Tag: Ruthie Inman

Starting Early on Christmas!

October 29, 2025

Dear Liza,

I love it when two of my favorite people (who don’t even know each other) work together to give me good ideas. Let me explain.

Last week, my ZOOM art teacher Ruthie Inman taught us to make these tiny books.

You cut six strips of white paper 1” wide, then fold and cut 1” sections. Each section will become one book. Make the fold really sharp, then staple at the crease to hold the tiny pages together. Make sure the ‘feet’ of the staple are outside the book, so they will be hidden by the cover.

For the cover, choose slightly heavier decorative paper , and cut it just a bit longer than the book. Apply glue stick and use a bone folder to press it down.

Then fold the extra long edges over the first page to make a ‘dust cover’ edge. Really give this a good fold and press. And voilá, there is your tiny book, about one inch by one inch.

They are easy enough to make, I did 10 in a little more than an hour.

Then came the next favorite person. I was visiting with Auntie Katie and told her about the tiny books. “Could you string them…. Maybe on tiny twinkle lights… to hang on a Christmas tree?” She asked. Katie owns Books with Pictures here in Portland, and can always use pretty decorations.

Of course you could! The awl from my book-making kit (a gift from Ruthie), and a string of tiny lights ( from my SOAK jellyfish costume), and there we have it!

They look best in low light, of course, but very sweet even in normal light, giving the impression of flying, glowing books !

Could these be the newest Christmas tree sensation? Stranger things have happened!

Love,

Grandma Judy

No King’s Collage

October 22, 2025

Dear Liza,

Once I had rested and recovered from the long, crowded No King’s March, I wanted to capture the spirit of it for my Journal. I mean, how often does one get to be part of such a gathering? I wrote about it, of course, but words were missing what I was looking for.

Gathering bits from the collage box and junk mail, I found lots of ideas, from the silly to the civic. Scooby Doo certainly captured the goofy spirit of the day, and a Liberty torch seemed appropriate. The random animals represent all the costumes and pets that were on display.

I needed The Willamette River, of course, and green grass of Tom McCall Waterfront Park. But this was definitely a CITY march…

So, skyscrapers cut from the recent voter’s pamphlet got added. But now the sky looked too empty! I tried a cool tissue paper Gelli print, but it was just too much. And where should that bicycle go?

I finally settled on a dot-printed sky of teal blue, made using a piece of plastic shelf liner Ruthie Inman gave me years ago. I like how it fills the space but doesn’t overpower the scene. The long blue wisps in the sky are slivers cut from the same magazine page as the river.

I like how the collage captures the urban, goofy, joyous feel of the city and the crowd. and I am grateful to have been there.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Fun with Acrylics

Dear Liza,

Ruthie Inman has done it again. On a chilly day after two very busy days, I was feeling tired and not terribly artistic. Not awful, but … blah. And sure enough, within ten minutes of our art group’s beginning, I was slapping paint down like an inspired ten year old.

Before we got together, I had started an alternate project, coating the photo side of old postcards with gesso so they would take paint better. My plan was to use the same paints from Ruthie’s project on my alternate postcard project. I pulled out a dark blue, lemon yellow, and white as my color scheme.

I started with my project, laying down colors in a pleasingly haphazard way. Wet but not runny, brushing to blend until I liked it.

Then, at an inspiration from Ruthie, I pulled out my impressions makers (an odd collection of Starbucks coffee cup holders, fruit packing sleeves, crumpled tissue and bubble wrap) to change the textures of my colors.

I made about eight postcards in all, and one even looked something like Ruthie’s idea, this lovely, opalescent landscape. Of course, following directions is always optional, but it’s good to try new things.

Anyway, with this pile of colorful backgrounds, I can think about what can go on for the next layer. Some more textures? Collage pictures or words? Maybe some handwritten sentiments or just pretty squiggles?

Who knows?

Love,

Grandma Judy

Ruthie’s Leaves

Dear Liza,

My buddy Ruthie Inman has been busy starting up a new art gallery in Peoria, Illinois, called Artful Journey, so we haven’t had our online class in a while.

So when we got together last week, we had a wonderful catch -up as well as an art project together. Ruthie had asked us to collect, trace, and cut out some lovely leaves to start.

Then we traced the shapes, overlapping them a bit. Ruthie directed us to decide which leaves would be the top layer, and watercolor them a light yellow.

To show the other layers of leaves, we gradually got darker as we went.

I wasn’t totally happy with my brush strokes, since I was using the wrong brush. In the months since we’ve done any watercolor, I have misplaced my soft brushes! Still, I pushed through.

Once it was done and dry, I realized I needed some stronger colors and more delicate lines… and maybe some nice hard outlines. Fortunately, that is always an option. But first, lunch!

Love,

Grandma Judy

Dopamine Menu

Dear Liza,

Every once in a while, I find a magazine article that doesn’t just speak to me, it calls my name and chases me down. Abbi Henderson, writing for Stylist Magazine, has written such an article. She talked to neuroscientist Nicole Vignola and got some great ideas for helping us feel better on days when peace and happiness feel out of reach.

She calls this list her Dopamine Menu, after the chemical in our brain that gives us joy. Doing these activities releases dopamine and can lead to happier, calmer moods.

