More Cottages….

 

I love that inside the cottage is a little book.  I best start filling it!

The Postcards Keep on Coming! - 05

 

Mysterious, intriguing, just what is the message from the sub-continent?

The question came up concerning a postcard holder.  Checkout the link from a previous blog post.

 https://artjuvenation.blogspot.com/2023/11/postcard-holder.html

The Postcards Keep on Coming! - 04

 

I was not sure about the background for this postcard.  I had the woman focal point.  I had the flowers but I needed something for the background and then as I turned in my chair there is was, a map.  Works for me!

The Postcards Keep on Coming! - 03

 

The postcards in this series have an Asian theme to them.

The Postcards Keep on Coming! - 02

 

I love pops of red.  Maybe the lips would have been enough but I sure like the quince, too.

The Postcards Keep on Coming! - 01

 

I think I mentioned that I gave postcard holders that I made as Christmas gifts this past year.  The other part of the gift was to send each recipient one postcard per month to put in the holders.  So I am continuing to make postcards to send off.  I am close to the 84 I need.

Cottage

I took a Kit Davy workshop a couple of months ago.  This workshop included learning how to make a house or cottage but also how to include a book inside the cottage.  It was amazingly fun.  I have now made five of these structures.

 

January ATC for Members of the NW Collage Society ATC Group - 05, 06, and 07

 

These are the last three ATCs for the winter quarter 2024.

January ATC for Members of the NW Collage Society ATC Group - 03 and 04

 

Just a couple more ATCs for the winter quarter 2024.

January ATC for Members of the NW Collage Society ATC Group - 01 and 02

 

The task for the winter quarter was to create to the theme guilty pleasures.  It took me a bit of time to come up with an idea.  Since I use to drink several Dr. Peppers each day I figured it was a good guilty pleasure.  I used a variety of different fonts, pages from several different book sources, to create the backgrounds.  Then I found human images that might look a bit guilty.  I added a sign to each “I Love Dr. Pepper.”

Winter 2024 ATCs - International Group

 

The theme for the international ATC group this winter was to use junk mail to create the 2.5 x 3.5 art.  I used advertisement cards that come in bulk most months.  I painted the junk mail with orange and turquoise transparent paint.  I then used a credit card to dab black paint randomly.  Once all the paint dried I punched circles out of the painted ad cards.  I then cut orange circles or turquoise circles in half and joined them together so that I would have both colors on a circle.  I used a bookbinding awl to punch a whole in the center of each circle and glued the twelve circles to the ATC sized watercolor paper that had been covered with some old book pages.  I weighted each card so that they were relatively flat.  Then I pierced the circles again through the ATC background.  This was necessary so that I could stitch embroidery thread through each hole.  By today’s date the ATCs should have arrived at their destinations around the world.  Members of this group live in Germany, the UK, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and two in the USA.

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Video

 

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Spread 09

 

This is the last spread of this tiny journal.  Tomorrow is the video.

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Spread 08

 When in Las Vegas for my Creative Gents plus 2 retreat I saw the woman with the flower on a coffee bag.  Had to have her in a collage and here she is.

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Spread 07

 

In a Jack Ravi workshop I made a medal which is on the right side of the spread.  You will see it better in the video in a few days.

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Spread 06

 

Covers for vintage books make for excellent collage ephemera.  Two different covers were used on the left side of the spread.

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Spread 05

 

Could this woman have been a trainer of wild animals?  Why not?

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Spread 04

 

I painted clear gesso over the images of the men.  It gives a duller look to them and texture when touched.

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Spread 03

 To me this piece has the feeling of sitting in a comfortable chair in an art gallery.

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Spread 02

 

I had quite a bit of pulp left over after making some packing tape transfers.  I squished the pulp together and let it dry.  Once dry I stitched embroidery thread into it.

Here We Go Again - Another Tiny Journal - Cover and Spread 01

 

I can’t seem to stop making tiny journals.  There is something about working small that makes me happy. Now that I have so many tiny journals I am going to have to think of a way to house them.  Hmm, I have an old wooden container I have to find.

Tiny Tome 10 - Video

 

Here is the video of Tiny Tome 10.

Tiny Tome 10 - Spread 09

 

The last spread in this series.  The scrap of ephemera used in the collage on the left was made with acrylic paint and rubbing alcohol.

Tiny Tome 10- Spread 08

 

I found the most wonderful images of Indian women in The NY Times in December.  So I did a packing tape transfer and they came out just great.

Tiny Tome 10 - Spread 07

 

The beads on the left are made from painted Tyvek rolled on a skewer and heated with a heat gun.  Too cool of a process.

Tiny Tome 10 - Spread 06

 

The mesh used for weaving embroidery thread came from a potato bag.  I love using materials that would just be thrown out.

Tiny Tome 10 - Spread 05

 

I found the bottle cap heading into the grocery store on a very rainy day.  I wondered about piercing holes in it with a jewelry tool I have.  It worked.  

Tiny Tome 10 - Spread 04

 

One should look through drawers and boxes more often.  I found the game tiles recently in a drawer I have avoided for a long time.

Tiny Tome 10- Spread 03

 

The beads on the left are made with fabric rolled on a skewer.

Tiny Tome 10- Spread 02

 

I am thinking of entering this tiny tome box with ten journals in a show this summer.

Tiny Tome 10 - Cover and Spread 01

 

In 2021 I took a workshop from Beatriz Helton called Tiny Tomes.  It was a blast of a time.  We made tiny journals using collage materials and stitching.  I created a box for nine tomes.  Over the past two years the tomes have settled down in the box and there was room for one more journal or tiny tome.  Thus I needed to create the tenth tome which is showcased above and over the next few days.