Better Late Than Never

Over two years ago, we (and by we I mean my collaborative art journal peeps and moi) started a new round robin with an asian theme. I thought I was finished with that ages ago, and in fact, have had my own book back for over a year now. Turns out, due to a glitch in the mailing process, Marita's book skipped me, and it was only recently that I was able to do some pages and mail them to Marita so she could finally have a completed book. I used a stencil technique I learned from the wonderful Lynne Perrella. When you find an image you love, you make a bunch of photocopies of it, and then using a craft knife, cut away only parts on each copy. You also carefully cut out the entire image on one, so you have a silhouette as well. That way you can create (or maybe I should say recreate) the image, but using your own colors, textures, designs, etc.

The two facing pages:

Close-ups:

Most of the color comes from acrylic paint (some are metallic), though there is some embellishment with markers, paint pens, and glaze pens. Lots of stencils were used. You can see how using Lynne's technique allowed me to decorate each part of the image differently. Surely not authentic, but I love how it came out. I have been zendoodling almost daily, so couldn't resist doing some of that on the quote. 

Since I was working on loose pages, and not in the book, I used that opportunity to add some texture with some machine stitching. I don't know how much of that is apparent in the photos, but it's there.

So happy to have finally done this and gotten the pages into the mail. I really do hate being so late with something, even if it wasn't my fault.

World Of Color

No, I haven't been sick, on vacation, depressed, or abducted by aliens.  I've just been more or less uninterested in all things techno.  Which includes going online and blogging.  And while I do appreciate that staying off the computer has given me more time to do other things, I have missed my little blog, and so, here I am again, ready to share my artsy adventures.  I'm so far behind, I will be posting with no regard to chronology, so as not to put any pressure on myself.  Today I feel like blogging about the World of Colors collaborative journals I've been working in.  So, here they are.

First up, the page I did for Gloria.  Her chosen colors are teal,  cream, and a touch of black.

 

 

 

Carol chose blue and purple for her book.

 

 

Lynn's colors were the very bold and dramatic red and black.



Party Like It's Mardi Gras

Stephen's World of Colors book (from the Kindred Souls group) landed in my mailbox last week, and seeing his color choices (purple and gold) just made me think of the jewel tones of mardi gras.  I began by painting my page black, knowing that would make his colors pop.  Then came the search for images.  I'm sure many of you get Somerset Studios magazine.  You know those free art papers that they put inside for our use?  Well, I usually pull them out and save them in a folder, and that's where I found the two partiers.  Don't know which issue they were in, but the page is called Bohemian Souls.  I printed it in black and white and colored the characters with pastel crayons, inks, markers, stains, paint, etc. And altered the costumes a bit more with stencils and sparkly bits.   Here they are, dancing the night away with great abandon.

 

 

Before glueing them down, I decorated the black page with stencils and doodling, in various shades of gold and purple.  Then I found some sari ribbon for the "curtain" above.  The ribbons photographed kind of blue and brown, but they are purple and gold. 

 

The quote is a rubber stamp I've had for about six years or so....I purchased it at the first stamp expo I ever attended (along with a few MANY others), and sadly have no idea who manufactured it.  It was one of those unmounted inexpensive stamps you often find at those shows, piled together in a shoebox.  I've used it before, and have always appreciated the sentiment.

 

A closer look at the dancing duo:

 



 

The backs of the pages in this round robin are kept fairly simple, just containing our information.

 

 

 

Gold paper, and the rays are a Julie Fei-Fan Balzer stencil, with Wendy Vecchi's gold embossing paste applied over it.  More doodling with glaze pens, souffle pens and gel pens, a little bling in the center, and that's it.





Field Journal Project

Another round robin journal begins.......Journey of Dreams.......we're doing it field journal style.......small books, sized for easy transport, and containing the notes of people (real or imagined) on some sort of journey.  I constructed my journal months ago, but with a launch date of August 15, only very recently decided on my theme.  Click HERE if you'd like to see how my book was made (it's a very easy, no-sew method).

Here is the opening page of my journal, revealing my theme:

 

 

 

 

 

My adventure begins in Japan.  Totally imagined, as I've never been there.  But if I were fortunate enough to take such a trip, these things could  happen......

 

 

See that little sketch of me with the sushi master?  Well, it was tweaked from this one that my good friend Pat (aka Pat-Zee in this field journal ) did a few years back for our Tim Holtz cruise to New England.

