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!  

 

It's in the stars...

 ...well, at least in the star book (#2) which is now assembled into its proper form.  

While small (3 1/2" x 5 1/2" x 1"), 

it's already packed with some great detail, including some hand-crafted, quietly sneaky paper beads on the spine.

I'm feeling guilty for using purchased papers for two of the interior layers.  (Picture a 1920's-era heroine with back of hand to forehead, gasping in horror.)  There are a couple of reasons for this.  I didn't have enough handmade papers to complete either layer, and I was too impatient to make more painted papers, and these papers have been safely in my stash for over 20 years, as I couldn't bear to 'waste' them. I suspect some of you can relate.  🙃  How wrong is that?!!!

The topmost inner layer (and the last for assembly) is the deliciously marbled orange one above, and the next one in is by the same maker in blue.  I MUST learn how to create such stunning marbled papers in this lifetime.

The other two are quinacridone gold and umber papers which I painted.  Of course the cover is my hand-painted paper as well.

The next step will be to add embellishments, should I be able to bring myself to cover any of this mouth-wateringness.  I've been considering making skins from these lovely pen and ink drawings from the book I borrowed from the library.  It is chock-full of gorgeous drawings

and some wonderful calligraphy.

What's your vote gang?  Embellish, or not?  An inquiring mind waits with bated breath.

Yet to come is the case for this - I've already painted both sides of the paper I'll use for that, so it might even show up in this century.  In the meantime I'm wishing you a terrific week filled with world-wide good news and light energy.

Back in the groove...

 ...sure feels like a good thing.  I finished a slipcover for the star book,

and it fits as though they were made for each other.  😉

The papers are well in progress for the second star book,

and I've even gotten back to embroidering dryer sheets, and there's a phrase that I bet not too many people have used.

Once finished, slip stitches removed, they will (finally) grace the ensuite bathroom as curtains.  I'd hate to tell you how many months ago that project got started.

The great thing about being in the creative doldrums is that when one gets out of them it's akin to taking flight.  Here's to the sea change!  I hope that your creative week has been just as exciting.  

Jumping from project....

 ...to project seems to be the way to keep my muse entertained, and I've certainly been doing that this past week.  I started creating the paper for my next star book

and it looks decidedly different from when I started on hot press watercolour paper with a flurry of stamping.

I finished a bookmark that had been sitting on my table for weeks and weeks and weeks.

I created a card with a skeleton leaf I found months ago.

And that got me back into the mode for Christmas card assembly (and a darn good thing, too, as it's creeping ever closer and there are many more to build).

I painted three wooden panels, and secured works on paper to them, one of which was presold.  Don't you love it when a sale spurs on projects that had been waiting in the wings?  I'd been avoiding doing this for two of them for at least two years because it's a tricky thing to retro-fit a paper work to a panel,  Cowardice wins every time.  😨 

And I finally finished working on that large piece (well, two pieces actually) of Typar I started last month.

I suspect part of it will be perfect for a hinged binding I have in mind.

I have also started a 20 x 16" painting, which is at the really boring stage right now (that is much preferable to the ugly stage which is my least favourite part of painting 😖).  More on that next week - or month - depending on where the muse leads me!

Hope your week has been both productive and fun.  I look forward to hearing all about it.  

I feel like I'm returning from a distant planet...

 ...and truly, perhaps I am!  I've been in New Grandson followed by a trip to Recovering Body and a return visit to Covid Bluesland.  I'm here to let you know that I'm on the way back, with some photos of things in progress.  I know - you're thinking 'when will she ever FINISH anything?'.   Well, I did finish an experiment with sloppy drywall compound on a piece of canvas and can see some possibilities there.  Does that count?

I'm in such a 'what-if?' mode right now that I'm recycling an incredible amount of painty test tube babies.

And I did finish a page in my black and white journal this week,

and I'm working on several others as well..

Some brainstorm had me wondering what house wrap would look like melted and gessoed, so I did a piece of that just to satisfy my curiosity.  I've always liked the threads in house wrap, and the way it melts is fascinating.  I do worry occasionally that I'm a bit of a pyromaniac.

Of course I had to paint it then, and watch the colours play on the warped surface.  The colours made me think of the American flag, so perhaps some stripes and stars will get added to this.  Is that blasphemy to my US friends?  I hope not!

I've got another piece on the go - a start to a series entitled 'In Your Absense'.  The colours in this piece remind me so much of my sister, lost to cancer nearly two decades ago.

This was another piece that was great fun to watch - all those streams of blue wandering into the Kroma Crackle crevices were delightful.  I'm going to have to do another piece just for the sheer pleasure of videoing the seepage.

Oh - I finished something else.  I wrapped a gift and mini/book card for our new grandson; his Covid-safe shower is this weekend. The wrapping paper is hand-painted in the colours chosen for his room.  I do feel somewhat hugely guilty that the mini book/card is not colour-coordinated to match.  😉 Luckily it's well hidden in the envelope I made.  

As for the contents of the package, the match is a pretty reasonable one - you'll get to see that in the coming weeks, I'm sure.  While you wait for that exciting show and tell, why not let me know what you've been up to in the last bit.  I'm in huge need of a catch-up on your lives, artistic or not!  

Put a little leather in your...paper.

A favourite paper-making process is that of leather (also known as brayer paper, or gesso paper), and it's dead easy to create.

Start with a brush, gesso and sheet of acid-free artist tissue paper (available here in Canada from Opus) along with a a palette paper support for easy lift-off.  If you have a textured brayer, that will be handy later on!

Paint the tissue with gesso (when I'm painting a large sheet I start from the centre and move outwards to prevent tearing), let it dry, and then paint the other side in the same manner.

Once both sides of the tissue are painted with gesso, you can add colour.  Note here that if you want a thicker, more leathery-feeling paper, you can paint each side again with gesso - the more layers of gesso, the heavier the paper.  You can see my usual subtle colour below on the second side of this sheet.  Don't worry about any transfer of colour to the back - it will just get painted over.

Once the coat of colour has dried, you can add a contrasting colour with a textured brayer (I've made my own in many different types of texturing, but you can easily wrap elastics around a 'normal' brayer to add some texture to your work).

It makes a lovely pattern doesn't it, and,

with both sides of the paper painted in complementary style/colour, it makes a wonderful folded piece as well.

Do be forewarned that over time (months and years) this paper will become dry and somewhat brittle - I recommend using it as soon as possible after you make it, especially if you're looking to achieve a soft folded look.

Painting papers...

has got to be right up there on my list of favourite things to do.

Yesterday the studio was filled with colour

because this group was so fast to catch on to the process they could have done ten sheets in the allotted time!

 They quickly learned to add sparkles to their sheets, and I think the results were juicy!

Each sheet was a colour revelation, as they splashed,

and spread, and dropped,

and dripped,

 and sprinkled,

 taking their plain mulberry paper splashed with water to one filled with colour mass and energy.

I suspect the odd Christmas gift under their tree will be stunningly wrapped in these luscious papers.  Oh, and think of the cards they can make, and the colour they can add to their paintings, and the mini gift bags, and, and, and....   

I love doing these workshops because each time I see a colour combination that grabs me by the throat and makes my heart sing.  I always feel so lucky that the participants love it too!