TTTPL Art Journals Final

At last... photos from the final projects in our Art Journal Series

Each of these unique books is full of pages and pockets and envelopes and ephemera just waiting to be discovered.

Students combined various paper types and sizes, as well as other materials like the glassine library pocket shown on the right, above.

The final pieces are amazing!

We used 5 x 7 matte board and frames to create the covers.

Envelopes and other little pockets were sometimes sewn right into the binding

Maps, music paper, collage and painted decorations were included.

Here is another glassine pocket decorated with rosettes painted on book pages.

Here is an example of one of the accordion fold sheets incorporated into the design.

Here is a double page foldout with a vintage book chapter heading used as a decoration.

Detail of the pages.

Here is a quick pamphlet fold book made in one evening by a very creative student!

The finished project gave students a vessel in which to keep adding and creating!

One more interior picture with saved fortunes and a library card pocket detail.

This was a long project and many people were unable to come back and complete their interiors.  If you are one of these or would like to begin anew, please give me a call and we can collaborate.

I really enjoyed facilitating the process, witnessing the compositional choices and reveling in the collective satisfaction from creating such amazing pieces.  My students are fantastic!

Have a great week

I look forward to creating with you soon.

Liza

TTTPL Art Journals Week Two

Good afternoon, happy Sunday to you.

This Art Journal endeavor has taken on a life of its own.  I had envisioned a project where we worked on parts, set them aside and then revisited every month or so.  Clearly, the enthusiasm has propelled this into a multi-week consecutive process.  My students have asked for yet another week of the same initial phase of this project.  This means that anyone who has not yet started their art journals at MacKomics Studio has another week to get in on the action! 

Supplies and activities available the past two weeks and next include:

Paper: tissue, sheet music, handpainted rosettes, scrapbook-patterned, doilies, vintage imagery (1910-1970), maps, books, mini commercial die cut, fine art, cardstock, velum, handmade

Other: see-thru colored plastic, metal frames and brads, jewels, ribbon, buttons, stickers

All sorts of glue and mod podge, fancy edge scissors, glitter, image transfer files, fabric, markers, paint, colored pencils, art pens, metallic powder paint, pastels

Table top die cutter to make custom envelopes, library pockets, and various flower shapes in the paper of your choice.

The tables are not sufficient to hold all the materials so we've cooped the work tables on one side of the room just to hold all the bins!

The pictures below depict work begun this week and alterations to work begun the week before.

Here is a completed front and back:

Here is a front and back from last week with some beautiful additions.  The inside surface of these covers are shown just below.

 Here are the inside covers of a few pieces completed last week:

I can tell from these photos that a few projects got out the door prior to picture taking so I'll be making some calls and updating this post when they come in!

Speaking of updating posts, there is one more completed Vignette Jewelry Brooch update and one Open Cards Crafting update - click the links to get the latest!

Last week, I started the post with pictures of books I've checked out of the Library to bring inspiration to this project.  The first one, Painted Pages by Sarah Ahearn Bellemare,  I chose specifically for its approach to creating an artistic journal page. 

In an attempt to emulate this style and thereby teach my students.... I created three successive pieces.  The first picture is a scan from the book so you can see what I'm talking about.... I really appreciate the use of white, the simplicity and balanced layout of these pages.

As you can see from these examples, I get super excited about the materials and then just put too much on the page.... the piece below has an image transfer, stamps, three different grid papers, paint, magazine image, gel medium, gesso, wallpaper sample, cancelled stamp, colored pencil, sharpie, metal frame and brads... I really need an art-intervention here!

So, I started out with the same materials and actually had to cut out part of the image since it was going down the same path as the one above.  However, I believe it is closer to the graceful simplicity from the examples in the book.  It still has a cancelled stamp, colored pencil, gel medium, stamps, a tag, image transfer, decorative tape, paint and two kinds of grid paper!

So, I decided to actually do an exercise from the book... there is no collage here, but I think I got a lot closer to my goal of serenity.  This is a little piece, just about 6 by 6 and I'm pleased.  What do you think?

