Mini-Journal 06

 

Mini-Journal 06

This is most likely my favorite spread in the first mini-journal.  Our task was to split an image.  It could be an object or a person.  I chose this face.  We were do something in-between the two parts.  This one is perfect for today.  Happy Halloween! :-)

Here is a photo of a maple tree in my front yard.  The sun was hitting it perfectly when I went out to get the mail....

Mini-Journal 05

Mini-Journal 05

 Roxanne Coble tasked us to create a character that had a cloak that not only wrapped around the figure but also the spread.  My favorite part of the spread is the light from the flashlight.

Mini-Journal 04

 

Mini-Journal 04

This was the first mini spread I did.  The prompt was to create an abstract spread.  Since it was my first I think probably I tried a bit too hard to use all the techniques offered.  So it is quite jammed packed with layers.  Focal points disappeared but I was able to bring them back for the most part.  I am OK with the result.

Mini-Journal 03

 

Mini-Journal 03

My task was to use a portrait that I had made.  Going through my sketchbooks I found a contour drawing of a gentleman that I liked.  I reduced it to fit and then I had to decide what to add to the other side of the spread.  You see how it turned out.

Mini-Journal 02

 

Mini-Journal 02

The mini-journal when closed is 4.5 x 5.5 cm and each spread is 7.5 x 5.5 cm.  Working tiny is a challenge.  Finding ephemera that works takes the most time.  In this spread we were tasked with adding a ribbon in the spread.  I used Posca pens for paint.  

Mini-Journal 01

 

Mini-Journal 01

At the beginning of October I began a workshop on mini-journal making by Roxanne Coble.  I must say it is one of the best online workshops I have ever taken.  Roxanne is very organized and an excellent instructor.  She developed the workshop around in-person workshops that she had given and I must say that I felt like I was in an in-person workshop online.  Roxanne has about a dozen videos in the workshop. I love listening to her voice.  It is very soothing and the techniques that she uses are just plain fun.  She gives demonstrations and talks about her choices throughout each video.

In this first spread of eight we were tasked with creating a spread with a quote in mind.  My spread represents the Sandman.  Something that I had never thought about is that the Sandman actually never sleeps.  How could he as he is busy putting everyone to sleep as day becomes night around the world?   He is chasing the 24 hour clock.  Hence my NOT!

It is not too late to take the workshop if you are interested.  Here is the link.....

https://www.etsy.com/listing/870227011/mini-journals-new-online-art-journal?ref=shop_home_active_1&crt=1

52 Pickup No. 2 - 102, 103, 104

 

This is the last of the 52 Pickup Series number 2.  I have another 52 Pickup to share but will share other series first. Stayed tuned for the 52 Pickup Detective/Crime Series in the new year.  I tend to take an idea and go with it for a period of time.  That is what happened with the 52 Pickup.  They were so fun to make and so I kept making them over a two year or so period.  Originally I think Seth Apter did not think of these cards as being two-sided.  Maybe he did, I can not remember for sure.  However, since they became a sort of obsession I just did both sides hence the 104 cards.  Sometimes I even did the Jokers.

Tomorrow I debut my new obsession. :-)

52 Pickup No. 2 - 99, 100, 101

 

For those of you mailing in your ballot you can check to see if it has been received.  You can also check to see that it has been accepted.  Being accepted means that the signature was verified.  I can now relax as both were accomplished.  So like the guy in the middle card above, I can sing out for this election cycle.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 95, 96, 97, 98

 

Where did this week go?  I am finding that my days are full and that each day goes quickly.  I have enough to keep me busy and I am never twiddling my thumbs.  I hear that many are having trouble with so much time at home.  For me, I am getting use to the routine.  There was no use fighting it because I decided I had to follow guidelines so I did not get sick.  I am relieved that most people I see out when I do go to the grocery store or pharmacy are following guidelines.  It startles me when I see someone who does not have a mask on.

We are nearing the end of the 52 Pickup Series.  Just a couple of more days.  I have another series of 52 but I will wait awhile before debuting it.  It is time for something new and different.  Guess what?  That is coming!