I do most of these things, and now that I know WHY they make me feel better and have a convenient list, I can make joy whenever I feel blue, stuck, or just flattened out.

Stretching

Playing with a pet

Enjoying a coffee

Grabbing a snack

Doing a short burst of exercise

Putting clean laundry away

Cooking a meal

Working on a hobby

Exercising

Being creative (painting, drawing, writing, for example)

Listening to music

Listening to a podcast

I have been fortunate to fill my life with Dopamine-enhancing people. Ruthie Inman and Auntie Bridgett Spicer encourage my arts, which gives me courage at my crafts, and everyone loves a walk in Laurelhurst Park!

Maybe people who seem “naturally happy” have, consciously or unconsciously, found their own way to their Dopamine fix.
Maybe this list can help you.

Love,

Grandma Judy

Sister Corita and Me

Dear Liza,

Back in March, I got some books about Sister Corita Kent for my birthday. As you might suspect, Corita was a Catholic nun. She was also an artist and teacher at the progressive (as far as Catholic institutions go) Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles back in the 1960s.

I will not attempt a detailed biography here. There are dozens in print and online, by folks who have done their research.

What I want to talk about is how some of Corita’s “Ten Rules’ have affected me and my art.

Number 4. Consider everything an experiment.

I know Crazy Quilts are an OLD thing, but mine is a NEW thing, at least to me. Combining piecing, embroidery, beading and quilting in one totally original creation big enough for two people to snuggle under was a seven month expeiment. It worked out pretty well.

Number 6. There are no mistakes. There is no win and no fail.

This is comforting to me, after years in the classroom where I dreaded making mistakes in front of my students. Knowing I can learn from everything makes me braver.

Number 7. The only rule is the work. It is people who do all the work all the time that figure things out.

For the past few years, with help from Auntie Bridgett and Ruthie Inman, I have been reading, thinking and experimenting with art. The stitches in my Crazy Quilt were an experiment. Laying down layers of collage, then tissue, then ink. Three dimensional constructions covered in paper mosaics… all experiments. I like some better than others, but I learned from them all.

And, as Sister Corita promised, I am figuring things out.

Love,

Grandma Judy

A New Kind of Journal Cover Part 1

Dear Liza,

My friend Ruthie Inman is always teaching me new things! This week, we are making a new journal cover.

For our Zoom Art group this week, she asked us to pull together some muslin fabric, tissue papers or napkins, and some watered down glue.

So friends in Scotland, Illinois and Portland did just that. And the project, at least this part, was just as easy as it could be. We slathered the thin glue mixture onto the fabric, tore the tissue paper into pieces, and stuck them down.

I started with bright colors from napkins, and then softened them with the white layers.

We kept gluing until we had about four layers, pausing to let it dry a bit in between layers so the whole gooey thing didn’t disintegrate under our brush.

I finished my piece with some old wrapping tissue flowers and a butterfly from a napkin, and left it to dry.

And to make sure it didn’t stick to the mat and dried completely by tomorrow, I carefully peeled the fabric and paper layers off the mat and laid them on a cooling rack.

We’ll see what happens when we all Zoom Art together on Thursday!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Art of Figuring Things Out Part 2

Dear Liza,

Once all the heart ‘insides’ had dried and gotten solid, it was time to cover them. Ruthie suggested card stock, but I was worried that it would be too stiff to go around the curves.

I tried regular paper. I cut a strip an inch wider than the heart, and drew a line a half inch in from each edge, so I could clip the paper, like you do fabric, to make flanges on the curves. I spread some Mod Podge around the edges of the heart and went to work.

It was a bit fiddly to hold the paper to the glue for just long enough to adhere but not so long as to stick to ME, but it all worked out.

And where the strip of paper came up a bit short, it was easy to patch.

I got so carried away that I did three of them in a row!

I will show you the last steps once I have done them. I’m figuring this out as I go along.

That’s the whole point!

Love,

Grandma Judy

The Art of Figuring Stuff Out Part 1

Dear Liza,

My artist friend Ruthie Inman had a fun idea at our last Zoom class. She showed us some three dimensional artworks she found in the Internet, and told US to show HER how to make something like it.

I loved this structure that looks to be about 6 feet tall and made from metal, shown in a museum. I have searched the internet and cannot figure out who created it or where it is on display.

Bridgett and I talked about it, and came up with one way to reproduce it in miniature, out of common materials.

Tea boxes and scissors, paper strips, three different sizes of heart shaped cookie cutters, Elmer’s glue, and a pencil were my supplies.

Step one: Each heart in your structure will need two hearts of the same size. Trace the cookie cutters onto the tea box cardboard and cut out.

Step two: Cut strips in half inch, three quarter inch, and one inch widths. They should be about 4 inches long. Roll the strips around a pencil and glue the outside end down so it stays rolled up. You will use the longest pillars for the largest hearts.

Step 3: Lay a heart down and make small puddles of glue at close intervals. Stand each paper pillar in the puddle.


Step 4: Put glue around the edges of the top heart, rest carefully on the pillars to line up with the bottom heart, and let dry. A small weight might help them stick.

Leave the insides to dry until you figure out what comes next. Stay tuned.

Love,

Grandma Judy