Stamp Series 02

Stamp Series 02

I started this postcard quite awhile ago but when I got into tiny collages I decided to add one to what I had already created.  It works.

Stamp Series 01

Stamp Series 01

I am a member of a book arts group that meets once monthly in Edmonds, Washington.  We had a holiday gift exchange earlier this month as our regular meeting date was a holiday.  We were tasked to provide a gift for the exchange that dealt with the number 13.  13 because it is 13 days from December 25th to Orthodox Christmas.  We were having our party in January.

So I made a clamshell box.  Inside the box was a completed postcard and 12 additional unfinished postcards.  Once the “winner” of my gift was determined I could then send that person a postcard each month in 2020 plus one.  This is one of the postcards that will be going to this person very soon.

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 10 - 12

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 10

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 11

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 12

Alas this tiny series comes to an end.  No worries I have more to come in the near future.  I will be teaching the process used in these collages in Newport, OR in April at the Newport Paper and Book Arts Festival.  

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 07 - 09

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 07

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 08

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 09

I rarely center anything in my collage work.  Somehow it bothers me to do so.  The composition just does not seem right when I do. With that said it does work in this piece just above.  Ah, maybe it is because it really is not centered from top to bottom.  Do you ever do that....just start talking and then a new realization jumps out at you?

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 04 - 06

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 04

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 05

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 06

One can get so much mileage from a postage stamp when one includes it in a collage.  It is quite exciting to find just the right stamp to go with the background.  I suppose one could choose a stamp and then create a background to go with it.  I did it the opposite way though.

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 01 - 03

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 01

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 02

Tiny Stamp Collage Series 03

The tiny collages are 2 inches x 2 inches and they are so much fun to make.  I love working small.  Since I was given two cardboard boxes full of stamps I am loving putting them to use.

Folded Paper Collage 10

Folded Paper Collage 10

Folded Paper Collage 10 -enlarged and cropped

I particularly like number 10.

Funny how the brain works.  During the night my brain must have been solving an art problem.  I woke with the solution.  The issue was how I was going to showcase some work on the cover of a book.  I have the answer now.

Folded Paper Collage 09

Folded Paper Collage 09

Folded Paper Collage 09 - enlarged and cropped

Works for me!

Folded Paper Collage 08

Folded Paper Collage 08

Folded Paper Collage 08 - enlarged and cropped

This is one of my favorites from the series.

As you know I have been working on my goal to have created 365 books in one year.  I just finished number one 289.

Is there anyone out there who likes to embroider?  I am looking for 2 inch x 2 inch squares that anyone who wants to do a collaboration might like to do.  I will be using the squares on the cover of books.

Folded Paper Collage 07

Folded Paper Collage 07

Folded Paper Collage 07 - enlarged and cropped

I love the hair color on this comic character.  The hatch work hair is great, too.  I have to figure out a process for getting the images to not distort as they are enlarged.  The original collage is only about 2.5 x 3 inches.  So enlarging to a much larger size like 9 x 11 is going to have distortion I think.  Perhaps I can get a larger image via PhotoShop if I scan the original at a high resolution.  I have done that before but there is distortion.  I will try again.

I was asked if yesterday’s focal image, cartoon character, was holding an ice bag.  I think so because he looks like he was in a fight.

Folded Paper Collage 06

Folded  Paper Collage 06 

Folded Paper Collage 06 - enlarged and cropped

This looks to be one shady character.  Maybe the 805 is part of his prison number???

If you need a good book to read I just finished Where the Crawdads Sing.  It is a can’t put down type of book.  I highly recommend it.

Folded Paper Collage 05

Folded Collage 05

Folded Collage 05 - enlarged and cropped

The enlarged pieces remind me of Lichtenstein’s dot pieces since the comics are actually dots.  Enlarging the works make it look like there are fewer elements than in the original collages.  There were eight pieces of ephemera in the small original and it looks like there are three or possibly four elements in the enlarged piece.  I think I am going to have to print the enlarge pieces for a book as well.  Hey, I have 285 books to fill.  So why not! :-)

Folded Paper Collage 04

Folded Paper Collage 04

Folded Paper Collage 04 enlarged and cropped

I love the insect eaten piece of ephemera in the original collage.  The name GEORGE came from a children’s reader.  I love that kids write in their text books.  I know it drives the teacher bananas but look at the vintage ephemera it becomes after many years.

Folded Paper Collage 03

Folded Paper Collage 03 

Folded Paper Collage 03 enlarged and cropped

I am loving the enlarged portion of each of the collages in this series....not to slight the actual small collages.  It is giving me thoughts of doing some larger pieces using the enlarged technique.  I guess I just have to try it.  Have to finish the Washington state suffragette piece that is due on Monday evening first though.

Folded Paper Collage 02

Folded Paper Collage 02

I use to love the comic strip Dick Tracy when I was a kid.  I love the boldness of his profile.  My friend Sally has a large number stamp which I used today.  I am so envious of this stamp.  She is looking for one for me but they are expensive online.

Folded Paper Collage 02 enlarged and cropped

Folded Paper Collage 01

Folded Paper Collage 01

Today I decided to do some more folded paper collages.  I have not done them for awhile.  You can see past ones on the header of this blog...at least they are there right now.  The only criteria for these collages is that somewhere in the collage there has to be a piece of folded paper.

