The Best Way to Travel

The theme for this month's ATC exchange was 'travel'. This song from my youth kept playing in my head as I was contemplating what to do with the theme, so I took it for a gift and played along.

The Best Way to Travel

And you can fly

High as a kite if you want to

Faster than light if you want to

Speeding through the universe

Thinking is the best way to travel

It's all a dream

Light passing by on the screen

And there's you and I on the beam

Speeding through the universe

Thinking is the best way to travel

We ride the waves

Distance is gone, will we find out?

How life began, will be find out?

Speeding through the universe

Thinking is the best way to travel

The Moody Blues

Samuel was Answered

For me it always starts with one item. In this case it was the photograph of a young man. I only imagine his name was Samuel... there was no inscription on the back.

The rest took on a life of it's own as I tried to work intuitively on the piece.

A recent class at Valley Ridge Art Studio in Wisconsin with artist Michael deMeng inspired me to try some new approaches in assemblage. He taught us many things about using non-traditional materials and painting techniques to create various effects. Apparently that creative energy followed me home. I do hope it sticks around awhile.

My brother-in-law and husband recently gifted me with an old typewriter, knowing that I would disassemble it for my artwork. The old Underwood was rusted and damaged beyond use and I was told that the auctioneer actually paid them $1 to take it away. What luck!
As I was cutting strips of old newspaper clippings to adhere to the surface, the name 'Samuel' and the words 'was answered' seemed to jump out at me. When you allow yourself to work from pure intuition, little 'gifts' are often presented. In this case, it was the title of the work.



The back ends of the old Underwood keys have such interesting hook shapes!

I must say that during the 2 days it took me to completely disassemble the old typewriter, I gained profound respect for the complex mechanics of the thing.

A work of art in itself.

Vision

Being extremely near sighted, I am constantly grateful for the ability of modern science to correct vision.

My inspiration for this was a series of recent eye exams and an antique anatomy chart.

Doggone Legends of the Midwest

What if you were sitting in a motel room with nothing to play with but a stack of old Pizza Ranch menus and a glue stick? Hmmmmm........

Meanwhile back at the ranch, the resulting collage was scanned into photoshop and further developed. You can click on the image to enlarge and explore.

Home Shelters the Dreamer

I readily admit to being somewhat of a hermit, especially during the summer months. I am content to work in my studio, putter around in the gardens, sit on the deck and watch Nature's big show and enjoy the unstructured time at home.

This illustration was made with that theme in mind.

Emphasis

Here in the midwest, we have been experiencing a weather pattern that features heat, humidity, and storms. An incredible lightning display earlier this month prompted my interpretation of the design principle 'Emphasis'. Nature's way of saying "Take That!"

This illustration was used on an artist trading card (ATC) for our monthly exchange.

Harmony

The theme for this month's art exchange was "principles of design." One of my choices was 'harmony' but I was unsure what direction to take with it.

Last week I awoke very early to a thick fog outside, the kind where you can't see across the road. Compelled to get up and ride my bicycle in it, I waited until nearly daylight and took a loop on the bike trail through the woods and around a small lake with fog and mist rolling around me as I rode alone.

It was a bit creepy and I kept expecting Vincent Price to step out in front of me at any moment wearing a black cape and doing that insane laugh.

The bike trail goes past a small cemetery where I have explored many times before, and I recalled the plots of 3 children that lay side by side in the older part of the grounds. At some point on that bike ride, an idea took form as I visualized a photograph of 3 Victorian Era children from my collection. Taking liberty with the artistic principle, I focused more on the general meaning of the word: Harmony in the way they each seemed to have strong individual characteristics , yet all shared common features and contributed to a family legacy. Three notes of a chord. A trio of stories left unfinished.

You never know where inspiration will come from. My best advice is to be open to it, be free and playful with the possibilities, and if you get a chance to ride your bike through thick fog on an early morning in June, just do it.

Saint Mildburga

This week my cats alerted me to a bird trapped in the fireplace chimney. It happens occasionally, and I have a method of rescue which does not include the cats. Off they went, banished temporarily to the basement. I set up a light on the glass fireplace doors, open the flue, and shortly the bird will come down to the light, thinking it is an escape to the outside. Then I can reach into the fireplace, grab the bird and release it outdoors. One would think I have done this before, right? This time it was a pair of chimney swifts. What strong little birds! I held each one long enough to admire their piercing black eyes and sleek profile, then opened my hand and they were gone.

I was reminded of a little collage made in 2007 when our theme for the month was "saints." This is my interpretation of Mildburga, Patron Saint and protector of Birds.

Garden Journal

Over the past few years I have kept a very informal little garden journal. In it are brief notes about when certain plants are blooming, when pests appear and what is done about it (this year we will be writing about gophers). There are notes about collecting seeds, which variety of tomatoes were best, and occasional drawings of the placement of plants in the flower beds. Last year's entries included weather notes; the devistating tornado we watched from our home and the floods that left us with "lake front property" and others without homes.

