Taking Risks -- Part Two

First things first. My digital altered book has been converted and is finished! As usual, Artella did a fantastic job with the files. Click on the link to right on Everything and Anything under My Digital Altered Books. That had to be record time for the book conversion. What a happy surprise when I opened my e-mail this morning.

I decided to post my finished front and back covers of the altered book. I tweaked the front cover just a little from what I previously posted. I just felt that it needed something going down the left side. After adding the ribbon I was finally satisfied with it. The reason my name doesn't show up on the front cover is the contest rules said not to have your name anywhere on the book. When people vote on the book it's supposed to be without knowing who created it. After the contest is over, they will put my name back on the cover. Fair enough! The back cover is my second favorite page! Hubby really liked it too. Those two little girls are so sweet! I tried to keep the theme of childhood and playfulness throughout the book, beginning and ending with these two little ones.

Now, on to the taking risks. I posted a couple of days ago about my new theme for my approach to my art: taking risks. I am totally on board for trying all new media, techniques, etc. in my projects. I am not that knowledgeable about those techniques, though. I admire the beautiful work I see coming out of my favorite magazines such as Somerset Studio, Art Doll Quarterly, Cloth, Paper & Scissors, and Quilting Arts. They often include a section on "how to" achieve the look of the art, but sometimes the directions are pretty vague.

I came across this book at Barnes & Noble while looking for another art book I want to get but which hasn't been released yet. (Hurry up Oct. 1!) Anyway, this is a gem of a book! It's the style of art I really like. Her name is Kelly Rae Roberts and her art is very similar to Sharon Tomlinson's, whose blog I have marked at the link to the right called "All Norah's Art".

This is a very good book! It's conversational style is friendly and you just feel like you are sitting down with your best art pal discussing your favorite techniques! She has a very good, detailed, illustrated step-by-step section at the end of each chapter that guides you on how to achieve the technique shown at the beginning of the section. She covers such things as working with plaster, creating polymer clay forms and painting and inking faces to use in your collages. I highly recommend it just for the techniques!

So I've found new risks I want to take in creating my collages. The plaster forms are calling my name, as are the polymer clay shapes. I've always shied away from baking the clay and having to condition it, cut it, etc. but she has persuaded me to give it a try. Years ago I bought a little toaster oven at the thrift store for a couple of dollars to use solely for baking clay but I never got up the nerve to try. That oven has been packed away in a box all of this time. Today I unpacked it, dusted it off and am going to give this a try. Stay tuned for more developments...

The Rest Of The Story

Here are the rest of the photos I wanted to include yesterday: the second group of zines from my ebay win and closeups of the beginnings of my new dolls. I also included closeups of the zines I've been digging into lately. I was up way past my bedtime last night oohing and ahhing over these.

I've been getting so many ideas from just these first two that I'm rapidly filling up my notebook. A few highlights that especially caught my eye include different methods for art journaling. This is something I've been wanting to do: start an art journal. It's similar to a regular journal, but you include your art. Some people just do sketches or make experimental pages of art techniques they are curious about. Others add words right along with their images. It's up to you how you want to do it. I will probably use a little of both. Some days I feel more like writing, others I just want to play with the art.

I have a plethora of notebooks, sketchbooks, all waiting to be filled, so that's no problem. And while there are no "rules" for creating art journals, I found it interesting to see how some of these artists approach theirs. Another great resource for this is just to visit their blogs. A lot of my favorite artists that I truly admire are listed on the sidebar. Check out their blogs. They are all very talented and that is the type of art that I aspire to one day.

Some ideas to get started in an art journal that I picked up: 1. Cut out large phrases from magazines that say something to you. Glue them randomly into your journal ahead of time. Then, create whatever comes to your mind when you see them on the page. 2. Draw three to five rectangles in a line on your page. Write around them, draw around them, paint around them, whatever strikes you. Collage onto the page. 3. Create a glaze out of oil pastels. Lay it down rather heavily on the page. Then, take a soft cotton rag or paper towel and rub most of it off. You can use it over written text to kill the start whiteness of a page. It will be a soft transparent wash of color. Cool! 4. Look at how the light affects various colors. Try to replicate the effects you like in your collages.

These are just a few of the pointers that I came across. LOVE IT! I'm new to a lot of this, so it's very informative for me when artists share little tips. I write them down in my little art notebook under "techniques" and can refer to them when I want to try something new.

I was so inspired by these little zines that I joined an egroup on Yahoo groups of zine makers that host zine swaps. Still waiting for the info on it, but it looks like a good group to learn from. I'm itching to try my hand at a little zine. Stay tuned...

These zines were all vintage ones from years ago that the artist Lesley Riley was purging from her studio. I am so excited to get these. So many of the artists whose blogs I follow are doing a purge right now. Paring down their studios to either make room for more art or to get rid of supplies they no longer need. I should do more of that. I seem to be perpetually in the hunting and gathering stage. But, soon I'll run out of room and will need to do the same type of thing. I am definitely a hoarder of art supplies; a terrible vice UNTIL you run across something that you are so glad you kept! My problem is finding it. I know I have some things, I just can't seem to put my hands on them... a little organizing would help. That's my task today. Put the stuff where it belongs so I can put my hands on it when I need it. So, I'm off to do just that!

Let Them Eat Cake!

These are the latest two scrapbook pages from my nephews' birthday party this past weekend. I posted three other pages a couple of days ago. I think both cakes are adorable! And, now I know what a "Diego" cake is. Too cute. You can click on the picture for a larger image.

I have a nice little stash of digital scrapbook kits and papers that I need to remind myself to browse through every so often. They also make great backgrounds for collage and other art projects. I'm working on a system to organize all of these computerized files a little better. I've not done too bad, considering it took me until this year to start actually using the "folder" tool. Before, everything was thrown together under My Pictures, which made for a mammoth file to sort through. Live and learn!

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I sat down last night to work on my latest bride paintover and was just not happy with it. I had this elaborate plan for her dress and the more I looked at it, the more it wasn't working. I've been debating about this piece for awhile, so I just ripped the thing off the canvas and am starting over.

Now I'm glad I did. I really like the way this new version is progressing and it's more of what I had in mind for the first one, only it just wasn't translating onto the canvas the way I envisioned it! Needless to say, it will take awhile before this one is finished, since I'm starting from scratch.

Sometimes you just have to do that: "kill your darlings". This is what I've heard it called when you run across the same dilemma in a piece of writing. No matter how much it hurts, if it isn't working you have to rip it out and start over. The resistance comes from rationalizing that you've put so much work into it already and just scrapping it makes it seem like you wasted your time. But you really didn't. Sometimes the work takes a little longer to gel in your mind, and when it does take shape, then you know if you are on the right track.

In writing, you can always save the character or the theme or whatever it is that isn't working for another piece. It's the same with art. If I had wanted to save portions of that dress for another project I could have. I did do that, in a way. I cut it up and am using bits and pieces for background on another project.

I should have listened to my first instinct as I was working on that first version. Whenever I find myself avoiding my art or writing it's usually because there is something that I don't want to face. In this case, I knew I didn't like the way it was turning out and that was affecting my attitude toward working on it. Now that I've changed it, the passion and excitement is still there to keep going. Which is exactly what I'm going to go and do right now! Until next time...