Repurposed Books, EDM, and A Sketchcrawl

I've finished the Through A Looking Glass book and decided I'd better do a few more to check out the "what ifs" that could happen in a class setting. While taking the text block out of this one, I caught some of the spine in a cut and so there was a hole in the spine. I had two choices - tape the cut or take the spine off. I chose to take the spine off (but now I suppose I am going to have to check out what taping a rip would be like). I cut some webbing to size and sewed over it (I intended to do the link stitch, which is a bit more interesting, but decided that I'd better stick with basics), then glued the ends to the covers. I rather like it:

I am currently working on one with multicolored sketching paper.

I have a couple more EDM sketches to share:

It turned out pretty messy. I used a dip pen and chocolat ink, then added a bit of water.

I should have drawn it bigger.

A friend I made at my Krasl watersolubles class, Dee,  and I are going to meet up in Battle Creek on Friday this week to try sketching outdoors. I guess that is called a sketchcrawl. When I have particulars about place and time, I'll let you know so that if you are in the area, you can bring your sketch kit and join us. I'm thinking the zoo and/or the historic buildings on the river. More later........

Nancy and I were going to get together today, but life got in the way. We hope to meet after the 4th to do some spanortin', art related of course.

For now, I am going to go out to the living room and watch some tennis. I hope to see you again tomorrow.

xoxo

Through A Looking Glass and EDM 224

I drove into town this morning to have some sketch paper cut to size and have begun working on my latest repurposed book "Through the Looking Glass". I glued a piece of cardstock into the spine to replace the old piece I removed when taking out the text block and then watched a bit of tennis while folding my signatures.

This is my adhesive of choice.

The original text block had about 200 pages in it, so I estimated that I would need around 50 sheets to fold. I actually found that 55 was a better fit for my purposes.

When I first checked for fit, the 'creep' associated with signatures was too great, so I trimmed them with the dreaded rotary cutter seen behind the book in the picture below. I was very careful and liked how the pages fit after trimming.

Another check for fit.

I will sew the signatures together and then decide on endpapers for this book and should have it finished to show you tomorrow. This book didn't have fun endpapers so I didn't save them to use in my new journal. I will make a book that does have good endpapers and show you that one as well, perhaps early next week.

While watching tennis this morning before driving into town, I sketched EDM #224, a jug or pitcher.

As you can see below, I actually drew it twice. The first one is in the right colors (my Lamy Safari pen ran out of ink, so I inserted the adapter and used some of the Chocolat ink as a refill). The second drawing is more true to scale, but is not the blue and white that it should be.

I need to empty the dishwasher, walk the treadmill, and clean the bathrooms some time today and think I will do my favorite of those (the treadmill) before deciding whether to continue with my responsibilities or feed my bookbinding habit instead.

I hope you are doing well and that the sun is shining on you. Here in southern Michigan it is raining again so another day will pass and I won't be able to spray the workable fixative on my pastel painting so I can add more to it. I guess I will just have to look at it as a pleasure to work on another day.

xoxo

Summer Solstice, EDM, and a Swap

Today, June 21, is the longest day (at least in terms of hours of light)  in the year. Unfortunately, here in Southern Michigan it is sweltering. The hubster always says, "This is what we've been waiting for all winter." I have to ask him if he is referring to the royal "we" because I have been waiting for mid-70s and a breeze.


We went out for a quick breakfast at the Leslie Train Depot and then made a trip to the Maple Street Mall in Mason. I took along a book that is about 7 1/2" tall by 5 1/4" wide so that I could find more of that same size for the class I will be teaching in Haslett on August 13. I found some goodies and am now waiting for the text weight paper and the decorative papers for the endpapers to arrive so I can have them cut to size. I am enjoying the planning for the class and expect I will enjoy the teaching experience even more. More details to come.......


I got a lovely bit of art in the mail yesterday from Karen, a member of the watercolorpencilbuddies Yahoo! group. We are in a swap with the theme of green monochrome. I remembered to take a picture of mine before getting it in the mail this morning and will share it with you after she receives it. Here is what she made for me:

I am quite pleased and can't wait to display it.

