Juggling is not a skill...

...that I normally lay claim to, but I rather feel like I'm doing pretty well at it.  Agreed, it's not the physical balls in the air, but the metaphorical ones.

I've been so enjoying #creativejumpstart21 and with all the experimenting I'm doing, I'm waaaaaay behind.  Luckily, I have until November to download all the videos and play to my heart's content.  

I've done at least seven versions of Birgit Koopsen's technique, and it's been a blast.  While most have already been cut into smaller bits for cards, I've saved these two, knowing they'll eventually be part of a larger project.  

Last week I showed you the start of half a dozen mini notebooks, one of which I finished this week.  It, along with the other five, will go out in the mail when they're all done.

I love the physical size of these particular books (4 1/4" x 2 1/4"), the fact that they're made from a single sheet of paper, and the four-page spread.  It's something that's easily completed in a relatively short while, always a bonus in my opinion;  I do tend to be attention-challenged. 😵 Thanks again, Amanda Trought!

I've got another project well on the go, thanks to Joe Rotella.  I've a host of 'books in the making' that have been languishing like proverbial silent screen heroines due to my lack of knowledge of book-binding.  Well languish no longer ladies; there's one in the works.

Doesn't that look pro?  It would be a cheat if I didn't tell you that John, husband-of-the-tool-proficient-kind, actually did the drilling for the holes in this Japanese stab-binding method.  (I SO like that phrase, and think that has something to do with all the murder mysteries I read).    I could definitely not have managed a hand-held drill through 1/4" of wood and 1/4" of paper without adding copious quantities of blood and creating crazily angled holes.  I did, however, manage to order some waxed thread online, all on my own, so I wait with bated breath to finish the project.  Meanwhile, I'll work on assembling the cover.

There are several other tutorials lined up, impatiently tapping their feet, and with small and large art journals on the go, lots to keep me occupied.  I'm hoping John doesn't want to eat for the next two or three months...

In closing and just for fun, I thought you might like to see a bit of accidental art.  It's amazing what kind of shenanigans blobs of Posca pen inks can get up to when one's back is turned.

I'd love to hear what you've been up to in the past week.  And if you're finding yourself feeling creatively flat, I'd encourage you to check out Creative Jumpstart.  It's going to keep me out of trouble busy for the next good long while.

My addictive nature...

 ...has taken over again.  As usual, I'm starting the year with a gift to myself.  Creative Jumpstart with Nathalie Kalbach is in its 10th year, and I've done a fair number of them.

One of the videos this week is by Amanda Trought who's done a fabulous mini book technique.  You know how much I love mini books, right?

So I had to try one, and then another, and then another, using an itsy bitsy part of my gel print stash.

These are all about 4 1/4 inches high by 2 3/4" wide, although they can be made in any size depending on the size of the single sheet of paper with which you start.  And they can be made with as many pages as you like.

I love starting with gel prints because that gets rid of the white page anxiety for me, but one could use anything from hand-painted paper, cardstock, magazines, and more.  By the time I work my way through these, they'll likely look totally different, but perhaps you'd like to take a closer look regardless.

If you'd like to learn how to make these (and many more beauties), I highly recommend Nathalie's #creativejumpstart21 - with a month's worth of classes, the ability to download and keep them forever and the wide range of topics and techniques, it's a no-brainer in my books!

I'm reminding myself...

...to really see things, rather than just look at them, and this journal spread is busy enough to assist me.

In every little corner, I've added the word 'see',

hoping that, as our family saying goes, 'repetition aids comprehension'.

It's a challenging thing to really see what is in front of us, given that so much of what we view is filtered through each previous, day, month, and year of our life.

Particularly in these challenging times when Covid has restricted so much 'newness' in our lives, one becomes inured to what is under our nose.

When we become accustomed to the same old patterns, it can be hard to notice the extraordinary and wondrous things around us.

So here's to seeing more and glorying in the texture, colour and intensity of our lives.

Because truly, our lives are rich beyond measure, aren't they?

I'd love to hear about the extraordinarily wondrous things in your life right now...and feel free to add your link to your comment.

 

A stitching sampler...

...is something I never thought I'd do, never mind turn it into a painting, yet here it is:

In Your Absence: Mom  
12 x 12" on wood panel 2020 
© Win Dinn 

It all started with the need to practice embroidery stitches way back when I was working on dryer sheets, so I slip stitched some dryer sheets to a piece of spare lining and happily copied some stitches from a library book .  I wound up with a sampler about 14" x 11", wonky as all get out.  The process reminded me of my mother, so often with needle and embroidery thread in hand as she stitched away at pillow cases she donated to the church for fund-raising.  Wonky would not have been her style at all - she was a magician when it came to embroidery and quilting.  

I obviously needed to turn the piece into part of my series 'In Your Absence'.  I gessoed a wood panel, scribbled over it with Inktense Pencils, washed it down with some water and let it dry, knowing that some of the wash would show through the lining and dryer sheets.

Applying the sampler was relatively easy, and the addition of buttons, additional dryer sheets and embroidery threads even more so.

I'm very fond of the bits of thread hanging over the edges, and the heart in the bottom right corner is definitely for my mom.

Here are some detail shots.

Mom was a teacher, doing so for over 35 years.  She truly believed in life-long learning, and consistently took on new challenges.  While she would have smiled at the wobbly and crooked stitching, she most definitely would have applauded the practice and the intention.

I was amused when this all came together to realize the colours were a combination that perfectly matched one of her favourite outfits...synchronicity at its finest.