A Journal Gift

I have received a wonderful gift
from Elizabeth of the Altered Book Lover blog.
She constructed this lovely journal from paper
and fabric, fiber and scraps. It is a joy!
The cover is a green cotton with a sheer
fabric overlay that has a glittery pattern.
The ribbon is also sheer with gold
sparkles.

Inside the front cover is sewn
a pocket from fabric with a "country" design.
The pocket has two narrow sections
sewn vertically.

Above, are my additions to the journal cover.
I sewed on two mini-collages
that are 1 1/2 inches square.
The vertical rectangle is a "Moo Card"
that I made from another mini collage
and had color copied. I hand sewed them
to the cover with embroidery floss.
The words were stamped on fabric
that has been painted with
craft acrylic paints, and then glued on.

On the inside cover, to hide
the back side of my stitching, I glued
on some hand-made paper
and another mini-collage.
The hand-made paper is also a gift
from Elizabeth (many years ago...
ok, I've been kinda hoarding this!)
and its texture is wonderful.
I created a tag (on the right) and
a narrow envelope (left) to hold the lovely note
that Elizabeth sent with my surprise package.

There are so many beautiful pages
to play with in this journal,
and it will be challenging for me
to work in it, because I find myself
not wanting to cover up anything!
But I know it's meant for more art-making,
and I am so lucky to have a friend
in Elizabeth! She has been a faithful
"Swap" coordinator, and has
been a wonderful teacher in
all things 'altered books...'
I hope you'll visit Elizabeth's
blog Altered Book Lover to see
her adventures in art.
Thanks for all you do E!

Illustrations in my Art Journal

Pen and watercolor in my Art Journal.
Reflections and sights from a visit
to "Amish country" in Ohio.
An Amish community that is
affluent from the tourism,
but that very tourism has created
what could be considered an
adverse effect on the area.

The Amish continue to follow their
'plain' lifestyle, but many gift shops,
antique malls, and other businesses
have made the area much more commercial.
It is still a beautiful rural area, but
also much changed.
You can still see baby Swiss cheese being
made, buy Amish baked goods at the
bakery or market, or purchase a
hand-quilted quilt.
I always enjoy seeing the barefoot children,
the horse and buggies, and colorful laundry
blowing in the breeze on the line.
A lot of the Amish were
riding their bicycles. A local auction
caused some interesting sights
created by Amish families hauling their
purchases home in their wagon or buggy.
A delightful day-trip on a sunny summer day...

Mail Art

FISH MAIL

Postcard created from recycled cardboard
with collage over the 'printed' side.
Collage created from cotton fabric,
scraps of handmade paper and an ad,
a scrap of watercolor and ink,
stamping, hand-drawn swirls,
and the canceled postage image.
An extra fine-point Sharpie marker will
write on almost anything, including fabric.

What is Mail Art?

Mail art is art which uses the postal system as a medium. The term mail art can refer to an individual message, the medium through which it is sent, or an artistic genre. Mail art is also known as postal art and is sometimes referred to as Correspondence/Mail Art (CMA).

Mail artists typically exchange ephemera in the form of illustrated letters, zines, rubber stamped, decorated or illustrated envelopes, artist trading cards, postcards, artistamps, faux postage, mail-interviews, naked mail, friendship books, decos, and three-dimensional objects.

An amorphous international mail art network, involving thousands of participants in over fifty countries, evolved between the 1950s and the 1990s. It was influenced by other movements, including Dada and Fluxus.

One theme in mail art is that of commerce-free exchange; early mail art was, in part, a snub of gallery art, juried shows, and exclusivity in art. A saying in the mail art movement is "senders receive", meaning that one must not expect mail art to be sent to oneself unless one is also actively participating in the movement.

Excerpted from Wikipedia on-line article.

MAKE (AND SEND) SOME MAIL ART TODAY!

Black and White

Black and white spread in the little watercolor paper art journal.
Right-hand page shown above, which includes an additional 'flap'
on the right-hand side

Left-hand side of spread shown above. All images and writing sketched in pencil, then inked with Sharpie or other marker...a limited attempt to explore the 'idea of beauty' in different cultures. I am sure whole books have been written about the subject! I want to believe that our 'inner beauty' is more important, but ... it sure seems as though the world worships at the altar of youth and physical attractiveness...

Art Deco in the Art Journal

The woman's face was inspired by an
Art Deco painting (1925) by Tamara de Lempicka,
called Self Portrait (Tamara in the Green Bugatti)Quotes are from the book
The Great Gatsby

The spread started from the stylized flowers
and grew from there...
sketched first in pencil,
inked with Sharpie xfine point marker,
color added with colored pencils.

Arch Swap

A Gothic Arch made for a swap in the Altered Book Club Yahoo Group. Watercolor paper, fabric or handmade paper, scrap of text, notebook paper with chalk pastels, stamped and hand-written words, stamped 'swirls,' and a copper accent at the top of the arch.The background is done with two shades of green watercolor, then a glitter watercolor in copper color was sponged on the edges. Lots of layers, but felt it was worth the effort in the end.

Comment Moderation

Comment Spam seems to be on the rise, and I feel it necessary to begin Moderating the comments left by my readers. I have been resisting this change, but will see how it goes. Your comments are very appreciated, so please continue to let me know what you are thinking!

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Color as Subject

Painting and collage.
Tempera, acrylic, magazine clippings,
black permanent marker.
This was done several years ago
when I was getting back into
art - making.
Perhaps I should revisit
the subject of color
without recognizable objects.

Progress in the Art Journal

Our concept of beauty is greatly influenced by the society we are immersed in...and how expressive just the eyes alone can be! How pervasive the western ideal of 'painfully thin' models can be... and how necessary it is to resist the stereotypes; find your own beauty within yourself.

A Beginning

The beginning of a new spread in my little watercolor art journal... this background was intentionally left plain white for a black and white composition. I don't know where this is going yet, maybe a quote about 'beauty.' This doesn't show quite the whole space as it wouldn't fit on the scanner, and the right hand page also has a folded flap that is about 5 inches wide. It will be quite a lot of space to fill. Waiting for additional inspiration...
and a block of time to work!