Allowing Nature To Have Her Say

I've had a few emails inquiring if I am okay since I haven't blogged much lately.

I want to say "Oh yes, I am fine!" but truth is -

I'm not.

I've got a bad case of the winter blahs...I'm ready to be playing around outside, aren't you?

I did go on a short bike ride (about 18 miles) with my husband this week.

I also went sledding with him and a few friends (and family members) in the great snow that we had.
And wasn't it wonderful to see 8-10 inches of snow in upstate SC??
I loved it!

I've been reading a lot (mostly in my Kindle).

Watching movies.

Moving supplies around on my studio table.

Looking at patterns (apparel!).
I am going to try to stitch up a few pieces of clothing.
I haven't sewn apparel in years (with the exception of fingerless gloves and scarves) and am itching to get started. I thought that I would start with a simple knit tee shirt.

What I would LOVE to have is a sewing group to bounce questions off of...
Any takers?
Maybe I'll search for one or create my own.
Email me (or comment below) if you're interested in being a part of a group like that.
It would be so much fun to sew the same thing together!

I must say that just jumped out of my fingers onto the "page". I never intended to broach that but now that it's out there- it sounds good.

I have done a little tiny bit of art work...teeny tiny bit for sure.
I've created a sample book for a project that I am putting off doing.

You can also see the turtle shell full of buttons
that I made from shed deer antlers.
Oh, and the sample (duct tape) book.

Yep, that same project that I have written about before.
I have completed reinforcing the spine of the signatures and punched the stitching holes.

I figured out the closure and I LOVE it! I can't wait to see if it is going to work the way I hope it does.
I've got the cover completed and just need to tweak one little thing before I attach it (after the signatures are in).

Tonight (or tomorrow) I am going to stitch the signatures in.
I am, I promise!

Here's a sampling of the pages just waiting to go in.

Here's a peek or two of the rusty threads, fiber, and cloth on the cover.
The cloth that is not rusted is naturally dyed.

I've allowed Nature to have her say on this one.

There you have it - a quick synopsis of the past few weeks.
Without all of the hot tea, coffee and chocolate of course...

Getting To Work

It's no secret that I love rusting fabric, fibers, threads, paper, clothing and most anything that I can get my hands on.
I love the color, the texture and the serendipitous possibility of it all.

I've been selling rusted fabrics and fibers in my Etsy shop for several years now.
I have a stack of beautiful rusted papers that I need to add to the shop...just gotta do it.

I've had an idea for a book for a couple or three years now that involves a series of rusted elements that appear to flow through the pages.

(my friends will roll their eyes because they have heard this over and over)

I have all of the pages completed and in a nice little stack.
The cover materials are in the very same stack, waiting for the creation of a collage.

Just sitting there waiting on me,
the creator,
to create.

Staring at me, taunting me (in a challenging way) every time that I walk into my studio.

Why have I waited to start (or finish) this project that I (so obviously) want to create?


I think (part of) it could be that I fear my romanticized idea of the book will not match the book that I actually create.

The book is so beautiful in my mind but I may not be able to match it in reality.

Do you ever feel that way?

I think that a lot of artists do.

And I feel that the answer to that fear is to get into the studio and create.
And keep creating and making until I am satisfied with the end result.

Right?

With that in mind, I did begin the cover this past week.

Of course it is taking on a life of its own...
A lot of "what if I do this?" "Or what about that?"
or "Hey, wouldn't this be great!?"

Most importantly, I have started.

What do you have in your studio or your life that you want to create (or do) (or see)?

If there a project that pulls at you, then you need to focus your attention on it, allow it to come to fruition.

And I think that right now is a great time to do just that.

Rust Graveyard

I have quite an impressive collection of rusted pieces.
My husband and I cleaned it out a few weeks ago, narrowed it down to only two (5 gallon) buckets and a small container of tiny pieces.
I pulled out a few pieces to begin on a book idea that I've had rolling around in my head for weeks.

Time to exorcise (or exercise) that ghost, right?

The Nature of Fashion

This will also be posted on the "8 That Create" blog.
Check out the other blog posts there!



Like everyone else in the group, I've been working on the upcoming show in New York.

I chose to incorporate a bit of natures' fashion into my pieces.
I've been working off of the knowledge that nature, just like fashion, dresses herself according to the season.
Her fashionable colors change as well as the way that she clothes herself.

I spend a lot of time observing the fashion show that Mother Nature organizes.
I try to take my creative cues from this show.

Season to season, the colors change.
The emotion changes.
She sheds her autumn foliage for the monochromatic palette of winter.

The fashion of nature sheds light on the nature of fashion.
Meaning that fashion changes with the same cycle as nature.

I created this piece from natural elements - sticks, stones and leaves.
The stitched background is made from real leaves that have been pressed and allowed to disintegrate into tissue paper before laminating them to tea bags and scrim.

