Book Binding with Julia

Julia Prichard...http://lostluggage.typepad.com/the_land_of_lost_luggage/ is offering another wonderful series of class.

The first part is book binding. Seeing what another person uses for ingredients is often the most informative...as with Julia you will learn some nifty asides that are most helpful

My cover doesn't exactly fit...not the fault of the instructor, but more ruler error than anything.

the front and back flaps glued in.

Here is book style 1 completed...she offers 2 more styles!

While there are a ton of different ways to make books...and I already know about 6 different ones right off...I think seeing different and alternative materials are never a wrong way to go...

So even an seasoned book maker I think can benefit from Julia.

Thanks for looking and that is about all I got to today.

Sketch One for...

http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject I am participating in this project hosted through Art House Coop..check it out you may want to participate! Participants are given a random generated theme. Mine is "and suddenly..." As I pondered the theme and how to depict it through my journal...(everyone is sent the same style and number of paged journal 80 pages both sides counted).

I thought since what i would do is depict South Dakota, where I live. As I live the "and suddenly..." kind of place, come most to life for me, I am beginning at the beginning. And suddenly! Craig up and moves me to pictorial South Dakota.

Traveling down the dirt road after having turned off the main road, traveling 2 miles west of the four way stop in town...you will suddenly appear at my drive way. That suddenly appears amidst a grove a trees.

I began by gessoing the pages of the journal...these pages are rather thin, so I thought they might respond better if prepared a little. Also the page size is small 5.25x8.25, which limits your focal point..so I will probably do a lot of 2 page spreads, plus that helps move me through the booklet ...and since these are due back to them by December 1, I need every advantage I can get for myself.

The first picture is the sketch begun.

Moving to picture 2 where I begin adding a little color. I used Derwent Inktense pencils and water to blend them.

Then the completed photo...the entrance to my drive.

Thank you for looking and stay posted...I have many more to bring out of me...plus!

Tomorrow begins Julia Prichard's Super Nova class.

Part one begins us making journals...not new to me, but I am always game for new approaches...Julia is a fun fun teacher
If I was in physical classroom experience...where we had to go wait, sign up, and HOPE there was still room in the class...I would camp out on the lawn of the administration office to make SURE I am signed up for this teachers session...and I would take everyone that she offered...twice even because you will get new information with each session...she is awesome!

check her out here..

http://lostluggage.typepad.com/the_land_of_lost_luggage/
she has little video enticements on her blog...have a look

So, I have a lot going on...check back soon

:)

Nature's Bounty..

Momma bird has been sitting her nest for what seems like FOREVER! All the other nests hatched they learned to fly and away they went..

Isn't she cute!


Her baby has finally hatched...probably 3 or 4 days ago...that was when I noticed her feeding ...

Look close...see the little beak?






Purple sage is yet another variety...this is growing on our place..wild.

Nature is something to watch isn't it!

Birthday Bunny

Fleshed out painting..






More body to the painting...








This is what I have decided is done...I wanted an old looking piece, with crackle flakes...only my crackle didn't crack..it just crazed a little. after trying it a couple of times I gave up and just lettered the project ..aged a bit with a sepia-ish tone and I am calling it done.

On 5x7 canvas, used acrylic paints, permanent waterproof inks...and stamped for background noise.

My SIL is a bunny fanatic...so this I did for her kitchen or where ever she might decide it works...
I was also trying to get a feral looking bunny...bunnies are too cute to look mean I guess...he does look a little mad though.

Happy Birthday Donna!

The Mission....

I am to take this old light fixture, from a church in Parkston, SD and fill the 4 lengths with colored glass.


Each side will house a different color but from basically these four colors plus the white to fill in if I run shy of the correct amount needed.

Total of 11 lights.

the area unscrews making it possible for the long piece to be placed into position...so it should work.

I will cut 1 and make sure it can go in place...quote them the cost..
once approved I will cut the rest and grind the edges ...then the best part
THEY pick up and are going to put them all in...yay!

Morphing...

I think I have the top picture supposing to be in the middle
but
you get the idea...watching a piece morph along to a finished painting
Lots of layers going on here ...but until the end I really don't have sunny sunflowers...

I used golden acrylic products with inspiration from the sunflower photo shoot...stamps for some background noise...Bombay permanent inks..

Adding texture...

Added a phrase: You fill the world with your sunny smile and bright love...I printed the words on tissue paper and affixed that to the painting so I wouldn't mess up what I had going on...

Which brings us to the final outcome...

Angela's birthday painting...I know she won't see this she never visits my blog...so it will remain a surprise

:)

Vintage View..

Antique windows have so much character.

This is the kitchen window at Fergie's (where I work).

Old wooden screen.

The kind that would be taken down at winter and a old wooden storm window placed up.

That is old dirt too...

This might become a background journal page.

Sunbathing Beauties

Aren't they beautiful! The fields are full of all varieties of sunflowers. These aren't the largest, but they were the closest I could get a decent photo of.

