That delightful tin box of art (the Time Capsule that I started with Ruthie Inman a few weeks ago) is finished!
It took a few days to finish up the accordion folded cards inside, and another day to get the box covered, but I really like it.
Since it is mostly about travel, I covered it, inside and out, with maps collected over the years. Mod Podge is a good adhesive for this.
I included bits from London, Copenhagen, France, Leiden, and “the castle-iest castle in Denmark”. There is even a bit from the book I made for you, “Adventure Grandma”.
Every time I look at it, I remember, and I smile.
The cards fold up nicely, but are a very tight fit in the tin. To get them out without damage, I laid in a ribbon to pull on and pop them out. It works great!
Every time I get together with the ZOOM Art group with Ruthie Inman, I get so full of ideas I could pop.
This past week she showed up these: tiny, accordion folded books that fit in a little tiny box. The samples she showed were people’s’ interpretations of their high school years, with black and white photos and bits and pieces from the fifties for illustrations.
I had a good time in high school. I met Grandpa Nelson there, and Ruthie. I learned a lot about who I am and what I believe in, on the way to becoming who I am. But it was just four years out of 69, and I didn’t want to make a whole art project about it.
First, we cut some heavy paper so it fit into the little Altoid tin. Then we made little hinges from paper and joined the cards together like an accordion.
I decided to start my “Time Capsule” in the 1950s, when I was born. Some old ads and papers worked nicely. Then came the 1960s with the Beatles. I had to rework my High School years because the colors weren’t cohesive with the others. In the re-do, the horse stands for our Mustang mascot .
Since I got married right out of school, the kids came next. Sticking with the vintage ads, I showed our girl and boy….
And started in on the adventures! Traveling to France, learning French, and getting out in the world. I like how it folds up!
I am trying to choose colors that are cohesive so it looks like they belong together. Bridgett tells me this is color theory, which I have always rebelled against. Oh well.
I started making these little Artists Trading Cards last week and now I can’t stop!!
I started with collages of soft backgrounds and black and white photos. The words came mostly from the J. Peterman Catalogue.
Then I used the same soft focus backgrounds for some neurographic art, which seems to be just lines which cross and create negative space. I like how the flower shapes play with the flowing black lines. I gave some of the spaces dots, and some a wash of color. they don’t say anything, but they’re pretty.
I love so many things about ATCs. They are small, just 2.5 by 3.5 inches, so you can make them out of next to nothing. When you get bored with one medium, you can switch and not be stuck with a whole canvas to cover. And you can share them! I’ve mailed some, but I’m also making some to take on our trip.
Just before my hand gave out for the day, I picked up some scraps from the cards I’d made and a page from an old, old book, and made three more.
Just before Christmas, I started this 50 year scrapbook, as a 50th Anniversary gift for Grandpa Nelson, a fun project, and a way for me to revisit all these wonderful, busy years together.
I collected old photos, scanned and printed them, trimmed, collaged, typed and swore quite a bit. I typed the minimal text on Auntie Bridgett’s vintage Corona typewriter, shifting from third to first person as I went.
With all the cutting, I managed to aggravate a wrist injury so I am having to invent new ways of pouring coffee and folding clothes while it heals.
But I love it! It isn’t perfect; it is even missing (at least) one trip to Hawai’i. But it has served its purpose! It made Grandpa Nelson chuckle, let me play with paper, and fed my brain with re-visited memories.
And it got us all caught up and ready for whatever the heck comes next…. All while barely fitting in the recycled book it was built in!
I have become sort of obsessed with this Fifty Plus Years scrap book I am making.
Trying to include highlights from Grandpa’s and my time together has made for many trips down the rabbit hole of photo albums and memory lane.
There are the historic bits I want to get right and can’t always remember, and then there are the layout and artistic bits. Is this color okay with this photo? Why is this shiny paper so hard to work with? Where is that ticket stub?
So far I have worked by way from 1974 to 1992, with most pages having some text with my take in what was happening.
It won’t take Fifty Years, but it won’t be done anytime soon. I’ll bring it with me this Summer.
I’m making another book, because I really love making books! Also, with Grandpa Nelson and I celebrating FIFTY years of marriage, it seemed like a retrospective was called for.
My first thought was that it would be a simple photo album, maybe a picture or two from each of our 50 years. But the more I thought about it, I realized that I have some skills and imagination, and if I put them to work, this could be something worth sharing, maybe even passing down.
First, I needed a book to build the album in. Down at Belmont Books, Joe has all sorts of possibilities. I chose this one because it is sturdy, lays flat, and has enough (probably too many) pages to work with. Collage always makes a book much thicker, and I can tear out the leftover pages when I’m done.
