We were given a gift, Jeff and I...with yesterday's blizzard keeping us in the house, there were so many things (chores) that we could've engaged in, but we talked and talked.
The sun was shining, the wind had calmed down, and we decided to clear the driveway of the too many inches of snow. With that done, we headed into the house. Had a nice lunch together, watched a great movie. A nice day. It was also the day I had been waiting for to play in the studio and make a mess. Mission accomplished!
I first grabbed a piece of some old onion paper, and just started gluing down scraps of whatever was in one of my bins of "this looks interesting" stuff. Alcohol inks dripped on. Gold and copper stamp pads pressed in - one does not always need to use them with stamps. Tomorrow after work, I plan on using my hand carved "heart in hand" stamp to add to this starter piece and see where it takes me.
"But these thy fortunes let us straight repose in this divine cave's bosom."
Chapman
It all started with a rubber stamp - Woman in Repose - she is still available at the Jo-Ann Stores...
Last year for Rockford's Spring Artscene, our Art@Emmanuel's exhibit was entitled "People of the Book" - characters that have inspired us, challenged us, sacred or secular.
I had been working on some pieces that all started with the melting of ink from National Geographic Magazines using Citra-Solv, and I knew that I wanted to create a book of pages, in which the pages would be loose and could be framed if wanted. Since the book would end up being about 3 inches deep, I needed a way to connect the front and back covers, so I attached them with pieces from an old leather belt of Jeff's.
The process (I wished now I had photographed to share with you) was very satisfying. At least I can tell you the steps:
*each page started with heavy cardstock wrapped with cheesecloth
*
color was added with water soluble artists' crayons (caran d' ache)
*the altered Nat Geo pages were adhered on top of the cheesecloth
*the images were stamped onto different papers and color added with alcohol inks, then glued onto the pages (pvc glue, double sided tape)
*more color added, if needed, with markers, the crayons, inks
*sealed with a glossy gel medium (golden)
There are 10 pages all together...here are 3 of my favorites...
I used a commercial batik for the covers and hand-quilted the front with perle cotton, adding a few french knots. I love hand-stitching along the lines on batiks. The stamped image on the cover is in front of a painted piece of interfacing using one of my hand carved stamps.
Today, with the impending blizzard, this "Woman in Repose" is all I need for today's studio work. This is after, of course, planning a little outing for needed supplies - food, prescriptions, maybe some extra batteries for the flashlights...it might be 2-3 inches of snow per hour tonight. Jeff just called and said the church is closed until Thursday. Maybe I'll pick up a movie or two and some popcorn.
