Japanese Stab Binding with Embroidered Insect

As you read on this blog many weeks ago I put out a call for embroidery pieces no larger than 2 x 2 inches.  My friend, Sally, created the two pieces which you see above.  I created the hardcover books to go with the exquisite workmanship.  Thank you so much Sally.  You are incredible!

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 12

Collage No. 12

No. 12 is the last of this series.  I am sharing the cover of the book for this series again because I have added a closure.  The button looks like it was constructed from materials used in making bricks.  It worked perfectly for the closure.

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 11

Collage No. 11

This one makes me smile.  Remember the streaker on the Oscars years ago.  It was the thing to streak.  Hysterical!

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 10

Collage No. 10

I really like how I tore the paper framing the camel almost as if it is structural like a pyramid in a way.  I rode a camel once.  It was quite the experience.  I wonder where those photos are?

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 9

Collage No. 9

Strong comes to mind when I look at this collage.  Is it because the figure looks strong and in motion athletically.  Or is the black along with the other colors that make it strong.  I have to laugh at the words in yellow.  “His cheeks!”  That is a happy accident.  Happy accidents happen to me all the time.

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 8

Collage No. 8

I like how this one turned out.  It is simple with only four elements but effective.  It is a frozen. moment in time.

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 7

Collage No. 7

There are several things I like about this composition.  I think the circular painted portion works really well.  It draws my eye to the the center after I first see the focal image.  I think the angle of the diver with the black background is effective.  For me there is a lot of movement in the piece. :-)

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 6

Collage No. 6

The horizontal papers just above the bathing woman add pressure to this piece as if forcing the eye down.  In each of the pieces I have used either inks or liquid acrylics.  I love how the coloring allows for transparency of the original ephemera.

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 5

Collage No. 5

This one is back on track for me.  I think the placement of the focal figure works especially when one considers movement.  As you know I am really into movement in a piece of art.

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 4

Collage No. 4

Now that I look at this piece longer it is only OK.  For me it is mostly horizontal stripes plus the image.  Not speaking to me today.  I have done several collages with striations but they were mostly vertical.  Perhaps the most interest are the words hinting at something more.

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 3

Another two-fer so soon!  Gosh, I must be getting too busy or too forgetful!

Collage No. 3

Do you recognize the man?  It is Thoreau.  I particularily like how the diagonal line draws the eye either away from Thoreau or toward him.  

Tiny Collages - Japanese Stab Bound Book - Collage No. 2

Collage No. 2

I think this piece turned out rather well.  I love the boldness of the large red letters and the intimacy of the woman using a bathing pitcher and basin.  I also really like how the words show through here and there in the blue and orange part.

Tiny Collages in a Japanese Stab Bound Book - Cover and Collage No. 1

Two-fer Monday.  Somehow I forgot all about posting yesterday.  So for Presidents‘ Day you get two for one....

Asymmetrical Binding

Collage No. 1

I had to think of some ephemera to use in tiny collages when I teach my workshops in Newport, Oregon in April.  I remembered Eadweard Muybridge‘s photography of motion.  This was an easy way to provide images for my students!  There are twelve collages in this series.

Japanese Stab Bound Book with Embroidery and Embellishment

Japanese Stab Bound Book with Embroidery and Embellishment

My luck continues with yet a third embroidered piece.  This time it is from artist and friend, Elsa.  I met Elsa through the Facebook APC group.  Since she lives just a few minutes away from my house we agreed to meet and have been friends ever since.  Elsa created a piece for me using cyanotype on a dark piece of fabric.  She then did French knots in each of the “flowers”.  You can see the white stitching down the right side of the piece.  I added an embellishment that I found at a garage sale some time ago.  I have since altered the binding.  I added another linen thread to the middle of the binding so that instead of two horizontal lines there are three.  It makes the binding look more complete.  I photographed this book on my dining table hence the tablecloth shows a bit.  Thanks Elsa for the wonderful piece of embroidery.

Japanese Stab Bound Book with Embroidery

Japanese Stab Bound Book with Embroidery

I just finished another Japanese stab bound book with an embroidery piece made by my great artist friend, Michele.  Michele is famous for her man on the moon embroidery.  I am again lucky to have such a talented friend who was willing to create a piece for me.  Thanks, Michele!  The paper used for the cover was made a couple of years ago when I took a workshop at the Sitka Art Center in Oregon just north of Lincoln City.  Tomorrow I will share an embroidery piece done by yet a third artist, Elsa.

