrate there and make the trip up.
Great exercise & the view is worth it.

Being on the channel that comes off Lake Michigan into Douglas & Saugatuck

the sunsets are gorgeous most evenings.

My afternoons the first round of class time was spent with Shawn Sheehy,  paper engineer extraordinaire, to create "cabinets of curiosities". I suggest you watch the video in the link of his latest book to get an idea of the intricacy of his work. 

I don't have many pictures of the process as we moved at a brisk pace
to accomplish all the construction of the boxes & mechanicals held inside in the time allotted.
So many teeny pieces of heavy paper to cut & fold & glue.

One box held a scroll.

One class member sent the group a video of her completed
scroll box after she got home.

My choice for one of the pop ups was a whale.
Pull the yellow tab & he rises up from the box

Another was a curtain you pull open.

Out comes a little butterfly.

One of the favorites of the entire group was the turtle. Shawn had many of the pieces pre cut for us, 

thank goodness or we would still be there cutting paper. maybe that's why we liked it so much!

Pull the tab & his legs & tail pop out. 

 

The entire piece is small. 5 .5 " wide, 3.5 " deep & 3" tall.
Four afternoons of my summer, Poof!
Plus some time in the early am or late pm.
 That's what happens at PBI.


Shawn brought several reference books he uses when creating new
 mechanicals for his elaborate creations.

The first day was spent making sample elaborate moving mechanisms
for reference that went in box 1. Pictures of white card stock with not being
able to see what they do don't do it justice so I am sparing you.

Next up in the how I spent my time at PBI installments will be the class with Laura Wait.

In the meantime, happy Fourth of July!

Marbled Paper #AtoZChallenge

Marbled paper is an interesting art form. It dates back to at least the 12th century in Japan. 

It was decorative as well as a theft deterrent. 

This book from 1881 revealed the process to the general public for the first time.  

 

Great Article on the history & uses for marbling with links to more information & images.

End papers are a typical application. Here in one of my little journals. 

When I attend a workshop or conference & there are marbled papers for sale I can't resist.
These are a few sheets from my stash. They make me drool.

Were you aware of the art of marbled paper?
 Do you find the history fascinating?

Know When to Fold Em #AtoZChallenge

  A good accordion fold, it's a tricky business. 

Get it wrong & it looks awful. Done right & you feel you've accomplished something.  

This tutorial link gives you the proper approach.

I've had my share of fails on this but some have gone well.

This little guy was  an experiment in gluing to get a long enough stretch, 

& cutting an inside frame

I can't take credit for the accordion. The teeny tiny text block

for these teeny tiny books were provided in a workshop. 

The cover structure was our focus.

 This book, Urban Sprawl,  has been in several shows. I still love it

 but would be happy if it found a new home with someone who appreciates artist books. 

Happy folding!

Embossing #AtoZ Challenge

Embossing is one of many ways to add texture to paper. 

I went a little crazy a couple years ago when I saw this article in Bound & Lettered, 

a magazine for book & letter artists. This article is by Carol Dubosch. In the link you will find a downloadable PDF of the script seen above she created & teaches in workshops .

I based an entire alphabet plus variations on her script&

 cut my own embossing plates from water color paper.

My tracing light box is indispensable for this process.

 

The process is time intensive as each letter, & at times

 elements of the same letter, has to be individually embossed into the paper.

Just another way I get into the zone. 

What activity makes you forget about time & the rest of the world?

Embossing Addiction Continues

   I can't help myself. I enjoy turning on the light box, getting out the alphabet components and disappearing into embossing. Every word can be a bit different every time.

 

 Deciding the way they should all go together is the fun.

They can also be used as stencils. Much quicker but a different result.

A good view of the cut letters on the light box & the stylus I use to make the impression in the paper.

Canson Mi-Teintes with it's slight texture gives a nice result. Lots of color choices.

I plan to create even more letter forms to play with. Custom cards anyone? Just ask. 

Annual Valentine (Galentine) Creation

Each year I create my own Valentines for lots of my women friends, also known as Galentines. My way to let them know they are in my thoughts & I appreciate them!

The jump off point this year came from a Christmas card idea from Helen Hiebert's blog.

It took some time to fine tune the design so it would fold well, have a pleasing shape, as well as fit nicely on the Canson Mi-Teintes paper I wanted to use. 

 In a clam shell box making workshop  I learned the brilliance of using Legos for a perfect corner guide. You can butt it up to any surface and have a straight edge or perfect corner to work from. Stuff like that is worth the price of admission.

First I decorated each full sheet with stencils.   The large sheets, 19" X 25", offer so much opportunity for folded structures.

Each Valentine (Galentine) was traced & cut separately. Good way to hone my xacto skills. 

In a few days I will post my Blogging from A to Z  April Challenge reveal. I participated last year and truly enjoyed the process. Stay tuned & follow along