Partial View of 01

As I was copying the image 01 into PhotoShop I accidently used the 300 dpi version into a smaller PhotoShop page.  This is what transpired.  I like it a lot and it fits into the theme of Words and Pictures which is the theme for the 2020 year long workshop hosted and taught by Carla Sonheim.  Making these collages is not part of the workshop but I am inspired and have gone on my own a bit here.  You could say this version is a cropped version of my original.

Empty Book with Japanese Stab Binding

Japanese Stab Binding

80 books to go toward my goal of 365 in as many days.  When I started 80 seemed like a lot of books and it is.  Now that I am heading toward the end of this pursuit it still seems like many but not as many as 365 was when I began.

As I plan for Newport and the workshop on how to make Japanese stab bound books I had only planned on creating soft covers in the workshop.  Then I though OK why not do a hard cover one.  So now I am thinking that is the route to go.  I had made hardcover books in this style before but it has been awhile.  The hard part of making the hard cover is punching the holes for sewing.  So I might simplify the binding and the size of what we do in Newport.  This one sure was fun to make.

Diamond Pattern - Japanese Stab Binding

Diamond Pattern - Japanese Stab Binding

I am trying to use up larger scraps of paper.  In this case I bound a book using the Japanese stab binding, diamond pattern.  Maybe you can see it more closely if you enlarge the image.  I thought that I needed to soften the cover a bit with the Japanese calligraphy paper.  I made the marbled paper when I was in San Francisco this past fall.

Fabric Belly Band

Fabric Belly Band

My art buddy, Elsa, wears fabric bracelets frequently.  She has them made by a local artist.  They are quite beautiful.  So that was my inspiration.  I have made belly bands for book closures previously but never a fabric one.  So I decided to give it a try.  I have lots of fabric that came from my mother’s estate and so I pulled some out and here is my result.  Remember I have no training on the sewing machine, just from the school of trying it out.  This belly band works really well and is quite shabby chic in my opinion.

Experiment Using Clear Gesso over Encaustic Backgrounds

Clear gesso experiment over encaustic background

As I have mentioned previously I really am taken with the Hot Box method of encaustic.  I wanted to collage over the backgrounds easily without a great amount of hassle.  Yesterday I tried cold wax and liked it but since I am so into using matte medium I had to figure out a way to adhere on a waxy surface and I found a way.  Coat the encaustic surface with clear gesso.  Once dry collaging can begin.  There is a texture feel to the surface that is rough from the clear gesso but so far I am impressed with the results.  

Obsessed with Japanese Stab Bindings

Japanese Stab Binding Obsession

I had no plan to do another stab binding today but look what happened.  It all came together pretty quickly.  I accessed a sheet of designer papers and after I cut out the size I needed I looked on my work station and there was a piece of designer paper with Japanese calligraphy on it.  A little black binding thread and some time and look what transpired.

I also worked on four new clamshell boxes today and some encaustic work.  Kind of tired and so I am looking through art books for more ideas.  Nice day! :-)

Encaustic Japanese Stab Bound Book

Japanese Stab Bound Book with Encaustic Cover

Now that I have so many encaustic papers which I made on a hot box I want to use them and here is one of the uses, a Japanese stab bound book.  I adhered the encaustic paper to a sheet of watercolor paper using PVA glue.  Not sure if I will continue using PVA or not for adherence.  I am trying different techniques to see what I like best.  It seemed to work but time will tell after a bit of wear and tear.  I did try it on a small piece of watercolor paper and the encaustic started to peel off.  So I might be back to square one on what glue to use.

Japanese Stab Bound - Difficult Design

Japanese Stab Bound Book

I thought I had posted this Japanese stab bound book but I had not.  Besides the binding I added. a playing card with a napkin collage.  All the elements came together on this book construction.

22 and Counting

22 and Counting

Yesterday I was asked to upload an image of all my Clamshell Boxes.  I could not photograph them all as many have been given away as gifts but here are 13 or the 14 that I still have.  What I did do is make a list and the total is 22 and counting.

This morning I made a Japanese stab bound book.  91 to go to 365.

Japanese Stab Binding - Two Patterns

I have been experimenting with more Japanese Stab Binding patterns this afternoon.  I was going to make three but my fingers are tired.  The last one was a bit complicated.  I do not know if it has a name because I just started doing a pattern.  I am sure it has been done before.  I have to search to see if I can come up with the name.    I also started Carla Sonheim’s year long online class today.  I did two samples of the project and have one to go.  Perhaps tomorrow I will show what I have done here. I have two busy days coming up so I do not know if I will get to it or not.

Yet another Clamshell Box

Clamshell Box  ( I’ve stopped counting) -front cover

Clamshell Box - open

Clamshell Box - open flat

I must be at 20 or so clamshell boxes.  Now that I have given several away I have lost count.  I suppose I could resurrect the total if I thought a bit.  No matter, it is a lot of them and I am not tired of making them either.  I can slow down now because this box has zero mistakes.  I finally got the process of adding the niche down.  I have now completed my 95 book towards my goal of 365 in one year.  I have until May 1 to finish those remaining.  I can easily do it especially if I make one a day and some days none as there are well over 95 days until May 1.

Another Clamshell Box - Arizona Stamp

Clamshell Box -Arizona Stamp (cover)

Clamshell Box (open)

Clamshell Box (open 2)

Really into making the clamshell box with a niche.  I got a bit carried away and made the same mistake as yesterday but corrected it.  I guess I need to make more for muscle memory or whatever will sink the procedure in without mistakes.  No matter, I like it anyway.