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