Goodbye 2020!

 

This has been such a challenging and difficult year for so many people and I doubt many people will mourn it coming to the end at midnight.

But I have been very, very fortunate that I have been able to work from home since mid-March. My creativity has continued and I have even blogged more this year than in the last five.

I wish you a very Happy 2021. There is new hope with the COVID-19 vacines beginning along with a brand new administration in the White House. 

Stay safe, everyone! 

Leaf Prints Journal

Here's my newest journal. I was inspired by other artist's small books and thought I'd cull some already made pages from my stash of acrylic paintings.

This one is just so cute and feels good in your hand. I experimented using an old cotton t-shirt for the covers and it turned out great.

Most of the leaf prints were made in 2008, 2009, and 2010 with a brayer or gelatin on 140 lb. watercolor papers.

Some leaves are from trees that are no longer around and bring back a memory, such as the Ginkgo trees near the front of the library where I work. 

There are still many blank pages awaiting a swirl of new leaf prints.

3-D Elements Galore

This spread has a piece of fabric previously pressed into thick acrylic paint. It is paired with a similarly-dipped acrylic leaf sewed onto burlap. I had used a toy sewing machine on this piece years and years ago. Some thin white bookbinding thread is used to sew the burlap to the page. The left blue section is gloss medium mixed with Cerulean Blue paint, with marks made while it was still wet.

Autumn Leaves

'Tis fall and seems only natural to collect leaves on the ground and roll them into acrylic paint. All are 9" x 12" on cold-press watercolor paper.

Pulled toward Leather

As much as I love painting, there are times I need to work on three dimensional projects. A few times, I have combined a painted canvas with some assemblage attached. Other times, I like to play with assemblage, bookbinding, themed art journals, shrines, painting glass and ceramics, and such.

Since last year, I’ve taken baby steps learning about leather, making little leather purses for gift cards using using random leather scraps. Online, I found instructions for simple things like setting a snap. Here is the practice one I kept:


The next ones, I measured with a ruler and an awl to get evenly spaced holes for the lacing.

Leather art caught my eye at my very first Renaissance fair many years ago. One vendor had leather journals, checkbook wallets, belts, mostly in a Celtic theme. I was overwhelmed by the choices and finally settled on a refillable Celtic journal in turquoise. The intricacy and details of Oberon Design reminds me of that craftsmanship.

When I saw these unique wallet and handbags in a GaelSong catalog recently, I was very intrigued.

Thanks to the wonderful Internet, I discovered C. L. Whiting. Since I love using leaves in my own work, I am drawn to these designs. This artist’s works are amazing, exquisite, and fabulous!

Curiosity about this tough, flexible material intensified after discovering it could be used as both the support and cover for handmade books. Having made a few books now, I am fascinated with color combinations, detailing of spine stitches, and closure styles (buttons, leather strips, buckles, latches, etc.).

From the little I’ve researched, you can stamp emboss, carve, paint, dye, and even brand leather. I have one of those multi-function heat tool that can burn leather but haven’t tried it yet. You could really get creative and use your own designs on untreated leather ovals, squares, rectangles, and bookmarks.

It’s odd that leather isn’t more prominent in mixed-media books and magazines, isn’t it? Does it still have connotations of being a craft that only the boy scouts or summer camp kids use? Are there any leather crafters out there? Tell us about your experiences.

Leafing Around

Three Nestled Leaves, Afire

acrylic on paper

9" x 7"

The last few weeks I returned making some leaf brayer paintings. Collecting fresh leaves downed by a recent storm, I remembered how much I enjoyed using them in my art.

Red Oak, Green Oak

acrylic on paper

8" x 9"

I tried some different things: nestling three leaves of different sizes together,

Nestled Leaves

acrylic on paper

8.75" x 7"

using different, contrasting leaves,

I Heart Leaves

acylic on paper

8" x 7"

and playing with design.

Interplay

acrylic on paper

9" x 12"

Some themes continue to resurface, including brayer ghost-images.

The Leaf Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

acrylic on paper

9" x 12"

Another return is to the church where my husband and I were once very active. There is a new minister who has “re-energized the church,” in the words of a friend and former member. This is the one place where I felt I belonged and both David and I got those same feelings again these last two Sundays.

