The Dancers and Avignon

 

Something happened late last night that had me dancing.  Have any of you who use Firefox gotten a notice there was a new update?  I ignored it on Thursday and now wish I hadn't.  Hindsight is always 20/20.  After I installed the update, I did what I always do twice a day.  I left myself a comment.  This time, instead of reading "Failed to Publish, Try Again Later," my comment published.  That's when I decided to see if I could leave comments to others.  I chose the two people who have stuck by me every day this month: Tom and Erika.  Now I'll be by to leave comments to you, too! 

Bleubeard and I have been hosting Art Journal Journey (AJJ) this month.  Our theme for the entire month is Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place, with Anyone.  

Today, I have two pages I created and they are both very different.  Those of you who have visited my blog in the past know how much I love to sew paper to paper.  Therefore, it should be no surprise that I would have to include at least one entry this month that included sewing.  

I named this entry The Dancers.  Details are below.

 

 

I started with vintage sheet music I colored using blue, green, and silver fluid acrylic paints.  I sewed the two dancers I found in my stash to the background using blue variegated thread. 

 

My second entry takes us back to France. 

 

We are visiting Avignon.  Details are below.

 

I started once again with one of my favorite backgrounds: security envelopes.  These were all very different patterns.  I found images from two different travel brochures, one of which contained the image of the famous bridge, the other of a World Heritage site.  Information for this page came from various sites on the internet.  This page was 5.5 X 8.5 inch (13.97 X 21.59 centimeter) created on 110 lb. cardstock. 

 

Thank you so much for visiting today.  I hope you will join Bleubeard and me at Art Journal Journey with your own interpretation of Anywhere, Anytime, Any Place, with Anyone.  Be assured, now that I can leave comments, I will definitely be by to catch up.   

 

 

Ferns in Retrospect

 

This will be my final entry for Halle of Halle's Hobbies at Art Journal Journey.  Halle wants us to think about Botanicals, which is her theme for July.

I named this Ferns in retrospect.  Details are below.

This is the second side of a failed sun print I recently created.   In case you missed it, the first side is here.  I laid the ferns on the first side and sprayed with a commercial spray mist (not my shimmering mists). I carefully removed the ferns which left the impression of the ferns.  While the ferns were still wet, I gently laid them on the second sheet, this one. Once they were dry, I removed the ferns.  You can see the Titan Buff paint in a few places on this sheet. 

 

I then used my sewing machine to outline the ferns using blue variegated thread.  Although I sewed all four sides, the scanner cut off one side.  Finally, I computer generated the words using my black-only toner.

Thanks for joining Bleubeard and me today. We are truly grateful.  You still have nearly two days to submit an entry at Art Journal Journey sharing your own interpretation of Botanicals.  

I also want to thank Halle for all the wonderful art she has given us and all the lovely comments she has left everyone, even in the face of nearly losing her blog.  Thank you, dear friend.

 
 

The Rose

 

Today I'm joining Halle of Halle's Hobbies at Art Journal Journey with her Botanicals theme.

I call this The Rose.  Details are below.

I began by cutting a sheet of green cardstock to 5.5 X 8.5 in. (13.97 X 21.59 cm.).  I used a Ranger stencil called LetterIt (a recent gift) and green pigment ink to cover the background. 

 

Next, I sewed around the outside and the rose using gold/red/black variegated thread.  Finally, I added the three Fleur de Lis.  As you can tell, I still can't sew a straight line no matter how hard I try.

 

Thanks beyond belief for your visit today.  I appreciate you stopping by.  I hope to see you and your own interpretation of Botanicals at Art Journal Journey.

 

 

Coneflowers

 

I want to begin by thanking Matilde for hosting in June.  I really enjoyed the theme.

This month we have a new host, as we always do the first of the month.  It is my dear longtime friend Halle of Halle's Hobbies.  Halle is challenging us to think about Botanicals, which is her theme for this entire month of July.  I now give you my interpretation of her theme.

For my first entry this month, I give you what I call Coneflowers (Echinacea).  Detail images are below.

It's been awhile since I've sewed anything.  I thought this would be the perfect time.  As many of you long time visitors know, I only sew paper to paper or paper to fabric.  I couldn't sew a straight line if my life depended on it and I have no desire to create anything that involves cutting or a pattern.

