50th Wedding Anniversary

My parents are celebrating 50 years together today. They met at Western Michigan University, got married in my mom's hometown of Chicago, lived their entire married life in Kalamazoo, MI, worked hard at their respective jobs and in doing so raised three kids that are happy and productive with their lives. They travel when they want to, enjoy their grandchildren and "up north", are financially stable, and treat each other well. Overall, they've been lucky in life, but I believe that luck is something that you get when you work hard and earn it.

This is not a picture of my folks, but this couple seems very content with one another and I think my parents are too. In case you can't read it, the little saying says "Where there is love there is life." Congratulations Mom and Dad!

Lorrie

"Help, I'm Melting" Challenge & Giveaway

Do you have a period of time in your life, year after year, that just kicks your butt? I do, and I'm just getting to the end of it. Every May and June, my usually pretty calm and collected life, just spins out of control. Each year I know it's coming. Each year I resolve to work harder to control the calendar. Each year I fail miserably. Each year, in fact, it seems to get worse.

It's a combination of things: the overabundance of end-of-school activities and homework, the overabundance of games for three kids playing and two adults coaching/managing travel soccer, the overabundance of miscellaneous extra-circular activities, the overabundance of things on the can't-be-put-off-any-longer To Do list. And there's much more, but you get the idea. My cup runneth over with abundance. I'm not calling this rant whining because everything (for the most part) is good, but by mid-June I am fried. I am done. I am melted and it's not pretty.

Here's the challenge: tell me how you handle your overabundance and email me your best "I'm melting" picture or artwork. Anything goes and anyone can enter. Make me laugh. Make my readers laugh. I'll post all entries that I receive by July 4th and choose the one that made me laugh out loud. That particular comedienne will get a collage on a beaded wire hanger, created by me, that is kind of silly and reminds us all that "Even Fools are Right Sometimes."

Laughing is good. Laughing is therapy. Laughing can help get life back in order. So, fellow bloggers, casual readers, good friends, joke tellers, spread the word far and wide and let's share the laughter...


Lorrie

PS. In the midst of all this, today is my daughter's 12th birthday. I wish for her a wonderful day and an even better year!

Dream - Up Close and Personal

Dream: Here is the original photo that was used in the spread shown in the previous post called, Sit, Think, Relax, Dream. The artwork here was done in Heather's book. She hasn't seen it yet but I'm going to give away my "secrets" anyway...

Up close: Here is the photo after I worked on it. (I didn't crop in exactly on the photo because of the palm tree going off the photo.) Notice that the car in the lower left corner is completely gone after the photo is altered. The reflections/glare in the window panes are also gone. It doesn't show up very well in the scan, but there is silver pen used on the palm fronds, on the bench and also in the center of each window pane.

Personal: This photo was taken in Naples, Florida in the parking lot next to Tin City. I was down there in February 09 when my son was invited to attend the National Olympic Development Program camp for soccer. Tin City is a big touristy area with lots of activity. How I managed to shoot this bench without anyone sitting and enjoying an ice cream cone is beyond me! As you might guess, I love the color of the wall and bench.

Lorrie

Altered Sister's Round Robin - Book Four

Time to turn a page on the calendar again and that means it's also time for another round of art trades in the Altered Sister's Round Robin book exchange. The theme of this book is Dream and it will eventually return to it's owner, Heather.


This time of year is always so over-the-top crazy busy with various kid-related things that sitting still for more time than it takes to read our whopping two-section newspaper is something that I'm definitely dreaming of right now. So, I didn't have a bit of trouble thinking up the subject for this book!




You may remember that in order to explore various hand altering techniques with photography I vowed that I would use one of my own photos in each book that I work in. Ironically, when hand altering a photo, it is often the bad photos that work best. That's because the altering makes the photo more interesting. In this case, the picture was already very colorful (and in fact, inspired the background colors) so I primarily played with the decking, the window and the tree.


Our family is approaching our busiest week/weekend of the year but I soon hope to be able to Sit, Think, Relax and Dream. Taking time out to do these things shouldn't be optional. It's important and will keep you strong.


Lorrie

Welcome Home!

My father-in-law is celebrating his 86th birthday today. His best birthday present was that, after over a month in various hospitals, he went home earlier this week. He had a valve replacement and a double bypass. He's doing fine now but a long recovery is in front of him.

I'm guessing that he wouldn't particularly care for this color combination, but this piece has a home and a heart in it so it fits the topic! Welcome home, John.

Lorrie

Sunset Junque

For the first time in years all five of us had Memorial Day free: no soccer tournaments! On Saturday we walked in the Curesearch Walk (which is a fundraiser for childhood cancer) in memory of our little buddy Austin Melgar. Austin lost his battle with Neuroblastoma just last year. Then, with the wonderful weather urging us on, we headed over to South Haven and Lake Michigan for the weekend.

South Haven is a tourist town that sleeps during the winter and comes to life in the summer. The beach is beautiful, they have some good, fun restaurants, and boat watching on the pier is a happy way to spend some time. Once we're done with all that we always head to Sunset Junque to see what the owner has come upon for the season.


This place is a site to behold. There are a few buildings, in which he puts things that can't get wet, but most of the stuff he has is outdoors exposed to all the elements, all the time. This is not one of those giant yard sales that pops up on a major highway twice a year. Needless to say, it all has a weathered look.
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I've bought a few cool things there over the years but nothing huge. I wish I could figure out a place to put one of the big, incredible doors or gates at my house. Maybe one day...

He also owns an antique store in Sarasota, Florida that is probably worth checking out if you're ever that area.

Lorrie

Mosaic picture frames

I've been finishing up some mosaics lately. I'm very good at starting projects, but not always great at finishing them, so it feels super to have these done and looking good. Like most artists, I suppose, my stack of unfinished stuff never seems to get any smaller because as soon as I finish something, there is always new unfinished stuff to take its place! I guess it's just like laundry but more fun.

Anyway, the photos here show some picture frames that are now in a nice jewelry store in Three Rivers, MI called UniQ. These are all 8" x 10" frames (for a 4" x 6" photo) that are either on a hanger or an easel and are $30 each. They have such a high gloss varnish on them that they look almost like glass!

Actually, this blue one has already sold to artsy friend Christine. What would we do without friends?!?


I have more to show you but don't have scans yet. Stay tuned...


Lorrie

For subscribers: It seems that many of you did not get a Feedblitz email about my last post. If not, please visit http://lorrieabdo.blogspot.com/2009/05/taylor-grainger.html to read about my neice, Taylor Grainger. Thanks.

Taylor Grainger

Taylor Grainger, a vibrant, lovely 14-year-old young woman, died two years ago today. We loved her well, my kids looked up to her, and she was well liked by all who saw her huge smile. Taylor happens to be my niece; my brother's daughter.

Since her death, many good things have happened in her honor:


* My brother and a cycling group called Team Taylor have raised over $100,000 for Make-a-Wish. This not only gives other sick kids great memories but it gives my brother and sister-in-law and their kids something important, something lasting and something tangible to hold onto even though their world fell apart. They ride again this July on a 300 mile route from Traverse City to Chelsea, MI. In my sidebar is an icon you can click on to find out more.


* Friends, family and art supporters donated thousands of dollars to the Children's Hearts Fund as a result of an Art Show that I am involved with each year. Through various other efforts, over $50,000 was raised for CHF in Taylor's name. This group, in Buffalo, NY, is the only organization working toward a cure for Protein-Losing Enteropathy. PLE is a result of a specific heart surgery that Taylor had when she was two.


* Hundreds of people around town wore, and continue to wear, pink bracelets that remind us all to "Walk Tall" and be proud of who we are. Her favorite color was pink, so most things done now in her honor prominently feature pink.


* After taking more than a year off from my art (just didn't have it in me any more), I began experimenting with a series of mosaics to sell for the Children's Hearts Fund fundraiser. At the time all the mosaics had a heart theme. I continue this venture into paper mosaics, with various themes, now and get more excited about the possibilities each time I complete a mosaic project. She is with me on these!


* My kids continue to remember her in special ways and grow as caring people in their remembering. For instance, this poem was written by my daughter, Claire, earlier this Spring, about Taylor.


Inside this girl…

Inside this girl
Her name is Taylor Grainger
Inside her, lives the strongest army a girl could ever have.
They are a hot pink, and are called “pinks”
The pinks fought to keep Taylor safe for years
And the all to soon only one pink was left,
This pink fought and fought,
But then when this last pink was defeated, Taylor was too.


Yes, this is all good stuff, but we'd much rather have her with us.



Lorrie

Special Mother's Day Gift - Papermaking

Kids love to get their hands into the pulp and mom's love to get handmade gifts from their kids. So, in a well meaning marriage of the two ideas, each of the students in my daughter's 4th grade class made a handmade paper book for Mother's Day.




