In the Pocket Journal

In the Pocket Journal Cover

Last week on Tuesday and Thursday I taught two art journaling workshops with Seth Apter in Edmonds, WA. What a hoot and a half!  The journals we made have pockets.  Not only did we paint but we collaged and made a variety of small mini-journals, ATCs, and/or postcards to go in the pockets.

I feel so fortunate to have taught with Seth and to have experienced the creativity of so many artists. For me I was in art heaven all week.

Asian Fusion ATCs

Asian Fusion Hinged ATC

Asian Fusion Hinged ATC

Hinge Open

I had an amazingly busy week teaching two days of workshops with Seth Apter and finishing off the last of the student field trips at the Schack Art Center in Everett.  However, since I arise very early in the morning I still had time to complete eleven ATCs for June.  The task for this ATC was to hinge it somehow.  You can see how the second one above opens up to create a larger collaged image.

I call them Asian Fusion because I took the liberty of using a variety of Asian inspired papers and images and combined them into what you see above.  So these ATCs have both a Chinese and Japanese influence.

Friday morning I scanned all eleven with the hopes of uploading the images to this blog.  All good intentions failed.  Something happened to eight of the images and they were not uploadable.  I have already put them in the mail to their international destinations, only three "survive" for the blog.  I think part of the problem was that one must be very careful with "save" and "save as".

Skeleton

Skeleton

This one is kind of bizarre but it seems to work.  As you know I post the good with the not so...I do not hide the skeletons.  This one has one error that would totally ruin it if I did something about it. So I left well enough alone.

The Fan Dancer

The Fan Dancer

The background on this piece is an old Japanese ledger paper I found on Etsy.  Last week I went scrounging with some art friends and we went to an over-priced antique store.  I was not finding anything when all of a sudden I found Chinese ledger books that were only $5.00 each.  I snapped up a bunch of them.  I think I am saturated with ledger books from the Far East now. :-)

Ancestors

Ancestors

This piece came together over many days.  I worked myself into corners and back out again.  A student of mine, Sally, gave me some cake decorating stencils she found at a thrift store.  I used them to stamp the background.  Love them and to think they were about a dollar purchase!  This piece was just juried into the Summer NW Collage Society Art Show opening in July in Mukilteo, WA.

Afternoon Stroll

Afternoon Stroll

The Afternoon Stroll was a postcard collaboration with two other artists, Cathy Casteel and Gina May. I wonder what the woman is looking at in the sky.  Could it be threatening or startling? For some reason I feel that King Kong's hand is going to reach done and swoop up this woman.

Entomophobic

Entomophobic

Entomophobic (I learned a new word), the phobia of insects was a postcard collaboration.  Cathy Casteel and Gina May created the background and middle ground and I completed the foreground. The background was a layer of paint and then stenciling.  Words were added to the middle ground and several layers were added to the foreground.  The surprised man is actually standing away from the postcard a bit.  I used foam squares to give it a three-D appearance.

Afternoon Tea

Afternoon Tea

I have been working ahead as I have some deadlines coming up and wanted to get my round robin piece completed early.  What a good feeling to have this 8 x 8 finished for Brian Kasstle!  I used some new techniques in Afternoon Tea.  First, I have experienced applying paint with credit cards forever, but I made a new tool discovery and I don't know the name of the implement.  It is a bread bag closure.  What is its name?  It is not a twist tie.  I guess I am going to have to do an internet search to see if I can find out. If anyone knows the name put me out of my misery to tell me.  The white lines were made by this new tool.

Second, I am using papers from a Japanese umbrella that one of my students gave me.  I love how it adheres and is a strong element in the finished collage.

Mah Jongg Queen

Mah Jongg Queen

I don't know if I have mentioned on this blog that I play Mah Jongg every Wednesday afternoon.  I love playing this game and it is a highlight of each week.  I have met a super group of people who I play with.  There are seven of us when we are all there.  It took some time to become proficient in the game.  I read two strategy books and playing has given me valuable practice.  In this piece, The Mah Jongg Queen, I have established a story line of a woman who plays each week to escape the mundane chores of life.  This piece was just juried into the NW Collage Society Art Show beginning in July in Mukilteo, WA.

Man of Leisure No. One and Man of Leisure No. Two

Man of Leisure No. One

Man of Leisure No. Two

It is fun to have similarities in compositions as I did in these two postcards.  Irene Rafael sent me torn papers from a Japanese umbrella which I have incorporated into both cards.  It is easy to use and now I am on the hunt for more umbrellas.  The paper which I assume is rice paper is so easy to adhere and the design qualities on the umbrella are excellent ephemera.

Man with Rooster

Man with Rooster

What more can I say other than I love all the materials I used for this postcard!  I owe a huge thank you to Thomas LaBadia who has a blog with an accompanying Flickr album of copyright free images.  This is where I found the man with the rooster and the ginkgo leaf.  The background kanji comes from a Japanese ledger

Under the Umbrella

Under the Umbrella

Under the Umbrella is another in the postcard series.  Speaking of umbrellas, my friend Irene sent me pieces of a Japanese umbrella that was damaged.  I love using the pieces so much that I included some in this piece.  It is behind the circle.  It turns a bit transparent which I love.

See, Hear, Speak No Evil

See, Hear, Speak No Evil

Here is the 8 x 8 Round Robin spread I sent Irene Rafael in California.  I used watercolor paper for this piece adhering Japanese ledger paper to the background.  I discovered paper yarn and wove some through the eyelet holes.  I am loving simple that looks complicated.  Not sure if this would be considered Wabi Sabi or not but it only took five steps to complete.