Home for a few days...the Canada trip seems like a dream already. One day, I'll go back to the Maritimes. I loved Cape Breton and PEI.Did I say, "home for a few days"? Just a few! Last week, I packed a few supplies and some wine, and headed to WV with Gini and Martha for YSA week. Julie, Bonnie and Kari met us there. A little early this year, we usually go in October, but a few conflicts pushed us to August. It turned out to be a perfect weather week. What a wonky summer we've had, rain and rain and rain. Capon Bridge, WV was lovely and cool, cool enough for a quilt around my shoulders when we sat on the porch in the evening to listen to the frogs and cicadas. The CSA boxes from a local farm contributed to the awesome menu plans!
Projects. I punched the front and back covers of a book I had dismantled, discarding the spine, and hand-sewed a leather spine, using cotton DMC floss. The papers from the old book were set aside for another project. In the Bradington&Young book (the stamp on the leather I used for the spine!) I used nice water-color paper and some hand-made papers. The binding came from Keith Smith's most excellent book-binder's book. "This is an eight-section binding with exposed vertical stitches on the spine, with a row of chaining at the head and tail...It is an older German book style." OK, so mine was a four-section, it worked fine. Now that I'm home, I'll add some hand-made paste paper for end pages. I'm pleased with this book. 9"x6"x1".
This little book claimed the pages removed from the old book whose covers I used in the B&Y book. I painted all the pages with house primer, which is far cheaper than gesso and works very well! After the pages were primed, I then painted them with acrylic paints, scraping the paint on and off with old credit cards. Then, using some watercolor pencils, began a few paintings on the prepped backgrounds. I LOVE making background papers!
In my stash, I found a piece of botanical-printed cotton, and covered some book board with it, and then using a traditional binding, assembled the book. It's 7"x5.25"x.75".
Last spring, I took another class at Art and Soul, with Ingrid Dijkers. Her The Writing is On The Wall book. Mine, of course, took off on it's own journey. It is The Writing is On the Wall, spanish version! I'm going to fill the accordian fold book with spanish graffiti from our winter in Oaxaca. I'll use some signs, some street painting and a few photographs. The cover is thin plywood, covered with brown craft paper, all the pages are box board, built with tyvek hinges. Box board? Cereal boxes, dog biscuit boxes and such! Sand off that shiny finish, use some cheap house primer, and I've got heavy weight paper that can stand my handling and painting. Love it, thanks Ingrid!
I've painted and drawn and stamped and collaged a few pages. More work/play, when I have time... This book is 12"x6.25"x1".
I loved this dude! Just a couple of blocks from our apartment, there is a small shop selling clothes. I took a photo of this mannequin one night as we walked past. So unlike anything I see in Oaxaca! When the page is turned, you see the entire dude.
I love this little creature. I photographed him as we walked up to Casa Azul one Sunday afternoon, on our way to hear either jazz or rock and roll in the garden...This is not a photograph, I drew and painted a likeness.
Ingrid made a brick stamp, it is too much fun to use to create the background textures! These walls look very much like some of the old walls in Oaxaca, with stucco cracking and peeling off to show the hand-made bricks behind.
I made another perpetual calendar from a Big-to-Little book fold Melissa Manley taught me a few summers ago. The B2L has been one of the most fun formats I've used, and I have been delighted to pass it along to lots of friends. Kids love the magic of folding one big piece of paper into a book.
Last summer I made a B2L book, which was set aside. Recently, I pulled it out to use for the first three months of a perpetual calendar. Not much skill required, but I did experiment with some acrylic inks from my stash. Hey, did I say I like making backgrounds?
The Over-The-Edge book, another Ingrid Dijkers inspired book. You might have seen this book here before, it's a long-time project. I worked on a few pages last week...soon, I'll do something about the cover. Maybe.
The inside spread....
The Pooh Pages....
This is a photocopy of the front door garden sidewalk at Julie's house. We installed it a few years ago, great unexpected project. I love those Twinkling H20 paints for the stepping stone painting!
...and a couple of pages to remind me of the Summer of '13...
So many books, so little time.
