Green Glass

Yup

I've been trying to control the impulse to start new journals until I "finish" the one's I'm supposedly using.  Only, tonight I realized that I am actually using the old ones (for 29 faces, still a few spreads to fill) and my Fabriano journal (with experiments in impulses).  I'm ignoring the couple of little project journals that are currently tucked away.  They don't count in this discussion because their time will come.  Blobs are murmuring amongst themselves.  The project journal will have to wait until the weather gets rainy or colder.  The family journal sputters along. 

But I did want to fill up Fabriano before I moved on.  It only seemed respectful.  BUT... that is not to be.

Tonight, I had to.  Move on, that is.  I also had to eat some pie, but again, beside the point.

I have needs.  (and yes, some are pie needs, but ignore that).  Cut and paste and marker and ideas bumping around in my pinball of a head.  Actually, I guess my head is the machine.  The ideas are pinballs.

I've been in the yard spraying.  This is only of those ideas.  In between yard chores, I let loose with the spray.  I'm spraying cereal and cracker and pasta boxes.  Things with flaps and foldy bits.  Big pieces, contorted pieces, you name it - it's got aerosol on it.

That's one idea getting slapped around. 

Then I remembered I made a journal in an on-line class called 'Urban Notebook' with Dawn DeVries Sokol.  I liked the journal, but it's been sitting on my -I like to make more journals than I use -shelf.  It was officially outside my comfort zone.  

I loved the big bold colors, I liked the use of trash materials (aside from the paint).  But... the style, the style, the style.  My voice is stilled.  My eyes devour the color and my hands savor the feel.   But my voice... I'm not sure what to say with this. 

Now I know. I saw an article by Tracy Bunkers  (aka Bonkers) in ART Journaling by Somerset Studio and a bell went off.  Maybe because I have things I need to journal about illness that are not pretty portraits and gratitude and compassion.  Although I want to do pretty portraits and be grateful and compassionate.  But I need both those things, and the pinball in side my head hit all of that in a hailstorm of ideas (yes, mixed metaphor - tough).

Being on prednisone is kicking my butt.  Not a lot of sleeping, not a lot of focus, on edge, restless in the middle of the night.  

PERFECT JOURNAL TIME!!!!!!  So I am letting go of my pretty version where I finish up each and every journal before I begin these new ones.  That version is the one I'm trying to hold on to so I won't continue a lifelong pattern of launching into one after another soon to be unfinished project.  But those time are not these times.  SO ...

I am allowed to change.  I am allowed to mature.

And I am allowed to cut and paste in the the middle of the night.

Yup.  I am.

 

Welcome Chester

We have a new member of our family.

No, this was not what I was planning to do right now.

Yes, he's worth it.

Another thing I wasn't planning.

EDMs

 

 

 

Have a great weekend.

Coptic fun

before

after

In the two needle stitch form, the threads are crossed over each other, so there are two threads.  I like bindings with as little inside stitching as possible, so I'll probably try a different variation next time.  It maybe that's as good as it gets.

The signatures and thread are so thin, it doesn't show off the loop aspect of the stitch.  I still like the corded effect (affect? no effect, I think, ... maybe)

Talk about opening flat.

With all my little technical complaints, I really like the flexibility of the binding.  I could see how that would be very useful and workable.  I enjoy the feel of the book.

Thank you for your patience.

Coptic continued

I'm showing these pictures, hoping they give a sense of how the stitch builds.  I'm not sure they do unless you already have an image in your head of how they link together, but again, what struck me when I started was how much easier it was than I expected.  I did all six stations at once.  They could be done in pairs or even singularly (depending how how you run your thread between stations).  Starting with a clear image of how they work together is important.  I find I can visualize this pretty easily, but that's probably what appeals to me about binding and stitching.  If it seems too complicated, I try a simpler version or a different stitch.  No point in going crazy when I'm really all about utility and fun.

Threading the needle between the signatures is actually the most difficult part, since the middle stitches (in the middle of the pages) have no angle to twist back the needle with.  I found just using my fingernails to push the needle around and then back worked just well enough.  Not too easy, but doable.  The end stations (like below) were clearly the easiest.

 

The pattern the loops made didn't come out as pretty as I'd hoped.  That may be that I didn't spend any time neatening them up with my needle tip.  It might be that the signatures were too skinny or the thread too thin.  Such is life. I still liked it.

