inspiration monday

last week i created this little book by lettering a quote onto paste paper......some of the pages looked like they needed something, but i didn't know what, so instead of forcing the issue (which is what i usually do so i can call it finished), i put it away for a few days. and when i pulled it out again, it was like seeing it for the first time! i realized that it needed a little more color on a couple of the pages, and then i added a little shadowing to some of the lettering......and proved to myself that when a touch of patience is thrown into the mix, inspiration can definitely strike twice on the same project!

put on your flip-flops and grab your sand buckets.....we're headed to the ocean!

click on image for larger view

for a peek inside, view photos here (click on "slideshow" for large format)

you can also watch a video in large format here at you tube

ocean of truth

here's a little sneaky peeky at a book i made using the paste paper from yesterday's post.

i tore it into four pieces and folded them to make the pages. then i mixed up a little bit of dr. martin's bleedproof white and grabbed my favorite calligraphy nib and began lettering a little quote. then i bound it all together using a pamphlet stitch, and added some little white shell beads that i've had in my stash forever.

and for the inside......i'm actually still trying to decide whether it's "finished" .....some of the pages look like they could use a little illustration, but i'm not sure, so i think i'm going to put it away, go back to it in a few days, and then see how it looks!

book finished using paste paper, dr. martin's bleedproof white, eagle falcon nib, waxed linen thread, shell beads

the no-mud zone

i love paste paper. the problem is that paste paper doesn't always love me back. it seems that every time i try to create some paste paper, my lack of experience with the color wheel gets in the way, so i get hasty and start throwing every color in my paintbox on it, and eventually all my papers look like mud......which isn't the look i'm after.

so, yesterday i got out my supplies with a "no-mud" mindset.

i spread some oooey goooey paste onto wet arches textwove paper using a sponge....and then i squirted two of my favorite colors of paint straight from the bottle onto the paper......

and smooshed it through the paste using a sponge.

then i took an orange chalk pastel and scraped it through the paste, and added a little purple pastel scribble on top.

and a little more scribbling through the paste using the end of a wooden tool....

and then i made myself stop. experience tells me that this is where i could easily enter the mud zone....a few more colors of chalk here, a little more paint there, and this paper is a goner.

so, now it's time to let this dry.....

and while that's going on, maybe i'll pass the time by visiting that pan of brownies i made the other day.....

paste paper finished using elmer's art paste, acrylic paints and chalk pastels onto arches textwove paper

practice, practice, practice

i've been wanting to make some books with a coptic binding for quite some time now.  and i've discovered that like most things, it takes a lot of practice.  so, i've been practicing.  and practicing.  and now that i'm working through my tendency to pull the stitches too tight, those little chain stitches are finally starting to look a little more consistent.  
i'm going to keep practicing...and hopefully you'll notice along the way that they're starting to look better!  :)

still listening

to follow up on the ACEO that i made several days ago (you can read about that here), this is a small lettering piece done on turquoise canson paper.  the lettering was made using dr. martin's bleedproof, along with my favorite pointed calligraphy nib that's been used so much, that i can no longer read the brand name!  the heart was cut from a piece of paste paper that i've "distressed" and sewn a large "X" using fuchsia cotton thread.  i like the way this turned out, but i'm thinking about doing it again using different letterforms and different colors.  i also have several book projects rolling around in my head, so we'll see where re-doing this project falls on my priority list...my intentions are good, anyway!   click on photo for larger image

today, yesterday...and tomorrow

i did this piece a few years ago and i still love it because: *i love the scripture, *it has a simple design, *this lettering is my favorite, *i enjoy using the heart-in-hand motif in my work, *i love using different shades of purple (especially blue purple!), *and, you guessed it, there are six wonderful little boxes to put all of that fun stuff in! one of the nice things about keeping a record of my work, and then looking back on it from time to time, is that i'm reminded of how much i enjoy doing little pieces of artwork like this. i have been overwhelmed recently...trying to decide "shall i paint today?, shall i draw today?, shall i letter today?". as usual, i've been making the process too difficult. what i should be doing today is take what i love from all of my artwork yesterday(s) and focus on that. of course, all of this is subject to change tomorrow(!).

praise

it has been a long time since i've used my pentel colorbrush...when i picked it up today, it was like catching up with an old friend. i really enjoy using it because it always feels like "play time".  

start today

today was about giving myself permission...to take a small piece of paste paper and do some lettering without stressing over the layout or whether or not the letters are perfect (which they aren't!).  seems like a simple thing to do, but i found it challenging.  and a year from now, i'd like to be able to say that today i took a big step out of my comfort zone.