Links in the Chain

I have been spending a lot of time on the new site CreateMixedMedia this past week, exploring all it has to offer. Much of my time has focused on the video and text tutorials. It is like taking a series of workshops without leaving home. Here are a few of my favorites...



Josie Cirincione has a great PDF tutorial on how to create a new 'old' book. One of my favorite aspects of her lesson is the use of such nontraditional materials as gaffer tape and gasket material. Any excuse to head to the hardware store is a good one!

Annie Lockhart shares some great tips for attaching objects in your mixed-media pieces with wire in this PDF tutorial.

Michael deMeng shares some quick 'solutions' for making anything rusty and blackened in this PDF tutorial.


While you are looking around the site, you can read some Q & A on my newly posted artist profile.

Binding Memories

This past weekend I attended a workshop taught by Leslie Marsh entitled "Binding Memories in Black and White." It was held at Lemoncholy's Studio, Kecia Deveney's wonder of a place on the Jersey shore. As you can see from the following images, Kecia's studio is an inspiration in and of itself.

Leslie Marsh is my bookmaking hero and she was kind enough to bring a sampling of her incredible handmade books to the class. While she is a stellar photographer and her books look quite amazing on her blog, they are even more spectacular in person.

The workshop focused on a bleaching technique to alter black paper using materials from nature - leaves, flowers, and the like.

Our fearless leader...

Our sensational host...

Bleaching in action..

Racking it up...

But that was just the beginning. After we made our pages, Leslie taught the long stitch technique so we were all able to bind our pages into our own books.

Pleasures of Hope, the book I created...

A sampling of my pages...

Thank you Leslie and Kecia and the whole gang. It was a great day!

It's a Wrap

Recently I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to attend a workshop given by Keith Lo Bue. His profile on his blog states that he is a "found-object jeweler and sculptor" but his work really defies labeling. The workshop was called Papering Over It - Collaging the Found Object. Much of Keith's work is oriented toward jewelry design but this technique-driven workshop was like hitting the jackpot for mixed media as well. I cannot recommend his classes more highly.

Keith has been working for many years and has discovered and created such unique techniques all his own. His creativity is only exceeded by his generosity. He seemed to be sharing all his secrets. And, simply put, he is a nice guy too.

I had a chance to learn and try out many techniques in the workshop that I know will find their way - as translated by my own voice - into my artwork.

Of the many things I learned, a paper wrapping technique was one of my favorites. The photos in this post highlight the practice piece I made in the workshop using this process.

The workshop was made even better by that fact that I shared a table with Jill from JazWorks and finally had the opportunity to meet &rew from Urban Paper Arts. In addition, Thomas Mann was teaching within the same space and after meeting him, I realized that I would love to take a class from him in the future.

Keith will be teaching again this year in both the USA and in Australia. Check out his website (one of my favorite's in terms of design) and blog for more information and to see his art.

Handbook...

When I was making my book in Judy's workshop, I spent a good deal of time thinking about how I wanted to fill the pages. As my hands were cutting book board, sewing signatures, aging paper, wrapping velvet, and being coated with layers of glue, I was once again amazed by the tools that I was using to create my book. And by tools...I mean hands! And with that thought, in that moment... Handbook was born.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know how much I am fascinated by hands. You can read this to see what I mean!

I am spending a lot of time on this book, with all the pages evolving organically and in their own time. Still working on the cover, which will be revealed when the book is complete. But for now, here is a glimpse (as always, click images to enlarge for detail)...


And here is how the book is shaping up...




And to give you an idea of the inside, here is a completed page...





More to come soon!

Chinese Checkers

I had the pleasure of being able to take a one-day workshop with none other than Lynne Perrella this past weekend. It was a rare opportunity, as she does not often teach on the East coast. The class was called Chinese Checkers. The specs: East meets West, as we spend a full-day exploring the dual themes of Asian images and classic grid compositions. Sounds good, right? But what got me was the next line: Create a lavish, heavily-layered, elegant/edgy surface! She had me at layered!!

Class started with laying gesso and adding texture, texture, and more texture!



While the gesso dried, we all participated in a very revealing art exercise...



...that just got better and better.



Spent most of the day adding layers. Paint. Portfolio crayons. Water-soluble wax pastels. Fiber. Altered images. And more.

My piece before collage...



Ultimately we had the choice of keeping our piece as a large artwork or folding it into book form. Guess which I chose? Both actually. I cut off a strip to make an Asian scroll (in progress)...



And folded the rest into a book. Here are some close-up shots of the book pages in progress...






I ran out of time before I was able to add many collaged images. But I look forward to taking the techniques I learned from Lynne and finishing both projects. And when I do, you can be sure they will find their way into a post.

And I will end with a personal favorite shot from the workshop that sums up the fun and abandon that is art: Violet's Hands...

Observations on Observations

My class with Danny Gregory has come to an end. I learned so much about drawing and visual journaling...but more importantly, I learned about observation. Observing details about everyday matters as a way to be in the moment and live life just a little more fully.

Our last class was the most challenging for me. We broke into groups of three for a "portrait party." I had to draw a portrait of the classmate to my left. Three times. Once in my journal. Once in the third person's journal. And once in the model's journal. Well...I definitely improved from portrait one to portrait three, supporting Danny's point that the best way to learn to draw is to draw! However, as a means of protecting the innocent (e.g., the model), I am not posting the drawings. After all, it is the process not the outcome which is important!!

Danny spent some time in our last class sharing some of his thoughts about the process. A few of my favorites: "surprise yourself...do what you can't...love mistakes...never complain...never explain...express yourself." Thanks Danny!






This piece has gone through several versions in several blog posts and although I originally thought it was not yet complete, after more observation I now feel that it is. Observations.

Available in my Etsy Shop. Click images to enlarge.

Negative Space

Class this week with Danny Gregory was another adventure for me. My favorite part, as always, was when he shared photographs of his pages. This time, pages from several travel journals he made while on vacation. Right up my alley. Having been to some of the places he journaled about (Italy and Mexico), it was quite interesting for me to see how his journals were completely different from mine.

Our "lesson" for the day was to focus on negative space..."the space that isn't anything." You can use the negative space as an element to draw. In doing so, you erase any preconceived notion of what you are drawing, making the process much more about observation. N'est-ce pas? We completed several exercises to better understand this concept.

As always, Danny provided a lot of inspiration and many random thoughts that struck a chord. When asked about writing in one's journal, he said that you can write the way you draw...just let it flow and don't over think it. When asked about dealing with self-judgment and being too focused on the outcome, he highlighted the importance of the process of drawing and said you need "a willingness to step off the cliff." And when asked about the importance of training and technique, he said the best way to learn to draw is just to draw a lot!


Homework