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Monday, March 1, 2010

February is Behind Us; Welcome March

And so it is March 1. I am beginning to be hopeful that the longest, snowiest winter I can remember is drawing to a close. It was warm enough yesterday to melt quite a bit of snow and today promises to melt more.

I have some errands to run today and then am hoping to meet my daughter and my little darling, Momo, for lunch. Later this afternoon, I am meeting a young man for a tutoring session in Algebra. I am hoping it will be a fun and productive day.

Meanwhile, I would like to share with you the product of my Found Book Concertina Workshop that I took with my good friend, Nancy, at Hollander's yesterday. I'd first of all like to tell you that this was the best one day workshop I've experienced to date. Chris Reising, the instructor, was very well organized and explained the process very well, beginning with an overview and then walked us through the process step by step. An added pleasure for me was that her friend and partner who co-taught the class was David Burkam, an old friend from my days of grading AP Calculus exams. David is a professor at the University of Michigan. Chris and David make books together as well as cards and other arty goodies. They brought many of them for us to look at and many of them took my breath away. They are unique and spectacular. You can see their beautiful products at their etsy shop, Moon Moth Press.

Here is the book I made.


And here is the spine.



I can't wait to try another one and will, of course, share it with you.

Earlier this weekend I attempted to sketch a portrait from a picture. This one is by Rubens and I think might be one of his children. Here is his sketch:

 

And here is my pitiful amateurish first attempt:

  

I am afraid I am a bit heavy handed. I have been using a 2B pencil, but think I'd better switch to a 2H or harder so that I can make lighter lines. I have a hard time making light lines. I think I will have to try this again maybe later today and tomorrow morning. 

As usual, I welcome your comments and am so pleased with your suggestions and insights.

Meanwhile, I'd better get this old body onto the treadmill and then get in the shower so that my errands can get done today and I will still have time to do some art.

I hope to "see" you tomorrow.

xoxo

15 comments:

  1. OMG!!! time does fly like the wind! i still remember when we turned 2010! and now it's 2 months gone UGH!!

    the book is amazing! love the asian feel of it and the colors are just gorgeous! the emblem is very very pretty too :)

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  2. Your book really is lovely, and I do so like that angles and colors of the trim on the spine! It was a fun workshop, that's for sure! You have a wonderful start on the Rubens. You did an especially nice job with the hat and his left eye. Use your trusty eraser to further refine the mouth, nose and right eye. If you look closely, you can see that there is a sort of triangle to the left of his lips - just a peek of his cheek. Be patient - it's a WIP!! hugs, nancy

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  3. I love your book! Great job on it! I think your Ruben's drawing looks good. Not easy to copy the masters!

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  4. Your journal is gorgeous! And thank you for the link to Hollander's...

    And Nancy's given good advice, just take your time and be patient...

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  5. Great start. I agree with Nancy that your only real problem is with the lips. The top lip really has only one side showing and the rest as Nancy says, is cheek. You've turned the mouth to a different angle than the nose. Easy enough for me to be critical since I am not taking on such a hard project! You can use your eraser to lighten some of the lines where you need highlights. I tend to be heavy handed so use the H pencil but not sure if you'll get your darks out of a harder one. I think you've started out great.

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  6. The book is so pretty! I can't believe it's hand made! Love the drawing too!

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  7. Being a chinese, I must say how much I love the book you made :)
    And the sketch is really good too. Are you going to work on it a little more because I am pretty sure you'll get somewhere if you really want to. Just a trick to blend the shades a bit more evenly... use Qtips ^^ or color blender if you have one.

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  8. The book is really lovely. Concertina means an accordion binding doesn't it?

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  9. Shirley, yes a concertina book would be accordion folded.

    In this style of book the signatures are sewn in using a pamphlet stitch. The concertina refers to the style of the spine.

    xoxo

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  10. Love the book you made. Your sketching is coming along great.

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  11. The book is stunning! Absolutely gorgeous! Have you worked in one of this kind before? Are they difficult to hold while sketching?

    I think you have a great start! The eyes look well-placed. I think in the original it looks like his lips are slightly parted though.

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  12. I'm so impressed with the book--I don't really understand how you made it, but that's not really important.
    I admire your dedication to all your creative endeavors.

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  13. Have you ever tried using a grid to help with the placement of things? I made two grids for myself, one is 1" squares and one is 2cm squares. I made them on the computer and printed them on acetate so I could place the grid over the picture I am trying to draw (tape it down!). You can then lightly draw the grid on your paper, and then draw square by square. Lots of old masters used this method to transfer their drawings!

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  14. The book is lovely. I have been wanting to take a class at Hollanders for a while and now I'm even more gung ho to take one!

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  15. Nancy gave great advice and I second it. It's that three quarter view that is so difficult. I can't wait to see how this transpires. Just be patient with yourself and it. It will come along.

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