While the muse...

 ...was back in the studio this week, the spatial relationship brain took a holiday.  What was supposed to be an easy book form took a whole lot longer than it 'should have'.

There were a couple of reasons for this.  I decided to use a hodge-podge of gel prints, all of which were decidedly unappealing, so the organization of them took some time.

And my decision to do something different with the Typar cover meant the directions I found on Vintage Page Designs required some finagling.  Well, not some really - a lot.

Of course, I made my usual plethora of mistakes (apparently that's also part of my learning curve).

Eventually, however, I managed to stitch/cut/sort/cover and create this accordion concertina book form.

By the time I finish the inside (and won't that be a challenge with all those unloved pages?!!!) and form a box for it, I'm hoping it will be a lovely repository for a ton of 💓💕💖💗💝💞💟.  For some reason, my collection of these has grown by leaps and bounds these past two years.

And I did mention last week that I had something in mind for the collage of paper strips.  During the week I finished a small painting with it, and enjoyed adding some textural elements.  The background is one I created with a dryer sheet technique some months ago.

'Hwy 340' collage on wood panel 4" x 4" 2021 © Win Dinn

'Hwy 340' collage on wood panel 4" x 4" 2021 © Win Dinn

A quick count tells me that I now have 6 or 7 journals to complete on the inside, one large painting on the go, paper partly completed for another star book, and so much more.  This is really living the creative life, isn't it?!

I found my 'round-tuit'...

 ...and finished the stitching on my second Coptic stitch book.  

5 1/4" x 3 7/8"

The signatures (11 of them) are a comprised of a gel print and sheet of Stonehenge paper.  I've not yet determined what's going into the book but I can feel something percolating in the back brain.

I'm really enjoying the look of the covers, made from my Typar house-wrap play a couple of weeks ago and suspect that this wrap could become my go-to for covers, both for its durability and infinite possibilities.  The house wrap takes paint, alcohol inks, stamps, stencils and a whole lot more.

And I so much enjoy the way the underlying texture peeks through everything...kinda sneaky, don'tcha  think?!  😉

Here's to sneaky colour play - do let me know what you've been up to in the comments!  

Can you hear me cackling?

I've been in Mad Mixed Media Scientist mode this week.  For some time I've been wanting to test dryer sheets on wood panels with the same technique I've used for cheesecloth.  Here's one of the results, used on a painting background.  

It's luscious whether used over another colour, or on a white gessoed panel, don't you think?

And I finally managed to find a roll of Typar house wrap.  I've been on the last of my 100', seven-year-old roll, and knew I needed more.  When I scored some, I just had to whitewash it and then throw some alcohol ink at it, followed by stencil work.  While it's not done yet, I think it's looking pretty juicy already.

The closeups are even more fun... the grey house wrap gives a subtle textural look underneath all that colour.

Now there is a reason for the madness, of course.  I want to create a cover for the second Coptic book in process, and I'm all about the subtlety, right?  😄

The stack of signatures awaits the completion of the cover 'fabric', and with some beeswax to wax the thread, I'm definitely going to be in business.  

On another corner of the table, I've got a stack of toppers which have been created through Ruth's studio time.  Every time we had leftover mediums of any sort or unused paint, we threw it at a piece of canvas.  They're going to make fabulous cards for sale at her November show.

There are other projects on the go, of course, and a list as long as the taxman's reach of things I have yet to try.  Here's to experimentation, failures and successes!