I've been doing a bit of art and have a few things to share. First, I have added a sand dune to the Adirondack chair pastel painting and am thinking of adding a bit of fence on the left as well. The most crucial thing I have to do is work on values. I want a bit more color in the sky, a lot more color in the water and need the sand to have more contrast with the chairs. I still haven't added the shadows, but feel a bit more confident about how to do them since we had a discussion on shadows in the group. I think I need to add some kind of fixative so subsequent layers don't interact with the underpainting. Does anyone know anything about this???

I need to straighten out the horizon line and add more grasses to the right and maybe a few random ones between the chairs and the sand dune.

I have gotten caught up on my EDM challenges and have two to share with you:

And finally, I did go back and add some color to the window sketch I shared yesterday. I like it so much more like this:

I've been watching quite a bit of tennis in the first rounds of Wimbledon and have some wonderful talent. Besides the big names, I've noticed an American woman to watch. Her name is McHale and she is from New Jersey. Very impressive youngster!

I think I am going to go lie down in front of the fan for a bit. I think I only got about 3 hours of sleep last evening. Whenever I am working on a new project like the repurposing books class, I can't seem to shut off when I lie down to go to sleep. I didn't get to bed until almost 3:30 and then listened to the white noise machine for an hour and still wasn't sleeping. I am so lucky to be retired and have the opportunity to lie down when I feel the need.

I hope you are having a lovely day and want to thank you so much for visiting my blog and all the lovely comments and suggestions you offer.

xoxo

Tina's Birthday, MIABA meeting, EDM

I've had a very full weekend with lots of little girls and lots of running and spending time with wonderful arty friends. On Friday, I had Miss 8 and Miss 3 and we went to a huge neighborhood garage sale in the morning and then back to my house for a rest, then we went to the post office to mail the Inktense pencils to Tracy, then to the library, and then to another garage sale we happened upon on the way back to my house. I don't remember being that tired at the end of the day when my kids were little. Of course, that was almost 30 years ago so I guess I had more stamina in those days. At the end of the day, I drove to Marshall to help Tina celebrate her birthday and saw a few friends and made more friends. The party was at a lovely home with lots of friendly people. I didn't stay very long and I hope it didn't seem rude of me to leave so early, but I was pooped from my running earlier in the day.


On Saturday, MIABA had a meeting at Small But Mighty Arts in Haslett. What a fun day that was. I saw some familiar faces and met some new ones. I must admit I am horrible with names so I went to the MIABA group page to check the database so I could mention everyone and not just the ones I remember, but the database isn't there any longer. So with apologies to those whose names I don't remember, I will say it was nice to see Barb, Linda, Ingrid, Nancy, and Dusty again and it was such fun to meet Kip and Rhea. Also there was a lovely woman who drove down from somewhere just south of Charlevoix who had some wonderful altered books whose name either I can't remember or I didn't catch. I could kick myself for forgetting my camera (and then forgetting the books I took for show and tell), but promise to take pix the next time I am in that wonderful art space.


And as a result of that wonderful meeting in a lovely new venue, I am planning to teach a class on repurposed books on August 13, and once I have the flyer ready and to Kip, I will tell you more. At this point, I am planning to provide the books, paper, linen thread, glue and decorative paper for the endpapers. Each class member will leave with a lovely, finished blank journal in a repurposed cover. I am nervous, but very excited to get this chance to share what I love doing. More info to come.


On Sunday, the hubster's brother came out for coffee in the morning and then we had Zoë for the late afternoon and evening. I swear that child just gets cuter and cuter; and, oh does she love Papa. He is always able to get a big grin just by getting her attention. I have to beg a little. While I wasn't able to get a smiling photo without lots of blur, I was able to get some rattle action and a nice shot of those great eyes of hers.

I did get a bit of work done (I mostly enjoyed watching others work on altering books with their wonderful collages and talking) at the MIABA meeting. Here is what I got done in between the watching and talking (and eating).

I am looking forward to adding a bit of color to this one.

This morning I am watching some of the early matches at Wimbledon and doing a bit of house cleaning. I'm just about to shut up the house as it is going to be a very hot and humid day. I hope to get a book repurposed so that I can take some pictures for the flyer for my class.