Each year I go into my kids' classrooms and make paper with the students. Therefore, some have been lucky enough to have the experience several times but for others it was a first. It doesn't seem to matter: first time or xth time, they always have fun. These pictures were taken before and after the whole group (22, I think) came in to work so they certainly don't show the excitement and BIG energy that was in the room but it gives you an idea of how I set up each of the four stations. You also get to see my daughter and her buddies, Sarah and Julia, at work.

Each station is a large black vat with a smaller dishpan size vat inside. The smaller vat holds the pulp while the larger vat catches spills and holds the mould and deckle (when not in use) and a sponge. This set up significantly cuts down on mess. I had four stations for this group.

The girls are pulling a sheet of blue paper with confetti paper/glitter inclusions. You can't seem to have an elementary school art project without glitter!

As you can see, we used boards as our drying method. While the boards are a bit awkward to carry to/from school, I most definitely prefer this route. The kids can also press objects into the wet pulp and add interesting textures to the sheet.

After the paper was dry, I went back into the classroom to help the kids bind their books. The title page of each book is "I love you because..." Some books had only a couple of pages and some have as many as eight. From what I saw, all the books were great and the moms will be pleased.

I'm finding that the main challenge for me, now that I don't have a dedicated papermaking space, is the preparation. My papermaking equipment is disorganized and buried in the basement. Having to look for what I need, borrow what I'm missing and lug it upstairs for transport is becoming a bigger job than I like. Since my youngest will be in her last year of elementary school next year, my hope is to get a small grant (rather than this freebie, cool-papermaking-mom thing!) and really go out with a bang completing a bigger papermaking installation project. That should be a great culmination of almost 10 years of paper projects at the school.


And to all Moms out there: Happy Mother's Day. I hope you enjoyed a great day with your family!



Lorrie

Fire and Ice - Up close and personal

Fire and Ice: Just as with the first two spreads that were done in this Altered Sister's Round Robin, I thought I'd show you the before and after of the photo that was used to achieve the final look for Fire and Ice. So, here is before...

Up close: Here is the photo, cropped tight, in its altered form. The bottom of the photo is torn off. Bleach was used to remove some of the darker ink on the bottom of the picture. This turns the area first to red, then yellow, then white. It looks quite fiery. And, I'd love to say that this was the intended look but, in fact, it was a happy accident. The icicles were scratched with a needle tool then painted blue. After the photo looked like I had done what I could with it, it was glued onto the "fire" background. In order to incorporate the photo into the collage rather than have it looked like it was just "plopped" on the background, I used oil pastels to blend it all together. I need to get better at this but I'm working on it.

Personal: We had a long, long winter and these icicles were hanging on my house sometime in December. I'm very glad that the front of my house now features some tulips rather than sculptural ice forms!

Lorrie

Altered Sister's Round Robin - book three

It's hard to believe, but another month has gone by and it is time to pass on the next book in the Altered Sister's Round Robin. For May, I have Joanne Huffman's book entitled Fire and Ice. It is a small board book: compact but impactful.


In keeping with my vow to alter a photograph for each of the ten books in the swap, I used a photo of icicles and painted in the "fire" myself. The photograph and the matches on the bottom right page worked out pretty well but then I was faced with how to balance all that on the left hand page. This was tough and I'm not sure I successfully solved the design problem but the yellow graphic hand, while a bit large, seemed to fit. And, hey, it's well past midnight, it's due at 10 this morning, and that's all I've got in me at this point!

Have a great week!

Lorrie

Spring Greeting Cards

It's a rainy day here in Kalamazoo and I'm feeling the need for some color! So, I'd like to show you what I have available in cards that feature the wonders of Spring. Perfect for the gardener or someone that just needs a lift, they are blank inside giving you room for your own message. Each card is $3.50 (or buy 4 or more and they are $3.00 each) and I pay the postage to get the card(s) to you. Now there's a deal you won't get from Hallmark! Send someone you care about a card that was made by a working artist. Both the recipient and I will love you for it! :)

Paper mosaic - yellow daisy

Paper mosaic - blue daisy

Garden fairies come at dawn, bless the flowers, then they're gone.

Where flowers bloom so does hope

Dirt Diva

Tulips

We Have Potential

A bird in the hand

Thanks for looking. Let know if you're interested in any of the above.

Lorrie

Honor our Earth - Papermaking project

For years I've been making paper with younger kids at the elementary school level on an Earth Day project. For a month or so prior to the actual papermaking day the kids collect all the blue and green paper they get in their regular mail or school handouts. You'd be surprised how much blue and green paper is in use, especially in elementary school!

When the day arrives, we put the paper into the blender and I show the kids how the paper breaks down. (I beat most of the paper ahead of time in a bigger beater or we'd be at the blender all day!). Oh they love to push the "blend" button and see the pieces of paper go whishing around. Now they have pulp to play with.

Using the tin can/pouring method to make round sheets of paper, the kids use the blue pulp to make the oceans and the green paper to make the continents. Some kids try to be so precise with their pours. Others just dump it in and are done. All of them have a ball. I board dry so they can do some embossing on the sheets as well. As you can see in the picture, this little artist chose to also use some oil pastels and outline a heart.

After the sheets are dry, I go back into the classroom to help them each bind an Earth Day booklet in which they write their wishes for the world. Here are a couple of things that the kids have written: I wish pepeal wouldn't litter, I wish there was a law when you cut down a tree you had to plant one. I can recycle by wrighting on both sides of the paper.

This is a great example of taking a curriculum topic and turning it into a fun classroom activity. In fact, papermaking can be turned into almost any school topic: chemistry, colonial careers, the Oregon Trail, botany, etc. If you're interested in additional details on this Earth Day project, I wrote an article on the process for PapermakingZine a few years ago and would be glad to share it with you.

Lorrie

Spring Break

One week ago today we returned from a spring break trip to Williamsburg, VA and Washington DC. But, from looking at this first picture,I'll bet you might have guessed that!



We enjoyed a visit with family, took in more history than was wanted (at least from the kids' perspective), enjoyed roller coaster after roller coaster at Busch Gardens, ate well in Georgetown and walked, walked, walked, walked in DC.

I won't bore you with the traditional shots of the Washington Monument and other noteable sites. You've seen them all before and certainly with a better camera than mine. But, here are some pictures of those "traditional" places from a different perspective...

The beautiful Virgina vista surrounding Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

The cistern (I think) roof at Monticello.

Williamsburg brickwork.

A display of arms at the Governor's Palace, Williamsburg.

The ceiling of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC.

The rotunda dome of the Musuem of Natural History, Washington DC

And now for some real fun:

Hope you're enjoying spring, where ever you may be.

Lorrie

New Style of Mosaic Sheets

This is one of those ideas that hit me just as I was in that in between state of awareness and sleep. Miraculously, I actually remembered the idea the following morning! I worked on these just before we left for our vacation last week.

As I showed you last month, I've been making mosaic tile sheets. (My dear arty friend, Joanne, appropriately calls them "component parts".) These mosaic sheets were obviously on my mind as I was trying to get to sleep and my brain was working through a design problem. The problem is that the precise grid-like sheets don't always work for a more free form end product. Well, duh? How about making mosaic tile sheets that aren't so grid-like. Here are my first attempts. I like the results so I think you'll be seeing more of this style in my finished work.

The two red/pink/orange sheets are identical except one has black "grout" and one has white "grout". It's amazing how different they look. Which do you like better?

Lorrie

Music - Up close and personal

Music: I thought I'd show you the before and after on the photo that I used in the Music spread for the Altered Sister's Round Robin. So, here is before...

Up Close: Here is the "after" artwork, cropped in tight. The cement on the bottom of the photo remained, and became the staff for the notes, but I cut away the top of the photo just above the sculptural round forms. When I alter the photos, I am doing it all by hand, not digitally.

Personal: This photo was taken one year ago exactly. We went to Seattle/Olympic Peninsula last year on Spring Break. How can a year have gone by already?!? What a great family trip that was. And, as a bonus, I was able to go to Artfest in Port Townsend, Washington. That retreat, even though it was a year ago, is worthy of a series of posts. I'll have to get on that!

Lorrie

Altered Sister's Round Robin - book two

It's time for another Altered Sister's meeting and that means I've had someone else's book to work in for the last month. I actually had to plan ahead for a change because we've left town on a spring break trip to Williamsburg, VA and Washington DC. I got the book done ahead of leaving and it has been delivered to the group for the next round in the robin. (Well, you know what I mean!)