I took many many pictures of the stitching, but really, not that interesting.  When I got to the end, I placed the board on top.  You can see how it's possible to just tuck the needles in between the signatures and if the signature are held together, the needles stay put.  Between that and the waxed thread holding the needle onto the thread, all six needles were not such a problem.  Did I drop a needle?  Yeah, once or twice.  But really, not much different than if I was just using one at a time.  Just figure out a way to hold the body together with whatever hand position works for you.

 

 

At this point I stuck the needle between the signatures
and tied the thread off on the inside.

 

And Voila! It is done.  Well, after I tied them all off and cut the threads.  Pretty pictures tomorrow from silly perspectives.  Because I like them that way.

Coptic Stitches

I had pictures of the prep of this book, but again, with the computer crash I don't have all my files organized and after a while looking I gave up.  This was scrapbook paper that I'd had kicking around and decided to use to try a coptic stitch binding.  I've seen this binding all over, and it clearly has many different variations.  The prep was easy since there was only one template for the same hole spacing on all the signatures.  I didn't want to put too many papers in each signature and that shows in the tightness of the binding stitch.  Maybe another time with different paper. 

 I just love the way they're all stacked up.  The cover/end boards are just two pieces of cardboard I'd spray painted.

 For the particular variation I chose, I used two needles simultaneously in each paired set of 'stations'.  The stitches are basically a loop stitch running across the binding (rather than up the side as I did here).  

 This is the inside cover where you can see that the threads cross over.  They'll stitch in a look to the next signature and then cross again inside. 

It's also possible to do this stitch with a single needle.  Keith Smith all multiple variations and then I You tubed a whole lot more.  I wanted to try the two needle, and you will see later that I actually did the three paired sets for this book simultaneously(using six needles).  I happen to live closish to John Neal Booksellers and had bought a packet of binding needles (knowing how things get dispersed in my work space - not lost, dispersed).  I also had some I'd been using for knitting.  Really, can not have enough needles because that doesn't count the quilting/sewing/beading needles similarly dispersed in my room.

That's all for today.  More later as the stitch builds.

I am obsessed with my own visage

My face is longer than that.  Someone got in the way.  Pesky someone.

Below is my usual self portrait.  

My hands have gotten the shakes again from prednisone.  Happened the last time and it was immensely liberating.  Suddenly I was not accountable for a straight line.  Apparently I have straight line envy, but even without the shakes I'm wobbly at best.  

Right now I feel that the involuntary shutter gives my drawings a certain freedom and looseness, not to mention a little coolness.  I'm all about coolness.

I needle felted that head.  He looks pretty much like that. He's pretty cool too.

Might be TMI

Boring personal stuff.  

I've debated writing this post of a while now - might be too much information - but on the other hand, if I'm going to make art out of my authentic self, this is part of that.

I have Ulcerative Colitis, a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.  If you're going to have IBD, is is the one to have and if you have it, I have one of the milder forms, so lots of gratitude there. 

I developed it two years ago and ended up in the hospital after a bad reaction to some medication.  I was wiped out for a while and during that time I was also on a high level of prednisone.  Prednisone makes me zombie-like.  But it also kept me up all night and gave me the attention span of a flea.  A zombie-like flea.  I was SO much fun to be around.

That was when I developed an insatiable thirst for color and I started using this new invention called the wide-world internets.  Lots of interesting people out there doing lots of interesting things.  Then I started visual journaling - partially from lack of words but also because it just fit my needs.  I've kept at this and it's been a wonderful addition to my life.  Very grateful about that.

In Spain this summer my UC came back.  It's a recurrent but unpredictable disease.  So after a while seeing how things would develop, and after trying some other medication (which didn't seem to work for or agree with me) I'm back on prednisone.  

Again with the up most of the night and again with the zombieish qualities.  Not as high a dose, not as bad (more gratitude) but still.  I feel like I'm having trouble stringing thoughts together.  Probably because I'm having trouble stringing thoughts together.  I get distracted.  I can't focus.  

At the same time, I'm not tense or stressed or worried (that takes focus for me, apparently).  But while I continue to work on faces for the 29faces challenge, I'm not doing much more.  A little.  A drip.  But I spend a fair amount of time considering things - open ended consideration of passing thoughts. 

So, for the next month, maybe less frequent less wordy posts.  Not that am a ... gadfly?  No, that's not the word.  Blabbermouth...  Hmmm... There's a good word out there.  I think I'll think about that for a while.

29 faces, me

29 faces in 30 days, that's the challenge.  I have a hard time with challenges - too much trying to fit my idea of what would be good given what other people seem to be doing and not enough playing my way toward where I need to be.

