Sunday, May 31, 2009

you always know


has a week passed by already?! i'm gonna show you my new journal before it gets paint and glue all over it...

i used corrugated cardboard for the covers again, putting masking tape over the edges and eyelets in the holes before i started painting. after i got the paint the way i wanted, i glued a PaPaYa card on that i'd been saving for a couple of years... i ripped off a couple of strips of unbleached muslin, attached them to the back cover, and then wrapped them around a button sewn to the front for a closure (after the covers are done i use an awl to poke the holes for the button and muslin, that way i can see what placement looks best).


i'm a coptic stitch binding addict... the pages lay open in a wonderful way, and there's a sturdiness and flexibility about signatures bound with coptic stitch that i love...

the pages are half 140# arches cold press, and half 140# st. armand watercolor paper. the arches does crack a little at the fold, but it doesn't go all the way through and i've never had a problem with the pages tearing at the fold, even when the journal has been through months of use. i tear the pages out using a deckle edge ruler which is way easier than cutting, and you get a nice, soft edge.


a poor picture of the second page... i covered up the whole page with a piece of muslin (you can see the frayed edges around the page) because i had so much paint on the page that i didn't like and it seemed like a good solution to the problem.


this is what layer 5 (or was it 15? :) looked like -- much better than layer 4, but i couldn't see anywhere to go with it, so down went the muslin...


some of the pages are narrower than others, and this is one of them. this figure was the first stencil that i cut... it was drawn by karin and was on a piece of tissue paper, so i glued it to a sheet of printer paper and cut the stencil from that. i was so thrilled about cutting my first stencil!


the back side of the page above, and probably something that only a mother could love... it's the paint that i scraped off of the piece of glass that was on my art table. i needed a clean piece of glass for stencil cutting, so i scaped all of the paint off of it and then glued most the paint down here. it's a kind of visual record of the painting i've done at my art table in the last year.


the bird is the second stencil that i cut. can i say too many times that i'm happy about cutting my own stencils?!!


jerry stopped by to sniff everything when i was taking pictures yesterday. this is him telling me that i've missed my best chance for photographing his big cat self...


i spent a lot of time last week on the stencil cutting thing... figuring out which images i wanted to cut and printing them out... i chose karin's figure, a bird, and a tree. this piece is on canvas board (4" x 6"), and i used the bird and the tree, although i wiped most of the tree off... i used caran d'ache crayons, acrylic paint, tim holtz crackle paint, twinkling H2O's... everything!


more experimenting with the bird and tree stencil. this piece is about 6" x 9" on 90# arches hot press, and is going to be a big post card. stenciling just cries out to be used as mail art...

the hearts at the top of the page are from a stamp i carved... in the process of printing out stencil designs i printed out a version that was way too small for a stencil, but perfect for a stamp.


i tried something i've been wanting to try for a while, which is to draw over the design with a pencil and then rub the pencil onto the stamp material. it worked like a charm! the pink arrow is the original heart (you can see where i've put pencil over the black), and the other hearts are tests of my stamp. i kept taking away until i got the one in the upper left. there are lots of images here that can be used for making stamps...


a postcard (about 4" x 9") that i made last week with the stencil i cut from karin's figure.


the graffiti wall has been cut up, and is now in the process of being made into graffiti prayer flags. i added a little paint and rubbed in oil pastels on these pieces, which make up the first set of flags. they have much more artifying to undergo before they're done.


morning light...


and more morning light... these cumulus clouds grew before our eyes as we sat outside having coffee two days ago. within minutes of taking this the blue sky was no longer visible... amazing!

have a beautiful week!

XO

25 comments:

  1. may have to borrow your "grafitti prayer flag" idea and use it with my students next year - i even have an airbrush machine that never gets used! love your latest post... have to go back and look at it more - so inspiring!
    xoj

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  2. wow! I love your new journal, the stencils, your paint scrapings(such a great idea!) and Jerry's over seeing of it all :) I got a big kick out of seeing the familiar figure transformed - it's one that I've used over and over in different ways myself, so I absolutely love seeing another version! and it's very cool to see the prayer flags evolving - can't wait to see the flip side ;^)
    xoxox K

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  3. hey jennifer... yes, borrow away! i was going to make a book with the pieces but karin had the flag idea. as much as i love books, they don't hold a candle to prayer flags. ; ) xo

    hee, karin! yeah, she's transformed into a stencil! i'm happy that she's in a sturdy form now... she'll have a long and useful life...

    i'm getting close to working on the flip side of the flags. ; ) xo

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  4. great post Lynne
    loaded with wonderful inspiration and info - really enjoyed it - love your new journal...

    xox - eb.

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  5. Lynne, this is so very beautiful and inspiring. The journal pages are very much the direction I'm going towards digitally so I hope you won't mind being my muse for a while! Desperate to get down to some new work but too much paper work to wade through first! xxxx

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  6. Lynne, this is just gorgeous - this makes me want to start a journal again, but alas, I know as soon as I start putting things together, it turns into something else - will so look forward to seeing where this journeys - your stencils are really wonderful! :))))

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  7. Wow, lynne, so much eye candy in one post !! The new journal is gorgeous ! Love the yellow poking out everywhere !

    Your stencils and stamps are fanastic tools !I have been carving my own staps a lot lately too. So much fun to use them in your pieces afterwards, knowing that they came from your own hand.

