The Garden of Pink Shadows

thoughts and creations

Yesterday was such a beautiful day (today is shaping up to be just as nice!) and though it isn't easy to work on a laptop outside, I was sitting out on the back porch writing a nice long post to my blog. I thought - uh oh, I better save the draft as I go along (tho I was nearly done by the time I thought this) but as soon as I hit the button I realized my mistake! I didn't have wireless connection out on the porch! And the whole thing was lost.. sigh...

Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this series of collages I've been working on - inspired by the beautiful bird song I hear every day, and the lovely pink blossoming apple tree outside my studio window - and a wonderful collection of vintage wallpaper I recently purchased from Donna of Under the Red Roof Etsy shop. Donna was so sweet to send me some lovely patterns of small flowers and graphics which I love to cut up and use in bits and pieces in collage.

These are made on canvas board (I've covered the back with patterned paper or fabric) but I think I may order some of those blocky square canvases as well.

So.. I was musing about this in what I was writing yesterday.. I've been thinking for a long time of doing a special issue of my zine (or just a similar small publication) of my art only - pages from my art journal, perhaps some older work I have never shared, and several step by step pieces showing the progress of how I create a piece like these ones and maybe some more 3d pieces like my shadow boxes &/or more craft stuff. What do you think? Would anyone be interested in something like this?

I have thought of either printing it up just like my zine (5x8", full color, 32 pages approx.) - or of having it printed up by one of those publication services - or maybe not as a printed publication, maybe as a downloadable pdf?

Anyway.. I'd love to hear some feedback on this idea! What do you think?

 

New Arterratica Swap Ideas!!

I just posted some ideas for upcoming art exchanges over on ArtErratica

One is for a 9 for 9, 1" sewn square swap, inspired by this exchange/blog: 1" x 1" Art Squares Swap I'm planning to start this out in only one color, possibly doing more in the future, and set up a poll to choose a color range to start with. If you're interested in joining, go vote for a color. These will be due late May or mid June.

Idea #2 is a color coordinated fabric / notion (ribbon, trim, buttons) exchange. 8 5-6" squares of fabric + 8 coordinating notions, all in one color range, packaged up. Probably 3 for 3. Colors to be determined! Probably due mid May.

Idea #3 is 3 for 3 postcard sized (apprx 3x5" or 4x6") sewn collages with a summer theme. Probably due mid June.

Idea #4 is a 3 for 3 "Garden Art" exchange - smallish, weatherproof art that can decorate a garden, porch or flowerpot, either hanging or attached to a stake to stick in the ground or pot. Due sometime in June.

These ideas are still in the developmental stage! If you are interested in joining, please go to ArtErratica and add your thoughts. I'll finalize the details, dates, and set up sign up lists later in the week.

Also - I'm taking names toward starting a 4th 1001 Journal book. Participation fee is $12 which includes a full color zine documenting the project at the end of the year. You can read details re: our first three books (already in progress) HERE Check our current books at 1001journals.com - look for journals #1533, 1534, & 1535!

Altered Books

Yesterday Shell commented on my altered books I had pictured in my cupboard "it's such a tease to see them and not be able to flick through them." So... I thought I'd share a few pages..
Here are some pages I did in our ArtErratica Dark Forest Altered Book RR -- last year?

As you can tell from the title, all our books (there were 8 participants) had a theme of dark/fairytale/forest/mystery.

Mine was about a girl who gets lost in the forest and comes across all sorts of strange creature and surreal environments.

I really liked this spread with the scary children staring out from the "all seeing" cottage, the diamond tree and random chickens! The strand of oak leaves that she holds pops up when you open the book..

This next image was a page I did in someone's book that had a "kingdom" theme. I used some of my favorite Victorian paperdoll arms, attached with brads so the can move (I love a bit of movement in the page.. flaps or doors that can open and reveal things or other pages.. three dimensional things that pop up from the page.. I like the "theatrical" element of this..)

In case anyone reading this does not know what an "altered book" is.. it is when you take an existing book - preferably an old (but not valuable!) one that has some existing text and illustration you might like to incorporate into your theme, and you create art within it -- often collage. For me, I love the combination of visuals and text so it's a great medium.

An altered book "round robin" is when a group of artists get together and agree to each start their own book then periodically (usually monthly) the books are passed on thru the mail and you work in each artist's book until as the cycle goes all the way around, you get your own book back, full of art.

It's rather like a very complex game of Telephone! Or the Surrealist game "Exquisite Corpse" in which each player adds their bit of art to a collaborative creation.

Ideally, the group of artists you work with has a somewhat similar, tho unique, concept and vision for the theme, so that the end result will be many different variations on the theme. It would be great to have them all together in the end, in an art show where viewers could turn the pages..
Recently I've been doing a lot more Art Journal RR's than altered books. It seems the whole altered book thing has gone out of interest as much and art journals -- usually blank journals often created by the originating artist -- are more popular now.
I'm currently hosting one called "The Winter's Tale" in which rather than starting with blank journals, we each created little "assemblage" books made up of various things like old cabinet photos, old envelopes, and even 3d objects like old baby shoes and tiny silver spoons, held together with grommets and wire. In a way this sort of combines the altered book and art journal techniques. Many of us have decontructed old books and just used the covers to bind the other things within, rather than using the entire block of pages.

I'll post some photos from those another time. If you want to see more of my altered book pages, follow the link in the sidebar to my flickr account and look for my "altered book" tag.