 

 

 

A little gesso, a little drawing, and the stamp pad became a bowl of rice and the stamp, chopsticks.  I've been on so many artsy adventures with Pat, I just couldn't resist including her in some way. 

 

 

 

As for the other images, I just trolled the internet for photos of sushi (and Tokyo) and did my best to sketch them.  Now, Kyoko and Naomi are real.....two wonderful women from Japan who have been on several Tim cruises with us.  And I know if I visited their country I'd do my best to meet up with them.  So although this entry came from my imagination, it is something that could happen....and maybe someday will.





 

 

 

Teri's field journal arrived in my mailbox, and it was such fun to work in.  She and her husband recently returned from a trip to Hawaii, where she snorkeled for the first time.  Obviously, sketching underwater is not an easy task, so she asked that we help her fill her journal with ocean life that is endemic to the Hawaiian islands.  It just took a while with my friend Mr. Google, but I found three interesting creatures to sketch and write about.

 

 

 

Yesterday I handed both journals off to Pat (who was tickled to see her alter ego serving up some sushi), and I look forward to seeing how she continues them.

 

(BTW, all the sketches were done initially in pencil, then my Micron pen.  Nothing too difficult for the coloring.....just markers and paint pens from my stash.)



 

 



On A Roll

I discovered the secret to getting everything on my creative to-do list done, and done without procrastination.  I must also have a long list of  non-creative things I really should be doing first.  Bingo!  Of course the artsy list gets priority. 

At any rate, I have been checking off items on a daily basis (I do love making and completing lists), and have two more journal pages for Kindred Souls round robins finished and ready for mailing.

The first, for Mary-Beth, completes her "Illustrated Phrases" book.  I came upon a lovely sentiment, and knew instantly I had an image that was perfect for it.  Those of you who visit here regularly will doubtless recognize her.  I found her on the internet ages ago and have used her A LOT. 

 

 

The background is a 7 Gypsies paper that I altered a bit with a whitewash to mute it, and some stamping with clear ink and embossing powder. The frame is an old Stampin' Up embossing folder.  I cut the opening by hand, so to hide the wonkiness, ball chain was glued around it.  I know at least one of the flowers is from Prima, but the rest are just anonymous ones found in my stash. 

 

 

 

The next page is for Mary-Beth's World of Colors journal, and her chosen palette is blue and green.

 

 

 

The background consists of many layers of stenciling and pieces from a decorative napkin.  The focal image of the pear (a Tim Holtz stamp) is something I did for a card a while back, but never used.  The paper leaves are a Dyan Reaveley stamp, and the metal leaves above them are mostly of unknown origin, though I know a few are from Tim's idea-ology collection.

 

I am now all caught up with my journals....until the next one arrives, and I've been told that will be very soon.  Good!  I need another excuse to avoid that other "stuff."



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 







Time For Love (And Ignoring A Mistake)

Rhea's theme in the Kindred Souls first journal round robin (now approaching the finish line), is Time For Love.  I was one of the last to receive her book, and it is full to the bursting point of gorgeous detailed pages.  Lots of clocks, hearts, steampunk embellishments, and other bits of beauty.  The bar had been set very, very high, and I put a lot of work into my contribution.  Oh, and I need to mention that by the time I received the book, there were no more blank pages, so I had to cut one myself.  (Rhea knew this would happen and said she'd rebind the book when it returned home).  And there was the origin of the mistake I would later choose to ignore.  I measured the page, even punched the holes, since Rhea had used her Cinch and I have one too.  And proceded to create.  And after all was done I noticed.....my page size was correct, but the way I oriented it was not.  So, this is how the page will look when inserted in the book:

 

 

Yep, it is sideways.  And I just didn't have the heart to start all over again.  Don't bother craning your neck; this is how it should be viewed.  I sure hope Rhea doesn't mind:

 

 

 

And from this point on, we ignore the mistake and procede as if it never happened.  :)

 

The background was done (pretty much in this order) like this:  paint and glaze, Wendy's gold embossing paste through a stencil, and Dyan's stamps with black archival ink.

 

Instead of a clock (Time for Love, remember?), I used Tim's Picture Wheel die; it conveniently has 12 slots, so I turned it into a clock.

