Studio Friday

My passion is for color! I give in by buying up everything and anything that sparks my colorful creative muse.

First Concertina

This is my first attempt at a concertina book and my second fabric book overall. I really like making these. I've always been into fabric and I like using everyday "sewing stuff" to embellish my books. The hardest part of this one was getting the back and the front to line up so I could sew them together on the fold lines. I measured so carefully, but the sides still were off by a little bit.

Art Journal

Art Journal Pages

Art Journal Pages

Art Journal

Art Journal Pages

Here are some pictures of my recent favorite art journal pages...and some of my not so favorites.

I covered these pages in masking tape, before painting them.

These pages are covered in hand cutouts from W magazine. This is the best magazine for collage material. The pages are good quality and there are LOTS of interesting words to cut out.

I took a bunch of pictures of shadows this day. These are my favorites.

Altered Board Book

I finished this board book yesterday. It's 4 1/4" x 3 1/2". I used several photobooth images and quotes that grabbed my attention. This is made with different papers, photobooth images, mica, and the old standby, acrylic paint in reds, oranges & yellows. You can see more pictures at flickr.

Hope

When I'm having a hard time being creative I go straight to my books and pictures. This is just one shelf full of inspiration in my studio. These books give me hope that I'll be able to once again, produce something beautiful.

Prayers

After trying to come up with a way to incorporate my faith into my art, I came across a book called "Faith Books & Spiritual Journaling". One of the projects in the book has to do with putting your prayers onto tags and attaching them to a canvas. This can be very hard to do because it's so personal and there are so many prayers I had to choose from. Right now, these are the areas in my life that need work, so that's what I decided to journal about.

About Me #1

I got this idea from the latest issue of Somerset Magazine. I wrote words and phrases that are about me, around the canvas. I cut out the center of the canvas and backed it with matboard. Then I put a self-portrait behind a window. The colors I used are the ones I am most drawn to recently.

About Me #2

I started a series with words that describe me. This one is made with a piece of canvas that I cut out of the center of another canvas.

The small collage is made of art tissue and Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish. I used some original tags made with vintage papers and paint, to hang off an old skeleton key.

Bamboo Pendant

This is made from a tile from a bamboo placemat. They are about 1 1/2" by 3/4" and the perfect size for a pendant. I scanned the picture onto Lazertran paper to easily transfer it to the tile. The beads are all wood, except for a few in a silver color. I didn't want to use precious stones or metals for my first try. The bamboo pendant is coated with diamond glaze that I let dry overnight.