Contrasting Views
acrylic on paper
9" x 12"

Gelatin Printmaking 101

A few months ago, a friend came over and helped me experiment with gelatin printmaking. Although I'd read about it some years ago, seeing the results in "Mixed-Media Nature Journals" by L.K. Ludwig (which I LOVE) propelled me into trying it now. It's a very simple process but takes some thought and prep work. The night before, I made 2 pans of unflavored gelatin using shallow cake tins and assembled a variety of papers to try, including hot and cold-press watercolor paper (artist’s and student-grade, ranging from 80 lb. to 300 lb.), acid-free brown craft paper, vellum, handmade Asian papers with pressed leaves and fibers, and white recycled computer paper. I used Liquitex heavy body artist’s acrylic tube paints and Golden fluid acrylics instead of printmaking ink while Grace tried out her bottles of craft paint. We each had a rubber brayer and some natural items to use.

Our first few attempts were not stellar. But I made a breakthrough when I realized more acrylic paint made a better print. Soon we were into the flow of it, impressed with the performance of simple computer paper and vellum. Instead of buckling, those thinner papers clung to the gelatin and really soaked up the paint. Grace and I pulled at least 20 prints apiece from our separate trays and the results were much better than either of us expected or hoped. Even after my friend left, I found it hard to stop making prints. I felt such an infusion of enthusiasm and happiness and creativity.

Comfortable with color theory and having layered paints before, I didn't find any need to clean off the plate with a wet sponge each time I changed colors, as the book suggested. I started with light colors, moved to dark, and reverted back to light again.

We made some fun discoveries. If we left a leaf on the gelatin and spread paint, it acted as a resist created a white leaf-shaped space in the print. If we removed the leaf and pulled another print, now it showed detailed veins in the leaf. Grace discovered positioning thick 3-D items broke the gelatin more easily than flat impressions such as leaves, but we agreed the cuts themselves created a great design feature.

The watercolor papers, especially the hot press ones, made the best impressions. The Asian paper with fibers made a sturdy, bendable print that I wrapped around my current Journal. The computer and velum paper tended to curl up at the edges once they dried. And the fabric printing was promising—I’d like more swatches to try.

Leaves and coins on vellum

Leaves and bark on lightweight watercolor paper

Leaves and bark on woven cotton fabric

Leaves and grass on 140 lb. hot press watercolor paper

Leaf, grass, and plastic Celtic mold on 140 lb. hot press watercolor paper

Leaves and grass on brown craft paper

Asian fiber paper with leaf prints wrapped around a Journal

Taking a Leaf of Inspiration

I’ve become a tree-hugger. Thanks to my sister Maria, who told me she is inspired by them, I have begun to study trees. Even though I had long admired them, before this spring I could not tell one from the other nor rattle off their names. But their leaves have inspired my art for several years.

My Leaf series started with picking up various leaves on my walks. At first, I used them in journal rubbings with colored pencils, reminding me of elementary school art--so easy, fun, and playful. Then, as I got more serious about art, I began pressing them into my daily paintings.

Yellow Diamondhead with Leaves

Remembered Leaves of Summer

My favorite leaves were those big, strong veined ones with a velvety underside. Were they maples? I didn’t know but I knew I’d have to use them in larger works.

Untitled

Newgrange Leaf

Illumination

Recently, I learned my favorites leaves come from Mexican Sycamore trees (see Untitled, Newgrange Leaf and Illumination above). They already had a special place in my heart but now my love has blossomed around the whole tree. Mexican Sycamores. Ahhh. Their barks are exquisite camouflage puzzle pieces I’ve collected from the ground and displayed unaltered, as 3-D sculpture. Their tree tops soar 80 feet into amazing blue skies, cloud-dusted skies, or rain-threatening skies. Their roots are lovely, loopy, gnarled abstractions that attract rock squirrels to tunnel nearby. Their leaves begin as tiny fingernail buds that can expand to extravagant 12 inches wide. Their leafless branches shine bone-white in the fall sunlight and reveal a red-shouldered hawk reeling over his nest.

I love these Mexican Sycamores, in all seasons, for all reasons. I love looking at them, photographing them, touching them, searching for their twigs and leaves. They deserve a nature journal unto themselves.

So, if you see me giving a Mexican Sycamore tree a hug or affectionate pat or wandering around its trunk for treasures, you’ll know why.