This book belongs to Laura and the theme is Music. I must confess, that while I enjoy music (Chris Isaak, Matchbox 20, blues/jazz), I seldom listen to it and it would not be on my short list of things that inspire me. Ok, now you can all think to yourselves "what a weirdo, no music in her life."

Well, one thing is for sure, I still can appreciate music and the effort it takes to make good music. My youngest is starting her second year of piano and really enjoys it. She is working hard to get ready for her first piano recital so this effort, rather than the music itself, is what I have in my mind right now.

Given this brief history/scenario, here is my spread in the book, Music.



I promised myself that for this round robin, I would alter a photograph for each book. Based on the photos I have and the theme for this month, it was a toughy to figure out how I was going to pull this off. Finally I remembered a photograph I took last year in Seattle near the Space Needle. The huge sculpural balls reminded me of musical notes, so off I went to the studio. I did some scratching/carving in this book as well.

The end result is kind of a blood, sweat and tears thing. No guts, no glory. Work hard, Alicia, you can do it. Get it? I struggled with this spread and I think it shows. Whenever there is a lack of color in my work I get uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I hope Laura likes it as it is hers now to keep.


Lorrie

April Fools' Day

On April Fools' Day, and everyday, remember that:




Here's to hoping that you get fooled at least once today!

Lorrie

Book Club

Tonight is the last meeting of a book club that I have been in for the last year and a half. So, in honor of this, I remind you to

Some of my favorites are: Time Traveler's Wife, Water for Elephants, Cold Mountain, Bluebeard, The Pleasure of My Company, Shadow of the Wind, Never Let Me Go, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Middlesex, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, The Kite Runner, The Constant Gardener and A Thread of Grace. Some that I haven't cared for but get all kinds of great press and word of mouth: The Solace of Leaving Early, Atonement, and The Poisonwood Bible.

I'm always looking for a great book. I haven't read a really, really good one in a while and am dire need of a great read. Please send me the titles of your favorites. Or, join me on Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/as a friend.

Lorrie

Foreclosure on a Sunny day - Up close and personal

Foreclosure on a Sunny Day: I thought you might be interested in seeing what the house photo looked like in the artwork I did for my Altered Sister's Round Robin book, Foreclosure on a Sunny Day, before I altered it. It's not a great picture, that's for sure. What a dark, dreary December day it was! When I took it I was looking at the form of the houses rather than the surrounding stuff. I like the way the houses go up the hill.

Up close: And, here's the altered version that I used in the artwork...

Personal: The photo was taken in my husband's hometown, Olean, NY. As far as I know none of these houses are in foreclosure but a couple of them looked like they could be.

Lorrie

Altered Sister's Round Robin

The Altered Sisters have begun a Round Robin that will last for about 10 months. We've not challenged ourselves in this way for quite a while and it's time. We've each chosen a theme and started our books with one spread.

My book theme for this Round Robin is Altered Photography. I have always enjoyed Karen Michel's artwork and I've had her book, The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery: Mixed Media Techniques for Collage, Altered Books, Artist Journals And More, for years as I've always hoped to do more with my amateur photos. Not only is my book theme Altered Photography (in which all participants use one spread in my book and have to alter a photograph in some way) but I vow to alter a photo for each of their books as well, no matter the subject. I think this is the only way I'll begin to explore the technique.

Remember that book page I started at the Portage District Library Book Fair? If not, see the January 11 post for more info. Anyway, I started with an old Winnie the Pooh board book and turned one page into this:

And this is what the spread looks like now:

Foreclosure on a Sunny Day

The spread uses my typical bright colors but marries them with a horribly serious subject. Since I often use houses in my artwork I've been struggling with how to broach the subject of the banking and housing crisis. This is one attempt. One advantage to using a board book as a canvas is that I can carve into the piece. The word "foreclosure" is not written on the artwork but actually carved into it and helps provide a bit more dimension.

I've gotten some new subscribers lately. Welcome! And, as always, thanks to all for looking!

Lorrie

Brain Freeze not caused by Ice Cream

I've been spending way too much time on the computer. Come on, you know what I mean. Too much ruminating about what to say on the blog. Too much exploring on other people's blogs. Too much time trying to figure out Facebook (still not sure why I am doing that but I'm told it's good for marketing). Too much, too much, too much.

When I finally tore myself away today, I didn't have the gumption to get started on anything. I've come to believe that the computer is not unlike the television. It fries your brain. With TV, however, it is usually because the shows are so dumb that your brain doesn't get used. With the computer, it's because your brain gathers so much information it freezes up and can't function well when you're away from it. That's my hypothesis and I'm sticking with it!

So, my way of overcoming my inability to act today was to do something in the studio that is rather mindless. I made sheets of mosaic tiles. With mosaics, making the sheets of tiles is meditative, automatic, repetitive. The challenge with mosaics is putting them together and making something else. That's for another day.

Here are today's sheets of mosaics, all made from scraps of paste paper. And notice, I went right back to the computer to show you!







Lorrie

Arttechniques Fatbook Swap - Received

Yesterday's mail brought a box to our doorstep. I knew right away what is was. "The new Fat Book is here, the new Fat Book is here," I yelled in my best Steve Martin voice. (Of course, the kids looked at me as if they always knew I would be an embarrassment to them eventually. Thankfully only one of their friends was around to witness the disgrace.)


Since I've not gotten permission from any of the participants to post pictures of their work individually, I'll just show you what 120 4" x 4" pages look like splashed on the floor. Quite a pile, huh?




The purpose of this swap was to share a technique using recycled/repurposed materials. Some of the techniques I've done before, some I've wondered about, and some I've never thought to pursue. I'm now intrigued by many of the shared wonders and have some fun new things to try.

I've not done a swap for a long time and I had almost forgotten what a kick it is to get the return package in the mail. If you're thinking of participating in a swap: go for it! I learn something every time and almost always meet some new artists that I enjoy too.



Lorrie

Arttechniques Fatbook Swap

A couple of months ago I joined another Yahoo group (like I needed another group) called Arttechniques. I joined at a good time as sign ups were just beginning for a Technique Fat Book. Each artist was to send in to the hostess 4" x 4" samples of a particular technique that used recycled materials in some way. Well, I can do that!

The response was enthusiastic, to say the least. The number of "players" continued to rise until the swap was closed at 120! That meant that each artist had to make 120 4" x 4" pieces of art using the technique that they had chosen. I chose paste painting (big surprise there!) and made six large sheets, then cut them down to 4" x 4": easy. Then I had to glue the brief instructions of how to do it on the back of each 4" x 4" piece: hard, time consuming and a big pain.

Anyway, my pages were shipped off at the end of February. In return I'll get 120 sheets back each with a different technique shown. The hostess of this swap is really on the ball and I'm told that the return package is already on it's way back to all 120 players!

Here are some of the samples that I mailed out:


These are unusual for me as I used black as my base color. I never use black but it was leftover from a workshop that I taught. This was a challenge for me and I had to keep going over the dried paste with new colors in order to brighten the sheets up.

I did get frustrated a bit, but trying new things is often why I do these swaps anyway. And this one should be remarkable: 120 swappers, all with techniques using recycled materials. I'll show more pictures when I get the package back.

Lorrie

Kreativ Blogger Award

I've been named a Kreativ Blogger by Gera Scott Chandler at Amused Creations, http://amusedcreations.blogspot.com/. I'm honored that she chose my blog as a source of inspiration. We found each other through the One World, One Heart giveaway last month. She works in polymer clay and I work with paper. Nonetheless, we apparently inspire one another as ideas can come from anywhere, anyone and any medium.

I explored the internet a bit to learn more about this "award" and discovered that it has been given to all different genres of blogs: art, religion, writing, etc. The requirements have varied over time but the main idea is to provide a list of things on your blog that inspire you. You then pass on the names of other bloggers that may have inspired you so that they then may inspire others. Lots of inspiration being thrown about! So, basically it is like the children's game of tag "you're it", or if you are on the cynical side, like a chain letter that arrives in the mailbox promising 96 different pairs of socks.

I choose the more enticing tag analogy and provide this list of seven things that inspire me (in no particular order) and three other bloggers (also, in no particular order) that make me think, smile, drool and/or stop in my tracks for a bit:

* Color - I don't have any brown in my house except for a wooden floor (which I love), kitchen cabinets (which I like) and one chair (which is just ok). To offset the brown chair, there is a fun small, orange patterned ottoman that goes with it. I especially like to observe the way one color will play off another.

* Water - I am always drawn to water. It is never the same: calm/dangerous, sparkly/dreary, blue/black, shallow/deep, cold/warm and so on and so on and so on.

* Vacation - Our annual week-long vacation to a cottage "up north" on Long Lake near Traverse City, Michigan is always special for so many reasons. Actually, I guess most any vacation is inspiring. New mental images can be provided for such a very long time afterwards.