    Thanks for all the gifts to look at !

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  8. I am loving all of your pages, each photograph invites me to look over and over again. I think I'll have to try cutting my own stencils... I love your figure and your black bird. Your morning light photograph glows with the sun... Roxanne

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  9. your art journals are simply dreamy ... I really like the bird stencil & the heart stamp a lot, a lot!

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  10. i love the new journal . i like the idea of mixing up the paper. i might try that next . i love those cards too. i buy them and just keep them . i have a hard time giving them away.
    good post lynne !
    xxoo
    kathy

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  11. thank you, eb... xo

    well lumi, we can be each other's muse 'cause you certainly inspire me... xo

    hi jeane, i'm smiling at the thought of a journal turning into something else in your hands. i totally understand, and how grand that is... xo

    yeah, kim -- yellow poking out all over! it seemed time for a color change... you're so right about how great it feels to carve you own stamps. completely different energy than using premade stamps. i'm in love with this process of making 'our mark' with stamps and stencils we create. xo

    thank you roxanne... i'll show you about the stencil cutting thing. with stencil film it's easy... xo

    thank you, michelle... i love the bird and heart too! : ) xo

    hey kathy! yeah, those cards are too nice to use, aren't they?! as for mixing up the paper, well it stretches out my st. armand stash. ; ) (and thank you!)

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  12. So, so beautiful Lynne! I just adore this new journal! The stitching you do is amazing and the stencils are .....wow.....incredible!
    Your prayer flags is something I absolutely love!

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  13. Boy you have been busy...cutting, stenciling, binding, painting, tearing and the like! What a great collection of pages you have made for the journal. Graffiti flags are looking awesome.

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  14. I love the contrast between the vibrant covers and the more earthy inside pages! Lovely, lovely, lovely.

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  15. Wow...what a wonderful post, all so interesting!
    Your new journal is gorgeous and I love the coptic binding (might have to google that and have a go).
    The prayer flags are very special, what a lovely original idea and look forward to seeing where you go with them next.
    And your stencilling!!! Fantastic images in your journal and those wonderful original postcards. The muslin in your journal is a lovely addition too. The texture it brings is lovely.
    Do you use a stencil cutting tool or stanley knife?
    I love the heart stamp, what a great image for journalling. I have my tools at the ready, but need to get into action. You are inspiring me.
    That Jerry looks quite the man about the house...beautiful cat Lynne.
    Fantastic post...but I think my favourite is the backside of your journal page where you have used the scraped paint - very special.

    Thanks for all of the inspiration and the morning light.

    Jacky xox

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  16. thanks, manon! i think the prayer flags will be cool once they're done... it's nice having a project evolve as it goes, and using new techniques in the process to boot.

    hey seth! thank you! yeah, some weeks are busier than others. : ) the journal was made months ago, though...

    yeah, cynjon, i like that too... not that i *planned* it, but it is working out that way.

    hi jacky, there's a link to coptic stitch binding in my sidebar. i've tried other directions, but these are still my favorite.

    i'm interested in seeing what you do with making stamps after your lino cutting class. it's quite addictive! it takes a little time in the beginning, but then you get an image you can use over and over -- i love that!

    thank you for your nice comment. : ) xo

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  17. For heaven's sake, woman! This is crammed full of information! You are giving me SUCH good ideas. I love the layers. The paint you paletted off the glass made a GREAT page. Don't you love that paper? I'm convinced it can do anything.

    Thanks for showing so much of your process. I am loving the stencil thing. Still haven't done the next layer on my canvas, but I'm really inspired to put down everything else and do it NOW.

    Love your work and your choice of colors.

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  18. The "coptic stitch queen" more like it :)
    I absolutely love and respect a beautiful coptic stitch binding! and look at yours!!! :) teach me please.....
    Lynne, the pages are all amazing...the stencils are fab!
    I'm doing a bit of stencil work with prints at the moment! the potential with them is huge.
    Amazing sky and morning light...in touch and in tune...:) Joxx

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  19. Gosh, this is an information-rich post. And such eye-candy! Love your new journal and your stencils (I'm loving stencils too!) and the paint chip page . . .

    I don't know why it's been so long since I've been by. You rock!

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  20. Oh the prayer flags!!! Very juicy delicious! The new journal, the paint scrapings page and the Karin stencil....just wonderful! You inspire me to start my own journal.

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  21. thank you, chris! yeah, the stencil thing just so much fun, and, i think, very freeing. hey! i thought about you when i was painting that 4" x 6" canvas board -- the getting-brave-on-canvas thing... xo

    lol, jo -- i'd *like* to be the coptic stitch queen! alas, my stitch isn't perfect -- when the opportunity presents itself to take a class from a true coptic stitch king or queen, i'm gonna do it. and yeah, the potential with stencils is HUGE. xo

    hey kelly! thank you!!

    thank you, leslie! i will go to your blog and see if i can see any of your stencil goodness!

    well, my dear robyn, if you *do* start a journal it'll be killer... that much i know. (and thank you : ) xo

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  22. Whoa!!!! You've blown me away with all of the work you have been doing, Holy moly.

    Your pages, book prayer flags (my fav) are wonderful.

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  23. All acts of love and beauty are my rituals.

    That is so beautifully said Lynne.

    Love Renee xoxox

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