Mail Art from Denmark

Mail Art from Kristine in Denmark....

whom I met at a monthly art group when she

lived here in the U.S.  She's a very sweet lady,

and a talented artist.  When she and her

little family decided to move back to Denmark,

we knew we would miss her, but so glad

they are enjoying being near family and

we can stay in touch on-line. 

When Kristine offered to swap Mail Art, I

jumped at the chance.  I love the 

contrast of the stenciled white design on 

the brown craft paper.  A similar design is 

stenciled on the green card. 

Have you gotten any

artistic mail lately?

Art Mark Making

More little paintings in the

small booklet that I made.  Purple 

Canson Mi Tientes paper bound with 

chain stitch. 

I have been loosely following prompts

from Rae Missigman's 'Art Marks 30 Day

Challenge.'  

Painting with acrylics, watercolors, and

collaging with my own painted papers.

The pages were sometimes gessoed,

sometimes not.

The book is four inches by four inches. 

The theory is that the smaller size will

take less time to finish...

but sometimes it lays out on my kitchen

counter, and I look at it periodically, and

decide to make additions. And it takes

all day.

I'm thinking that maybe I should

do away with leaving the open border 

around the edge...

as I did with this one.(above) Still not sure if

it's 'done.'

How do you know when you're done?

◘ ◘ ◘

Tuesday B.S.

The week surely rolls around quickly,

even when not much is happening.

I am having coffee and toast for breakfast...

I saw this B.S. quote on-line

and thought it was really cute...into

the journal it goes!

A new challenge presented itself this week:

Rae Missigman's Art Mark Making 30 Day Challenge.

Found it on Instagram, and I decided to go for it.

And to keep myself in practice with the

book binding techniques, I made a little

4" x 4" journal. I got the stitched binding a 

little loose, but that will be a reminder for the

next one to make sure I tighten up the 

stitches carefully.  Painted papers collaged

on the front of the book.

I had this purple Canson paper on hand, that I'd

purchased on sale. The color may get really

old by the time I'm done with the little book,

but it will be a good exercise to work with 

a color that I don't usually use.

The prompt "Open."  The little paper square in

the upper right is a 'flower fold' that opens up.

Image above, "blurred" prompt on the 

left, "free form" prompt on the right.

When you start the challenge a week late,

and miscount the pages up to the day you

start...put two prompts on one page!

Above, the "blended" prompt...as I worked,

I was reminded that wet-in-wet isn't the only

 technique for blending color. The closely placed

 dots can be a way of blending colors too.

and the "blotted" prompt: I painted a background

on the purple paper that had one coat of white

gesso applied. Then I applied a little gesso

over the background and blotted it up with

paper towels in several areas. Next came

 the Sharpie marker drawing, and

 a little watercolor and highlighter

added to the top layer.

Linking up with the T Tuesday blog hop,

because we all need to share a beverage

and have a chat once in a while.

It's all about how you interpret your day, 

your prompts, your art, your life...

book sTructures

Book structures from a class I attended

during February and March, taught by

Debra Bachelder at the Marion Public 

Library. We learned how to make

some very cool folded book structures!

The class was free (I think funded by the

Ohio Arts Council) and all supplies provided.

I did take some of my own pre-painted

papers for the insides and decoration of

the books, as you can see above.

The red book reads "color heals."

That's absolutely the way I feel

in the midst of winter. I need some

color to help counteract the 

lack of sunshine!

Debra provided plenty of 

gorgeous papers, and class members

also shared some of their resources.

I am not sure I can recreate this book

outside of class, but I really like the tabs

that swing out and reveal whatever art

or words have been added.

The 'House Book' was made from a 

house-shaped template with a tab on one

side, and pages were adhered together.

I used photos of winter trees and snow

for the covers, a couple of my twisted tree

drawings, and quotes about winter.

Pleased with the way it turned out.

There were other structures which I don't

have a photo of, but they are currently at 

the library for an Open House. I will try to

share them later.

Linking up for T Day, when I join

Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog hop.

We visit each other, share a beverage, 

and an assortment of art and photos,

maybe even some treats or a recipe.

Stop by for a chat...

I've been faithfully journaling in my 

Hobonichi Techo every day, and enjoying

adding some drawings that are

Spring-themed.

Coffee, tea, and journaling...

Is it Spring yet?!

Rusty Swap Pages

There's something about being in an Art swap 

that can get you thinking outside the box. 

Often you are given a subject or color or

 material to work with that you don't normally

 use.  Very good for making your brain

 look for alternative solutions.

Elizabeth has received her Rust Pages

from me, and has asked me to post 

them. Above, painted card stock,

scrapbook paper, fabric, and brass ornament.

Collage and pocket with tag. I used

text and images from a vintage book,

fabric, magazine scrap and a vintage button.

Paint is either acrylic or gouache in

Burnt Sienna. Please pardon the blurry

scan. The 3 dimensional quality of the

button causes that, but I felt you'd still

get a better view than from a photo.

Assorted papers, brass label frame, thread,

washer and tiny key. Acrylic paint and 

permanent marker used to 'rust up'

the metal washer.

Corrugated cardboard, book text,

computer generated text, acrylic 

paints and gesso.

My favorite page! The old truck is from a 

roadside photo that I took with my phone in

2015. I think it was at a truck stop in Kentucky

or Alabama. This old gem was just sitting 

out front as a decoration, I guess!

Watercolor and Sharpie pen on 

watercolor paper.  The license plate was

drawn and painted from an image on the 

internet. The license plate is definitely

my favorite part. The metal clip prompted

the painted swirls on the next page...

Acrylic, assorted papers, and computer-

generated text:

"Patina- a surface appearance of

something grown beautiful with

age or use."

Of course, there was quite a bit of

coffee consumed while creating

these pages, and while creating 

this post... Linking up with Elizabeth

for her T Tuesday T party...

drop by for some inspiration and

a cup of tea. (or coffee!)

Fill the Pages

The Documented Life Project 2015:

"Life is a book, we fill the pages."

Squares of painted paper cut into

1 3/4" squares and glued to

black card stock. I had plenty of

scraps to choose from!

Most are watercolor and Sharpie

pen, but some are acrylic paint.

(please pardon the shadows...the paper is really cream colored. 

I was having some difficulty getting the page on the scanner properly)

The theme for the week was supposed

to be all about the words...so I did write

some words on a few squares. But for

some reason the painted papers were

what really made me happy, so that's

my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Linking up with the T Tuesday

gang over at Bleubeard & Elizabeth's.

Sharing my drawing of a wonky tea cup and 

having my mocha coffee. (Yes, it's ok

to have a beverage other than tea)

Join us for a beverage of your choice,

a pastry, or maybe even some

creativity!

Touch the Stream

Documented Life Project 2015

~The Journal:  Week 15

The challenge was acrylic paint,

the prompt was "Cry me a river."

I painted an imaginary scene by an

imaginary river, and added a quote.

Week 14 challenge was to

work with watercolors, and the

prompt was "water under the

bridge."  The border is watercolor

and pen cut from another piece

of painted paper, then glued to

the acrylic paint background,

and completed by another quote.

Linking up with Elizabeth

for T Tuesday, over at

Altered Book Lover Blog...

and sharing a 'tea' collage

from 2014.

Only a few days left for

this year's  Fake Journal ~ April's

International Fake Journal Month.

Visit Cottonwood Counterfeit Journal

to see what my character has been

up to in the Fake Journal. Maybe

you can guess what my character

does for a living. A couple of people

have figured it out so far...

leave me a comment with

your ideas!