So, although all the faces are rough, I've been satisfied that I'm doing what I should be doing - sketching toward my center.  In a figurative way (pun intended).  Sort of.

Tonight I went out on the preverbal limb.  I drew myself.

After all, I have a face.

Book One

Right now I can't find the photos from when I prepped this book.  I'll try and dig them out of the mess and chaos of my current photo library.  When my hard drive died at the end of the summer, my well organized and edited library when up in a puff of smoke (or a scrapping of code) and it will just take time to find the right disk with the original photos on it.  But here, below, is the book as I was about to bind it.  I know I will be adding things to the pages, so I left a lot of play for the signatures to expand.  

The tricky part of this binding was making sure the holes in the spine and signature lined up.  When I dig up my fabulous shots, you will be able to see that I had to make a template with three different signature hole placements (one strip, coded) and then a different template with the whole spine layout.  There are faint Xs where I was reminding myself not to punch.  I did pretty well, not perfect, but pretty well. 

The second part that is tricky, is keeping the signatures in order while I'm stitching them in.  I plan and I plan and I plan and I still want to reorder them as I go, because something will shift in my brain and my new 'solution' always causes problems.  So I try to avoid adjusting anything once it's set.  Unless I completely goof up.  Which happens.

Below is one 'unit' of stitches.  This was one of those times that I was having so much fun, I forgot to take pictures of putting in the first set of three signatures.  Each set is a group of three stitches going vertically (slanted) down the book, so below is after I started putting the second set in.

I did like how the stitches ran simply down the spines inside the book.  No doubling back.  I like straightforward stitches that do the work without too much elaboration or waste.

I was glad for a flexible spine, because I had to work to get the needle through the back and then the pages.

 

 

 

 So that is another of the books I bound during camp.  I have one more I'll try to put up maybe over the weekend.  I would do this stitch again in a heartbeat.  I liked how uncomplicated it all was, once I'd gotten the piecings done.  I also liked how the spine looked.

Happy Friday1 

There will be more

I'll add more to these pages, but the glass just wouldn't fit on the page with my favorite tools.  And from the wobbliness of the glass I wasn't inspired to do more.

I had some things to say

 When I bound this journal, I remember very clearly that I had some things to say.  I took a lot of photos, which is unusual because I get so excited by the time I get to the binding that I often look up, realizing that I've stitched the whole thing without a photo taken.  I've actually undone a binding, just to photograph a bit of the steps.  I pick bindings that I think I can handle (although I'm pretty good with juggling pages and backs) and which fits with my skill set.  I use floppy spines so that gives me some flexibility in manipulating the book.  Also it lays flat.  Also I don't know how to do it differently.  

I am often hung up on doing things "right", which means I don't start until I have an idea in my head of how it goes on, but making journals been very freeing because I know they're just for me, there is no wrong, and if I run into a problem, I can figure a way that works for me.

I have learned- don't tighten the stitches until and unless you have to.  Usually there is a point where they can be loose, so you can flex and see what you're doing, get the structure aligned, work your needle easier, etc.  Then there is a point where I have to go back and tighten things up.  I try to go slowly with a new stitch to feel where that point is.  

Keeping a waxed thread from tangling takes practice and patience.  Below you see what happens quite a bit.  No problem.  Don't pull hard.  Use the needle to tease it apart again.  Just deep breaths and going slowly.  Take the time to keep the thread as untwisted as possible and except some mistakes.  No problem. 

I know I had more thoughts than that.  I know I did.  I can feel the echo of really instructive comments reverberating in my noggin, but ...

I loved the pattern of this stitch.  

As always, I got it from Keith Smith's bookbinding volumes.  This was probably from "Volume II Non-Adhesive Binding: 1-2- & 3-Section Sewings"  He has a website.  You could go to it and order from there. Easy peasy.

 

In the end, it didn't look exactly the way it had in the illustration, but without having a thicker thread or different proportions I don't see how it would.  I like it.   I could have run the stitch all the way down the spine, but for some reason I wanted to do it in sections.  It was probably the math - how many stitches in that length of spine.  

Maybe later I'll think of all my wise words and add them.  Probably not.  I'm on some medication and the brain (really doesn't feel like mine) is moving very slowly.  

Very. Slowly.

Probably just the right state to do a little binding.

When I was at camp....

I remembered.  

I forgot to post photos of some book binding I did this summer.