52 Pickup No. 2 - 92, 93, 94

 

I like returning to these cards once I have uploaded them in preparation for publication on this blog.  I really do not spend any time thinking how one card goes with another card when I organize them.  So today when I looked at them I see that all images have someone playing a musical instrument.  I like when this happens. :-)

52 Pickup No. 2 - 89, 90, 91

Part of the fun of collaging is the hunt for ephemera.  Just the right piece of a single scrap can change the entire composition.  Auditioning ephemera is so important.  I know right away if a piece is going to work or not.  It somehow speaks to me.  I guess that has something to do with experience and training.  It also has to do with luck.  Every once in awhile it is good to go through ephemera stash as there are treasures waiting to be used that you might have forgotten about.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 88

 

This card stands alone today.  He could have been in a group of three but at the point of organizing he was an outlier.  Back to three tomorrow.

Update on voting.....yesterday evening I checked to see if my ballot had been received by the elections office and it had.  It is easy to check your voting record.  Just put in “ballot received plus state” and you should see the links to that information.  I think the next step is to verify when it is counted.  Not sure when that will be in Washington state.  I do know the earlier your ballot is in then your vote will be included in the election night returns.  At least that is what happens in Washington state.  I know several states can not count ballots until the polls actually close state wide.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 85, 86, 87

 

Have you ever used Stablio Woodies?  They are a great water based crayon pencil.  OMG!  I love using them.  They can be opaque if you use them heavily or they can be transparent, too.  You can see it used in many of the cards in this series but the third one above shows up really well.  It is all the red that you see with the exception of the lettering.  If you do not have these Stablio pencil crayons I highly suggest that you get them.  They are such a good way of adding color.  I usually use them as one of my final additions to a mixed media piece. 

52 Pickup No. 2 - 82, 83, 84

 

There is a lot of action going on in these three cards.  Yesterday it was three guys and today the three women.  That was not on purpose, just happened.  No planning.  I just love sitting with the whole deck of cards and going through them.  There is something satisfying about it.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 79, 80, 81

 I voted.  Yesterday the ballot arrived in the mail.  I immediately sat down and marked my ballot.  I decided to drive to the ballot drop box right away.  A new location not too far from my house was installed.  I had thought about mailing it as there is plenty of time before November 3.  Then I thought about something that was stated on the ballot information sheets.  Vote early so that your choices can be included in the election night results.  I want to also verify receipt of the ballot online in a few days.  So just in case there is a problem I will have time to contact the election offices.  I have been waiting four long years for yesterday to arrive.  Job done!

52 Pickup No. 2 - 76, 77, 78

 

Ballots were mailed out to voters in Washington state yesterday.  I am hopeful I will get it today.  We will see if  USPS is on time with them or not.  The newspaper said that if we do not get them by October 21 to call the voter hotline.  I can not decide if I am going to mail it back or use the drop boxes.  Where I live in Snohomish County security will be tight around the drop box.  What a time we live in!  I hope everyone votes.  It is so important to express your voter rights.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 73, 74, 75

 

Funny how I first noticed something about all three of these cards this morning.  It was not planned but all three of these people have their mouths open. I find that amusing that it is the first thing I saw when I began writing about them.  I was not looking for a similarity.  It was just there for me.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 70, 71, 72

 I made a clamshell box to house this deck of altered cards.  It is an easy way to keep them together and when I want to look at them I just pull out the box.  Easy peasy! 