 

Lastly, some metal and wood embellishments, colored uniformly with more paint and glaze (thank you, Finnabair!), and a Wendy stamp and sentiment.

 

And the back (which IS oriented correctly):

 

 

 

And since the current challenge over at EWV (Everything Wendy Vecchi) is to use a die cut along with at least one Wendy stamp, my page, mistake and all (oops, I said we'd no longer mention the M word), works for that too.  So there.

 

 





Fifty Shades of.....White!

Many years ago, my introduction to collaborative art journals began with the book True Colors.  It chronicled with breathtaking illustrations a collaborative effort between 15 outstanding mixed media artists.  The originator was one of my favorites,
Lynne Perrella.  Each artist chose a color palette for their book, and Lynne chose white.  Ever since then I've wanted to do a primarily white book.  If that seems boring, think again.  As anyone who has ever headed to Home Depot to buy white house paint can tell you, there are at least 50 shades of this color. 

The Kindred Souls group I belong to is just finishing up our first round robin, and for our second we're doing a color theme.  I signed up immediately and chose all the shades of white plus a touch of black.  My first task, to create the journal itself.  Here are my covers.

front:

 

close up:

 

back:

 

inside:

 

 

As you can see, I had a little a whole lot of fabric and lace leftover from my recent vintage lace round robin.

 

 

Next, my own page to get things started.  I recently was fortunate enough to take a class with Anna Dabrowska, AKA  Finnabair, and was happy to use many of the leftover elements from that class.  And her techniques for making all those diverse pieces work together through color.

 

 

 

It began with a grid of scrapbook paper rectangles, most of which was covered with a dry brush application of white gesso.  Then the image of the woman was added.  Ribbon was twisted and adhered for her head scarf, and her clothing was gessoed over so I could decorate it with ink and stamps.  Her sleeve was done with a Michelle Ward stamp, and the body with stamp I carved myself.

 

 

 

I then began adding my assortment of metal, wood, and paper embellishments.  They were all covered with gesso, paint, and sprays.  My last step was to add some stenciling (again, by Michelle Ward) to the background.  I used black paint, then toned it down with a whitewash.

 

 

 

I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out, and I just can't wait to see what everyone else does in my book.  It is packaged and ready to begin its journey.  First stop, Michigan!



 

 









Vintage Paris

That is Lynne's theme in the journal round robin going on at Kindred Souls.  What a gorgeous book it is!  Our collaborative project is nearing its end, and this book is full of beautiful images of Paris, in Lynne's requested colors of whites and creams, lots of fabric and lace and lovely papers.  It's a great size too; 8x8 may be my new favorite.

Here is the front of my page.

 

 

The background (most of which wound up being covered) is an old photo of the Eiffel Tower, printed on cotton.  Many of the images I used came from a Navel Jelly collage sheet I've been hoarding  saving for years.  Others I found online, and others were in my stash.  Some are printed on fabric, some on paper, and there is a bit of machine stitching as well.

 

A couple of closer looks:

 

 

 

We don't have to do much to the backs, just finish them and include our information, but I think I decorated this back as much as the front.  Guess I was having too much fun.

 

 

 

The background on this side is a decorative napkin.  On the lower right there's a little pocket.

 

 

 

Inside the pocket, this little tag:

 

 

 

On the reverse side, my information.  The dangly on the top is actually a pin, which Lynne can remove if she likes and wear.

 

Although I'll be thrilled to get my own book back, I'll be a little sad to see this come to an end.  I've enjoyed each book I've worked in, and am always impressed with the pages that came before mine.  This is a group of very talented people!











Air Travel

Well, you don't know what
We can find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride

 

 

The lyrics from that Steppenwolf classic stayed in my head the entire time I was working on this page.  Dating myself, aren't I?

 

I had the entire weekend to do my page for Sox's book in the Kindred Souls round robin.  Her theme is air travel, the time period, late nineteenth century, and her preference is steampunk.  Naturally, images of zeppelins, hot air balloons and the like immediately came to mind, but I wanted to do something a little different.  So I put Sox's heroine, Magdalena, on a magic carpet as she comes in for a landing in Persia.

 

 

 

The background was mainly done with stencils that I thought supported my location.  I found the carpet image and buildings online.  My Magdalena is from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante collection, and I enhanced her hair with some tiny watch parts.