* Teaching - I always learn when I teach. If I didn't continue to learn a bit of something from my students, I don't think I would continue to do it.

* Other artists - Enjoying the company, support and talents of other local and online artists is immeasurable. I am in awe of some because of their talent, others because of their generosity, others because of their ability to talk about their work in a way that is illuminating and not boastful.

* Learning - I love taking workshops because learning always can enhance what you are doing or will do in the future. I'm not usually very social during a workshops because I become so self-absorbed. If I'm ever in a workshop with you, please don't take my concentration and lack of conversation personally.

* Family - My kids are talented, bright, fun and eager (most of the time, I'm not delusional thinking they are perfect!). My husband is working harder for much less payoff right now. Nonetheless, as he must, as we all must do, he keeps going.

As for other blogs that inspire me, I nominate the following three bloggers and hope that you might find them inspiring as well:

Joanne Thieme Huffman at Ad Libitum, http://joannethiemehuffman.typepad.com/

Kathy LaRocco at Artful-Musings, http://artful-musings-of-kathyl.blogspot.com/

Lulu Moon at How Art Saved My Life, http://lulumoonmymuse.blogspot.com/

Have an inspiring day!


Lorrie

Florida

Certainly there are enough pictures of Florida's beautiful beaches and palm trees out there in the world. With my tiny snapshot digital camera I cannot add anything to this genre of landscape photography. However, I can add a couple of photographic memories from my trip with my son to Florida that are just my own. (Geographic update: son was in Tampa for the Olympic Development soccer camp; after I dropped him off, I left for Marco Island to visit my parents; hubby and girls were the true troopers and stayed home in the cold.)

Anyway, I hope this first one will remind you of a beautiful sunset somewhere. I've been lucky enough to see incredible sunsets in many places including Washington's Pacific coast, Florida's Gulf coast, California, Lake Michigan, Cape Cod, France, many inland lakes and even in often cloudy England. No two are the same and even if the sunset of the evening is a "dud", it still is special because you slowed down to look.




I am fascinated and disturbed by pelicans. Have you ever seen a more ugly, yet simultaneously graceful, creature? If one thinks hard enough, surely there is a lesson somewhere in that for humans!



More soon. Being away from the regular routine sure gets you behind in a hurry!


Lorrie

More New Collages

Here are a couple of new collages that I made last week. I love the old illustrations from the 50's. Check out her tiny waist! Ha.

Here's to hoping that your home fire is burning or that you are at least staying warm!

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Warning, I'm going to brag: Right now I am enjoying a couple of days in Florida which is a welcome relief from the frigid winter we've had in Michigan. I'm here because my son was one of about 80 boys from across the country invited to attend the national Olympic Development Training soccer camp in Tampa. I dropped him off on Wednesday and pick him up on Sunday. He will be completely on his own with boys/coaches he has never met before. The level of soccer should be amazingly high. This will stretch him in more ways than one. Meanwhile, I'm not running, kicking, heading, trapping or scoring. I'm doing nothing, which in my mind, was equally well earned!

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Lorrie

Women's Expo report

I had guessed that the Women's Expo would either be a boom or bust situation for me. I was right and it wasn't on the "boom" end of things. After Friday night, when it became readily apparent that most of the ladies attending were not really buying things but were looking for giveaways from vendors and a fun night out, I changed my tack.

On Saturday I started pitching my classes. I teach locally but what seemed to push people's buttons was the idea that if someone acted as a hostess and got together a group of ladies on their own I would gladly come to their house to teach a class (for a fee, of course). The lady in the booth next to me does home jewelry parties and was selling/booking a boatload. I hope that this comes to something. And if you are a new reader that stopped by my booth; talked with me; picked up a business card and are now following up on my blog: Welcome and I thank you! A party at your house is great fun for everyone. Please scroll through to look at some of my work.

Here is a picture of my booth:

I always try to jam as much as possible into the booth and, in looking at this picture now, I think it shows. I might be better off just showcasing some work rather that trying to show it all. Advice from anyone in this department?

Nonetheless, I met some great ladies and had numerous people make very nice comments about my work. I always appreciate that! In the end though, this show was so much work and had so little immediate and obvious payoff. The key, I think, will be in any follow up efforts I make.

Enough whining. More new collages in the next post. And, I'm off to Florida and warm weather tomorrow. What's to complain about?

Lorrie

New Collages

Tonight and tomorrow I am participating in the Kalamazoo Women's Expo at our local convention center. I've been reading up about different ways to market art and think it makes good sense to do more than just the art/gift shows. Typically, women are my buyers so a Women's Expo seems like a reasonable alternative. I hope this strategy works! I'm told that there will be about 60 exhibitors. I think it will be salons, decorators, massage therapists, etc. I am the only artist.

In addition to my usual stuff like handmade paper fish and mirrors, mosaics and cards, I purchased new business cards, made some new signs, made a bunch of 5 x 7 digital prints that look really nice matted in 8 x 10 mats, and made some new collages. Here are two of them...





Both of these collages are 6 x 6 and mounted on a frame. I priced them at $28. Ah, pricing... always a difficult thing.

Our weather forecast for tomorrow stinks so I hope I do well tonight. I'll let you know.

Lorrie

Exhibitions

The last couple of posts about my large handmade paper houses are a good lead into how to exhibit your work. I'm certainly not an expert in this department but I have exhibited locally in group shows as well as in individual shows. I was the Exhibition Coordinator for the Handmade Paper Guild of Southwest Michigan for several years and that helped tremendously in my knowledge of pulling together a good show.

Keep in the mind the exhibits I've done are the kind where the artist(s) does a good share of the work. I have yet to get my work into a big time gallery (know of any?!?) where they do your marketing and hang the show for you. There are certainly pluses to that situation, such as less effort on the part of the artist to get the show marketed and pulled together. But, you also might loose some control over how your work is presented.

Here are a few things that I've learned over the years about exhibiting:

Have good signage both inside and outside the venue. This is important for several reasons: It helps visitors find you. It helps people remember you. And, it looks professional.

Showcase your important work (the reason most people come to the show) but have a variety of other price points and sizes of work for people to look at and choose from.


In the case of this show, we had quite a bit of space to present work that related to the show but was smaller and less expensive. This show was at a small gallery and sales were really important to her so this approach worked. At other exhibits you might not have the opportunity to show smaller/less expensive pieces. And sometimes you may want to have the focus solely on the big stuff. Each exhibit will be different.

The gallery owner suggested that we have cards made of the focal pieces. That way, if someone wanted to remember the art but couldn't fork out for a big piece they at least had a memory of it on paper. This turned out to be a good idea. Our names are on the backs of the cards so we can be contacted, if desired, and we've continued to sell these cards in a pack of six long after the show came down.

This little blurb about exhibiting is just the tip of the iceberg. And, hanging a show could be an article in itself! Yikes! Anyway, I've written an article on the subject of exhibiting that I'd be glad to share. In return I would ask that you become a subscriber to my blog or add my link to your own website/blog. Also, if you have any tips for me, I'd love to learn more too.

Lorrie

Happy Valentine's Day

As I've mentioned before, I belong to a group called the Altered Sisters. We meet monthly and share what we've been working on and also share our work with one another. We started as a book altering group but moved on from there. At our February 2nd meeting we each brought two Valentine postcards and then swapped amongst ourselves. I did some "found poetry" cards and invite you to take a look...

Here's hoping that you are with the ones you love today and always.


Lorrie

One World One Heart Giveaway Announcement

Today is an exciting day in cyberspace. Throughout blogland there will be over 900 winners announced as a result of the One World One Heart giveaway event.

Here's a recap: On January 19 Lisa Swifka at http://oneworldoneheart.typepad.com/ started the 2009 One World One Heart event. In it's third year, this event is designed to bring bloggers of the world together. This year over 900 bloggers were involved. Personally, I gave up trying to get to all the blogs on the list after visiting about 300. There were just too many on the list to even attempt to visit unless I spent just about every waking hour on the computer!

If you look at the event solely by the numbers you'll find that there were 85 participants in 2007, 426 participants in 2008 and 911 participants in 2009! People from 28 countries participated. Maybe the leaders of the world should just blog and giveaway stuff so that the world becomes a peaceful place! Ah, so simple.

Here's what I learned from all of this:

* I was overly obsessive about trying to visit all the sites right then, right away, right now at the expense of other things I should have been doing. Reminder to self: If I do this again, pace myself!
* In general, I don't care for music on a blog. It is always a surprise as it often blares out and I found I didn't like much of what I heard which made me leave some sites quickly. I'm not a music hater or snob, I just don't like it in this setting. Gentle reminder to other bloggers: go easy on the music.
* There are so many generous people out there. I made a valiant attempt to get to many blogs but I know I missed a bunch too. Reminder to everyone that participated: Wow! What good people you are and I thank you!

