Category Archives: Artist’s Books

Jul27

Finding My Way Out (of un-ness)

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Journal page – 8.5 x 11 – oil pastel, gouache, watercolor, pencil

I’ve been reading some fairy tales lately, well not, “once upon a time,” but  a book called “Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters” by Kathleen Ragan.  I think this is going to influence my art for a while, content wise anyway.  I love the idea of being able to fly – it is such a mysterious thing; only allowed birds, fairies, and angels (and insects).

Journal page – 8.5 x 11 – oil pastels, gouache, watercolor, pencil.

This is where I’ve been sitting, thinking, and reading.  Watching the hummingbirds visit the salvia, and dreaming about big beautiful paintings!

There’s the Madonna of the Marigolds, no  marigolds this year, but she is carefully watching over the seedling japanese maple that Cait gave me from her backyard, there’s a larger version behind her to the left, I bought that one last year at Farmer’s Market in Hillsdale, just a walk away from my house.  I’m going out to rearrange things today – the larger Japanese Maple is getting too much direct sun, I can see the leaves are being burned, so strange since I was only complaining about the lack of summer weather recently – apparently its enough to crisp delicate growth!  Beginning to become less un.

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Mar13

A Box for the BOOK

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I decided to make a box for the little book, The Tally Keeper’s Folly.  I had a very old wooden cigar box that was just the right size.  Some one had painted it black and scratched their name on the top – Bertha Wright.  Sorry Bertha, I had to cover up your name!  I painted the box with acrylics several times before I decided on the dark red for the top.  I’m going to finish up the edges with some antique gold acrylic – just haven’t done it yet.  I used the cover of a very tattered book I had for the cover of the box.  I really liked the front graphics – and they already had just the right amount of wear on them.  I had a large sheet of paste paper I’d made years ago, and decided to use that to glue a title over the books original title which was The Peep of Day, which is pretty neat, but it wouldn’t work for this!

On the sides of the box I used strips of the paste paper to put a line from the verse which is on the back of the book.

I sanded the letters a little so they didn’t look so harsh.  I ran the paste paper through the printer cut to 8.5×11 size, and then printer the lines spaced apart so I could cut them out.  The cigar box is about 6×8 inches.

I used the paste paper to cover the inside lid and came up with another verse for it.  I lined the inside of the box with antique silk sari ribbons that I ironed flat and tacked together over a piece of cardboard.  I also used a scrap of sari ribbon on the front of the book.

The little book fits perfectly inside!  Now a few touches of gold here and there and I send it off to the Illahe Gallery in Ashland, Oregon for their April 6-28 show of Artist’s Books.