Shadows, Pretty Baby, and EDM

I finally was able to get a couple of the hubster's newly made Adirondacks into the sun around 3 pm yesterday and now have the shadows as I want them. The shadows in the original attempt were longer; I'm guessing it was closer to 5 pm. And while on the topic of shadows, I must thank Maer for all her help in identifying the location of the light source (in this case the sun) and making every shadow is in tune with that source.

The hubster and I went to my son's to visit last evening and I couldn't resist getting a new picture of the latest member of my girl tribe.

She is such a sweet, happy baby.

And last, but not least, my latest EDM - #217 - an umbrella. I'm afraid it is quite messy. Sometimes ink is not the best thing for me. I forget to be careful until it dries and smear it. I've tried making it a striped umbrella to cover up the sloppiness. I am not sure I've succeeded.

Miss 8 and Miss 3 will be here shortly to spend the day with us while their Mom is working. I don't know for sure what we will be doing, but there is bound to be some art involved. We are going to the post office to mail the Inktense pencils to Tracy and then making a visit to our small local library branch. It is sure to be a busy, fun day.

I sure hope you have a busy, fun day as well!

xoxo

It's Either Feast or Famine

Most of my weekends are either spent with girls quietly at my house or spent home with no plans and lots of free time. This weekend there is so much going on and I can only be in one place at a given time. What's a girl to do???

At this point in time, I have the girls all day on Friday and then am going to a birthday celebration in the evening. On Saturday I am going to Small But Mighty Arts in Haslett for a michiganab get together. I am so looking forward to this, not just to reconnect with fun and artsy women from around this wonderful state, but also to meet Kip and check out this new art venue.


Just when I think I am having the best weekend ever, I get a notice from another member of michiganab that Creative Papers Online in Ann Arbor is having a grand re-opening on Friday and Saturday. I have been wanting to check out this place for a very long time, but can I be in two places at one time?? I don't think so. BooHoo!!!


But I must move on - I was experiencing even slower than normal internet performance yesterday, so I sat with a sketch book drawing while waiting. I really must do this more often. I have a couple of sketches to share.

I really enjoyed drawing this one and may add some color later.

This one is a bit light, but I think if you click on it you will see it better. This one needs some color as well.

I've also worked a bit more on the Adirondack chairs. I added a bit of turquoise and light green into the water and added a bit of beach grass on the lower right corner. I'm not sure I am liking the effect in pastels, but will persevere until I get it done - I know that means adding the dreaded shadows. I will share when I've done more to it.

The sand in the lower left corner is not darker than the sand in the  other side. Not sure why it shows up this way.

I also drew my inner critic as my EDM 216. She is even meaner than she looks.

I've heard from Tracy, the winner of the Inktense pencils and will be trying to get them in the mail either this afternoon or tomorrow. I sure hope she loves them!!

I need to go get on the treadmill and then have a nutritious breakfast so that I can really enjoy this wonderful day. I hope to see you tomorrow.

xoxo

Pan Pastels WIP and EDM

I finally jumped in and cut out the Adirondacks from their watercolor in progress with the wonky shadows so I could use them as a reverse stencil while playing with my pan pastels. I am using Colourfix Suede paper that I cut to 11" x 14".  Here is the first layer.

I have a small set of pastel pencils that I may use as my next layer. Right now the values are too much the same - the sand is darker than I want, the water needs more variation in color, and the dreaded shadows need to be decided upon. I haven't decided where the sun is yet and will work on that in the next step.

I thought it was interesting how the chairs looked after being used as a reverse stencil.

Aren't they just too cute?

I've also done today's sketch of my thumb - EDM 215:

I have hours of work to do on some new pictures for the web site I administer and should get on it before I return to the Adirondack chairs. Hopefully I will have some time later today to play with the addition of more layers.

Meanwhile, I still haven't heard from the winner of the Inktense pencil giveaway.  Tracy, if I don't hear from you by the weekend, I will have to draw another winner. Please contact me so I can send you these lovely pencils.

xoxo

A Ramble, EDM, and More Used Books

Yesterday dawned sunny and clear. My friend, Nancy, and I had a play date planned. I drove to her house and she drove to Ann Arbor from there. We rambled around in a couple of thrift shops that were new to us and made a few good finds. Here is what I found:

I really can't wait to get back to making repurposed journals and these books will make great covers.

