East Meets West

East Meets West

I have a huge stash of stamps that were given to me to use in my garage classes.  I sorted out the red ones for the background.  I went hunting for images of geishas and found the ones you see above. I liked how they looked with the stamps but what would my theme be?  I decided that perhaps the stamp portraits were a gallery and the women were touring.  I call it East Meets West.

Asian Dream

Asian Dream

Golly, tomorrow is February 29 and another month gone.  This is my 59th post of the year. After tomorrow I am slowing down a bit and posting only when I have something.  Posting daily puts too much pressure on me to have something ready.  Sometimes I do and sometimes I do not.  Then the pressure builds.   I kind of like working in a series because then I can stack up posts and there is no pressure.

Working in these particular colors for this post are way different for me.  I kind of think I will see about doing a few more with this palette.   Off to watch the Oscars although I feel like boycotting this year with all the controversies.  Maybe they will get their act together in Hollywood and include minorities more in the nominations.

Silence

Silence

This week I read an article on AIDS in the newspaper.  It seems that now with the "pill" safe sex is not the same concern that it was.  Also it seems that African-Americans/Black men who have sex with men have the highest rate of transmission of the disease.  I say talk about it.  Get the message out.  Don't you just love these Lyendecker images?  I know he would not mind me collaging them to express my sentiments.  I think he would have illustrated some sort of message as well.

The View

The View

When I look at this piece on the computer I think perhaps I do not have the balance quite right.  the man should be a bit more to the right and something should balance off the page to the upper left. When I look at the piece off screen it does not bother me so much.  Funny!  I will live with it overnight and see what I think in the morning.

I found the beginnings of this collage while looking for something else.  In fact, I found six in total. They need to all be completed and will eventually go in another envelope journal.

Suffragettes

Suffragettes

The women's movement for the right to vote was not an easy road. Many suffragettes were jailed for acting on their beliefs.  These three women wear jailer fashion in 1917.  Why is it we continually have to fight for rights that should be accepted by all?  Everyone should be equal, period.  I look at the electoral process going on right now in the US and just shake my head. The Constitution gives equal rights to everyone.  That is set in stone.  There shouldn't be any rhetoric otherwise!

Shabby Chic II - Background

Shabby Chic II - Sample 01

Shabby Chic II - Sample 02

Shabby Chic II - Sample 03

Shabby Chic II - Sample 04

I began Shabby Chic journal number 2 recently and  I am enamored by the process of painting with papers.  I also have added some paper/thread yarns to the substrate that I got about ten days ago at a fiber fair in Tacoma.  Each year vendors come from far and wide to sell yarns.  One vendor has totally amazing yarns, Habu.  Habu is located in Denver and in Japan.  They closed their NYC store recently.  I have purchased from them online with great success.  I first heard about them from Donna Watson about a year ago.  I spent a small fortune at the fair but decided to do so because the products are amazing and it is definitely better to see the items first.  Of course I had to buy several new paper yarns as it was hard to decide which one to eliminate.  I think I am done buying paper yarns for quite some time as now I have to use up what I have!

March Envelope Exchange

March Envelope Exchange - Florida

I am about 2/3 done with my envelope and contents in the envelope exchange that will go to Florida in March.  I thought I would give a tease to the recipient as I know he sometimes visits this blog. Also I am teaching today and I have run out of previously prepared posts for the blog!  It is quite a task to post each day and most likely that will cease to happen in March.   I will post all of the March exchange being sent as soon as it is completed and sent. :-)

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Blood Is Thicker Than Water

Once each month I attend the Belltown Bookies meetings.  Our group is growing and new ideas are sprouting.  Last month we agreed to do spreads for a round robin journal based on individual themes. Eleven participants will make one spread per month for a specific person in the group.  The spread that I created was to include a proverb.  OMG!  That opened the world up very wide for practically anything.  Finally I chose "Blood is thicker than water."  As per my usual method of working I started creating before deciding on the proverb.

I had already created the background and added the inkjet transfer of the woman on the left.  I recently got some cigar bands from a good friend of mine and one looked perfect with the background.  Since the woman on the left looked reflective I decided that the narrative would be about her family and when she was younger. Hence the rest of the vintage collage additions.  Now you can make up the story to go with the collage and the proverb.

Envelope Exchange

February 2016 Envelope Exchange

Swimmers Chatting

Road Race

Exercise

February 2016 Cover Interior - Blackbird

I am involved in an envelope exchange with an amazing North American group.  Several of the members are from Canada as well as the US.  Many of the group members include ephemera when they send their envelope.  This time I included three collages in addition to the inside and outside of the envelope.  The envelope is unusual as it folds into the a postcard size shape.  So each of the collages are fairly small and fit inside the folded cover.  This one is going to Ontario.

Postage Stamps ATC Nos. 7 and 8

Postage Stamp ATC No. 7

Postage Stamp ATC No. 8

The last two in the series of postage stamps.

