Photograph Printing Tests and Journal Covers

 

 

New journals using my Irish photos.

Can you tell which of these new journal covers were printed on canvas or watercolor paper? Or which got some digital ground coating?
 

 

Ever since an art friend talked about using her photographs on journals, I’ve been thinking about using photos as book covers. My first thought was that printing on glossy paper just wouldn’t work because handling the journal would create fingerprint smudges. But a while ago I dedicated a weekend to experimenting.

 

90 lb. watercolor paper (above) and 140 lb. w/c paper (below).
Both have digital medium; the 90 lb. has one coat,
 the 140 lb. two coats.

 

 

 

Feeling like a scientist, I decided to test various substrates to print upon and designated one group would get two coats of Golden Digital Ground medium white matte while another identical group got none. Afterwards, I created a chart of specifics and results.

Here are the “papers” I used:

•   90 lb. Fabriano Artistico watercolor
•   140 lb. Fabriano Artistico watercolor
•   Strathmore Canvas Inkjet
•   Fixxon Ultra Premium Textured Canvas
•   Lutradur Mixed Media sheets, 70 grams
•   Jacquard Cotton Inkjet Fabric Sheets

 

Two cotton sheets, one with digital medium (top), the other without.

 

I was surprised that even one coat of the Golden Digital medium (on the 90 lb. Fabriano Artistico watercolor) made for such a sharp image. Some of the lighter materials buckled badly when the medium was applied but printed well. I’m impressed with this product and would use it again. I have another bottle of the clear version that I haven’t even tried yet. It prints transparently, so it would interesting to print on all manner of already-printed or patterned papers.

 

Two Lutradur sheets, one with digital medium (top), the other without.

For photographs, I choose ones taken on my last trip to Ireland. Some were designated for full-bleed 10” x 7” with a focal point on the right side, some I printed as 5” x 7” images. It was also a test of my relatively-new printer (Epson Artisan 50) with archival inks. The watercolor papers had some light blurring at the end of print end yet some of the lighter-weight ones were hard to feed into my one-pass printer. Overall, I was pleased with the printer but, of course, now wish I’d bought the wide-format version so I wouldn’t be so limited to either letter (8 ½” x 11”) or legal (8 ½” x 14”) papers.

 

Canvas sheets, one with digital medium (top), the other without.

 

Deeming an overall success to the tests, I went on to create a few 5” x 7” journals from those full-bleed photos (now available in my Etsy shop).

 

 

 

 

Celebrating My Irish Ancestress

St. Patrick’s Day may be over, but it’s always a grand time to celebrate your Irish heritage.

 

I hand-sewed this green velvet heart with a photograph of my great-grandmother who crossed the great ocean with her family to settle in America. I have this hanging in my studio to inspire me.

Irish Patchwork Fabric Journal

 

 

After seeing a patchwork jacket in a Yuletide catalog, I could not get patchwork off my mind. The idea of using scrap bits of fabric and making a whole piece of clothing appealed to the recycler in me.

 

This gradually morphed into making a fabric journal cover, using remnants and embroidery thread. Teesha Moore has a lovely patchwork journal tutorial using two-sided fabric. I decided to try something a little different. Using a piece of primed canvas as a base, I hand sewed various swatches on and added a bit of poly fiberfill.

 

 

Experimenting with some Jacquard cotton ink jet sheets, I printed my photograph of cows near Doolin, Ireland. With an Emerald Island theme, I was off. I recruited a faded old linen tea towel with the Book of Kells animal imagery, some Celtic knot fabric, a Celtic button, along with colors and textures I associate with Ireland.

 

 

 

Soon I’ll sew in watercolor pages with a long stitch, possibly with lime green eyelets on the spine…I haven’t quite figured that part out yet.

Past Altars and Shrines

As I create a Sacred Altar for the 2013 Celebration Circle's exhibit in September, here is a look back at other shrines I have made.

This is an oldie but a goodie, a Tree Shrine I made for my Mom. It has mini baby blocks, a leaf, a pine cone, acorns, and a tree tag from a piece of jewelry I tried to use as a stamp.

Tree Shrine, exterior





Tree Shrine, interior



Next is the Kennedys shrine I've wriiten about before.




The Hero Brothers (RFK and JFK)

Something different here. Three Lake Michigan Mornings is a wooden cube, inspired by the Carl Sandburg poem "Lake Michigan Morning" with my 2007 Chicago photographs printed on canvas. It holds transparent cubes of shells, rocks, and sand.







Three Lake Michigan Mornings wooden cube; view 1




Three Lake Michigan Mornings wooden cube; view 2






Three Lake Michigan Mornings wooden cube; view 3



Three Lake Michigan Mornings wooden cube; view 4


These are three different shrines made of (from left to right): wood, watercolor paper, and paper. These include photo tributes to ancestors and a friend who have passed on. (The brightly colored skulls and autumn leaves were temporary.)



Three different Day of the Dead shrines

.

These last two are wooden boat shapes I particulaly love. "Portal" has an early book I made from watercolor covers with 2006 photographs from my Ireland trip. The entire book is cut in an arch shape to fit the inside niche, with copper wires to turn the pages.








