What's happening...

...in the studio this week?  Mostly colour playtime, I'd say, with little putting-together-of-things-to-make-new-things actually accomplished.

Because I have so little paper in my stash (can you see me laughing hysterically?) I felt obliged to make more.  It seems I just can't get enough painted paper in my life. 

Of course there was some paint left over to colour some dryer sheets.

Painting paper is fascinating, and excellent training in both patience and letting go.  The papers take overnight to dry (at a minimum), and one just cannot predict what will materialize.

Depending on the amount of paint and water applied,  you can find bold and brassy 

or somewhat subdued.  This one is much quieter than I expected.

I also tore into the alcohol inks on white-on-white wallpaper...the current heat wave has me blasting colour like a furnace.

The wallpaper below was meant to be a cover for a new book style I'm trying out, but an errant chemical reaction of the red stamp pad ink with the (totally) dried alcohol made the ink impossible to dry.  I wiped off what I could, reapplied red paint, and still have some moisture continuing to show.  Not sure about step # 4, but if I find a solution, I'll keep you posted.

The signatures linger impatiently while the mad scientist experiments.

And just so I don't leave you with that boring white photo above, I thought you might appreciate this purple glory houseplant.  It's an oxalis triangularis, but I think purple glory describes it much better.

I hope your week has been wonderful wherever you are in the world, and that colour rules your days!  

 

Computer fry bonus?

I got to spend more time in the studio while my computer was in the shop for a week.  That means I not only finished a book-in-progress, but the case for it, too.

'A World of Wonder' © Win Dinn 2022
 3 3/4" x 8 1/2" x 1 1/2" 

Last year my word for the year was Wonder, and, and I kept notes throughout the year about the things I was 'in wonder' about, as well as things that I was wondering.  It was most illuminating, so a book had to ensue.

The accordion-style book has  ten mountain folds, to which I attached two pockets each.

Each pocket holds a 'wonder' or 'I'm wondering', or both,

and the front of each pocket holds the same.

My usual quietly nuanced colour holds throughout, of course.

Here's my favourite card at the top right...I just love sarcasm!

The fronts and backs of the cards are covered with snippets from my stash of papers oddments, 

and it was great to utilize so many of them.

I just love the way those pockets sing out against that black accordion.

 

A close-up of the slipcase shows the black-gessoed Typar - it's such a great tool for bookmaking.

And now that I have my computer back, I can check in on what's going on in your creative world.  Here's to more colour and creative light.  

For decades, red has been...

 ...a smash hit with me, so when it came to making a new book for the cyanotype cover, you can perhaps understand why the cover had to be red, and the insides, and the additions, and, and, and.  And I just could not stop.

'When I See Red' © Win Dinn
Hand-crafted book  5 1/2" H x 31/4" W x 1/4" D

I stencilled, 

pillaged collage fodder, 

chopped papers to size, 

drew, 

coloured, 

threw dryer sheets and more paper,

glued my fingers together, 

punched holes,

raided the paper towel stash, 

collaged some more,

and generally had a whale of a time.  Check out the lovely ATC above that I snuck from my traded stash.  It's by  Tracy Woodsford and has long been a favourite.  I love how it fits so perfectly on this page.

As artists, we all know that there are hundreds of tints, shades, tones and iterations of every colour, and it thrills me to think that I could do dozens of these books about seeing red, and never run out of material.  Really, who could be more fun?!