Valentine Japanese Stab Bound Book

Valentine Japanese Stab Bound Book

What a lucky guy I am!  On Thursday I met several art friends for a Valentine celebration.  Jan, an accomplished artist, has taken to spending hours embroidering.  I love her work and I had asked her to create a piece for a book.  I received it yesterday and was so pleased.  Thanks Jan!  Tomorrow you will see another piece done by yet another art friend, Michele.  Happy Valentine’s Day!

Vintage Mail Tunnel Book

This week I finished the vintage mail tunnel book that I had begun last summer.  I had the book structure completed and was waiting for an idea to pop in my head for the interior pages.  The answer was right there in front of me for a long time and it finally gelled into what you see here.

February ATC and APC

February APC

I combined all the themes for February APCs and ATCs for the three groups.  For the international ATC group I was tasked with using a least favorite color.  In this case orange.  For the Collage Society ATC group our theme was “house”, and for the APC group we need to use playing cards hence the portion of a playing card in the window of the house.  It was a challenge to come up with something that fit all groups but I did it.

Suffragette Piece - Difficult Times

Difficult Times

2020 is the 100th anniversary of the suffragette movement in Washington state.  The Washington State History Museum is having a suffragette exhibition to honor the movement.  The NW Collage Society was asked to participate in the celebration with an art show.  Pieces for the show had to be 12 x 12 inches.  The art will be on exhibition from April through August.    Here is the write up for my piece which was accepted into the show....

The distorted faces of the three suffragettes used in this piece, Bernice Sopp, Cora Smith Eaton, and Mehitable Haskell represent the pain of discrimination that women were subjected to as members of society without equal voting rights. These women were truly pioneers in the cause for justice in America. The distorted faces also represent the fact that we still are having voting rights issues in this country and we still are having equal rights issues in this country. One only needs to look at discussions in the political arena to see how absurd it is that we even question that a woman could be president.

Stamp Series 12

Stamp Series 12

This piece ends this series.  I am not done with stamps however.  I have so many of them since I was gifted two boxes.  I have some other ideas and am sure to come up with even more ways of using them.  I will be bringing a huge supply to Newport, OR in April.

Stamp Series 11

Stamp Series 11

I have been to Italy many times.  When we lived in Bavaria Venice was four hours away.  We could go to Italy for lunch just ninety minutes from our house.  Those were the days.

Stamp Series 10

Stamp Series 10

The sheep and the woman are both looking toward the same direction.  I wonder what they see?  As we age we seem to have a safe place in our house where we go to spend more time.  I have found that I sit in my chair quite a lot to read or to work on the iPad.  I have never done a time analysis but a huge portion of time is spent there.

Stamp Series 09

Stamp Series 09

I love this senior lady in this piece.  For me, it is as if she is walking into the future or perhaps she is reminiscing on the past.  The jury is out for me on the red dot.  It seemed right at the time and now it is pretty bold.

Stamp Series 08

Stamp Series 08

I tried something new in this piece.  I only cut out part of the focal image as you can see with the boy and the man and the car.  The boy is not cut out at all.  The technique works.

Stamp Series 07

Stamp Series 07

There is a lot going on in this collage!  Busy!  Maybe.  In a way it is circular with the specific focal images pushed to the border of the piece.  Funny that the girl’s chair split apart during the gluing process.  I just noticed that.

Stamp Series 06

Stamp Series 06

Sometimes all the planets aligned to create a piece of work that must makes me smile.  I am very happy with this postcard.

Stamp Series 05

Stamp Series 05

I love it when my eye has to try and complete the rest of the image.  Are they dancing next to a wall with lots of posted material?  Seems like it to me.

Stamp Series 04

Stamp Series 04

 Funny how things evolve like this piece with the farm animals plus the rabbit.  I like target ephemera even though I will have nothing to do with weapons in any sense, shape, or form.  This piece is totally intuitive and very random.

I made my 300th book yesterday.  Actually I made my 301st book, too.  Definitely will make my goal at this rate.

Stamp Series 03

Stamp Series 03

Because of the partial circle with the child my eye wants to complete a circle with the rest of the collage including with the bird.  It is not there but it is.