You can see the leaf above - it has disintegrated
into the tissue paper that I pressed the leaves on.

I used leaves that I gathered from my home garden
as well as vegetation from the forest near my home.

You might find an herb or two in my fabric...

Petals from garden flowers, especially gardenias and lilies.

You can see the layer of tea bags and scrim on this sample.
I laminated all of it together with acrylic soft gel and matt medium.

I also dipped a couple of the central collage elements into beeswax.

The beeswax makes the tea bag very transparent.

I love the smell!

"Nature's Fashion"

This is a 12" x 12" piece mounted on 1.5" stretcher bars.
Each person in the group of 8 will create a panel the same size.
They will be hung in a grid - like a nine patch - with our signage in the center.

I have created two other pieces of wall art plus a book.

Last April, I helped a friend of mine vend at the Virginia Beach "Art & Soul" retreat.
She had all sorts of vintage items to sell (!) and I was one of the helpers in charge of putting these things out on display (can you believe that she left me there with all that cool stuff?!) (my husband couldn't).
I unpacked a pair of little girls espadrilles.
I immediately saw the potential for a book in this pair of shoes.
Some of the group used women's shoes to create a piece of artwork out of.
I chose to use this well loved pair of shoes for one of my projects.
Here's what I came up with.

"The Sole Book"

"Sole Book"
front view

I spent a lot of time painting, staining, crackling and waxing each page
before adding them to the book

I love the crackle pages.
They look like an old sole (or soul, for that matter).

I used a glaze of acrylic paint to bring out the crackles on painted paper

Book Making with Kitty Cats

I  am packing up to head to Colorado for a couple of teaching gigs.
Trying to temper my excitement over teaching, over WHERE I am teaching and my anxiety over leaving my sexy man and my kitty for 9 days.

I decided, while packing, that I needed a handmade book for the trip.
You know, like i didn't have enough to do already- with packing some things for class, things to sell and my clothes and personal items, mailing Etsy items that I've sold, writing blog posts, laundry...

What's one more thing at this point?!

I decided that I wanted a special book to journal in, make some marks in and document my travels in.
And I can practice making one more book before Art Camp class.

I had some scraps of fabric handy from a previous project that I had not put away yet (the scraps not the previous project).

I have a confession to make.
I am not one of those people that clean their work tables off after each project.
I have so many ideas, chase so much inspiration, that I do well to push everything to one end of the table before I start something else.
Confession time over.

Back to the new book (see? another last minute project that just appeared on my studio table).
 I picked out a few items for the cover collage and set to work.
After a few hours, this is what I came up with.

This is a shot with my studio help in it.

He has to get in all the shots...

True to form, he is in the middle of everything that I am doing (and I am lovin' it).

Still working

What about you?

On My Table

What's on your work table?

Spine Design

I've been making (more) books for "Art Camp For Women" and playing with spine design.

While I adore the open spine where you can see the stitching, I also love the opportunity to add more interest to the outside of the book.
I'm working on a couple (or four) ways of adding the spine decoration after the covers have been stitched on.
Here's a peek at one.

I am also playing around with scraps from a leather jacket that a friend gave me (thank you Mary!).
The leather is so soft and supple, it drapes beautifully and gently hugs the curves of the spine. I'd love to make a pair of shoes with it!
You can see in the photo how it shows the contour of the thread that I used when stitching in the signatures-

Beautiful, just beautiful.

There are still a few spots left in the book making class in Colorado. If you can't go for the entire week, treat yourself to the three day class! It's a brand new class, created just for the Art Camp ladies.

Book Covers

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I posted!
What have I been doing?

Welll...my friend Sarah and I participated in the World Wide Sketch Crawl here in Greenville SC.
We made a day of it, along with a nice sit down lunch (with wine) (bourbon for me). I have several sketches to show for it, just need to add some color to them.

And maybe I'll just post them without color. I love to add the color while I'm sitting there sketching.
It's hard for me to go back with a photo and add color...
I love the spontaneity of drawing and painting RIGHT there.

I really am loving it more and more- the urban sketching.
I am looking for just the right ones to make thermofax screens out of. I think that street scenes of Greenville would be great on tee shirts.

I've been having a blast in my studio, making more class samples for the Art Camp For Women workshop coming up soon.
Here's a peek at a couple of different covers I will be demonstrating -

I love the book itself - the pages, the painting, the sketching, the opportunity to fill it with much goodness- but I think I love making the cover most of all (today anyway!).
All the opportunity to create layer after layer of amazing texture.
Yep - layers of texture on the outside that nestle all of the layers of art on the inside.

I am going to try and set up a local book making class after June 15th.
If you're not on my newsletter list, email me here for details when I get it sorted out.
Looking forward to teaching close to home!

