"Forest Symphony"

I forgot to post photos of the other piece of artwork that I created for the Pages magazine.

It's a triptych that I made out of canvas, plaster, molding paste, natural items, lines from poems about trees and nature as well as acrylic paint, watercolor paint and maybe a few other things that I can't think of right now.

It was fun project that allowed me to use some of the tree bark, sticks and leaves that I have collected through the years.
The blog header that I have up right now (as of this writing) shows a small area of one of the panels.

"Forest Symphony"

(reverse side)
"Forest Symphony"

I love the crazy amount of texture that you can get with plaster and molding paste.
Here's a few close-ups.

I haven't actually had the magazine in my hands but I can't wait to see what they did with the photography!

Here's a link so you can check out all of the other fantastic articles they have.

Map Art Lab

Hold the presses!

Did you know that Jill Berry (along with her sister Linden McNeilly) has a new book out?

Yep, a wonderfully creative, awesome, fun yet totally usable lab art book entitled "Map Art Lab".
(say that fast three times)

The book is separated into 7 units that include a total of 52 map making labs or projects.
That's right...I said 52 projects.
One for each and every week of the year.

The units include -(some words copied directly from the unit descriptions in the book)

Map Basics- There are eight projects inside this unit that will teach you how to make cartographic components that will decorate your map.

Map Magic- You will explore creating map elements using ordinary materials. There are seven projects and one extra feature (making a pop-up and folded map)

Flat Maps-You will learn how to take elements of flat maps- line, form and color- in new directions. You will learn how to deepen your experiences as you play with color and pattern.
You'll also find eight projects and a featured mapper (not to be confused with a mapmaker that raps)(that would be a rapping mapper or a map making rapper, right?).

Mixed Media Maps- This unit includes seven projects that will hopefully open your eyes to the unusual materials that maps can be made from as well as a featured mapper (or multiple mappers in this case).

Personal Maps- Most maps ARE personal maps as they tell a story but this section is full of eight different map labs that take a stroll down memory lane or tell of a personal experience.
I am honored to have a map in this section called "The Journey Of You And Me".
It's a map of the journey of the romance of my husband and I, via the places that we lived, that lead us to the home that we live in now.
It's a smallish map (10" x 10") with lots of tiny details.
Evidently I have a problem leaving out details in a 2"x2" drawing...

 For all of you Clemson fans out there, look at Tillman Hall in the upper right-hand corner. The original drawing is about 3" x 2.5". I did leave out many details but it's still full of teeny tiny windows...

I love that the color in the book is as bright as the original is. Upon closer inspection, I saw that all of the colored maps in the book have great color clarity as well.

Cartographic Projects- This unit is all about creating projects out of pre-printed maps. There are seven projects (or labs) that include book making, jewelry, sculptures, mail art and collage. There is a quest mapper as well that uses  pre-printed maps to create the most amazing 3D sculptures.
It's a must see section!

Inspired By Artists- Imagine being surrounded by the people that you admire the most: artists, musicians, storytellers, relatives, and historians. You gather them in a village and they teach you everything that you want to learn. In this case, artists inhabit the village, and after we construct a place for them to reside, we will go about learning how each of them might fashion a map.
She has included seven different artists in this unit.


Jill and Linden have also included a page of resources as well as a page about the contributors.

I love that they used many young mappers work in the book!

This would be a fantastic tool in the classroom as well as for families.
Hell, this book would be an awesome resource for anyone interested in map making!

You MUST go now and buy this book!
There is NO OTHER book out there like it, I promise you.

Jill Berry has done it again (along with sis Linden McNeilly) .
They have created a one of a kind book in this day that we see a lot of copycat books.

I truly feel that Jill has a pure and authentic artistic voice that shines through in her work and this book proves that once again...

I'm a Cover Girl!

This is the newest Pages magazine from Interweave (Issue 5) and that is my artwork on the cover.
How exciting is that??
You should hop over and grab a copy. The photo on the buy site has the wrong magazine but I'll bet you'll get the Pages 5 issue.

I actually have not one, but two articles in this issue.
The Artful Niche (above) and an article about creating a triptych with plaster, canvas, molding paste and natural items. It's a beautiful stand-alone piece that was created using snippets of poems about trees as well as small stems and leaves from regional trees in the Southeastern US (where I reside).

You should buy it and leave a glowing review about my articles so that they will want me to write more of them (lol).
I'll bet that the rest of the articles are awesome as well.
I do love this magazine since it focuses on handmade books, the pages of these books as well as other artful and creative projects.

Now let's have a glass of champagne to celebrate (even if it is 0900 am)!

Screen Printing Fabric

I created (what I thought) was a faux marble drawing, then made a thermofax screen out of it.
The photos above show my sample prints on cotton jersey (with a tiny bit of lycra in it).

I liked it, very much actually, so I proceeded to print the entire piece of fabric. My plan is to use it to make a shirt or tunic. Or use parts of it on a couple of shirts...I'll make good use of it for sure.

Here are a few shots of the yardage after it dried.

I love the areas where the paint left ghost prints! I don't know
if you can tell on the photo but in person, it is just beautiful.

I heat set it but now, according to the instructions for Pro Chem fabric paint, I have to wait 2 weeks to launder! I usually do not wash the fabric that I screen print as it is mainly for fiber art.
And, yes, I had to write it in on the calendar so I wouldn't forget...

My son suggested that I use this base for a 3D print- adding the appropriate blue and a little green. I'll bet it would look great but I will have to pass this time around. Sounds like too much work for me.
It would be cool to have a 3D shirt though...I'd have to carry around my 3D glasses for people to look through.
That might be a cool rainy day project to keep in mind (says the woman that had to write herself a reminder to launder fabric in 2 weeks).

I am also working on several other screens to create one of a kind yardage for making clothing.
I will try to get some photos as I create it.

Hairy Eyeballs

They're everywhere.
There.
Every where.