Postage Stamp ATC Nos. 5 and 6

No. 5

No. 6

Just a couple more in the series.

Postage Stamp ATCs No. 3 and No. 4

03

04

I am just taken with combining stamps with the Japanese graphic cartoons that my friend Jan gave me.  I might make more today as it is an all art day for me.  I love it when I   X  out the day on my calendar and nothing is allowed to interfere with working on spreads or ATCs or whatever I decide.

Stamp ATC 01 and 02

Stamp ATC 01

Stamp ATC 02

Some days I play a game with myself.  I have to use whatever is on my desk to create. Using a punch, stamps on an envelope, some backgrounds previously attached to 3.5 x 2.5 inch cards, and a graphic vintage Japanese comic book plus cancellation stamps I was ready to go.  Here are two examples.

Ghost Clown

Ghost Clown

Ghost Clown is a spread that I did in a round robin journal that will reside in California eventually. You know me, I hardly ever know where a spread will take me.  I find a photo that I like and I go with it.  In this case, I found the black and white clown on Retronaut.  Looking at him now I think he kind of reminds of the Joker from Batman played by Heath Ledger.  I found the other clowns in a variety of places.  I love telling a story and this narrative definitely has a story.

When I finished the piece I wrote the owner of the journal as I wondered if she might have phobias concerning clowns or ghosts.  Luckily she does not!

Castor Oil and Cat

Castor Oil

Cat

This is the last two of this series of ATCs.  I already have an idea for the next round which will be sent out in April.

Peter's Clock and Sick Bed 11

Peter's Clock

Sick Bed 11

The fun continues!  Happy Valentine's Day! :-)

Farewell and Now

Farewell

Now

Just two more ATCs to share with you.

Children and Circus

Children

Circus

Two more ATCs for February.  They have started to arrive at their destinations.  Yeah!

Perched and Rabbit 8,012

Perched

Rabbit 8,012

In my international ATC group our theme for February was black and white.  I found an old Peter Rabbit book in a bookstore and used some bits of illustrations and words to create mini collages for each playing card selected.  I punched a hole in each card and attached the collage from behind. Sorry about the dirt that was on the scanner.

Celluloid

Celluloid

Recently I found images on Retronaut that I thought interesting.  They are all vintage photos where the celluloid is deteriorating.   Each one had deteriorated in different ways.  For instance, the only portion of the photo of the two women touching heads is what you see. The man on the left looks as if crackle paste has taken its' toll.   I tried to make the background look like corrugated metal after I saw a photo in the Sunday paper of some people standing in front of a corrugated metal wall.  I decided to replicate the look on teabags for this background.

The Band

The Band

The Band is a spread that I did in a RR journal with a local group of artists.  The background is masking tape, acrylic paint, created papers, Woodies, and musical notes.  I added the focal point, the musicians, and finished off the piece with stenciled molding paste.

January 29, 2016 No. 9 through 11

January 29, 2016 - No. 9

January 29, 2016 - No. 10

January 29, 2016 - No. 11

These are the last of this series of postcards.  It was too much fun have an art date with my friend Jan to get them done.  I did not take a photo of her postcards, darn!

January 29, 2016 No. 5 through 8

January 29, 2016 No. 5

January 29, 2016 No. 6

January 29, 2016 No. 7

January 29, 2016 No. 8

Just more of the postcards that I mentioned in the last post. :-)

January 29, 2016 No. 1 through 4

January 29, 2016  No. 1

January 29, 2016  No. 2

January 29 2016  No. 3

January 29, 2016  No. 4

My friend, Jan, and I are now on the NW Collage Society board in charge of shows.  We got together last  week to create postcards as thank yous to the volunteers who helped us transport art and guard it until it could be hung for the Winter 2016 Show at the Washington Convention Center.

Jan and I got carried away creating eleven postcards each when we only needed eight total.  I am posting my results over the next few days.

North African Storm

North African Storm

I turned my journal upside down to do this spread.  When I found the camel and all I just happened to be looking through a journal that I had put down and not done anything in for quite some time.  I had done the background previously.  I loved seeing the colors and the lines again.

The umbrella got me to thinking protection from the sun but what else?  I know it does not rain all that much in northern Africa and so I thought when it does one would certainly need protection from that as well.

I have been to north Africa but never during a rainstorm.  I would image that it is much like the southwest when it pours....fast and furious.  So I think that the figures in North African Storm might just need to find cover soon.

This is a simple spread but simple is good sometimes.  You can tell your own story about what is going on.  Share if you like. :-)

Rice Paddy Lady

Rice Paddy Lady

Here is another entry in my envelope journal.  I decided to do an abstraction on the opposite page to compliment the woman.  What is funny is that I created the background for the woman and when it printed it printed exactly as you see.  It was all suppose to be green like the lower portion.  My printer was running out of ink and I got green and blue instead.  Once it was adhered I looked to the other side of the spread and found the green stamp in the corner.  No planning on my part.