New Year's Book

The weather has definitely started to act more like winter in Nebraska. I have heard about various methods of keeping water-based paints in liquid form when out painting snow scenes, but I guess I am not that dedicated. Maybe sketching from the comfort of a warm car is still an option. Or I need to find the fingerless gloves I bought in the Smoky Mountains years ago on a very cold camping and painting trip. Anyhow, in the meantime, I suppose it's time to dust off those indoor art projects I came up with in the fall.

 One project was a New Year's resolution book. Do you make New Year's resolutions? Do you look back on them and see if you have accomplished any at the end of the year? One pleasant surprise I had last week was in rereading my 2015 resolutions, and discovering that I had actually accomplished some. I didn't think I had accomplished much at all, so it was a great surprise. Of course, not everything was done, so some have been bumped to 2016's list. That's ok. I aim high, and readjust if necessary. Some of the goals couldn't be reached in a year, and I didn't realize that. We need to be kind to ourselves with these resolutions, and sometimes things really are not within our control. But it is good to take the time to reevaluate our lives and our hopes and dreams.

In any case, I found a book form in Alisa Golden's Making Handmade Books called an accordion book with flower fold pages. I thought it would make a nice book for my 2016 resolutions, so I modified it. I had gouache from a calligraphy project sitting out on the worktable, so that was thrown in, too, though it didn't give the effect on the branches that I get with sumi ink or watercolor. The red for the berries, however, was as bright as I'd hoped.

The resolutions are written inside of the flower fold pages, which are glued inside of the accordion.

I am praying for a beautiful and inspiring year for my family, and for everyone who reads this. May 2016 be a year of peace and joy for you and yours!

Starting a New Journal, Part 3

We now have a page decorated in watercolor, but it still needs something to draw a reader in. I decided to use Copperplate calligraphy to draw a heading. I'm still learning Copperplate, and am not an expert in that hand by any stretch of the imagination! And this is drawn with a pencil, then overdrawn with a colored pencil. It is good enough for this, though. I have the look I was trying to achieve.

This is one way to approach that first page: using calligraphy, watercolor paint, and a page design. Of course, yours will be very different, but it is fun to see how other artists work.

For more inspiration and variety, here is a sampling of a few recent page designs that I've done. The astronomy journal on the bottom left is still in progress. It needs more contrast, and I will probably add inks.

You can tell from the cow design that I am playing around with different lettering, too.

Next time, we'll discuss content... thank you for reading!

Starting a New Journal, Part 2

We've traced the rectangle from the right hand side of the layout onto the first page of the journal, using a light box. What next?

I would love for this rugged looking journal to have a formal feel inside, but not too formal. I decided to make it look like a more contemporary version of an illuminated book. I decided to use a watercolor sketch of my new favorite wildflower, and to have it break through the rectangle, for a contemporary look. I'll also plan to use watercolor, because I love splashing paint around, and this Ingres paper can take it.

The next step is to draw a flower sketch in pencil. I decide to use an arrangement of grass leaves next to the flower that is a bit Art Nouveau and decorative, rather than realistic.

And then it's time to splash paint.

On the side, you can see a test strip. It's always a good idea to test your paints on the paper that you will be using, as each paper reacts differently. I like to collage these in, or use them as a bookmark, by adding perle cotton to the top.

There is more to do before this page is done. Stay tuned!

Starting a New Journal

Opening a new journal and staring at a blank white page, with many other blank white pages behind it, can be an intimidating feeling.

Over the next few weeks, I'll share some ideas on how to get started. Remember, these are just ideas. Your journal is just that... yours! If you have a gut feeling about how you want to proceed, go for it. Don't worry about messing up. Worry and fear will make you freeze, leaving you with blank pages and an empty book, which is not what we want. Keep in mind you can always slice out the first page with a hobby knife if you really don't like it.

We'll start with that very first page. What are you going to do with it? I admit, with almost 30 years of nature journaling under my belt, I've only just begun to think about page design. In the past, my journals were just resources, field notes that I took to give me something to go from for more finished work, or a record of beautiful days spent outdoors. Very few people ever looked in my field journals. Now, I find that the world of art blogging and sketching is encouraging me to think about sharing these sketches, which means they have to communicate something to others, not just to me. And they should look good on the page, ideally.

So, with that in mind, I'm going to share the process of designing pages for a few new journals. We'll start with my Prairie Journal, housed in the Lewis and Clark-inspired journal that I wrote about a while back.

The journal has a rugged look. I thought it would be a very interesting contrast to have a more formal interior. With that in mind, I turned to Dubay and Getty's Italic Letters book for instructions on how to lay out a Canon page design. This is the design used in the late Middle Ages to the beginning of the Renaissance, and it has a wonderful feel to it. There is something indescribably beautiful, I think, about the way this page layout looks.

Notice the geometry? That's probably why I love it.

I traced the text area in red ink to make it easier to see. The next step was to place it on a light box, with the first page of my journal over the right hand side of the layout.

