Shabby Chic Cloth Journal No. 2

Cloth Journal No. 2

Cloth Journal No 2 (part of the inside)

When cleaning out my mother's house I found some fabric that I liked.  So here is some of it made into my second shabby chic cloth journal.  I have not pinned anything in the journal yet as I have been filling Cloth Journal No. 1 with plenty of found and given items.  I love adding things into the cloth journals with safety pins.  There are many pockets in this one including some secret ones. I have added many postcards in them  It will look more journal-like when something finds a home on it.

Friends

Friends

Same background as the Chapeau Ladies.  Not sure if I will do a back ground in white again.  I usually start with black.  Not much to say here other than how important friends are to me....not that I want to get a fish from one!

Chapeau Ladies Series - Nos. 1, 2, and 3

Chapeau Ladies No. 1

Chapeau Ladies No. 2

Chapeau Ladies No. 3

When using vintage images that I find and print from the internet I find that a dark image sometimes shows through when one overlaps.  I never know until I adhere the images with matte medium.  I should know I guess but it just never comes to mind.  Today with Chapeau Ladies No. 2 the bovine gives the chapeau lady a beard.  Perhaps that is alright because there are a variety of ladies in the world.  Maybe this one is a drag queen.  Who knows?  However, I did think of a way to solve the problem next time.  Paint the back of the image with white paint.  Voila, no afternoon shadow!

Pocket Accordion Journal for Postcards

Pocket Accordion (front)

Pocket Accordion (front open)

Pocket Accordion (inside open empty)

Pocket Accordion (inside open full)

Pocket Accordion (inside open back)

This past Tuesday was the take down for the Rosehill Show (Mukilteo, WA) that featured collages from the NW Collage Society.  So that meant a lot of work needed to be done with my co-heart, Jan. Not only did we have to take the show down but we had to wrap all the art and return it to the rightful owners. There was a two hour window for the artists to pick up their work.

One of the artists had mentioned to me that she had a bunch of books on creating books and journals that she was culling and did I wish them.  Of course I did.  Suzan brought them to the show pickup. In exchange for the books I asked Suzan what would be a fair trade.  We decided that I would design a journal to house ten or so 4 x 6 works that she had done but wanted to display somehow.

I wanted to create a journal to honor her works.  So that very late afternoon I started thinking and doing mock ups of possilbe journals to fit the criteria.  Suzan wanted an accordion and I had suggested pockets.  Making pockets on two sides was the challenge.  I successfully came up with a ten pocket accordion journal (pockets on both sides) which is now housing many postcards that I have received in the mail over the last few years.  Soon Suzan and I will get together at her studio for instruction on how to create said journal.  Too much fun!  It was so much fun I am going to make a second one today! :-)

Wake Up!

Wake Up

This has to be the fastest finished collaboration I have ever done.  Wendy Lee Lynds and I are exchanging postcards.  We each work on a background and possibly the middle ground.  Then we send the postcards off to each other to finish.  Today the mail arrived at 12:45.  Of course I opened Wendy's mail first and I found three cards waiting for me to work on.  I had just cut out the men you see for something yesterday.  I auditioned them on all three postcards but this is the one that was the best fit.  Actually it is perfect with the colors that Wendy had already included.  By 1:06 I had the card done and was writing the message.  I call this speed collaboration!

It has been a bit of a trial collaborating with Wendy.  Not because of Wendy but because of the post office.  I sent Wendy two different sets of postcards that never made it to her house.  One being lost is bad enough but two lost sets seems a bit strange.  Finally I hand delivered a set to her.  What do you think happened?  She liked them the way they were so much that they are hanging in her studio and that is where I think they will remain.

With all that has been going on in the news about marriage licenses in Kentucky this postcard seems to have an appropriate message.

Thanks Wendy!

Easy as ABC

Easy as ABC (cover)

Easy as ABC (inside)

Each year I get quite a bit of snail mail that I file away and I think about doing something with.  For instance, I belong to an international ATC group and the envelopes frequently come to me decorated amazingly. What to do with them?  They are unlike Christmas card envelopes that are usually boring....I guess I could make something out of them as well  But the snail mail envelopes have a great deal of amazing effort put forth on them already.  So I started binding them into signatures and the signatures were bound together to make a journal.  I plunked on a cover and I have a new journal to work in.

I add ephemera and paint to the envelope sides that have nothing.  Occasionally I will have the perfect something to add to what one of the sender artists has already done.  What I have in the end is a lovely journal created as a cooperative effort even though the artists did not know that is what they were doing.  Now that secret is out! Thanks to you all!

Prior to making this journal I just happened to be surfing on the internet and I was on Judy Wise's blog.  She had made a journal out of recycled materials.....grocery bag and cheese cloth.  Perfect, I knew what I was going to do with the snail mail envelopes.  Although I did not follow her directions to the T, I did use the paper bag and cheese cloth idea.  Thanks Judy!