52 Pickup No. 2 - 67, 68, 69

 

Two-fer Tuesday

Yesterday was Canadian Thanksgiving and the day got away from me.  I am married to a Canadian so we always celebrate.  I took the day to do just what I wanted and then we had a wonderful meal.  It is nice to just relax and enjoy the day.  I like the fact that we celebrate both the Canadian Thanksgiving and the American one.  It is one of my favorite meals.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 64, 65, 66

 

When one looks at the image and also reads the phrase you start to think about how they either go together or don’t.  Doing this I find humor in each one.  Maybe in the third one the phrase is tongue in cheek.  Maybe not depending on a cultural aspect.  So much can be read into a piece of art.  I like the fact that the viewer can come up with something totally different than the artist’s intent.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 61, 62, 63

 I like how these three go together.  The blue seems to float across from one to the other.  It is totally random that these three are together here.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 58, 59, 60

52 Pickup No. 2 - 58, 59, 60

Since there are so many of these cards it takes a bit of energy and time to scan them, resize them, and get them into upright position for the blog.  I decided to do them in batches.  The only thing is that I kept all the cards together in between uploadings.  So yesterday I had to go through the cards checking them against what was already published and what was still to come.  I decided to put a little while Signo pen dots on the finished ones.  So I have narrowed down what needs to be worked on now.  The next time I do this I will have to be more precise in the process so there is less work.  Lesson learned.  This is not a complaint just the process.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 55, 56, 57

Somewhere, probably at a vintage fair, I bought a bunch of old office supply stamps.  One of my favorites is the 1/2 stamp.  I frequently just stamp one of these office stamps to give an additional layer to the piece that I am working on.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 52, 53, 54

52 Pickup No. 2 - 52, 53, 54

Choosing ephemera to go with a background is one of the tasks I had with this series.  Yes, that means that the words were mostly chosen first and adhered.  Many times while working on this series I would find an image that I liked.  I would size it in PhotoShop, print it, and then lay out the cards.  In a process of elimination I would match focal points to cards.  It took awhile to accomplish this but was really fun to do.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 49, 50, 51

 

52 Pickup No. 2 - 49, 50, 51

I would have to call this set the Happy Set.  I am smiling looking at these three.  I especially like the first and the third one

52 Pickup No. 2 - 46, 47, 48

 

I love it when an image provides movement as in the accordion player.  I have got to get busy today and prepare the rest of this series for publication.  It does take a bit of time to get the scans  righted correctly.  Thanks goodness for PhotoShop.

52 Pickup No. 2 - 43, 44, 45

52 Pickup No. 2 - 43, 44, 45

 Creating cards like these is a happy time.  I am taking a workshop by Roxanne Coble that is another happy time.  It is called mini-journals.  Everything is being created in spreads that are 8 cm by 5.5 cm.  It is funny how one thing leads to another.  I had made three tiny books a long time ago.  Today a lightbulb went off.  I can fill the pages using many of the techniques that I am learning in Roxanne’s workshop.  No grass growing under my feet! :-)

52 Pickup No. 2 - 40, 41, 42

Two-fer Sunday.....

52 Pickup No. 2 - 40, 41, 42

 Saturday got away from me.  I was trying to solve several computer issues and once I had them taken care of I did not not want to be on the computer anymore yesterday.  The computer sucks up so many hours.  I have to tell myself I have other things to do. I can see why some parents limit their children’s time on the computer.  It is a great tool, but there are other things in life, too.

52 Pickup No. 2 -37, 38, 39

52 Pickup No. 2 -37, 38, 39

 Oh how I wish I could contort like the athlete in the card on the right.  Those days are gone, maybe never even were there.  My days are more like the middle one, Unplug.  All of the white lettering are from a stencil I purchased from Seth Apter.  He used them in the workshop.  It is a great technique.

52 Pickup No. 2 -34, 35, 36

 

52 Pickup No. 2 -34, 35, 36

I love the transparent look that Stablio Woodies give.  You can really see the effect in the middle card.  These “crayons” are water solvable.   I use them as one of the last layers on each card.

52 Pickup No. 2 -31, 32, 33

 

52 Pickup No. 2 -31, 32, 33

Keen is the weirdest one of all the cards.  It is the hardest to detect the main focal image against this background.  I did like the figure when I cut it out but I do not like it as  much added to this background.  Oh well, one or two that do not seem to work out of 104 is not too bad.  I do not often respond to comments that are left on this blog.  Please know that I love reading what you have to say and please know you are appreciated.  Thank you.