Cook turkey or create new journal?

Oh, carumba my friends, does this happen to you? You have a house full of people coming for Thanksgiving, a huge menu to prepare, a house to clean and a list of chores to be done and then like a thunderbolt the muse is upon you like a seductive lover demanding to be wooed. Why does my best inspiration occur when I should be doing other things?

This is the new journal I put together last night when I should have been cleaning my studio for tomorrow's and Sunday's guests. First I had to put away the acrylic journal covers that were left over from the workshop. Aye, aye aye, just handling those journal covers made me want to make a journal. Really, really bad. I could not resist. You know the rest. Wet glue, hurry, hurry, feeling guilty, can't stop. My best projects go like this.

This is the back of the journal. I made a collage in PhotoElements and then printed it on a full sheet of transfer paper. Ironed that onto an old sheet (wrinkles because it was my first time and I didn't iron the sheet first because of my haste) and gelled it onto the acrylic cover.

This is what the front and back covers looked like attached to the canvas spine. The signatures will go in next. I love how rigid the acrylic makes the journal. Everything glues to it fantastically.
This view shows how the tissue I used inside and outside makes a translucent layer that shows both sides at once. Like looking through jello or encaustic. I woke up at 2 a.m. thinking the technique with the layers of tissue on acrylic was so novel that I should write it up for Cloth, Paper, Scissors but I know I have too much on my plate to do that. There is just so much you can do with acrylic panels!!
This is the inside of the covers showing the inside of the spine. Next I will sew in the signatures.
This is the spine of the finished book. I sewed a chinese coin in the upper spine (it doesn't show very well). That coin was an Artfest trade so thank you, anonymous giver, it was the perfect thing for this journal.

Oh *%$#@!!! I hear DH out in the kitchen running water while I madly type away in here. He must think I've lost my marbles to be on the computer with time running out. Wheeee, I love being an artist. Catch you later.

New Journal, Zap Mama, Artfest Sign-Up

I love to make the next journal before the last one is filled. Such a feeling of anticipation; to see the book with its pristine pages waiting to be started. For this journal I did a very extravagant thing and decided to use a stack of fabulous Fabriano paper that I've been saving. This paper is so exquisite - just to touch the pages is to feel the quality and history of the mill that created it. I used the light gray color and since it is thinner than what I usually use in my journals I was able to make 4 signatures instead of 3. An old printmaker friend gave me this paper as well as lots of handmade paper (an obsession we shared) so I think of her often while in my studio. We were friends in the late 70's, so long ago now.

I made the front and back covers on 8" x 10" acrylic panels. If you enlarge the photo above you'll see that the front cover is partially transparent. I glued tissue paper printed with inkjet images directly onto both sides of the acrylic panel and then glued on a cut-out photocopy of one of my stencil images. For the back cover I created an image in Photoshop and then printed it out onto fabric transfer paper. Once I transferred that to fabric and I glued that to the outside of the cover, then glued Japanese printed paper on the inside of the cover.

So above is both front and back attached to the canvas spine. I forgot to reverse the fabric transfer but decided to live with the outcome.

And this is what the inside of the covers look like, ready to receive the signatures. I got a great shot of the pierced signatures but then accidently deleted it. Ack!

My gosh-awful messy studio, sunny window, favorite fig tree, itty-bitty journal cover standing up on the work area to show that it is transparent to the light.

As I was working I found this scrap of paper on the floor, exactly as you see it. Since it certainly was a glorious day I glued it on the cover.

Here are the four signatures looking down from the top of the spine.

And the stitching on the spine. Terry Gross was interviewing Alice Cooper as I worked. Funny how something like that will stick in your mind. Now every time I look at this journal I'll think of Alice Cooper. Ack again.

Here it is, photo copies of my own work, tissue collage, the whole enchilada. Reminding me. Pilar gave me an awesome gift this week. She said she loves to cook; the whole kitchen witchery thing of stirring up seductive food. Oh, I loved that image. I am a reluctant cook. But yesterday I cooked another meal for my recuperating friend (chili verde, tortillas de maiz, arroz, salad) and as I worked I thought of brujeria de la cocina and that made it FUN! So now I want to cook more stuff. (no photos this time)

Here is a wild shot of the opening act of Zap Mama. We went to see them on Saturday night and it was a great concert. No photos allowed of the Mama's (sorry). I am such a rule follower. But here is a link to a cool song-video of them. Eye candy and ear candy.

This is a cheater page because I hooked 2 pages together for you. Why? I don't know. Just messing around. Loving a Labor Day with no labor whatsoever (I slept in to 10:25 am - hah!) and just plenty of time to pet the cat, drink coffee, get a little caught up (but not enough) and finish the new journal.