My little girls will love these little purses.

Actually, on the drive to the second thrift shop, we stopped at Trader Joe's to browse. I cannot resist this store. I seldom get to it and when I do, I tend to make up for lost time. I bought two bottles of wine for the hubster, some triple ginger snap cookies, trail mix, and a Harvest Blends mix of orzo, garbanzo beans and quinoa. It was really hard to resist the wonderful array of specialty chocolates, but this time I was good.

By the time we finished browsing the second thrift shop (mostly clothes), we were quite hungry, so Nancy drove us to a lovely, arty vegetarian restaurant, Seva, where we enjoyed the portabella burger and sweet potato fries (they call them yam fries). It was a yummy lunch and the company was fun as usual.

When we were ready to head home, we got back to Nancy's and played a bit with some of her art supplies. She gave me a little sketch book to mess around in and when I opened it, I found a lovely colored pencil sketch of a tree that I told her I didn't remember seeing on her blog. She humored me and has posted it. You can see it here.

Just after 5 I headed home where I quickly threw together a stew/soup of hot Italian sausage, navy beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic and parsley. I served it with Tortilla scoops just in time for the Tiger game. It was tied 1-1 at the end of the ninth; the Tigers won in overtime. Go Tigers!!!

I did a quick sketch for EDM 214, but drew it in ink and wish I'd used pencil instead. In this case it would have been better so I could show the shine on the needle. I am sure there is a way to do this with ink, but at this point it is beyond me.

This afternoon I am driving to Mason to sit in the bookstore/coffee shop and watch a video lesson on using colored pencil. I can't watch it at home as it uses more bandwidth than I am allowed. This is such an inconvenience!

Before I get started on the arty side of my day, I need to run the vacuum and sweep the kitchen floor. Then I hope to get started on a rework of the Adirondack chairs. I may make a reverse stencil of the chairs and work around it with pan pastels to make the sky, lake and sand. Whatever I decide to do, I will share it with you tomorrow.

Tracy - I need your addy so I can send you the Inktense pencils you won.

xoxo

Ballet Recital, EDM, Digital Value Study and Giveaway Winner

I went to a lovely ballet recital on Friday evening at the Potter Center at Jackson Community College. The lighting conditions make it nearly impossible to get pix of the actual performance, but I do have a couple of pix of my favorite performers:

After the performance, Miss 8 came home with us and spent the night. The next night Miss 3 and her cousin Miss 7 stayed the night. Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep over the weekend, but I surely had tons of fun!!

I did somehow find the time to do a couple of quick sketches for EDM:

And I finally, with the help of Maer, figured out where the shadows should be on my Adirondack chairs. I didn't have time to redo the value study so I spent a bit of time putting together a rough digital version. What do you think of this?

I think I will begin a new Adirondack painting tomorrow. Today I am planning to spend the day with my friend, Nancy, and expect to be busy and have big fun.

And now.........drum roll.........I have chosen a random number (actually I chose two because the first one was #8, my friend Nancy, and she already has the Inktense pencils and didn't want to be included in the drawing) and the winner is #15,

Tracy, send me your snail mail addy and I will get the pencils in the mail.

And now I leave you with a picture of a lovely rose the hubster cut for me yesterday:

I hope to see you tomorrow.

xoxo

Shopping, EDM 210 and Value Study WIP

I cannot believe the success of the shopping trip yesterday. I think I told you how much I hate shopping and about the odds that tears would be involved. Imagine my surprise - in the second batch of dresses I took into the dressing I found not one, but two dresses that were perfect for me and fit as though tailored just for me. I've found pix of them online but they were very small. I've tried to upsize them so you can see what they look like:

I bought a pretty black and white scarf to wrap around my shoulders.

I bought a white scarf to wrap with this one.

And believe it or not - this gal who has only worn sneakers, crocs or other flat slip ons for about 4 years purchased some really snazzy shoes to go with these dresses. I think I will probably have to practice walking in them before I actually go out in public with them.