I had 223 people post a comment requesting that they win my giveaway. Amazing!

And the winner is Beth at http://meanderingthreads.blogspot.com/. She is a quilter with beautiful things on her blog. I have contacted her this morning and will get the artwork shipped off.

Many thanks to all of you that visited me during this event. And special thanks to those that came, spent some time with me and made a connection. I look forward to fostering those new friendships.

Lorrie

Domesticity Series - Half-wit and Hopeful House

Here are two more from the Domesticity series...

Half-wit House
25” x 46”
Handmade paper, mixed media, $300

In Half-Wit House you see a once organized life swirling away at an awkward angle. Thoughts were still strong but focus was lacking. Many ideas, and some responsibilities, went into a black hole not to be seen again.

Hopeful House

22’ x 46”
Handmade paper, mixed media, $300

Eventually, more good days than bad became the norm. Dare I hope for wellness? Hopeful House shows arrows pointing the way with a bright yellow-orange sun actually shining again.

Hopeful House has become my favorite and it hangs in my home in a hallway that I pass by numerous times a day. It is a constant reminder that hope and gratitude are a state of mind. Despite the daily news in the world, no one can take away your hope unless you let them. This might make you think that I'm a natural optimist. Actually, it is quite the opposite, so I need that daily reminder!

Lorrie

Domesticity Series - Healthy and Heavy House

Several posts ago I showed a couple of my large (about 24" x 48") handmade paper houses. These were originally done for a two-person show called Domesticity. I made the houses and my papermaking friend, Vicki Berglund, did large (about 48" x 48") beds. We took this show to three different venues and had great fun in the process. By completing this series, we each grew as artists and became better friends. We complemented each other nicely. When I needed a push, she pushed. When she needed a push, I pushed. This two-person show was a great solution for us as we shared the considerabe load of putting on an exhibition. If you are thinking of showing your work, a one-man show can be overwelming, but a two-person show is manageable. Just be sure you pick the right person to exhibit with or you might find yourself worse off!

The houses were created to show my frame of mind during a one-year period in which I was not well. There are seven houses in the series: Happy House, Hell House, Heavy House, Healthy House, Half-wit House, Harmony House and Hopeful House.

Healthy House
20” x 46”
Handmade paper, mixed media, $300

Healthy House feels good, looks good, and seems to smile — just as a woman should.

Heavy House

22” x 46”
Handmade paper, mixed media, $300

This piece, titled Heavy House, visually gets right to the point. The house is huge but the roof is small—my body was getting bigger but my brainpower seemed to be diminishing.

Here's hoping that your "house" is in order and you're feeling good!

Lorrie

Whole Lotta HeART - Part Three

One more post about last weekend...

You may recall that I mentioned low single digit temperatures. Add a strong blowing wind and you have a recipe to stay inside. But no! After the class on Saturday I drove only a mile to the Frankfort beach to see what Lake Michigan looked like. Despite the frigid temps of January 2009, the Lake was not frozen. In these pictures you can see the beach with open water beyond. I was only able to stay out in the elements for a couple minutes as my hands started to freeze up (no gloves on!). Lest I paint a dreary picture of Frankfort, MI, you should know that in the summer this place is paradise with a lovely beach, a cute little town (with a great bakery, and after all, what's a town without a great bakery?!?), a huge, sparkly inland lake called Crystal Lake, Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore just up the road and beauty everywhere you turn.

My kids went skiing that same day at a nearby resort. Here are my girls and their cousin with only their little noses showing. They had a ball skiing but were inside more than usual to warm up. I wonder why?!?

Makes me cold just looking at these pics! Stay warm out there.

Lorrie

Whole Lotta HeART - Part Two

Here we go with more pictures of artwork created by students at the Whole Lotta HeART retreat at the Crystal Lake Art Center this past weekend. On Sunday Pam Yee taught how to turn one the sheets created on Saturday into a book. Everyone made templates for the binding, measured and folded the spine and sewed. All managed to get some pages decorated and no one left early (except for one student that had quite a drive in front of her). All photos are courtesy of Pam Yee.

Both days were quite full as we began at 9 in the morning and finished at 4. And, as you can see from these pictures, Day 2 of the workshop was much less sloppy than Day 1!

All students went home with new knowledge, a large stack of paste painted papers, a beautiful handmade book, new friends and memories of a fun, creative weekend. Pam and I went home exhausted but smiling. Sharing our knowledge and seeing such enthusiasm for our artistic love is a grand reward.

If any of this sounds of interest to you, please let your local art center know.

Lorrie

Whole Lotta HeART Retreat - Part One

What a great weekend! The Crystal Lake Art Center, Frankfort, MI hosted a retreat that included myself as the paste painting instructor and Pam Yee as a book instructor. I taught on Saturday and Pam worked with what we had made during the paste painting class to complete the One-Sheet-Wonder book form on Sunday. We had eight enthusiastic students enjoying themselves in a warm, cozy, creative space. Frankly, inside was the only place to be as the outside temps were in the low single digits! Many thanks to Lee and Eliza, who helped organize this retreat and enjoyed participating in it too. Additional thanks to Greta, Audrey, Carole, Bev, Diana and Marcy for attending and making the weekend so pleasant. Each time I teach, I continue to learn myself and this is one of the reasons it remains to be a joy to be out there meeting such wonderful people.

(Notice that my shirt doubles as a rag. Saves me always looking for something to wipe my hands and tools on!)

The day started with me giving some history about paste painting and talking about supplies. Quickly, however, we got right down to business. I demoed the basics and they went at it. I demoed some additional techniques and tricks and they went at it. By late morning everyone was confident and turning out some great work. To keep it interesting they did have some "assignments" throughout the day: do the front and back of one sheet in contrasting colors and/or textures that would be the base of their book; emerge beyond their typical color palette and use two colors that they hadn't used all day; and, pick a sheet that they didn't like too terribly much and rework it with more paste/more color/more texture.

At one point in late afternoon when the energy in the room was starting to wane a bit, we did a round robin. We each started a sheet with one color and then passed it to the left. Each of the artists then added their "mark" to the sheet. It could be additional color or additional texture or both. Amazingly, rather than getting muddy, many of these collaborative sheets turned out to be some of the best of the day.

You may have noticed that this post is only "Part One". "Part Two" will show pictures of the the bookbinding day and some of the finished books. Stay tuned...

Lorrie

Book Arts Fair (again) and Crystal Lake Art Center (again)

I know I skip around from subject to subject: paste painting, mosaics, handmade paper, book arts, sales, puppy, etc. I hope that makes the blog interesting rather than confusing. I write about what is top-of-mind for me artisically, which, just like my life, is all over the map.


Anyway, today I'm heading back to the topic of the Book Arts fair at the Portage District Library. The library has put up some better pictures than I posted and has some fun descriptions of what went on during the entire exhibition (it's up til February 10, by the way). I would encourage anyone with interest in the paper/book arts to coordinate or participate in an event like this. There is some wonderful energy when people get together to share their loves. Here is the link to visit the "official" site. http://artonbooks.com/bookartfest/


I'm off tomorrow to beautiful, but cold, Traverse City, MI. We've decided that the whole family will go, including the pup! I will be teaching at the Crystal Lake Art Center in Frankfort on Saturday. (A spot or two is available if you have the urge to paste paint in the warm and cozy Art Center. http://www.crystallakeartcenter.org/blog/whole-lotta-heart-girlz-weekend-jan-24-25/ ) Simultaneously, my kids, my sister and her kids will ski at Crystal Mountain Resort which is just around the country corner. Dad will hold down a spot inside the lodge and catch up on some reading and be the go to guy when you're hungry or cold. A win for everyone involved! I'll post pictures when we get back...



Lorrie

One World, One Heart

(It is 10:31 pm on February 11 and I'm closing the entries down now. I know it's not midnight yet but I'm pooped and heading off to bed. Many thanks to all that visited and entered my drawing! I'll announce the winner tomorrow.)

The One World, One Heart giveaway has been going on since 2007. In the words of the hostess of One World, One Heart, "The original idea behind this giveaway event was to bring bloggers together from around the world who may never ordinarily meet. It closes the gap of the blog community and enables us to interact, discover new and wonderful people, and in the process possibly win a prize or many prizes along the way."

This seems like a good idea to me, so I encourage you to stay a while on your visit, let me know what you like and any suggestions you may have. If you leave a comment on this post you will be entered to win my giveaway. Please be sure you leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. This little party ends at midnight on February 11 and I will contact you on the 12th if you are the winner.