Last on the list: Artfest registration tomorrow. This will be my 4th year. I am thrilled to be teaching 2 classes but also missing out on taking from some of my talented companeros. I will never stop taking classes as long as I'm able. Learning new things keeps me energized and happy and that keeps me healthy and glad to be alive. I think that's all for now.

On This Day

I have big plans for the winter. Every day I chip away a little more at all that I want to accomplish. Of course as I do one thing nine others pop up wanting attention. But little by little. Caught up my taxes in the last 2 days. Just doing that much gave me such a lift. And thank goodness for friends who write and visit and lighten the load.

Of course my journal keeps me entertained as I wade through the ups and downs; it is my friendly companion who accepts all my opinions and experiments. I do a little here and there as I go about the day. Eventually a page is filled.

I think maybe I should draw more. I love the found juxtaposed images so much in my journal - representing as they do the random, disconnected thoughts that fill my mind. But drawing, painting, photography. All of those mediums call on a different part of my psyche. I need them all to express so much, so many big emotions.

Katie sent these photographs to me this morning; she had the foresight to get photos of the journal we both worked in at Journalfest. If you don't know about the 1000 Journal Project you can research it and see the film; the journal first floated into Katie's hands and from hers into mine.

Number 381. Wow. I'm so honored. It's like saying, "I was here. I existed for a moment. I too loved my life, breathed and passed this way".

Here I am, finishing up my page. I think I did my spread in under 5 minutes. No matter. More time doesn't always mean a better outcome.

The lettering says, "wishing peace and joy to all sentient beings".
That's all I have for today. xo

New Stamp, Paper and a Thank You

Here is my slab of rubber positioned next to the thumbnail sketches I did of possible designs to carve. Every step of carving rubber is pleasing to me. So much easier than all the plywood I slaved over long ago when making woodcuts. Now I can zip out a new stamp in about an hour.

And here it is, stamped on the paper next to the sketches. The last two that I made seemed masculine to me so with the shape and the wavy lines I hoped to make this one more feminine.

I tried it out on my journal pages first thing. Yay, I like it.

So time to finish the paper I primed last night. Here is a shot of the newspaper getting a coat of house primer. I used white on several sheets to play with.

And let them dry overnight.

Then awhile ago I went in and started stamping on them with my new stamps. I was going to use all my stamps but it was so messy that I just stuck to a few.

They look like a real mess from a distance but up close are some sweet spots. I've decided to use the paper in my collages instead of using it for wrapping paper.

The one piece of advice I have for anyone who wants to try this is not to keep the paper in such big pieces.

It's a pain to get around all sides of it when it is big and floppy.

I left a lot of the backgrounds white thinking I can always go back and glaze color over them later.

If you are taking a class from me I'll bet some of this shows up in your goody packets.

So that ends the newspaper project. One thing I like is the way the paper ripples with the paint on it. Sort of like kraft paper only thinner. I love paper, don't you? I have samples of the expensive stuff all over my studio that I just take out and fondle from time to time. But *shhh* my favorite paper of all is used paper bags from the grocery store. I'm saving them up to make my next journal. Yes! You can come along and watch. I'll put it all up here when I do it.

Behold the box of wonders that arrived in the mail yesterday. My sweet angel Carla, because she is thoughtful and herself, gathered up this bundle of love and sent it to me. I wish she could have seen me opening it and admiring each item. I sat right down and glued the red chinese cut out faces in my journal and then cut out the pictures of the head sculptures she made and glued those in my journal thusly:

and painted silly bodies on them. John didn't "get" my illustration; maybe I've been reading too many cartoons out of the New Yorker magazine. At any rate, thank you dear Carla, for making my day special.

Back to the studio now to start tearing the paper bags for the journal project. I don't promise I'll get to it right away but I'm going to start collecting my materials so that when the time is ripe I'll be ready .

A Whole Buncha Things

I've had the best couple of days in weeks. Yesterday a friend invited me and a half dozen other artists to her garage party; a space she's organized with tables and art supplies and heat guns and all sorts of inspiring eye candy. For several hours we each played in whatever media suited our fancy while we visited and nibbled and laughed together. It was what women have done for ages; cloistered together in friendship and fun. Incredibly good medicine. I made the journal page background above.

I had a couple of bags of vintage wallpaper scraps with me so I made another background page with those (isn't glueing fun?) and then loved the pages so much that I'm not sure I can paint over them. That old paper is just so gorgeous.

So a couple more journal layouts here.

I always thought of St. Paddy's Day as my personal holiday since it falls so close to my Birthday. I have a special connection with four leaf clovers and made a rubber stamp many years ago that I like to use around "my" holiday. Lucky me and my four leaf clovers.

