spring

Here is my first mixed media piece on a canvas.  It was a little strange to work on, as I have only worked on paper.  I'm not used to doing anything so large.  I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I just hope it's not embarrassingly bad.

Gypsy Spread

Here is the latest in the altered book I'm working on:

This was a lot of fun, but not without its problems.  I had originally made a gel transfer where the woman's image is, but the transfer was too dark for the background and didn't show.  I pulled it off and was left with an ugly spot, which I covered with gesso and the picture.  Then I covered it with more blue paint and wiped off the excess so she'd show through.

The cards are taken from an assortment of old Tarot decks and Loteria cards - crinkled, crumpled, smeared and smudged for age.

Dragon Spread

Here is a start-to-finish of the dragon spread in the altered book I'm currently working on:

The dragon skin in the pocket is made from Tyvek, the stuff that priority mail envelopes is made of. 
More fun stuff to come...

A New Arrival

I'm so excited!  Look what arrived today:

It's an Underwood Olivetti 44 that I got from Ebay for $51.  And that is an incredible deal, folks.  I know, because I've been researching manual typewriters for a while and these suckers are outrageously expensive (like $400 - $700).  I was explaining it to my daughter and how we used these all the time.  She is fascinated.  I'd forgotten how much strength it requires to type on a manual typewriter!  There's even a "cents" key.  And you have to create your own exclamation mark using an apostrophe and a period.  So much fun!

Sigh...

I've been gessoing journal pages.  I find this a tedious process.  It takes up so much space, there is waiting, waiting, waiting for pages to dry before you can turn them to do the other side, and then the process repeats itself in a seemingly unending cycle.  Well, not unending, because eventually I can't stand it anymore and I stop.  I wish stuff would just gesso itself while I'm away at school.  Then I could come home and paint on it...

Here's the latest spread in my upcycled journal:

I kind of like it.

Seriously? ANOTHER Post?

Yes, well, I'm on a roll...
Thanks to Palma who has a list of places to find free tutorials, I discovered the amazing LK Ludwig, who has very generously posted a free tutorial on making "flip flap journals" right here .  I had so much fun making this and learned so much from her tutorial, that I hopped onto Amazon and bought three of her books.  Here are some pictures of my journal:

Yes, she shows you how to bind it together, too!

Know what it's made of?  Paint sample brochures that you get for free at Home Depot!

Above is the first spread that I've done.  Sorry that it's blurry -- I am not a very good photographer, and my phone probably isn't the best equipment for the job.  Are you intrigued?  Go check out LK's site!  You won't be sorry.

The Art of Food

I dug out my Laurel's Kitchen cookbook last night (the one I've had since college, that's falling apart and is filled with notes and memories, that I can't bring myself to replace) and made the most wonderful Fettuccine Florentine (Laurel calls it Vermicelli Florentine, but all I had was fettuccine).  We got fresh spinach, onions, and tomatoes from the co-op, which made the dish all the more marvelous.  Served with warm bread and some claret -- a veritable feast!