For the covet, I found just the right papers in Auntie Bridgett’s collage boxes. A very 1970s vibe….
I went through my own collage boxes for postcards, maps and ticket stubs that will help tell our story. I also pulled dozens of photos. Since original photos from back then were printed on stiff paper, I used my scanner to make more flexible copies.
I’m afraid Grandpa and Bridgett are putting up with the dining table being a bit cluttered!
Still, slowly, page by page, front to back and with lots of moving and shifting (and not gluing anything down until I’m sure it’s in the right place!) it is coming together. I use mod podge as my adhesive, making sure to let each page dry and get pressed before building the next one. Each page will also have some sentences about what was happening at the time… I’ll type them in Bridgett’s vintage typewriter to feel old fashioned and cool.
As I collect pictures and remember more adventures, I keep shifting things… like real life, this project is going to be more complicated than I first thought.
But each page will tell of another adventure… even though some are not very detailed yet. All I can promise is that it probably won’t take a whole fifty years to get it done!
My friend Jennifer is such a sweetie! A few weeks ago, she was up visiting from California and asked if I would be interested in ‘an art calendar’ to use in my collages.
“If you feel like mailing it, sure!” I smiled. I have learned never to turn down art supplies.
And just the other day, what come in the mail?? Three years of this art calendar!! A whole 1,095 pages, printed on BOTH sides. A whopping 2,190 pieces of art.
These are on good quality paper, and about 4 inches by 5 inches. That’s a lot of art!!
I am already feeling both inspired and overwhelmed. With just the two evenings I have spent flipping through and sorting, I have pulled a couple that seem destined to go together. These two, a fabric print and a piece of jewelry, look like a poster for The Lion King.
And this fellow, cut from an unrelated postcard, could use this millefeuille glass paperweight as a lovely mandala. He needs work, though…I’ll let you know.
Falling deeper into the deep hole that is collage, I have started snipping at all sorts of things. Months ago, Bridgett and I picked up a bunch of postcards at the Portland Art Museum for almost nothing. Some of these became my latest victims.
There were lots of prints of Vincent van Gough’s works, and some of them seemed like they could go together. I carefully cut the elements of the cards apart and moved them around.
I liked this combination, showing Vincent’s lovely irises springing happily from head, while his face maintains a very serious expression. Having got the idea in my own head, the tiny fiddly bits became a problem. Fractions of millimeters became very important.
I also remembered to scratch the shiny surface of the picture with a pin where they overlapped so the glue would stick better.
And there you have it! My interpretation of Van Gough’s creative process.
That little gap between his head and his coat is on purpose, by the way. I liked how it mad him look a bit more wonky.
And finally, I got it the way I liked it, trimmed it up, and will mail it off to my friend Richard tomorrow.
I have been taking a break from collage for a while, doing embroidery and other things. But this last week, I had a chance the chance to sit in on a poetry meeting with my poet friend, Kitty Petruccelli, and poet January Gill O’Neil.
I knew I’d want to keep my eyes and hands busy while I listened, so I chose some acrylics in colors that seemed to go together. Then I grabbed some pictures and words out of my collage box, mostly just taking what caught my eye.
As January and Kitty talked about Poetry, the American South, and Emmet Till, I laid down some background lines and smudges. I used my old California drivers License to scrape some purple on. As the conversation touched on concerns about life in America under Donald Trump, and my scrapes became a bit more frantic.
I found this woman’s face in the same colors, and liked her half puzzled, half panicked expression.
She needed more contrast, so a Posca paint pen helped out with that. It also helped add some interest to the swoops and corners.
A scrap of singed paper and words of dark times came to hand… “Before the Nazis invaded”.
And as the poetry talk finished up, I laid down the words “Laissez nous tranquille”, which means “Leave us in Peace” and added some tiny splatters.
Thanks, Kitty and January, for a poetic, artsy, emotionally-coping sort of morning.
A few weeks ago I started a new mixed media project with Ruthie Inman’s Zoom Art group. This week, I finished it up.
We were all aiming for a dragonfly of some sort, but we were using different materials. Ruthie debated between rickrack and an old bracelet, Vimi used paper and napkins, and I went with buttons. A hot glue gun did the trick.
For the wings, I went with plain paper painted with yellow acrylic and lines drawn in dark blue. I realized too late that I had used a water soluble pencil for the lines, which meant I risked smudging with any dampness.
I was very sparing with the Mod Podge and got the wings attached with no damage. Here it is in front of my monitor, with Ruthie’s hands working on hers.
I wanted a bit more depth to the wings because they seemed flat compared to the textures of the background and body. Thin shreds of tissue paper did the trick!
Not a masterpiece, perhaps, but very nice, and better than I thought I could do. Thanks, Ruthie!
Dear Liza 