I promised you photographs of my journal creation and I did take a few shots but they are still in my camera and I'm packing for a weekend trip so this is all I'll post for now. This is the back cover of the journal that I printed on fabric (ironed sheeting onto freezer paper and run through the inkjet printer then coated with acrylic gel and matte medium). The colors are very soft when you do it this way. I've also printed onto decal paper that you iron onto cotton sheeting as well as glueing a plain lazerprint onto the Davey board and all three methods give different effects. Inkjet is the most subtle.

While I was in a funk I started this experiment. Took a stack of computer paper that was printed on one side (you know, trash) and painted whacked out stuff on the reverse. Just anything to get the paint moving and do something for crying in a bucket. I figured if nothing else I could tear them into strips and use them as journal borders later.

So these are a couple of the pages I dashed off. It is very freeing; you have to go faster than usual to force yourself to work from automatic pilot instead of the left brain. The best part is plugging in the iron and ironing the curled up sheets when they're dry. I love ironing paper. (And I wouldn't dream of ironing clothes!)

This is the beautiful necklace I purchased from Nikki Blackwood. I know a lot of you know her from the art retreats. The art just gushes out of this woman; her home is like a gallery, museum, and cabinet of wonders. When I saw this hanging from a display screen I snatched it right up and now it's mine all mine, whoopee! I'm not even taking it off to sleep. (okay, that might have been an exaggeration.) She has others too that she hasn't listed on etsy so I'm nagging her to get busy.

Lastly, I want to tell you that this book came in the mail 2 days ago and it is a real gem. Bee has included just about every collage technique there is in this book. If you want to get a taste of what she's put together go to this blog and look in on what the women there have created from the chapters. I wish this had been the first book on collage I'd ever purchased as it has about 6 books worth of ideas to inspire you.

Well, tomorrow I throw clothes, art supplies, cameras, myself and lots of diet pop in the car and head up north to be with friends for the coming weekend. We will be honoring a friend as well as painting and catching up on our winter stories. Women talking. What could be warmer or juicier?

BTW, here's what a card said that John gave to me.

     "I just don't like to see you waste your time on silly things" he said
     "Well then," she said, "close your eyes".

hee hee.

"The greatest enemy of creativity is common sense"      --Picasso

Now I'm off to dream of my car trip. xo

Coptic Journal & Weekend Update

Yeah, she's floating alright. With a to-do list as long as your arm once again I've been seduced by the book muse into making a new journal. This time, from out of the blue, the small but mighty Emma put a coptic bug in my ear and off I go doing what I swore I'd never do again and that is make another coptic journal.

For this one I had 8 x 10" luan (mahogany door skin material) panels left over from the stack John cut me to take to Arizona. So I tore various papers into 15 1/2 x 10" sheets and folded those for the signatures (I always use a variety of sized, unsized and hoshi sheets just to keep things interesting) and proceeded to file the boards and then sand the edges.

Since the wood splinters easily I pre-coated both sides with matte acrylic medium.

This is the front cover in process. I decided to use the innertube metaphor on the cover. And since I'm a pisces and spent the first 12 years of my life in a swimming pool (typical exaggeration) I like to identify myself as a swimmer.

Mom would dump me and my sister off in the morning at the local over chlorinated swimming pool where we would spend the day until our dad picked us up on his way home from work, starved, sunburned and blissed out. We'd be so tired that we'd fall into bed too exhausted to give our folks any trouble. It was heaven. My first kiss was underwater with a 16 year old boy named Bobby Gifford. Now that was mermaid bliss! (my parents had no idea.)

Where was I? Oh yeah. The journal. Here is my funky stitching with one big mistake I may or may not correct. All in all a successful if imperfect effort.

And then over to Stephanie's for Susie's Birthday Sushi Party. (say that real fast 3 times) Here is Nathan who loves to ham it up for his Grandma (not). He is still uncommitted about traveling to Mexico with the old folks for Day of the Dead this fall. Say "yes" Nathan! Say yes! (He's probably afraid I'll aim the camera at him again and post him on my blog. One must indulge the grandma.)

Back by popular demand - more photos of Liesl and Jeremy's wedding. Irene emailed this morning to say the photographers have put up additional photos. Can you say popsicles? Intrigued? I was. They even had a kissing and polaroid picture taking booth at the wedding. Read all about it here.

Isn't this a beautiful shot with which to end the post? The newlyweds have had blessings from their parents whispered into their ears and all the prayers and hope that friends could wish on their union; love, hope, faith and nature will take care of the rest. Go forth and shine.

(Once again, the wedding photos courtesy of La Vie Photography.)