Elton John's Lion

Elton John's Lion

Just where or where did this one come from anyway?

the man in the street
agreed heartily
that
it
was
Elton John's lion

Pink Shirt

Pink Shirt

Pink shirt

Lustrous hair

Fashion

Some time ago I made a stencil with a much larger barking dog a la Keith Haring.  I pared the dog down for this piece.  I love Keith's icons and his history of becoming famous.  Unfortunately, the world lost an artist way before his time.  Keith Haring died of AIDS when he was only 32 years of age.  Pink Shirt and poem honor him.

Forceful Breath

Forceful Breath

Wind softly speaks out

Whispering a forceful breath

Swiftly falling leaves

I am in two journal round robins.  Forceful Breath is in a Catherine's accordion journal in this group of six.    I love our group because the majority of the people in the group are new to round robins or have only done a few previously.  It is so much fun to see the excitement using this creative outlet.

Enough War

Enough War

My friend Jacki Long was visiting the NW in August and she gave me a present of very brittle ephemera from a book about Native Americans....at least I think the pages came from this particular type of book. The few pages that I received had to be carefully handled as the slightest jarring caused bits to break off.  It was a challenge to carefully use my exacto knife to cut around the men I found on one page.  I was lucky enough to find the perfect male brave and the crow. Voila the composition was complete to add to my already finished background.

Sing It Out, Girlfriend!!

Sing It Out, Girlfriend!

Simple spoke to me when I found this lovely chanteuse.  I can just hear her belting out songs at the top of her lungs most likely practicing for an upcoming career as an opera singer.

Story Collection Signature (front and back)

Signature Front Cover

Signature Back Cover

I have been working on this signature for quite some time.  Finally it has come to a close.  I have one other signature done and I think one more to go in what will become a journal made from old maps that I found when going through my father's belongings.  Bits of the maps show in each of the spreads in this journal.  I have put the other signatures away in a safe place.  Now to find just where that safe place is so I can continue on with the project! Hmm!

So I wrote the above paragraph a few days ago and queued it and then I went hunting for the other unfinished signature.  Found one!  Hmm!  I wonder where the other(s) are?  Maybe there will only be three signature in the journal?????

Groovy

Groovy

I have had this postcard lying around for quite some time.  I love the photograph of this aging VW camper.  Many years ago I thought I wanted one of these bugs.  Camping was my thing for a long time. I guess I fancied myself as a vagabond surfer type wishing to go from beach to beach to take in the views and listen to the surf, certainly not actually getting in the water that was way too cold. Buying a VW never happened but the dreams were fun even though they did not come to fruition.   My dream now is a VW convertible.  That probably won't happen either, but the dream is still fun.

Round Robin Spread September 2015

Round Robin Spread  September 2015

The idea for this spread just flowed and in a few short days it was done way ahead of the end of the month deadline.  I do not think I have any adjustments to make on it, but sending it on to the next RR artist will have to wait.  I took small snippets of twelve of my journal spreads and ATCs to make this particular spread that now resides in Michele's RR journal.  So much fun to see parts of works that I have created on one page.

The Meeting

The Meeting

Ever since the beginning of man people have been meeting one another, making judgments, moving on or becoming friends.  So many people have passed through my life.  Some remain and some do not.  For years gay men would pass one another.  Gaydar went off or not.  One had to be so careful. Some men were arrested for just simply wanting the connection to another like themselves.  The times are different now.  I never thought I would see the day of same sex marriages, not in my life time.  But it happened and thank goodness it did.

Mutate Sylaba

Mutate Sylaba

Last weekend on my art retreat on Orcas Island with my friends Jan and Michele I wanted to complete a signature for a journal that I have been working on for a long time.  As I was working on this piece I tried to figure out what to say as I wanted some words.  Nothing came to me until out of my mouth came Mutate followed by Sylaba.  So Mutate Sylaba came to be.  Can you figure out what it means?  I will give you a clue, it kind of like Aloha! :-)

Dimanche 7 Juillet

Dimanche 7 Juillet

This is the backside (It actually becomes the middle of the zine.) of the Zine that I created for Terry Garrett's birthday.   Below is the front side.

Front side of the Zine

One folds the zine hot dog style and then in fourths. Cut the middle two sections and push in to create the zine.  It is the first zine I have ever made and I had a great time creating it.  Now that I know what I am doing I can refine my methods.

Finally

Finally

Finally came about as I was reading about the county clerks who will not give marriage licenses to same sex couples in Kentucky and Alabama. These dinosaur idealists will be pushed aside by those who are actually thinking people as the Supreme Court has spoken and the tides have changed. These dissenters just appears as obstructionism now. Time to move on and accept.  History does repeat as this decision for marriage equality parallels the rights for African Americans in years past.  There were obstructionist then, too.  There will always be those who can't wrap their heads around equal rights but thank goodness and, finally, most do.

Miss Purdy Wants

Miss Purdy Wants

Miss Purdy was brought up on the strictest of morals.  There were so many things she could not do. As she aged and developed a life of her own those morals were constantly sitting on her shoulder guiding her present life.  She frequently came into conflict with them but they were so ensconced in her being, she was always in an internal struggle.