By The Book

I have been taking an online class with Melinda Tidwell, hosted by Carla Sonheim, called, “The Fine Art of Collage.”

It’s not my typical collage making… I prefer a more colorful, whimsical style.  However, I am enjoying the process of creating by the book:

You see, we are using the “actual book!”  I used several paperback books for my above collage.  The inside cover of a book is used as the “backbone.”

I am surprised how interesting book covers can be!  Below is my color wheel of covers.  I am cutting around the titles for the most part which gives interesting shapes:

I found a great secondhand bookstore with paperback books for .50 cents and hardbacks for $1.00!

I am enjoying the hunt for the right book cover colors and titles to add to my stash!  I even found a book on birds… I can see you are surprised! 😉

The class ended today with its last chapter but I am just beginning my exploration!

Next, I will experiment with hardback cloth covers.  They take a bit more strength to remove from the book…

I think we are never too old to learn from books!  Happy creating!

Cheers! 🙂

A Silhouette

Today’s weird bird has more to do with YOUR imagination!

It is a silhouette of a bird…

What colors do YOU imagine it to be?

What would you name it?

I look forward to hearing your answers!

Happy Weird Bird Wednesday!

Cheers! 🙂

Sven and Ole

When I was in college, I heard many Norwegian jokes… Mostly about Sven and Ole… two Norwegian farmers.  Yah, sure, you betcha…

I haven’t heard these jokes in years so I had to watch a couple on YouTube, still funny after all these years for hubby and me. 😉

Funny how one joke leads to…

The best utility or exacto knife I have found; the Olfa!

I love that the blade snaps off so it is so easy to replace a sharper blade!  And this size fits well in my hand –  perfect for my paper weaving class.

I completed another paper weaving recently, think PIE and coffee…

 

And perhaps a Norwegian joke or two?

Happy Monday; yah, sure, you betcha!

Cheers! 🙂

Washi Papers

Did you know that Washi is a Japanese word for traditional papers made from the long inner fibers of three plants?

Wa = Japanese + shi = Paper

In my previous post, Not Exacto  I showed you cards I made with an origami paper, I discovered the term for this type of paper is Chiyogami which is Washi paper that has been hand stenciled or printed with traditional Japanese imagery using bright colors and patterns.  (Note:  Chiyo = thousand generation + gami = paper)

Yesterday, I completed the first half of Lesson Two of my online Paper Weaving Class which is a circular weave:

We could vary the pattern in our own design.  Love the color combo, how about you?

The Japanese paper I used for the red paper in this lesson are a Washi Momi paper…  I think the blue paper is similar but I’m not sure since it came in a kit.

I discovered several excellent online resources of. Washi Paper that I hope to explore further:

Washiarts.com

Japanesepaperplace.com

Papermojo.com

I hope your Friday is a cut above! 

Cheers! 🙂

Not Exacto

I love paper!  No, not the junk that lands in my mailbox… Nor, the papers I push around on my desk at work!  Sigh…

I’m talking about decorative paper that is beautiful to see and touch and can add  something unique to my artwork.

I decided to learn more about paper so I signed up to take a 6-week online class on Paper Weaving with Helen Hiebert.  I learned about Helen’s class from Uppercase Magazine. Helen has an awesome blog with free tutorials, called The Sunday Paper; HelenHiebertStudio.com/blog

I finally finished the first lesson of four notecards:

 

 

I enjoyed learning these techniques.  I like the curvy designs best, (the yellow and blue backgrounds).  I will tell you the names of these papers in my next paper weaving post…

Paper weaving takes time, practice and patience I learned.  Part of the technique is learning how to cut the papers.  Although my cuts are not exacto, I am pleased with my results.

Do you have a favorite card?

Cheers! 🙂

Opposites Attract…

Opposites attract…

You say blue and I say orange,

Love is color blind…

When I was creating my hearts yesterday, I noticed how cool to match two different heart “halves” to create a whole.

It reminded me of my hubby and I… he says, “Blue,” and I say, “Orange!”  So true!! Lol! ☺️

And yet we will be married 34 years in May!  😮 Seems like just yesterday that we said, “I do!”

If you were to combine two different hearts together, what would it look like?!

Cheers! ❤️

Carnivals, Clouds And Cats

My blog title sounds like it could be part of the lyrics from Joni Mitchell’s song, “Both Sides Now.”  😉

However, my post today does involve some illusions… and imaginary fish!

The Carnival Fish was created by making copies of my “Bearded Hat Fish,” that you can find here:  What Rhymes With Weird?!   My copier was about out of ink so the fish is more yellow in color than my original.

I made two copies of my fish and lined up the images together in one stack.  I then cut 1/2 inch strips being careful to keep my images in the order of my design.  Next, I glued the two exact image strips next to each other on a piece of heavier paper with a glue stick.  This gives it the affect that reminds me of the mirrors in a carnival thus the name.

The Cloud Fish reminded me of the lazy days of summer and seeing shapes in the clouds…  My haiku says, “Lazy Cloud fish swim, Above the sea in blue skies, Slowly passing by.”

I created it with color pencils and Copic markers.  What other images do you see in the clouds beside the fish?

My Jack Fish is a drawing of my cat, Jack – you can see a photo of him here: Why A Cat Needs An Umbrella    My cat loves to eat canned cat food – especially FISH!  (No, he doesn’t actually eat the whole fish but it makes for a good drawing.) Lol!

There actually is a REAL fish called a Jack fish!  Did you know that?!

I hope you enjoyed my imaginary fish!  Maybe they will inspire you to create with your imagination.

Cheers! 🙂

Oh, Carp!

If you read my post from yesterday, I shared that today I would show you a piece of art that was a mistake or maybe what I should call an “unsuccessful experiment!”

I can’t really remember my reasoning for creating this acrylic painting on pastel paper… but it didn’t turn out that great… I think we all have these unsuccessful art pieces!  Am I correct?! 😉

Yesterday, I made it into a fish… An “uncommon” Carp:

I’m liking it much better now!

I encourage you to keep your “mistakes” and turn them into “possibilities” at a later date!

Cheers! 🙂

 

A Nature Notan

Perhaps you remember the Notan I did previously?  If not you can find it here.  It is a  Japanese form of paper cutting with black and white shapes.

I decided to try another the other night to unwind from my work day…

I enjoyed the paper cutting part but the glueing went a little haywire.  I was using a glue stick and it got super sticky.  Then I accidentally glued the wrong side of a piece of paper so I dabbed it with a Kleenx and it stuck to the paper….

Rather than panic, I decided to add the “tissue look” to the black paper.  And I think it turned out OK.   I think I have a solution for the next one without using a glue stick.  😉

Hope you enjoy the long weekend if you are living in the States.  I’m heading to the lake!

Cheers! 🙂