Orphan Boy or Red No. 1

Orphan Boy or Red No. 1

Orphan Boy is a first in a series of twenty where red is a predominate color in each piece with the exception of two works. Orphan Boy is one of the two.  Since I created the series as a whole I named this one slightly different but then I thought that it needed to be the first in the series.  Red is not a predominant color in this piece.  Thus you see two titles with a secondary title being Red No. 1.

There will be similarities in the twenty pieces.  For instance, I used butterfly graffiti in most of them. I also either stamped or stenciled the letters X, O, or Y on each of them.  I will chat about other similarities as the series is unveiled.

The vintage photo comes from a friend's family collection....remember Soda Grandma a while back? This photo was given to me during that commission.  No one knows who the boy is hence I am calling him an orphan. 

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This week a friend shared that her son was now a minimalist.  He has eliminated most of what he has acquired in life and now is very careful about the quality of what he purchases and the amount of his purchases.  I found out that there is a film called Minimalism that looks intriguing to me.  I watched the preview of the film and now have the full film version on my Netflix's list to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Co1Iptd4p4

February ATC - International Group

In 2017, our international ATC group decided that the six themes for the year would be given all at once giving the participants choice of which theme to do first.  Those themes are:

1. Paper
2. Scent
3. Haptic or kinesthetic
4. Silhouette
5. Rust
6. free choice

I decided to do the Silhouette theme first......

We use to have seven members in the group but one person dropped out last year.  We are looking for an artist from Latin or South America to join us.  I know someone will surface so I am making seven each time and will be able to provide him or her with any I have already made as the year progresses.

I especially like how the cowboy and the monkeys turned out.  After cutting out the silhouettes I gave them a bit of black spray paint.  That way no white from the cutting shows.  The backgrounds are all butterfly graffiti images that I created in Photoshop.  I gave each ATC two coats of faux encaustic solution.

Cowboy Silhouette

Elephant Silhouette

Geisha Silhouette

Girl Clapping Silhouette

Monkey 01 Silhouette

Monkey 02 Silhouette

Girl with a Watering Can Silhouette

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This morning Jacki Long (thanks Jacki) sent me a link for a short video.  I really like the filming of this video.  It is called  A LETTER by H.J.Park.



Here is the link:

https://vimeo.com/196920587

Belltown Bookies Round Robin - Black and White with a Splash of Red

Cover

This past week I assembled my completed Belltown Bookies round robin journal that I have been working on for the past year.  I published the ones I made on this blog each month and now all of the ones I received are bound in an accordion journal.  I thought you might like to see what the participants came up with for my theme Black and White with a Splash of Red.

Ann Blue

Nan Robkin

John Arbuckle

Jan Clem

Lou Cabeen

Meredith Arnold

Michele Unger

Selene Fisher

Selene Fisher

Sue Gruhn

Natalie Danielson

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I subscribe to a magazine called UPPERCASE.  It is a magazine for the creative and curious and it is published about four times each year.  I like the magazine so much that I now have been able to acquire all 32 issues with the exception of issue number 2.  I keep looking and it has taken me quite awhile to find the first twelve issues.  I have purchased from as far away as Singapore.  An art friend, Selene, has been on the lookout for me and she has found several issues on Ebay.  I have been very successful at those auctions.  Now to find issue # 2.  It will surface I am sure.  If you see it available anywhere please let me know.

http://uppercasemagazine.com/

Trammel Collages 04

These collages are the last three of fifteen bound in the envelope.  For the most part this project is complete.  I may add some hanging decorations to the twine yet.  Not sure.

Trammel Collages 04

Trammel (bound)

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Last Monday I was fortunate enough to spend some time at the Bainbridge Island Art Museum.  It is a grand place with a room full of handmade books as well as several galleries.  I discovered a book artist that I did not know but just love.  His name is Timothy Ely.  I got to hold one of his books and just about turned green with envy.  When I returned home I looked him up to see if one could purchase any of his completed masterpieces.  One can if one has between $7000 and $100,000 to spend on a book.  Unfortunately, I do not!

Timothy Ely - Vhor-text

http://www.abbyschoolman.com/ely-vhor-text/

Trammel Collages 03

Below is my third set of four in the trammel package.  This series of collages is very organic in nature.  Doing them was a "it just felt right" activity.

Trammel Collages 03

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http://www.codexfoundation.org/book-fair-and-symposium/book-fair-and-symposium-235


I am heading to San Francisco on Monday to attend CODEX.  I first heard about it from the curator of special collections at the University of Washington.  I am not sure what to expect except for what I have seen on the link above.  It will be an adventure.

Trammel Collages 02

Here are the second set of four collages now residing inside of my trammel envelope.  I personally like the cowboy one a lot.  His stance of his hips tilted in move my eye to the left.  I am so into movement in a piece of art.

Trammel Collages 02

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If President Trump insists on a fence along the Mexican/US border I have some decorating suggestions for said fence!

For more ideas you might like to click on the following link.....

http://www.dumpaday.com/random-pictures/not-all-fences-were-created-equal-21-pics/

Trammel Collages 01

Here are the first four of fifteen collages made from ephemera that I had stuffed in zip lock bags just waiting for but never selected previously for a collage.  Creating these quick collages was really fun. I say they were quick but they actually were done in three parts with time in between.  I first did the background and put them away.  I then sewed on them and put them away.  Finally I did all fifteen foregrounds in about an hour yesterday.   I could have done them in one setting though.

Trammel Collages 01

This is the second envelope I made out of the brown waxed paper.  So now I have to decide which envelope I will put the collages in before binding with twine.  You will know by Trammel Collages 04 in a few days.

Trammel Envelope 02

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Sam Smith - Stay With Me

Although he has been around for the past few years I am listening to him almost everyday and enjoying his music even more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB-5XG-DbAA