Portal



Another wooden boat, Tangible Treasures, contains glass vial momentos from my 2010 Irish trip--sand, sacred well water, ocean water--with a piece of seaweed from my Innishcrone seaweed bath.



Tangible Treasures





Where Do the Wee Ones Come From?

Painting last week, this wee figure appeared under my brush, quite unexpectedly. Where did he or she come from? Is it a Neolithic person who might have assembled that craggy and creviced stone circle nearby? Could it be a Druid or rotund monk? Or perhaps a fabled wee one?

 

No matter. Popping out of my imagination, this creature with little feet and a hooded cloak is most welcome.

This spread started out as an experiment to see how watercolors washed over bits of foil. It turned out to a little time travelogue. I love it when this happens!


 

Happy New Year!

Wishing you a creative 2013!

I made this small CD case calendar using my favorite photographs. This month is from Ballynahinch Castle. Our 2010 tour group ate lunch here and later walked the grounds.

It's Hot in This Country

Where would you rather be today? Here?




September 2010, Kylemore Abbey, Ireland



Or Here?



April 2012, Poteet, TX

I didn’t name my blog Artistic Dreamer for nothing…I am a dreamer. So, even on the coldest, rainiest day in Ireland I’d much rather be there than in South Texas. I’ve lived here long enough to know and despise the heat. It's one of the many things that will always bother me about this area. As a distraction, I put other cities on my weather page where I can do daily comparisons. The Pacific Northwest and Ireland have quite similar climates. Yet, I do enjoy seeing the sun…just not having summer nine months a year.



Today's weather



Some people love the heat. To me, it makes me tired and slow and exhausted. I feel invigorated by cool weather and love piling on layers to warm up. What is your preference? Do you think it has anything to do with where you spent your first years?



“It’s hot in this country,” I often joke with my husband after going out for a walk. I use a lilting Irish brogue, conjuring clouds to dampen scorching blue skies. In my studio, there’s a Celtic stained glass piece hanging in window. When I first spied it in a Dingle gift store, I knew it would bring a misty reminder. So, I draw the insulated curtains against the summer sun, touch the stained glass, and play Irish CDs. With these mental tricks, I’m almost back…

Happy creating wherever you are!

Mary and Ireland Art Journal

Even though I have had lots of ideas for other projects, book bindings, and paintings, I do not have anything to show for it. Research and pondering--yes; but not much doing. Most weekends nothing actually advances enough beyond placing things together and photographing them for future reference.

But here is some proof I am doing something visual--a personal art journal exploring the connection I feel toward my great-grandmother and Ireland. I have been intrigued with this ancestress since I first saw her photograph when I was a teenager and was amazed how much I looked like her. Her daughter, my grandmother, was a very private person and did not give me any stories about her but I have tried to pursue her story through other relatives. She came from County Meath and left Ireland for Chicago with her family when she was only 13. Over the years, I've played and paired her main portrait with some of my own photos. Things really clicked creating this cover collage with my photos of her, me in Ireland, and my Irish landscapes.

As you can see, the book is in pieces. Since I have not sewn it together yet, I can work on individual pages and re-arrange the order. 'Tis fun!

From Sketches to Completion

These earrings I made for my friend Lyn took a long road from inception to completion. Starting as a discussion before my Ireland trip in 2010, Lyn suggested collecting water from Brigit’s Well and provided me with various-sized vials with cork tops. She sketched an idea of using one as a pendant made from crochet. But the crochet idea kept throwing me off since I don’t know how to “free form” in yarn.

When I’d see jewelry ideas in magazines or books, I’d get ideas for different ways of encasing the cork bottle. I filled several pages in my art notebooks with ideas and possibilities. I experimented with copper wire and spirals but had a clunky design. Something clicked, however, when I saw mini-bottles in JoAnn’s jewelry section having screw eyes in the cork.

Then, I brought my materials and ideas to someone I know who does wonderful jewelry work—my sister, Maria! I showed her my last design and she helped me craft the earrings which I filled with Irish sand from the beach at Enniscrone, County Sligo, instead of well water. Lyn loved them—success! Sometimes it takes a long time for an idea to reach fruition. But don’t give up; you’ll finally reach a solution. It might be radically different from your initial idea but that’s what art is all about—thinking, sketching, trying, discarding, adding, starting anew, and finally reaching conclusion. Have fun!

The Rolling Hills of Eire

After too long a time away, I returned to paint and paper. Inspired by my recent trip, here is a new one.

The Rolling Hills of Eire
acrylic on paper
9” x 12”

Return from Ireland

I spent most of September getting ready and touring around the west coast of Ireland. Here is a special journal I made using blank 140 lb. Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper, as well as already-painted folios. The outside cover is upholstery leather with an inside green fabric fused to it with HeatnBond. Dark green linen thread sewn in a long stitch holds the 6 signatures of 3 folios each in place. There’s a Celtic button and round leather string to close it up. By folding up a recycled painting and hammering in some mini-eyelets, I created pockets. My intention was to take this journal with me everywhere and to write poetry, prose, thoughts, feelings, and lists, as well as to sketch. Spacing the signatures far enough to allow for thick collage, I planned for an all-purpose travel companion.