When we went to camp, we had a little tiny table in our cabin/bunk room.  I filled it up with my supplies.  That there, the American Heritage book, is the one I'm thinking of now.  I'd prepped the pages for that and a couple others before I went to camp, long before.  Sitting around gathering dust before.  So it seemed like a good think to tuck all the unbound books I'd gotten ready into a little tub and bring them along.  

Once at camp, since I had no cleaning or washing or laundry or nuttin to do, I got to play all day.

 This particular binding works with just two signatures.  Just right for a skinny book.  Turned out different than I'd thought, but when does it not?

This is not my favorite part of bookbinding.  Deciding which binding to use is fun.  Stitching - love love love the stitching.  But punching holes really requires time and concentration, both of which seem to elude me.  Camp was a good place to be able to focus.  No interruptions.  Although the holes for this one were the least complicated.

 I'm going slow right now, but I have more pictures to share.  Stitching.  It's all about the stitching.

Everyday still

This is my bed.  With my feet.

I posted the driftwood already.  But this has a point.  On a day that I wanted to get a challenge "done" I couldn't find anything on my list.  And again, I realized I'd stuck myself with the list.  The point, as I understand the Everyday Matters challenges, is to break us out of a rut of seeing/ of being.  We take so much for given/granted. So I was sitting in my daughter's room and just picked up this nail polish.  It was hard to focus that day, and the effort that it took to just let go of forcing myself to see what I wanted to see and let myself see what was actually in front of me - well, it just proved to me how much I can get out of this exercise.   

Plus I added the armband.  And suddenly I liked this page a whole lot more.

EDMs

 Taking a bit of a break over here.  Having some annoying health issues.

Any fantastic blogs I need to visit?  TV shows or movies?

 

Every Day Matters (EDM)

    It does.

And these are.

The hockey stick doesn't have a challenge number. It was there.  I just drew it.

Blah

No posting today.  Feeling not so good.  If you want to know what I'm up to (the little there is) go to Paint by Numbers, my alternate blog for IFJM and now 29faces.  I guess it's a sub-blog for challenges.  Justt to keep things tidy.

Not that I'm feeling tidy at the moment.

Mums the word

Yup.  I'm just an explostion of color and art supplies right now.

Started out with crayon resist watercolors, moved to Gelli printing, stopped in spray paint and now I've landed in acrylic paint.  That's in the last two weeks.  What is going on in my brain?

I will blame sleeplessness for some of this. Weird things happen in the middle of the night.  No accounting for it.  Best just to clean up the left over mess in the morning and say nothing about it.

EDM challenges

EveryDay Matters Challenges

 

 

 

 

 

Lots o rocks

I'm playing with piles of rocks.  When I'm not gelli printing,or EDM drawing.

Suddenly the other day I wanted to do crayon resists.

I tried to make a tree and an house.  They are one sad tree and house.

So I went back to rocks.  Piles and piles of rocks.

Laboring over here

Gelli printing made me think of spray paint.  So that's what I did this afternoon.  Headed outside for a round or two of aresol spraying.

I bought a bunch of cheap canvases at a craft store during the winter with this in mind.  With all the travel this summer, I never got around to it, but here I am now.

 

 

 

We have a semi finished basement and these are going on the wall down to it.  I wanted something bright.  They seem a little controlled to me, so I'm probably going to have to have another round later this week with the canvases I still have, but this will do for now.  I love the big bold explosive (but not too explosive - I keep the cans out of the direct sun) color.  No one's going to mistake me for a street artist, but what the hey.  

 

29 faces, #1 2013

Below I've copied a posting I'm making on my challenge blog - Paint by Numbers.  I used it for the annual International Fake Journal Month postings, and I figure i can use it for other challenge postings when I don't want to include all of them on this blog. 

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I've decided to take the plunge and try the 29 faces challenge.  29 faces in 30 days. Although I've been avoiding most challenges - this seems like a good fit.  I've been thinking about faces recently, and this seems a good way to channel that impulse. 

Here's my first try.

What I really want to learn to do is shading.  Shading that doesn't make the person look haggard.  Maybe shaping is a better term.  But I'm not going to get hung up on any one part.  Nothing that will get in the way of doing it.  So here I go.

I was attacked by a Gelli printer

Really, I was.

In my own defense, I was 'using up' paint that I bought over 20 years ago.  I will say this for Chromacryl, it has shelf life.  Also basement life.

I am slowly working toward mail art.  I cut up one of these (not these, an earlier these) and mailed it to someone.  I added some lame fireworks before I sent it.

She didn't complain.