So... in other news... my Fascinating Fascinators class at the Lawrence Arts Center is swinging into its last two weeks and we have finished up two weeks of upcycled projects and are moving into our final projects.  Here are some pictures of the fun pieces I prepared for the upcycled portion of the class.

I started with a random selection of materials I regularly save for art projects or the Earth Day recycled art event (more to come on this later!)

Here is the a casino-ready fascinator made from fruit bags, playing cards, tiddly winks, and one die all attached to a plastic hot chocolate lid cut to make a shallow cone shape.  This accessory lies flat on the head.

This diminutive red one was created by cutting circles from hard plastic packaging and applying heat to transform the shape.  It also contains a red circle cut from a metallic coffee bag, "feathers" cut from a warped badminton birdy, the backs of playing cards, a few beads and lots of hot glue.

This clear one also employed heat on a circle cut from hard plastic packaging.  I cut a spiral into the circle and bent it into a rosette shape as it softened in the heat.  The "leaves" were made by layering two pieces of plastic cut from one of those flexible zipper pouches new sheets are encased in.  In between the layers, I placed cancelled stamps and some large webbed fruit bag netting.

This mini "pill-box" hat was made from a strip of hard plastic packaging taped into a circle.  I unwound a new (1) bath scrubby and cut a length from it, opened the tube (yes, they are tubes of netting...) and inserted the plastic circle.  I used invisible thread to secure the inside to itself and then just tied a knot/bow in the center.  The spiral decorations are paper clips.  

I cut additional pieces of hard plastic packaging into feather shapes and then applied some heat to warp them slightly.

This next piece is fairly elaborate... the plastic hot chocolate lid base is covered with fabric flower petals and then scrap netting, pieces of a broken christmas decoration and another bath scrubby were used for the top.  The wings were cut from hard plastic packaging and scored with scissors to give them more dimension.

I really enjoyed preparing these examples for my students and tried to only use materials COMMON to any household... the fabric petals may have been stretching this definition a bit!

I've asked my students to bring in all their creations this week, so hopefully, we will have a gallery of their fabulous fascinators to show in the near future.

One last question: I've started this little piece and wonder whether it should be a brooch, barette, or just part of a larger fascinator compostition... what do you think?

If you haven't checked in recently, I'm up to 63 dresses over at Dress-a-Day!  Click the link and leave me a comment!

I hope your weekend is going great and that the week ahead brings you fulfillment, happiness and plenty of rest.

Take care

Liza

TTTPL Handbound Journals

Hello - Happy Sunday!

This week at Tending to the Pilot Light, we started a new project: hand bound journals.... We started with the covers.  Using ideas and inspiration from these great books from the Lawrence Public Library, we began the multi-week project.

We are working in a relatively small scale: 5 x 7 inches, using mat board cut to that shape.  This week, each student has the task of creating a front and back cover.  Supplies ranged from fabric, stickers, tissue, lace, playing cards, mixed art papers, mini images and lots of glue and glitter.

Here are some of the results... a few projects made it out the door without being photographed but I will post those pics when they come in.

Participants had the option of composing vertically or horizontally and several even managed to complete both covers in one night!

This week, we will finish the covers and begin planning the interior pages.  I have cut paper for signatures and will have the equipment available to create custom envelopes in several sizes as well as library card style pockets to be eventually bound into the book.  If you missed the first week and still want to be involved in this particular project, all the cover making supplies will be out this week as well.  We will NOT commence the binding portion of this project this week.

If you are looking for inspiration for the theme or "look" for your interior pages, please google "art journals" on the web and you will find amazing results.

and here is a link to our very own local artist Traci Bunker's YouTube channel where she has posted some very interesting art journal videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/TraciBunkers/featured

If you get a chance in the next day or two and are at the Lawrence Public Library, take a look at the display case right in front of the children's room.... a certain young penguin lover on tennessee street has graciously allowed Lawrence to view her collection.

I hope you have a lovely week!

Liza