I began by sewing vintage sheet music to 110 lb. cardstock using blue variegated thread.  I added five different bits of foreign text, but two of them were covered with the coneflower packet.  I also added the label and the other two pieces I found in my stash.  I fussy cut a floral doodle I love to make and placed it over the seed packet.  It was the only piece that wasn't sewn.

Please remember we welcome art journal pages that meet the theme requirements, altered book pages, canvases, loose, or stand alone pages including fabric and digital art.  I (and the administrators) cannot leave comments on Facebook, TicTok, or Instagram entries.  We do not allow cards!!!  We also don't allow tags, index cards, ATCs, or ATCoins, unless they are part of a journal page, and as much as we don't want to, will be forced to delete your entry.  Please remember if your blog is not in English, we ask that you translate it for us since the translation tool doesn't work on some blogs, including mine.  Hope to see you and your Botanical entries soon at Art Journal Journey.

Swallows

 

I had intended to show what few photos I took of my trip to Missouri today, but the photos are still in my camera.  Instead, I will join Neet (at Hickydorums) our host this month at Art Journal Journey.  By now you probably know her theme is It must have wings.

Back on May 1, Tam at Willowing Art started a 14 day adventure in mixed media.  Anxious to learn, I signed up early.  Her entry was first, and I watched because she let us download the swallows she drew.  I copied the swallows, cut them out, and outlined them.  There they sat on my table for over two weeks.  I watched a few other mixed media lessons that didn't involve drawing or painting a human or animal.  All were abstract and I picked up on what those artists created.  My favorites were Julie Fea-Fan Balzer and Seth Apter, but I also liked watching Jackie Bernardi and Jackie Schomburg. Each of these artists influenced my art.

It's obvious I named this Swallows.  Detail images are below.

 

I began by sewing a sheet of vintage sheet music to 110 lb. cardstock.  I positioned the birds on the page, then removed them in order to draw the branch.  I accidentally dropped a big glob of Posca pen yellow on the page, so decided to draw a flower.  I planned to make that the center. I didn't realize how long it would take for the ink to dry and moved the page too soon.  I was surprised when the center cracked.  I also dropped a glob of pink while creating the petals of the flower.  I tried to cover the pink glob by turning it into a tulip.  This time I waited until I was sure the ink was dry before I moved the page.  So much for my idea I had before the globs.

I painted the birds, first in white, then in Titan Buff. I painted both Phthalo Blue (green shade) and Phthalo Green (blue shade) swatches on the birds.  When they were dry, I created all kinds of dots, circles, and lines using a white gel pen, a gold Posca pen, a yellow Posca pen, and a purple brush marker.  I used two postage stamps for the wings.  I then added the words and the birds that I colored and cut from my bird punch. 

Thanks for dropping by today. Bleubeard and I are thrilled you stopped by and hope to see you at Art Journal Journey.  We would love it if you shared your own interpretation of It must have wings.

Second on the 2nd: Mixed Media Assemblage

 

"Failed to Publish" is back.  I can publish about once every 12 hours or so.  Very frustrating.  

As most of you know, whenever possible, I like my Second Look to somehow reflect what our current host at Art Journal Journey is featuring.  That means I looked for something that included Alison's chosen theme, Autumn Colors and Inspiration. This post was originally published on October 7, 2015.  It was for a challenge and the theme was Autumn. 

  This was my first ever assemblage made using a book cover for the substrate.

I thought this looked like autumn, especially after I colored the white flowers (yes, they all started white) with yellow pan pastels and brown walnut ink.

I sprayed each flower with a fixative before I added it to the cover.  I'm out of E6000, my adhesive of choice for anything like this, so I grabbed the hot glue gun and promptly made a mess of things.

Except for the very first (and last) photo, these were all taken before I realized I hadn't cleaned the hot glue strings properly from the piece.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  I started with some autumn fabric and sprayed it (using a spray adhesive) to the book cover I had gessoed late last month.

To that I added fabric I rusted, some of my handmade paper, and an image of a young girl I fussy cut.  I sewed the paper assembly to the rusty fabric, then was horrified because the yellow from the pan pastel got on the rusty fabric.

Although I eventually noticed the problem, removing all that pan pastel dust

was a real problem.  I also forgot to show the back, which I covered in shaving cream paper I made several years ago.

One final look at this first altered book cover after I removed the hot glue spider webs, but before I got rid of the excess pan pastel dust.  I still need to punch holes to add a wire hanging, but I wanted to show this before time runs out on that challenge.