About another week, and they will begin turning for harvesting.

The Growly Wind

I am placing this picture up large because I don't think it will open larger.

The only photo I have of it was finished crop ready for publication purposes. It went to a private owner before I could take further pictures. Since I haven't had either the time or inclination to produce anything new, I thought I would dig up something old.

This is the "Growly Wind".

Produced for a museum show I was booked in about 5 years ago.
This piece is my rendition of the elements that stuck in my mind of the Wizard of Oz. That would be why you see the monkeys and the slipper's and the wicked witch on her broom, and the wind creating its funnel cloud.

I was working in a different restaurant at the time. I was trying to create work to fill this one man show. When the wind began to blow exceptionally hard, since we were in tornado warnings that day we were all talking about them and I was referring to things from the Wizard of Oz and Ghena, (who now owns a different establishment and is my current boss) says "Mar, ya have to do that for the show...a piece called the growly wind" and that was how this came to be created.

This piece was totally made by hand including the glass. Which I replicated the recipe from the glass handbook and poured myself. All the colors were minerals and ores I researched and added.
The art on the glass is rendered in stainer's techniques as described in the post below this.

This was a technically challenging piece for me, as I am NOT a chemist. It turned out well though.

The rest of the story went like this:

Barb (the owner and boss of the then establishment I was working) and I were standing at the door watching this tree lay over as the wind picked up and she says low behind me...
"look I see a monkey...I says oh!! I see it tooo...a customer who we did not know was overhearing us...says where is a monkey...????
well we busted out laughing...
and explained ..to which she was not amused...but
whenever I see this picture it brings this story to mind.

Today we are having horrid weather conditions ripe for tornado's so here we go...

thanks for looking

Dig Two...

My second dig for re-posting involves working with an artist from Rapid City, Betty is all I remember for her name. She was building the windows for the church in Chamberlain SD and I was commissioned to paint the Saints portraits onto glass.

Beginning with a charcoal sketch I make the size portrait I need to fit the blank template I was given from Betty, that should fit in place into her window panel when I am done.

Once I have the sketches approved I cut the glass blank and begin my series of stains and firings in the kiln.

Each application of stain is a mixture of ground glass, flux, minerals and ores that produce the pigment, a binding agent mixed to a consistency that is spreadable with a brush, applied to the substrate and fired in the kiln to 1300 degrees F. You can tell when the firing is complete when the "paint" melts into the glass by it glossing.

Here Saint James has all his firing done in stains for his portrait we have to add enamels one of the predominant features that can't be ignored is his red cloak. Stain isn't fired in red so I have to move into the enamel field

Same process affords the above finished piece. Red is a really tricky color to achieve...I ended up applying this mineral 4 times...1 second too long it will evaporate...timing is everything when messing with enamels.

Saint Anthony didn't require any enamels. They wanted him to keep his minimal appeal as a monk, so he is all stains.

Thank you for joining me again in Seth's Part Two of digging for treasure. I have enjoyed meeting a lot of the artsits off his list...and if you are new to the game...go visit Seth and run through the list..you will not be disappointed!

http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your bloghopping...get ready with a beverage and a good seat!

Prairie Brand...

Cruising through the fields Craig is pointing out all the pretty wild flowers...here is one....isn't it preeetty...

they used for toilet paper!!!!!

Yep,
I was not impressed either
however,
it is really soft...I didn't give it the old try and I am taking his word on it..but it was the favorite "brand" the Indians used and the wagoners coming west...
wagons HO!

Oh I so would be on that first train back East...IF I was still in the wagon to begin with!

I am much more comfortable at being the pioneer woman for today ...thank you very much!

This southern accent gets me in all kinds of trouble...but the people traveling through like to think of me as the true pioneer woman for today...
give me a chuckle and earns me a tip
so
anyway I can please the crowd works..

Earning Their Badge...

A day in the Studio...




These little ladies belong to GEMS a version of Girl Scouts. Their leaders called and book an afternoon of art to earn their art badge.



After a lecture about how many different ways their is to express one's self in an artistic manner..and showing them the bazillion books I have on the subject...and showed them some of the examples I had laying around the room..I gave them a box of stamps, pads and pens and told them to play...

Their efforts have earned them an art badge and made them enthusiastic to their now creative outlet through art...even that thank you note to grandma..they learned this was art..well as well as polite!

they went away happy..

Some Stuff ...

LOTs goes on around here! If you remember the Creamery
(the gallery where I worked in town and showcased) closed.
I scored this really cool old case. The kind that you see pictured in the 1800's stores...perfect to showcase work and not keep it boxed up forgotten.


Then, harvesting the wheat has started...this is the combine showing what a dusty job it is!!








Here i am showing the difference in harvested and still standing.
They are nearly finished our crop...it produced fair numbers better than some of the other seed brands which is good...they might consider buying ours next year :)








Thanks for stopping in !