Next time, we'll look at how to get started after tracing the rectangle.

 

Astronomy Journal

This has been an exciting summer for astronomy. I was awed by the sight of the Venus and Jupiter conjunction, and I am now eagerly checking the news from NASA as they post pictures of Pluto and its moons.

In August, the Perseid meteor shower is supposed to peak on the night of the 13th. The New Moon is on the 14th, so this means that there will be a greater chance to see the meteor shower without competing light from the moon.

Astronomy has been finding its way into my journals lately, but I decided the subject deserved a journal of its own. I chose a dos-a-dos (back-to-back) format, casing the pages into a hardcover binding. I think I will use one side for events like the meteor shower, and the other side for everyday observations. However, I discovered that this format is not for the faint of heart. It is difficult to get everything to sit perfectly in the binding.

Here is what the cover papers looked like, before they were glued on. The color of the illustration is subtle, as is the paper itself. To the right on the top is a test paper. You can see in the top left corner that a watercolor gold test did not go well! The tiny bit of water that I used left a large water ring. This is the messy part of illumination... finding out what works, and what doesn't! The beautiful bright gold moon was gouache, but it was too stark on this paper for my taste. (You can click on the image for a better look).

I had to use a PVA glue on this paper since my usual wheat paste left water spots. The one I used is called Jade, which has many good qualities. Its drawback is that it dries fast, so with a binding like this, I did not have much time to get things right! If I had been able to use my usual PVA/paste combo, it would have allowed me to shift things around and reposition them without rushing.

This is my book press, made for me by my husband and son. It is simple, but effective. I leave finished books to dry in there for a few days, and opening it is like opening a Christmas gift. The book always looks better when it is removed.

And here is the book being released from the press!

Tearing paper for the pages, rather than cutting, is time consuming, but gives a lovely handmade feel to the edge to the paper. It always seems to stick out a bit more when I do this. If I ever decide to make this book format again, I will add additional width to the covers.

I like how the illustrations came out on the covers. I was playing around with a monoline Uncial calligraphy written on a curve. I really like this effect- probably because Uncial is so rounded, and the curve echoes this look. I have chosen words from Psalms 147, 148, and 104 that mention stars and the moon.

Thank you for visiting! I hope this inspires you to get out and look up at the sky. There is so much beauty to see all around us.

Lewis and Clark inspired journals

I still find myself saying that I am new to Nebraska, even though I have been here for a year. This landscape is so different that I still feel as though I am seeing it all for the first time. This will be my second summer here, but the first one was lost to unpacking boxes. I know now where I want to go, what flowers and plants to look for, and some of the wild places that I want to explore before the cold comes again.

Thanks to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Nebraska City, I have also rediscovered my interest in Lewis and Clark. I have my own journey of discovery now. There are new vistas to explore, new plants to catalog and paint, new scenes to admire.

These are views of the Missouri River from the National Headquarters of the Lewis and Clark trail.

To commemorate my personal journeys of discovery, I made my own versions of an explorer's journal.

Clark's journals were bound in elk hide, with a very specific paper. The top journal, which does not yet have the pages inserted, is made from leather remnants. The bottom journal is made from imitation leather. (I found one that did not have a strong plastic odor). I like both of these journals very much, though I think the imitation leather may actually be a bit sturdier and more water repellent. They are constructed by sewing the signatures on bookbinding tapes, with a wraparound cover. This is probably the sturdiest construction for this type of journal, which I hope will be used heavily. I've dropped journals in the dirt so often that I know they need to be sturdy!

Inside, I have bound in Thai Uruyu and German Ingres papers. These are meant to be used. Once you get past the intimidating feeling of a handmade journal, and start to actually write in it, they become like old friends. Next week, I hope to show how to break in a new journal. Stay tuned!

Traffic flag book

Anyone who has lived near Baton Rouge since Katrina knows the traffic flow problems on the interstates there. One big wreck can shut the interstate system down for the afternoon, so I began carrying food and water in my car in case we were ever stranded. It happened with alarming frequency while I was living there. In true Louisiana fashion, I decided to poke fun at the situation with this book. One of the things that I really miss about LA is the sense of humor.

The covers of this book are painted museum boards.

And when you open it, the flags open up and point out in two directions. I drew cartoons of people stuck in traffic, with dogs barking and drivers taking a nap. There were times you just had to turn the engine off, and wait, and it could be for hours if it was a large wreck.

I know there are commissions studying the situation right now. The interstate there was simply not designed to handle the traffic patterns that have developed post-Katrina.  I hope they can find a solution.

Origami Envelope book

This was a fun book to make, and it's from my series of Louisiana Impressions books. I thought it would be fun to make something that might capture a child's eye, and light a creative fire. I suppose I am reaching out to kids who might be creative like I was, and give them some ideas and encouragement.

I got the idea for an origami envelope book from Alisa Golden's book, Making Handmade Books. The paper I used is painted with acrylic paints, and the book is tied together with linen thread.