The best thing about the whole trip. I bought everything at Younkers for less than $200 total including taxes. Who would ever have guessed!!!!!

Last night I stayed up until 2 am so that I could download Donna Downey's Pan Pastels 101 video class. And then I had to watch it, so finally made it to bed around 3:30. If you have a few pan pastels or would like to learn more about them and how to use them, Donna is a good teacher with a friendly, natural style.

This morning I got up and drew a pair of my panties for the "draw some underwear" EDM challenge. I never would have guessed I would be talking about or exhibiting a drawing my unmentionables online!!??

And last, but not least, I've added a bit of tone to my value study WIP and would appreciate any comments/suggestions - watercolorpencilbuddies - are my shadows more believable???

Thanks so much for coming to visit. If you haven't yet left a comment for a chance to win the set of 12 brand new Derwent Inktense pencils, go to Tuesday's post to do so. The drawing will be on Monday morning.

xoxo

EDM 209 and Value Study of Adirondack Chairs

I've decided to do a value study of the chairs on a smaller scale. I think it may help me to see things better. This is what I have so far:

The shiny parts are just a reflection of light from the overhead light. The shadows on the sand are all the same value.

The intent is for the sky and sand to be the lightest colors. I will be doing some spattering in the sand when I decide to make a larger picture in color. The water will be darker than the sky but lighter than the shadows, and the grasses will be a mix of lights and darks.

Comments/suggestions please!!!

I have also sketched EDM #209 (Draw a shadow) for today's exercise. It is interesting to see the transformation of the Lamy fountain pen from blue to blue green to green.

I've had a quick breakfast and a couple of cups of coffee and now need to get in the shower before Carol gets here. She and I are going shopping in East Lansing. I need a dress for a couple of upcoming weddings. I am a wash and wear, give me a pair of sweats kinda girl and buying a dress doesn't excite me at all. As a matter of fact, I am not looking forward to this shopping trip at all, except for a chance to spend some time with Carol. I have to remember to focus on the positive. If I have success finding a dress that will work for both a late July wedding and a mid-September wedding, I will indeed be pleased.

I hope to have more to share with you tomorrow.

NOTE: If you haven't already left a comment for a chance to win a set of 12 Derwent Inktense Watersoluble Ink Pencils, you should go to Tuesday's post and do so.

xoxo

Fountain Pens, EDM, and Other Stuff

I rediscovered my fountain pens this morning and decided it was a shame to just have them lounging in a cup on my desktop when I could be using them. I have a Lamy Safari and two Sheaffer fountain pens. I also have a dip pen that needs some art time. I find that drawing with them can be messy, but I think if I continue to use them I will learn a bit of a lighter touch so that I don't get such a messy finish. Here is today's EDM using one of the Sheaffer pens with a new green ink cartridge in it.

I know I said a GREEN ink cartridge - apparently the feeder in the nib holds a lot more ink than I was aware as for the most part this sketch is blue. Also as you can see I had way too much fun sketching the post and the falling down barn - my satellite dish (the thing out of place) is almost completely lost in the drawing. It is pretty lame when you have to label what it is that you are trying to show - but I sure had fun with this one.

In the middle of my very busy day yesterday I stopped home for a bit and found a lovely package on the front porch from Daniel Smith. There is a great big sale going on there and I was able to get this long lusted for art supply for less than 1/2 price.

I am going to start on my Watercolor Pencil Buddies swap some time today and will break out these bad boys to help me. I won't be able to show you my progress because I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I will make something to show.

Also, I think it is time I got back on the bookbinding horse again. I haven't been able to make myself get started again since the "cut off a chunk of my finger" accident. It is still tender, but is almost healed. When I do get back on that horse, I think I will use this book as the cover. I love the title - even if the umbrella is brown instead of blue in the illustration.

I am expecting my two tutees again later today, so need to take advantage of the free time I have until they arrive to get some art started. I hope you are finding time to be creative today, and I hope to see you again tomorrow.

NOTE: Don't forget to leave a comment on yesterday's post if you are interested in getting into the drawing for the Derwent Inktense pencils. Drawing is next Monday morning.

xoxo