Be Sweet

5" x 7", mixed media on canvas.

If you would like more information on this event, click on the One World, One Heart logo in my sidebar. Thanks for playing and it's nice to "meet" you!

Lorrie

You Can't Get it From Kissing

I got a phone call out of the blue recently from an area artist that I have never met before, but I do know her wonderful work. She introduced herself and said she was interested in one of my pieces that she had seen in the "You Can't Get it From Kissing" show in December. This exhibit was sponsored by CARES (Community AIDS Resource Education Services) of Southwest Michigan.

The exhibit was for one cold and snowy night only. Traffic at the exhibit was strong but not huge. Now, about a month later, boom! a phone call comes in. As I've said before, you never know when something small may develop into something big. I don't know if this will go anywhere financially (we may barter) but I do know that I have made another contact and it is from someone whose work I admire very much. I'm pleased, very pleased! (You may now pretend that there is a video link of me doing a happy dance here!)

Here are the two pieces that were in the show. They are both about 22" x 48" and quite dimensional. The pulp on my mold when I pulled these sheets was over an inch thick and then the final pieces are layered with more paper on a base.

Title: Please
Handmade Paper and Acrylic, 22" x 48", $300

While the title of the piece, Please, is polite and hopeful, the reality of the piece is actually wistful and dark. This emotional contradiction is a part of the make up of all human beings, but perhaps, it is more pronounced for those with AIDS. Until key knowledge breaks down the stigmas associated with AIDS, Please will continue to reflect the anger, fear and rejection of those that are contained within it’s walls.

Title: Apartments/Compartments
Handmade Paper and Acrylic, 22" x 48", $300

Even when people are close to each other in proximity and share things in common, the words AIDS/HIV cause the walls go up and the separation and isolation to begin. Apartments/Compartments is meant to show how similar we all are, yet how far apart we let ourselves become, due to the biases against those with AIDS.

Thanks for looking today...


Lorrie

Book Art Fair

This weekend we were hit hard with a snowstorm. We haven't had one like this for quite awhile and if you can cocoon inside with some hot chocolate and a good book it's a great couple of days. But, not for us. We were out in the middle of it with soccer, basketball, theater auditions and skiing as it all went on as scheduled. As did a Book Art Fair at our local library.

This Book Art Fair is part of the current exhibit titled "The Art of Books/Books of Art" and featured artists from many different area book-related groups. The Kalamazoo Book Arts Center was there demonstrating printmaking, bookbinding and papermaking.

The Altered Sisters were there demonstrating found poetry, altering books and various background techniques. The Multi-Media Mavens were represented too and encouraged attendees to do a mini make-it/take it project. Artist Andrea Stork had her work there and it is just lovely. She uses old book covers as her canvas and works with texturing mediums and paint to turn the old books into works of art.

I was there as part of the Altered Sister group. I showed how to use molding paste, acrylics and tissue paper to alter an old Winnie-the-Pooh board book.

This book will be part of a round robin swap I will be involved with starting in March. I have no idea of the theme yet but I guess it will have to involve the color orange!

Attendance at the Book Art Fair probably wasn't what it could have been because of the weather but there was a steady stream of interested folks for the three hour event. And, while this type of event usually isn't of benefit monetarily, it is almost always a positive experience. I was able to enjoy the company of fellow artists, I met new people interested in the art that I do and I was asked to co-teach a journaling class with another artist. One thing can often lead to another! If you are an artist trying to get your name out there give this type of thing a try. Also, if you're not much of a people person this is a great way to get better at greeting people that you don't know in a friendly environment.

I'll sign off with the usual winter storm good-bye: Drive safely!

Lorrie

PS. Many thanks for the comments and encouragement regarding our new pup, Dash. Even though I thought I was mentally prepared for having a baby in the house again, turns out I was wrong. I've not gotten a thing done for a week! It hasn't helped that he has been sick with some bug (and I do mean bug) which has required 10+ trips a day to the snow pile to do his thing. After two visits to the vet, different food, an IV for dehydration, and two different antibiotics he should be on the mend now. Oh please, let that be true! I'm really rather tired of the 2:00 am adventures to the outdoor potty, although it is incredibly peaceful out there, in a snow storm, at that time of day!

New member of the family

Today I'm going to break my promise of sticking to art-related topics on my blog. I do, however, have a good reason: Dash Abdo is just too cute to keep to ourselves. He is a maltese/bichon puppy that we got through a rescue organization in the South Bend area. We've had him since Friday and he's doing very well. Mom (me) on the other hand is exhausted! Makes you wonder how anyone makes it through the human baby years!

Have a good day.

Lorrie

Whole Lotta Heart Girlz Weekend Retreat

Happy New Year!

Today I am going to do a bit of shameless self promotion. Information about a class I am teaching has been up in the sidebar of this blog for about a month. And, you've certainly heard me talk about paste painting before (if not, look back to some of the October posts). Anyway, a talented bookbinder and I are teaching later this month and we'd love to have you join us.

* * * * *

Was one of your year's resolutions to try something new? Are you in need of a mid-winter creative pick-me-up? Or, maybe, your family skis but you don't? Join me at a Girlz Weekend Retreat in beautiful northern Michigan at the Crystal Lake Art Center. Located in Frankfort, Michigan near Crystal Mountain Ski Resort and various other wonderful "up north" places, we'll be spending January 24 and 25 playing and creating.

On the 24th, from 9:00 to 4:00, I'll be teaching The Art of Paste Painting. This surface design class, suitable for all ability levels, is an exploration of color and texture. It is basically finger painting for adults. Just try to make that un-fun! At the end of the day you'll have lots of beautiful sheets of paper to use in bookbinding, collage, scrapbooking or even to display proudly in a frame.

On the 25th, from 9:00 to 4:00, Pam Yee will be teaching a bookbinding technique that she calls the One-Sheet-Wonder. You'll use one of the many sheets of paste painted sheets of paper to create a one of a kind book.

The cost for the weekend is $100 but if you bring a friend and there is a discount for each of you! Hotels are discounting their usual rates for those enrolled in this retreat. For more information contact me or look at the information on the Crystal Lake Art Center website. If you'd like to register for the class, please contact the Crystal Lake Art Center directly at
231-352-4151. Registration ends January 12, 2009.

Best wishes for 2009!

Lorrie

From our house to yours...

This is the sight in our backyard today. Wow!

From our house to yours, we wish you a Merry Christmas!

Lorrie

More Mosaics

I participated in my fourth, and final, sale of the holiday season this past Saturday. What a relief to have those behind me. I've not done four before (and all within a month!) and it takes so much energy. My hat is off to those of you that do the summer art fair circuit. Wow, now that's work!

As a result of trying to sell my work this month instead of creating it, I don't have anything brand spanking new to show you, but here are some more of the paper mosaic pieces that I finished last month.

This box is 5 1/2" square. The red wall made the colors of the box go funky.

The box is really many beautiful shades of blue/green.

The words on the bingo chips say "Live with all your heart".

This piece is 11" x 14"

This mirror is 14" x 14" and lots of great shades of purple.

The leaf is set on a frame that is 6 1/2" x 6 1/2".

The green and blue mirrors above are both 11" x 14". If you look close enough,

the blue mirror has blue buttons on it that I made out of paper clay. I liked how they

helped to balance out the mirror that was offset.

Thanks for looking and have a good week!

Lorrie

Contentment

Another sale this past weekend. I won't go into the details this time as it was just more of the same. However, I did have a pleasant surprise when I went to go pick up all of my work on Saturday. A 14" x 18"collage called Contentment sold. Apparently a lady stood in front of it for quite a while trying to decide but couldn't think of a place to hang it in her home. Finally, her friend thought of the perfect place and the piece walked out the door with them. Thank goodness for friends! Here it is...

I had a great time working on this piece, probably because I used so many different techniques and supplies. The bird is sitting in a box that is taped onto the canvas from the back. For the background I used molding paste, stencils and acylics. The bird, the roof, the stars and the grass are all cut from pieces of paste papers. The twigs are actually rolled up sheets of handmade paper. The six vintage jewelry findings are placed on pieces of handmade paper. Underneath the roof is some old window screening. And finally, the word "contentment" is glued onto a rusted piece of metal I found near a gas pump (dirty old gas stations are great spots to find rusty junk!).

I didn't set out to create a piece called Contentment but after seeing this bird so happy in its nest, the word just seemed to fit.

Lorrie

Be Gentle...

It is already December (but I'm guessing you already knew that!). I know that many folks start their holiday shopping and festivities prior to now but around here we've only just begun to think about it. So, in the interest of helping to maintain holiday sanity, I post this collage.