Background Painting for Book Pages

I'm working on a new project, a book, that needs some snazzy pages.
So - I pulled out a pile of paper, a few bottles of paint, couple of acrylic inks, Distress Ink Pads, stencils, masks and a sponge or two (and later on - paste for paste paper).
My studio table was a horrid mess...

Oh wait...that was actually before I began the papers (I think)...I titled this photo "Dirty Secret" since my table is dirty...but now it is no longer a secret.

This next shot was after I had already layered a couple of stamps and masks on the pages.
I always work on as many pages as I can fit in my work-space. It saves time this way and I can work from one end of the table to the other end. By the time that I finish at one end, the other end is dry and ready for the next layer.
I love painting paper this way - it is so easy to get into the "zone" and work in an intuitive manner. Before you know it, you've got 10 or 15 coordinating pages all ready for your project.
This is one of my most popular classes actually - everyone can do it and there are no mistakes!

I kept layering different colors, stamps and such until I was happy with everything.
Here is a shot of some of the pages that I created that day. I did add some paste to some of the pages. I love the additional texture on the pages! I will continue to play around with making paste paper as I really like the look of it (and it IS a bit addictive, isn't it?)
I think that I may have added another layer of ink before I quit. Then I let them sit for a day or so before I ironed them (between parchment paper).

Book Making Classes

I have taken a couple of Mary Ann Moss's online classes,Remains of the Day and Full Tilt Boogie.

If you into book making, journaling and love scraps of paper and such - you should take them too...

I'll show you the latest book that I made from the binding technique that she teaches in the class.

I love the stitching technique!
If you don't read Mary Ann's blog -you should.
It's a good read.

Journal Work

I've been writing and drawing inside of one of my handmade books here lately.
I have written other posts about it (here, here and here). My "plan" is to use this as my everyday journal...just to draw in, write in, a place to hold all those things that elbow around in my head everyday.
And just like anything else, this requires a commitment or it does for me anyway.
Other things are habit for me - drawing, writing- but not in THIS book. I have been using a different book to write in and another one to draw in.
I have read in a few blogs how other people approach this issue. Some use totally separate books for each different practice. Others use the same book for all of it.
It really doesn't bother me if I mix it up. The only thing that I need to consider is the drawing part...if I draw something that I decide to make a thermofax screen from or use it in a different manner, I need to be able to scan or copy it. And that could prove to be difficult if it's in a book with other "things" on the pages around it...I'll just have to be aware of that and try to work around it.

Anyway - thought I'd share a couple of pages that I've been working on.

This is the first page in the journal (paper page that is...I have a couple of fabric based "pages" before that).

Now, who knows - I may choose to spread out some gesso on that page and re-do the entire thing.
That's one of the things that I love about journaling, about working in a book.
You can scrap it and start over...just like that.

This is a page that I had already done some stitching on. I had brushed some watered down acrylic paint on the background. Then later drew a couple of sketchy flowers...then added a thermofax flower screen over that. I still have more plans for this page.

This is a little painting (watercolor) that I did in preparation for my "Whimsical Drawing Class" at Textile Evolution next month.
I'll be showing everyone some tricks and short cuts that I use as well as sharing how I draw. It may not be the Correct Way but it's my way.
Run over to the retreat web site and sign up for that class! I would love to see you there.
Last year we had a blast...just a blast!
Judy Gula (from Artistic Artifacts) will be teaching there as well as vending (oh boy!). She and I are flying out a little early to spend a few days with Liz (we're supposed to be helping but I'm thinking we're going to be playing and laughing). Either way, it is sure to be fun.

And one last page with a whimsical tree on it. I actually left a space to journal on this one! I used Derwent Inkense Watercolor Pencils on it along with my trusty Pitt Pen.
Don't forget to check out the Sketchbook Challenge blog site for this month's theme. Lyric Kinard is the featured artist this month and she had chosen the theme if
"Element".
There are already a lot of great posts illustrating that.

And I am going to be teaching a book class in Greenville SC next month!
I am SO excited about this!
Artists Guild Gallery of Greenville has asked me to teach there. I'll be sending out a newsletter to all of the local people about this class.
I'll put details on the side bar but you can email me at carolbsloan@yahoo.com if you have any questions.
The quick rundown is this -

"Bound by Heart, Made by Hand"
Aug. 8 & 11, 2011 from 10:00am-3:00pm
$135 for both days, an optional $20 kit from instructor
At Artists Guild Gallery of Greenville (AGGG)

864-239-3882

200 N Main Street
Suite 104 Ivey Square
Greenville, SC. 29601 (inside the lobby at Atlanta Bread Company) 

You can see samples inside the gallery (beginning tomorrow) and may sign up there.
You may also email me to sign up.
If you are considering taking the class, better call or email quick as the size is very limited!
The space is smaller but I wanted to keep the class small so I can give everyone lots of attention.

Have a great day everyone!