 

 

 

 

The satchel was constructed from grungepaper, inked with walnut stain distress ink.  Some faux stitching, the strap, the slide and the "hardware" made with dots from a glaze pen, finish it off.  I think it looks like leather.  Oh, and that's an old map of Persia peeking out of the outside pocket.

 

That same map, only larger, covers the back of the page.  I stenciled over part of it with black and gold paint, and used that area for my information.

 

 

 

Let's see......according to the artists that preceded me, Magdalena has also been to Cuba, London, Paris, and the far east.  I wonder where she'll turn up next......and how she'll get there.

 

On an unrelated note, I may be missing for a few days.  On Wednesday I'm flying down to North Carolina where I'm meeting up with my pals Elena and Jacquie for a long weekend workshop with DJ Petit at Donna Downey's studio.  I have wanted to take a class with DJ for ages, and to be able to AND hang with my Florida peeps.....priceless!



 





A Coffee Loving Ancestor Emerges.....

Last week I received my good friend Pat's Vintage Ancestors book, and I just love the way everyone has continued the theme that Pat established at the very beginning.  One way or another, all her ancestors were involved in the tea business, and the stories created for them are just wonderful.  Of course I'd go with the flow, but with a tiny little twist.  My contribution to the Tilly-Lipton clan, one Hazel Tilly, was definitely the black sheep of the family; horror of horrors, she hated tea!

Here is my two page spread:

This is a very simple layout, almost like a scrapbook.  The background is a vintage coffee and tea adverstisement that I printed on lightly patterned vellum, cut to the size of the two pages, then split down the middle so that half is on each page.  After I wrote my story (in my head), I just went on a search for pictures to illustrate it.  Thank you, Pinterest!  Thank you, Google images!

Here's a closer look at the story, and remember you can click on any of the photos to get a larger image.

 

 

Hazel's travels took her all over the world, but it was in Denmark that she found true love, and married there.  Why Denmark?  I'll get to that later.

 

 

 

Now, what is the meaning of the statement on the coffee cup?  Does that hinge actually work?

 

 

 

Why, yes, it does!  And what secret is revealed?

 

 

 

It seems that the Keurig coffee maker empire had its roots in the union of Hazel Tilly and Henrik Keurigsen.  Who knew? 

 

What inspired my twisted tale?  I happened upon an article giving the history of the Keurig company (very interesting TRUE story, by the way), and learned that keurig is the Danish word for courage.  I already knew I wanted my ancestor for Pat to be a coffee drinker, and Pat and I both love our Keurigs.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Totally invented history, but still......

 

I can't wait to get the book back to Pat.  I know she's going to love it.  I've said it before:  maybe you can't choose your relatives, but in our little collaborative art journal world, your friends can choose them for you.











Back to Russia

How Sue Acquired A Russian Ancestor

 

 

Clearly, I still have the desire to incorporate images of Russia into my art.  When I received Sue's Vintage Ancestors book this week, I knew immediately where her next ancestor would come from.

 

Sue structured her book a bit like a mystery (a very cool idea), setting her main character, Alice, off on a world wide journey to locate distant relatives.  Each one had a key (and Sue asked that we all use a key somewhere on our pages), and one of Alice's quests was to find the key that matched the one she herself possessed.

 

So naturally, I sent Alice to Russia, although an additional trip to Paris was necessary.  And I just had to throw in some Russian royalty as well as a rather emphatic nod toward my own Jewish Russian roots.  I knew all those years of reading mysteries would come in handy some day.

 

 

Very much under the infuence of Lynne Perrella, most of the coloring I did was with my Portfolio pastels.  The church which is furthest in the background is a drawing of the New Russian Orthodox Church in Paris.  Overlaid are some drawings of Russian churches as well as a few of the stamps I carved myself.  They have all been embellished with sparkly things, German scrap, and lots of doodling with my glaze pens.

 



The young beauty is Natalia, widow of Alice's distant cousin, Grand Duke Dimitri.  Below her photo is a pocket containing the explanation of all this, and to her left, the key she inherited from the late Duke.

 

 

After taking pictures of my pages, I decided that the litte faux Faberge egg atop the key needed more bling, so I added some.  Much more authentic now, LOL.

 

 

 

And here is the story of Natalia and Dimitri. 

 

 

 

I do love the challenge of inventing ancestors for my friends!