Lorrie

Holiday Sale II

The second sale of last weekend was the Handmade Paper Guild Show. We are a Guild of about 25 members and one of only two handmade paper guilds in the country (as far as we know). We've been having this holiday sale, in conjunction with four other artist groups, at a local community college for 5 (or 6?) years now. Each member is encouraged to bring in handmade paper items for sale, work the sale for a shift or two, and just enjoy the experience. The Guild takes a small percentage of each sale. This helps to fund workshops that we hold throughout the year.

This is a sale that is open to the public and we usually get quite a bit of traffic. The economic issues that we all face in today's world kept traffic and sales down. This table had a sign on it that said "Great Gifts for Under $20" and may have helped remind people that great handmade values are possible.

This was my corner of the sale. You'll notice some of the items that didn't sell at the Holiday Sale I Thursday night were moved to Holiday Sale II early Friday morning. Phew!

This year a Guild member came up with the idea to sell Craft Packages. Pictured here, the packages contained all kinds of paper-related goodies. The scrapbooking customers went crazy with this item.

More of my stuff along with artwork by a very talented papermaker (former art professor at Western Michigan University). Each artist must tag their art with the price and a code that indicates which artist gets credit for the sale. All purchases go to a central cashier and each artist then gets their money (minus the Guild commission) a couple of weeks later. Do inventory discrepancies occur? Sure. But that's the risk you take with any group sale, so as an artist you must decide if the benefits outweigh the risk.

Lorrie

Holiday Sale I

This past weekend was quite the flurry of activity. Two Holiday Sales for me, my son/husband went to Florida for the USL soccer nationals (my son played, my husband watched), my girls were good sports about it all, and my mom helped me out to make it all happen on the home front. Except for the pace of it all, everything was good.

The first sale was at a neighbor's house. Each year she graciously opens her home to allow 5-9 artists to display their work and about 400 people are invited in to view, socialize, and hopefully buy artwork and jewelry. It never ceases to amaze me (and so many others) that she allows us to pound nails in all of her walls to hang so many 2D pieces. Every piece in these pictures has a new nail just for this 3-hour event! We split all the expenses, give 10% to a charity that is chosen each year, and then donate one piece each to the hostess. This year, despite the lower number of guests, we still did well financially. With the economic picture so bleak, we exceeded our expectations.

Notice the house in the brown room in the picture above? It is a handmade paper piece of mine titled Happy House. A dear friend of mine bought it. That bit of news certainly made me happy and I hope she gets lots of enjoyment out of it too.

Even the fish got their own room... the powder room. People seem to buy the handmade paper fish for either their cottage or their bathroom. So, this placement in the house seemed appropriate!

After looking at all these pictures, isn't is amazing how much stuff we put into this sale? It takes two days to put it all up and we are able to take it down in about an hour and a half. Of course, when we're done the house looks like Cindy Lou Who's house in The Grinch who Stole Christmas!

Lorrie

Finished Mosaics Unveiled!

You're the first to see my new mosaics! They will be available at several upcoming holiday sales and I hope I do well with them. The photos of the pieces small enough to scan have good color and lighting. The pieces that are too large for the scanner have been photographed. Badly, I might add, but you'll get the idea.

I'm a bit in an artistic quandary right now as the painting techniques I prefer are become more free form but the precision required of the mosaics is equally enticing. It's a strange marriage but right now it works. Who knows which direction will predominate? Anybody out there have such disparity in the types of work you're pursuing?

I've got more to show you but this is enough for today...

Lorrie

Crunch Time

It's crunch time. Typically I do only two or three sales a year. This year two of the sales are the same day. Yikes, how am I going to do that?!? One of the sales is the Handmade Paper Guild Holiday sale which starts this Thursday and runs through Saturday. Because it is a group show I don't have to be there every minute of the sale. The other sale is only Thursday night so I must be at that one. But, it's not like it is a chore as it is a really fun evening. My neighbor opens her home to hundreds of ladies. They drink wine and buy art. It is usually a good evening financially for the seven artists, but this year, I fear, the guests may tend to keep their wallets in their purses. Since I'm in Michigan (worst economy in the nation, by many measures), I wouldn't be surprised. As a result, I've been working on more "gifty" stuff with lower prices in order to entice buyers. Plus, since I've been doing some new things (pictures to come) and am eager to show them off to potential buyers, I remain hopeful.

One thing I've been making for years are paste paper card packs. There are eight cards/envelopes in each pack and they sell for $12 each.

Remember those 60 sheets of paste papers I did a couple of weeks ago in the garage? Here's a sample of what they've now become.

Lorrie

Remember the good

It has been quite a week: hubby sick, daughter sick, me sick, computer died, aunt died. Obviously, this list is not written in order of importance.


My aunt married a painter a long time ago (in the 40s?). In fact, this man, at almost 90 years old, still paints daily. Oh, and he is now legally blind. He has always gotten the attention of the two because he is a well known, rather eccentric, oil painter. However, my aunt was the foundation of their family and was the rock that allowed him to continue his work. She raised five children and taught many, many more in public schools. I'll remember her smile and her quiet way. Aunt Betty was a person of influence in an understated way. She leaves a legacy of goodness behind. In today's world, I'd say that is quite an accomplishment.


Here's a couple of links about my Uncle Armand: http://www.armandmerizondocumentary.com/Armands-Art2.htm, and http://www.rapidgrowthmedia.com/features/wmi87007.aspx. A couple of years ago a well done, and well deserved, documentary was made about his life and his work. Typically documentaries are not made in honor of good, decent people like Aunt Betty. We must remember them all on our own.


Lorrie

Tree

A story about the tree in my photograph: That tree is on an island in the middle of Long Lake (near Traverse City, MI), a place that I have visited every year, except for three, since I was six years old. Unfortunately, the name of the lake is so common that it belies the wonder of the place. Anyway, when I was about 16 some girlfriends and I camped on the island. During the night a tremendous northern Michigan storm blew up and we were stranded. The wind tugged at our tents and almost blew them over. The fire, which was out when we went to sleep, started up ferociously due to the wind. As we camped under the trees, the lightning flashed jaggedly for hours. The noise from the thunder shook the ground. The rain pounded on us relentlessly. As I remember, we were terrified, excited, energized, and exhausted. Finally, at the end of it we loaded our sopping wet gear into our metal rowboat and putt-putted home, through large white capping waves, with the six horsepower Evinrude. What a scraggly bunch we were.

The kicker: When my girlfriend, Joanne, saw the green tree with the hot pink background in the post from the other day she wrote to me and said, "as soon as I saw the picture of the tree I knew where it was from." So, even in its altered form, that tree is special and recognizable to more people in the world than just me.

My moral to the story: Open your eyes. Look around you and actually see. You'll have images that trigger great memories for the rest of your life!

Lorrie

Altered Sisters and the Book Art Exhibition

I belong to a fun group of artists that meets every month to share ideas and occasionally work on collaborative pieces. Named the Altered Sisters, we started about five years ago as an altered book group. We've since moved on to other things but still go back to our origins once in a while and work on books.

In December one of our local libraries will be hosting a Book Arts exhibition and we were invited to participate. We decided to take apart a child's board book and then reassemble the book with jump rings or wire to create a wall hanging. The title of our "book" will be Four Letter Words. I finished my page, TREE, today. The photograph I used is a tree on an island in the middle of Long Lake (near Interlochen), MI. It is my most favorite place in the world and I think of this spot often.



In the morning I will see all the Sisters, and each of their pages, at our monthly gathering. We'll then assemble the entire piece. I'm anxious to see everyone elses work as it is always a blast to see the ideas everyone came up with.

My page uses photograph altering techniques found in a great book by Karen Michel. The book is called The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery: Mixed Media Techniques for Collage, Altered Books, Artist Journals and More. I've had the book for years, looked through it frequently, but never put the techniques to use. Now that I have, I'm sure I'll be doing more of it.

Lorrie

Girl Scout Project Update

You may remember from a post on September 20th that another paper artist, Barb Stewart, and I recieved a grant for an installation at the beautiful new Girl Scout building in town. After working with approximately 60 girls to get this project accomplished, it is finally hung for all to see. We made 24 handmade paper quilt blocks, each with sheets of paper that the girls made themselves. The handmade paper quilt is entitled “Celebrating Similarities/Embracing Differences”.







These 12" x 12" blocks could have been hung in different configurations: 4 x 6, 3 x 8 or 2 x 12. Barb and I expected to get an entire wall to hang the quilt but, as you can see in this picture of me trying to get each block just right, we were instead asked to fill a well traveled corner of the building that was bland and boring. The best solution became a 2 x 12 hanging arrangement.