The book is called Louisiana Backyard, and has removable creatures in each pocket. Inside is a crawfish, a dragonfly, a lizard, and a June bug, all of which I found in my backyard one warm summer day in Louisiana.

A Very, very small book!

A long time ago I wrote that I had made a very small book. Sometimes, it is fun to just play, and see what you can do. I wanted to see how small a hard cover could be, so I made this accordion book with a G. M. Hopkins quote.

This little book is 1" by 1 1/2". It falls into the corners of my box of finished books, and gets lost. I love foundational calligraphy, so I used that in a single line on both sides of the paper, with illustrations of wild roses. The paper is luscious Arches Text wove, and the covers are museum boards covered with Thai Uruyu paper. This is one of my favorite books!

I will be posting more of my book art over the next few weeks. It's the original reason I started to blog, so I want to get back to sharing it. The more I write, the more I love book art. Book art, I think, also uses both sides of the brain- the left to measure and plan, the right to accommodate whimsy and illustrate. I think it also brings me back to childhood, and the joy I felt making books on greenbar computer paper. Joy is something we should celebrate... we do not have enough of it in this world.

Climate Books

One of the books that was in my exhibit at the Livingston Parish library in Louisiana last year was a little book I titled, "Climate Change: A Moving Tale." In it, I contrasted the difference in climate between the Northwestern U. S. and Louisiana, since I found it to be such a physical shock moving from one to the other.

I revisited this format again. Since once again, we've made a major climactic move, I came up with "Climate Change II" to show the differences between Louisiana and Nebraska.

I used data from the National Weather Service website to show average temperature highs and lows, and I came up with an average daylength for each month using data from the U. S. Naval Observatory website. Each little book has one city on one side of the paper, and the other city on the opposite.

October in Nebraska is beautiful. I was surprised to see that we are getting almost an extra hour of daylight each day, when compared to Louisiana. I expected the temperatures to be vastly different, and they are... there is almost a 15 degree difference in average daily highs for this month.

The form of these books is the same as the Thanksgiving book I showed on this blog last year. It is still one of my favorites, and is made from a single sheet of paper. It tumbles around when opened, and represents the unsettled, turbulent feeling of moving a great distance.

Regina Caeli book

Here is an artist's book I made a few years ago. At the time, I was grappling with the concept of home. I had watched my family go through Katrina, and I had moved away from homes that I had loved. I came to the conclusion that it really is true that our home is in Heaven. Everything else is temporary.

This is a joyful book, though. The realization that we have a home that will not be lost or changed is a joyful one. The prayer is for the time of the year after Easter, and so it reflects that deep joy. The book form is one I learned in Alisa Golden's Painted Paper. She mentions other artists who sent her books with this form, and calls it a Woven Accordion Book. I thought the prayer fit beautifully into the form.

The ties are iridescent and silver ribbons, and the background is painted with interference and pearl acrylics. These types of specialty paints just don't seem to photograph well. Their effects are striking, especially with a subject matter like this. I painted it on Arches watercolor paper, so it is a very solid form. I tried to alternate lighter pages with darker ones for contrast.

It is one of my favorite books.

It is funny how I can look at artwork I've created, and remember exactly what I was thinking at the time.

Unpacking books

I was unpacking some of my artist's books yesterday, and I realized how few of them I have shared on the blog. I will try to photograph them, and post them here.

There is something about making a book that fires up connections in my mind. Once I start, ideas start gushing out like a flood. I have to keep my art journal nearby, because the ideas keep coming, and as I work on one book, more ideas pop up. I don't think I will ever finish making all of the books that I've sketched out in that journal. Making books must somehow tap into the deepest waters of creativity. Maybe it is the art, maybe it is the technical aspects of measuring and sewing, maybe it's the writing possibilities, or maybe it is all of this together. I don't know. It has become a passion.

Thanksgiving Book

With Thanksgiving coming up this week, I've been thinking about the people and things that I count as blessings. This is a little tumbling book that I may use as part of my Thanksgiving decorations. I painted the paper in a marble pattern (the technique is from Alisa Golden's Painted Paper book), and used a brush and gold calligraphy ink for the wording. I like the monochrome effect, but would like to try it again with more contrast in the colors.

The book is tiny. The pages are 2 inches square. I have some watercolor paper samples that I need to use!

Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?

Works on Paper and High Humidity

As we near the end of summer, I am astonished at how differently paper acts in a humid climate. Previously crisp folds go limp, and books change shape. After living in lower relative humidity for so long, it is tough to know how to respond. Fall air should be drier, but winter will bring humidity again, and so the cycle will repeat itself.

I recently noticed the same issues are starting to show up in the origami pieces on display at my home, even with air conditioning.

I am hoping that another book or paper artist will chime in and comment with some tips or ideas!

In the meantime, I am weighing whether encasing future works in a layer of acrylic medium would help, by sealing the papers.