It's interesting to look back over past seasons and read the plans made for this one. The pages are often smudged with dirt, as entries are made while I rest after working. This is part of the overall 'patina' of the book.

My own little garden journal sits on a shelf in my garden shed; the one pictured here is from my Etsy shop.

Into the Garden

We have had a nice steady rain over night and throughout the day today. The garden is happy.

Several years ago I decided to transform the vegetable garden to a flower garden. This evolved after my "Earth Mother" phase in which I grew and canned everything. These days I am just as happy to support the Farmer's Market, but there are still a few tomato plants, green peppers and basil among the many flowers.

My Grandpa, who inspired my love of gardening, was always digging, planting and harvesting. In the spring there would be hundreds of tulips and in the fall, the entire yard was bordered by chrysanthemums of every imaginable variety. There were grafted fruit trees with 4 different kinds of pears on the same tree, roses and flowering shrubs galore. Grape vines grew on the fence around the garden and in the fall he made the best wine ever. He worked in the garden right up until the day he died and was always looking ahead to the next season.

I have kept his tree spade and most of his garden books, and all that he taught me over the years. And sometimes when I am out in my own garden I feel that he is still watching and guiding me with his gentle spirit.

Blue Iris

The highlight of our spring flower garden is the stand of blue iris in late May and early June. I wish they would bloom all summer long.

They are an annual reminder that the school year is almost over and soon there will be an abundance of unstructured time for making art, riding bicycles, reading, and puttering in the garden. Bring it on!

Untold Story

When beginning an illustration, I usually have no preconceived idea where it will go or what the finished work will look like. The story unfolds as layers are created and often the end result is a total surprise. This is the way I like to work, implying an untold story that the viewer can participate in, leaving clues and evidence of what might have happened. There is no absolute answer and the story can change at any given moment.

I am reminded of an old Calvin and Hobbs cartoon in which Calvin is working on a paint-by-number painting. Hobbs, looking over his shoulder remarkes "Hey, that's not right.... you're supposed to follow the numbers!" Calvin's reply: "But then my picture would look just like the one on the box..... " Calvin gets it.

Spring Haiku

The theme for this month's exchange is nesting and haiku. As I was working, my husband came up to the studio and in our conversation I learned that he had never written a haiku. I explained the concept to him and within minutes he had composed this one.

Maybe you too would enjoy writing a spring haiku...... first line 5 syllables, second line 7 syllables, third line 5 syllables.

Fun With Tyvek

These lovely objects are made from recycled Tyvek mailing envelopes! Since they are almost indestructable I have used them as embellishments on the covers of some of my books: This example also has beadwork, which is stitched through the Tyvek and onto the cover with equally indestructable 'fireline.'

Back to the Tyvek..... here is a brief description of the process used to create the ornaments.

You will need a Tyvek mailing envelope, stamp pad inks or other permanent colored inks, a teflon pressing cloth, a piece of scrap paper, iron, and metallic acrylic paints (optional). Work in a well ventellated room.

First, open up the envelope so the blank side is fully exposed. Use permanent colored inks (almost any kind works) to color the entire surface. I use stamp pads that are permanent when heat set. Blend several colors together if you like. Allow this to dry and cut the Tyvek into pieces about 3 to 4 inches square.

Here is the tricky part..... place a Tyvek piece on scrap paper under your teflon pressing cloth and press straight down with a hot iron for JUST A FEW SECONDS then lift the iron straight up. Check to see the results. If your Tyvek did not scrunch up then you must press briefly again. If you keep the heat on it too long, the Tyvek will simply begin to desintegrate. Be prepared to experiment (play) with this to get the feel of just how long to apply the heat. It is very fun and somewhat addictive to watch when the little piece scrunches up properly.

When your embellishments are done, you can use a sponge to lightly apply metallic acrylic paint to accent the high parts. This accentuates the wonderful random patterns that happen.

These ornaments can be used in many different ways.

I have used these in collage also, and am working on a series I hope to post here in the future.

As always, HAVE FUN.

Hand Bound Visual Journals

I have been busy making more hand bound visual journals. I've made a series of this design, which is one I like to use myself. These have a variety of hand torn papers for mixed media: Lenox, Strathmore Artagain, and heavy drawing paper. Since the book opens flat, it is easy to work on the pages. The size (5 x 7) is just right for slipping into a bag, along with a few pens and markers and it's easy to hold on your lap for little watercolor sketches and journal entries.

The leather used for spines is upcycled from discarded leather coats. There are so many materials that can be re-used in creative ways.

I have always loved the look and feel of well worn vintage books and have tried to create a bit of that here while designing an inviting "take along" visual journal for mixed media artists.

The covers are made with book board and canvas that has been slightly darkened around the edges for a comfortable vintage appearance.

The spine has exposed binding in a "Harlequin Stitch." This is a rather unusual technique that involves crossing threads between 2 signatures at a time. It is a challenging one to learn.

I use waxed linen for strong bindings and like the way it looks against the spine.

Here is a close up of the stitching. I have found that using a very small leather punch for the holes is preferable to an awl for this binding.
You can see more books like this and other designs at my Etsy shop.