While not what we planned, it turned out quite nicely. And, the corner is definitely not boring any longer! In case you're wondering why they are hung so close to the ceiling, it is because we didn't want the girls/visitors touching the artwork each time they walked past.

This was a fun project for all involved and I hope to do more of this type of thing. It was empowering for the girls and the artists.

Lorrie

PS. Last week I made 60 sheets of paste paper before running out of energy and paint. That stash should keep me for awhile!

Paste Painting - How to do it

The last post showed you some paste papers. Maybe it whet your appetite and would like to know how to do it? It's simple.

1. Set up your workstation with the following: paper (any paper that will withstand some abuse will work), tools (repurpose household items and toys), 2" brushes, paste paint (see previous post for what I like to use). This picture shows my table in the garage on this beautiful fall day.

2. Brush the paste onto the paper, not too thick so that it doesn't hold your marks and not too thin so that it dries quickly. To begin use only one to three colors or you may find that you wind up with mud. Use your tools, working from the elbow not the wrist, to make marks in the paste. The idea is to loosen up your artwork not to overthink it. Part of the fun is seeing what the various tools will do. If you don't like the result, just paint over it. This picture shows green and yellow paste mixed together with a brush.

This picture shows the same sheet with marks made. The squiggles were made with oil pastels in the wet paste.

3. Let it dry. As long as I've set up my work station, I will probably be making paste papers for several days. I made about 20 sheets today. I will cut each sheet down into 8 note cards and sell the packet. I never have enough of these to sell so it makes good sense for me to make a bunch of sheets at once.

Have fun.

Lorrie

Paste Painting - what is it?

I've often had people ask about paste painting. My work often is made with paste painted paper, I teach workshops about paste painting and there are many mentions of paste painting on this blog. The easy answer to the question of "what is paste painting?" is this: paste painting is finger painting for grown ups. I find that paste painting is a great way to loosen up my artwork. When I get stuck or too uptight about my art, a day spent with paste paint is a great way to play. I can then take this more relaxed approach to whatever else I'm working on.

There are many "recipes" out there for the paste and everyone that does this has their favorite. Rather than cooking my own paste I buy Elmer's Art Paste from Dick Blick. It is cheap, makes a lot, it keeps forever and it is handy to have around in it's little box just waiting to be mixed with water. After the paste of choice is made I add acrylic paint. You don't have to use the good stuff to get great color. The mix is approximately 40% paint and 60% paste. There is no need to measure, just add paint until the paste has the opacity that you'd like.

The mosaics in the previous post were made with paste paper scraps. (I always have lots of those around!) These pictures are bigger sheets. Can you guess what tool was used to achieve the effects on the orange one?

Lorrie

PS. It's a sponge mop!

Paste Paper Mosaics

This past week I started working on some pieces with mosaics. Mosaics can be made with just about any paper you've got around. In my case all of my tiles are my own paste paper designs. Each sheet of mosaic tiles that I'm showing you in this post are one inch to quarter inch pieces of paper put onto a clear sheet of laminate. I think they are quite lovely just as they are but each of these sheets of mosaics has a future as something else in a more finished form.



This pink and orange sheet of inch by 1/2 inch tiles has black "grout".

This is the same sheet of tiles but with white "grout".

The tiles on this sheet vary from one inch to a quarter inch.

Another one with a little bit of everything. All the tiles on this one are blue paste paper scraps.

This sheet is made up of quarter inch square pieces.

More on paper mosaics after some additional progress is made...

Here's Some Sunshine!

Last week was just like a summer. Sunny everyday, in the 70s or 80s. Just beautiful! Today the sun is hiding behind the clouds and rain is on the way but this piece called Morning Sun is a good reminder of what was.

Paul Robbert

Sadly, the gentleman I mentioned in my "I am an Artist" post dated September 15 died only a few days later. He was a private person and many, including myself, didn't even know he was so ill. Since I didn't get to offer my appreciation in person at the end, I will take comfort in knowing that I've been feeling very grateful lately of the opportunity he gave me when he asked if I would like to help put his papermaking studio to use. "Oh yes, please!," I think I replied. I felt like it was such an honor to work with him in that space. He had so much to share: his enthusiam, his knowledge, his insight and his vision. Paul was a great teacher and mentor. Thanks Paul, you will be missed!

Girl Scout Project

The local Girl Scout council built an incredible building last year. After years in a tiny, outdated house-turned-office they raised the money to take their organization to another level. The girls benefit directly as the new space offers a much-welcomed area for indoor and outdoor activities. They offered grants to local artists to help decorate this amazing space. One caveat was that the artists must include Girl Scouts in the creative effort. The space will feature the work of glass, paper, fiber, and mixed media artists.

Another area papermaker, Barb Stewart, and I applied and were fortunate enough win one of the grants. In our proposal we suggested that we create a handmade paper quilt entitled “Celebrating Similarities/Embracing Differences”. Our intentions were to celebrate the art of papermaking and the camaraderie that is encouraged when creativity blossoms. With 9 to 12 year olds we made hundreds of sheets of paper with the same pulp, the same tools, the same equipment, and the same materials; yet, the results of each sheet was quite different. Some papers were very colorful, while others featured botanicals gathered from a garden. Each sheet is beautiful in its own way.

We then worked with older girls, ages 12-18, to turn the handmade paper into beautiful, 12" x 12", quilt blocks. Each block was finished using a spiraling pattern and four different handmade papers. This pattern becomes almost three-dimensional, as the eye seems to spin toward the center. All the girls had a great time with this project and were amazed with the results. We had many begging for directions on how they might do this sort of thing at home.

The work with the girls is completed. Now Barb and I are working hard to get the quilt blocks mounted and hung. More on this later, but for now here is one of the 24 quilt blocks that is completed. Sorry, this isn't a great picture but, believe me, we're off to a great start!

Lorrie

I am an Artist!

For the past several years I've been fortunate enough to have had a shared studio situation in downtown Kalamazoo. The gentleman who gave me, and several other area papermakers, this incredible opportunity was no longer using the space and equipment as much as he would have liked. He opened his space and his arms to several of us struggling to work. Papermaking is not a messy art but it is sloppy and does require a lot of room, water and drainage. Sure, it can be done in the kitchen. A garage works too. However, neither spot is ideal. When I got the call that I was to be included in The Kalamazoo Paper Collaborative it truly was a dream come true. Everytime I went down there I felt so "cool". I finally had a place to work, I worked regularly, I got better. More importantly, it gave me "permission" to call myself an artist. When asked "what do you do?", I now could confidently and proudly say "I am an artist". For some that mental barrier comes down with the first commission check, for others it might be the day of graduation from art school. I suppose for others it might not be a barrier at all. All I know is that it felt great!

This summer the studio was dismantled, moved and turned into the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center. http://www.kalbookarts.org/ It is an even larger space that has printmaking and bookbinding equipment, in addition to all the papermaking equipment that was moved. They offer great classes too. The opportunity for even more people to use this space is now possible.

Maybe now there will be more "artists" in our midst. I hope so.

Lorrie

Fish Guts

This past weekend my daughter and I drove four hours north to Petoskey, Michigan for a soccer tournament. I hadn't been to Petoskey since I was a kid and was happy to explore the area. So, while the reason to go north was soccer (and that part was fun), we got some bonuses from the trip: Claire got to have a ball with her soccer buddies, I got to know the parents a bit better, we saw incredible vintage (1870 - 1930) cottage architecture, we ate good ice cream, we enjoyed the view of Little Traverse Bay from multiple vistas, we visited ultra-chic Harbor Springs, and we watched Chinook Salmon trying to make it back into their home stream.

We were driving near the waterfront when we came upon a small group of people standing on a bridge over a creek. Thinking it might be worth a stop, we stopped. The attraction was a "fish ladder". We watched those fish, fascinated, for almost an hour. In that time, we saw at least seven of these giants caught by skillful fishermen and only one make the huge leap necessary to crest the waterfall. They flung themselves into the air and failed repeatedly. It couldn't have felt good to keep hitting the wall and the water so hard that many times but those fish kept trying and trying.

I've made a lot of handmade paper fish over the years but they are more tropical-looking than the species of fish found in Michigan. I've always been drawn to the tropical fish because of their colors. I now have a new appreciation of the fish we have in Michigan. They might not be as colorful but they sure have guts.

Lorrie

New Beginnings

Here I am, finally ready to start blogging. I hope I have something interesting to say!

I've had a long dry spell -- much too long. So, let's start with the most basic of beginnings: I will make art, I will make art, I will make art and then I will show it to people, I will show it to people, I will show it to people. I say this using the rhythm of "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can". Now that I've told you, you can hold me to it!

Lorrie