Now, here’s the ironic part. I did one sketch, in Doolin, the first day, and then nothing. Nada, zilch, nothing! Although it was a small tour group—four paying customers, the tour guide and her boy friend—it was exhausting. So much to see and do and feel. Although the pace was better than a commercial tour, to me if felt like non-stop go, Go, GO! It didn’t help the boyfriend would voice anything that popped into his head and often got into arguments with the girlfriend while the “tourists” became uncomfortable witnesses. Stress was thick when we were all crammed into the one mini-bus. Being an introvert and a Highly Sensitive Person, I found the atmosphere akin to an endurance test.

There were a lot of physical challenges, too: climbing up ancient forts and mountains on slippery rocks and slick grass, hiking here and there, being outside in much cooler (and lovely!) weather, navigating unfamiliar city streets.

Using this small notebook (below), first intended to hold art ideas, I wrote daily activities even on bumpy roads. Thus, my new camera became my main creative outlet for the twelve days. Eventually, with reflection and time, using fliers and brochures, I will transform my unused book into a travel journal.

The Irish food was all good and nourishing; I even acquired a taste for Guinness! The land and weather became a comfort, the people helpful and friendly. And the changeable light—dark clouds, rain, sunshine—illuminated and obscured distances. Ireland touched my soul since I first visited in 1982. So, regardless of the trials of this recent trip, I know the frustrations will fall away, leaving only good photos and good memories.

Ladies & Gentlemen, Start Your Fake Journal!

Do you enjoy looking at artist journals? Do you like keeping a journal yourself? Have you ever kept a journal as someone else?

The 2nd International Fake Journal Month is approaching! Started by Roz Stendahl last year, she has a blog encouraging and describing what fake journals are all about. I jumped in at, literally, the last hour and had a great time. My character was a young wife and mother in 1960’s Ireland and she tried to sketch and jot down things going on in her life; you can see them here.

You could do a fake journal in a media you’ve always wanted to try, in a voice you’ve always been curious about. Last week, thinking and jotting possibilities down, I got excited about one in particular. I won’t give it away just yet, but encourage you to play along if you’d like.

Memory Triggers

Fuchsias remind me of Ireland, where I first saw them. Yesterday, we got two small ones along with herb and tomato plants. I love their brilliant colors and intricate blossoms.

Thinking of travel memories, I’ve been wondering what do with old postcards. Do you save postcards, too? What do you do with them? What do they mean to you?

I could simply sort and display my collection in clear scrapbooking sleeves, or bind same-sizes ones into a book. That might involve punching holes or altering them, which might work for the blank ones. But those with correspondence are special. Originally meant as a cheap, disposable souvenir, a travel postcard evokes memories of those who sent them. With people writing and mailing fewer letters and cards, these old cards become personal historical documents.

What if I began integrating them into art journals, theme books, or stitching them to stretched canvas? What if I began mixing them into different projects instead of placing them together? They could evoke an active and interactive role rather than passively sitting together. They could spark journal entries full of memories.

Like the fuchsia plants did yesterday.

Books on My Mind

It was bound to happen. I have always love books. I work in a library.

And now I have been bitten by the bookbinding bug. Re-reading Gwen Diehn’s The Decorated Journal recently, with Dorothy Simpson Krause’s Book + Art always at hand, referencing Alisa Golden’s creative series, I am now leafing through Jeannie Stein’s Re-Bound.

Waiting for some ordered supplies--Irish linen thread, sewing needles, an awl, two book kits from two different vendors, 5 different kinds of paper--I’ve been thinking and sketching and researching what kind of books to make. Any and all ideas for book structure, book themes, book combinations, and book closures get jotted down. I even made a signature-punching cradle out of some chip board.

So, it’s possible I have book fever, don’t you think?!

Do I blame it on incessant heat and drought this summer? Sure is a good excuse to stay inside on weekends, drool over wonderful blogs featuring bookbinding, and join Yahoo groups that discuss book arts. Am I taking a break from painting? Or perhaps waiting to splash into tomes where I decide the paper choice? And dreaming how much fun it will be to play, paint, sketch, write, or collage in those books?

Waiting for supplies and time to devote to bookbinding, I have altered a photography book of Ireland using only two methods: cutting and collage. With several sharp tools and a glue stick, I have changed the shape of pages, introduced new elements, as well as collaged over them entirely. Materials are culled from Celtic and Irish art books, calendars, and magazines. A lot can be learned about book structure by removing pages and adding thicker elements.

April Fake Journal Ends

The International Fake Journal Month is over and so is Ashling's journal. It has been wonderful thinking about my character's life and sketching in her journal last month.

I will miss hearing about her life in a small town in Ireland, back in 1961.

But, there is some room left unfinished in the little green journal where black pen sketches and longhand written entries graced the slightly-textured buff colored pages. The door is left ajar, in case she has more to share or draw.