Materials I used were five white flowers I colored, filler grass from my yard, commercial fabric, rust dyed fabric, handmade paper (made by me), a printed image, thread, shaving cream paper (on the back), all on a gessoed book cover that was about 8 inches by 10 inches (20,32 centimeters by 25,4 centimeters).

Now it's time to share your own Second on the 2nd.  The rules are quite simple and everyone is welcome to join the fun look back.  All you have to do is bring back a post that you are especially proud of, or perhaps one you shared before anyone knew your blog existed.  Any post, any genre, any artistic endeavor is acceptable, as long as it's been published sometime in the past.  Then link below (direct links only, please) and Bleubeard and I, along with other Second on the 2nd friends, will be by to visit.   

My new altered book

 

I'm once again joining Aimeslee at Paper-Paisleys Art Adventures who is our host this month at Art Journal Journey.  Her theme is Anything Goes. 

For two days I showed backgrounds I created.  You will find them here and here.

This is my new altered book.  It is all about cats. These are Pages 1 and 2. On the left, I started by using a stencil at the top of the paint chip.  I then added this gifted cat (thanks Erika).  On the right is a U.S. postage stamp from my stash to which I added a bit of washi tape.

On Page 3, I added a punched cat that I colored using Staz-on and 91% isopropyl alcohol.  I stamped the word "Purr" in black dye ink.  For Page 4, I included another gifted cat from the same set.

The postage stamp on the left (Page 5) came from Sami, who some of you know for hosting Monday Murals.  I stamped the word "Mew" in black dye ink, from a set of stamps also sent to me by Erika.  The postage stamp on the right (Page 6) was from my stash.  I stamped the word "Purr-fection" in black dye ink.

For page 7, the postage stamp was another one gifted me by Sami, as was the one on Page 8.  I stamped the word "Meow" in black dye ink on Page 8.

I have more of these finished, but scanning is difficult and very time consuming, since I must scan each individually to a thumb drive.  I tried to scan several at a time and learned I erased the previous scan when I did.  

 

Thanks for joining Bleubeard and me today.  We are grateful you stopped by and hope to see you at Art Journal Journey as you share your interpretation of Anything Goes.

 

More backgrounds for my new altered book

 

I showed you the first six backgrounds yesterday.  Technically, Rita was right yesterday when she said I should only have 16 pages.  But I counted and I thought I had 24 inside pages, not including the covers.  I was wrong.  I have 32 inside pages and the front and back covers will make 34.  How could I have been so wrong?  And I thought math was my strong suit.  Above are pages 7 (seven) and 8 (eight).  That is the yellow page I forgot yesterday.  The color sample on the right is a sandstone texture sample, also by Ralph Lauren.

These are backgrounds 9 and 10.  I used some old German text to compliment the brown on the right.

Backgrounds 11 and 12 are green sandstone and green metallic. I'm trying to make the embellishments a bit different each time.

Now we are getting to some of my favorite colors in backgrounds 13 and 14.  Sandstone on the left and metallic on the right.

Backgrounds  15 and 16 are both metallics.  The embellishment on the left is a gifted page from a book from a church.  The one on the right is shorthand, definitely a lost art.

Background 17 is another sandstone paint chip sample.  The book page is either Japanese or Chinese.

 

I have 15 more inside pages to decorate, but I'll be using the colors I like best in the final ones.   For the time being, I want to get started decorating the inside of this book.

 

Work in progress

 

I've started a new altered book I made from scratch.  

Actually, it's made from construction paper, which is terrible material unless you are using glue stick to adhere items to it.  I was really proud of my sewing.  It is the first time I have sewn a straight line since forever.  There are a total of four sheets of 4 inch X 8 inch, which gives 24 surfaces on which to work.

I've started with the palest yellow Ralph Lauren paint chip from my stash. I'm using that brand because they are square.  To the first square I've added a piece of security envelope and a piece of foreign text.  The second square got a bit of vintage sheet music.

Backgrounds 3 and 4 got two different metallic squares.  The square on the left has a note in English and the one on the right has a bit of shorthand. Unfortunately, I missed a dark yellow square when it hid under a security envelope.  I was sick, but there was nothing I could do because I had already

created backgrounds 5 and 6.  More sheet music and Greek (?) text in front of different security envelopes.  I was frustrated and stopped.  I hope to have the rest of the backgrounds finished tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by.  Bleubeard and I are delighted to have you visit.