Handmade Paper Guild Show at the Kalamazoo Civic Theater

Welcome to the annual exhibition of the Handmade Paper Guild of Southwest Michigan! This year the theme of the show corresponds to the list of plays that the Kalamazoo Civic Theater will be performing during their 2009/2010 season. Each artist was to choose a play and use it as an inspiration for their piece of art. Just some of the many plays on the schedule are: Fiddler on the Roof, Twelve Angry Men, It's a Wonderful Life, Twelfth Night, The Dixie Swim Club, Jekyll and Hyde.

Here is the Kalamazoo Civic Theater in downtown Kalamazoo. It is a spectacular community theater venue and the show is up in the reception room.

(As a side note, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts is right across the street. Aren't we lucky?)

Ok, first my piece. You know the one: Being Brave or also called Covering-Handmade-Paper-with-Acrylic-Paint-and-Tar. If you've read my previous posts, you saw how I made this piece and why I just made that crazy reference. But, what you don't know is the inspiration for it. My piece is called Bailey Park in honor of George Bailey of It's a Wonderful Life fame. George always did what was right for others and only realized the value of his life and his contributions to his little town when he found out he was in some serious trouble. My piece, featuring the homes that he helped build, pays homage to those that work hard for their families, their homes and their town. The textural background represents the light and dark periods in our lives.

Bailey Park by Lorrie Grainger Abdo

Inspired by It's a Wonderful Life
Mixed Media: Artist-made paper, acrylic paint, bitumen, 2' x 4', $350

Mr. Martini's by Lorrie Grainger Abdo

Inspired by It's a Wonderful Life
Mixed Media: Artist-made paper, acrylic paint, bitumen

This large piece was a collaborative effort by Guild members. Many contributions were made at the conceptual stage. Then in the execution stage, some members dyed the paper, some cut out the figures or made other design choices, and some engineered the final piece. The inspiration for this was the play Twelve Angry Men.

Shots of a variety of member's work. (Sorry about the pictures. Lighting and glare problems.)

Each piece was created by an individual artist in the Guild. Some members are teachers, some are full-time artists/papermakers, some are part-time artists, and all are good people with wonderful creative talents. Techniques represented in the show are: sheet pulling, pulp pouring, pulp painting, collage, stencilling, painting, paper engineering, bookbinding, paper casting, printmaking, papier mache and several others that I'm not sure what to name.

Artists for the pieces shown below are: Dale Menz, Alice Breese, Rose Mary Wood, Liz Faust and Judy Finnegan. Other artists participating in the show, and to whom I apoligize for not having close up photographs of your work are: Tom Hirsh, MaryJo Peterson, Joan Khaled, Eve Reid, Sally Padley, and Lauren Matacio.

What I love about our annual show is the variety of styles and techniques. Every one of us is a papermaker. But, what we each do with that paper... Wow! If you're in the area, please stop by during business hours to see the show. Or, better yet, go see one of the amazing performances and visit the show during intermission or the reception. This show is just one of the many ways our community celebrates the wonderful marriage of visual and performance arts.

Lorrie

PS. All work is for sale and at very reasonable prices, I might add.

Being Brave - Day 6 and DONE

I had such energy, such momentum, such excitement in the creation of this piece and you all spurred me on. Thank you so much for that. Then, I dropped you. No follow up post. No explanation. No Ta Da moment. I am so, so sorry! If you'll forgive me, I now can show you the work done during my last frenzied day of work.

If you'll remember, when last we met, I had just smeared the whole darn thing with tar. Yes, tar! The job then became getting most of the tar concoction off with mineral spirits. As it turned out the tar mixture being thinner than I wanted was a blessing. I had to work a long, LONG time with lots of rags to get the tar off and had it been thicker I can only imagine how much longer I would have been at it. Here is the piece after some/most of the tar was taken off.

It still isn't bright enough though so... I added quite a bit of oil pastel work as my last "layer". These two pictures really don't look all that different but in real life there was quite a contrast.

Above Close up: After tar removal, before pastel addition.

Below Close up: After pastels added. It's unfortunate this picture doesn't do a better job showing the pastels. The red/orange parts actually have magenta and hot pink highlights. The blue houses all have shades of light blue, dark blue and purple.

Extreme (blurry) close up. You can see how the tar stays in the cracks and crevasses. If my artistic style showed a preference for dark colors this certainly is a great way to get "dark" quickly. However, since I still love my brights, this technique provides a wonderful way to add depth and alter true bright colors with a patina.

The end of this saga is that I finished it up (without a varnishing coat, yikes), got it to the show space on time and it is now hanging proudly with the work of other Handmade Paper Guild members. In my next post I plan to show you the venue and give you a better description of the actual show. Surprise preview: This piece actually has a name and it's not called Being Brave.

Thanks for sticking with me!

Lorrie

Be REALLY Brave - Day 5

Today was the day that all my progress so far (and I really like what I've done so far) got covered up with tar. Yep, you read right: tar. The next step for this piece is to use a concoction of asphalt crack filler and mineral spirits to cover up the whole darn thing. The usual, paralyzing thoughts came into play: don't mess up, you like what you've got, don't mess up, DON'T MESS UP! I had to take a deep breath to put that first brush load of black on my beautiful clean colors! I was able to shove the defeatist thoughts aside only because I'm on a deadline, and frankly I had no choice. I plowed ahead and let the tar fly.

I did, however, have a big frustration with my supplies. The tar is supposed to thin down with the mineral spirits. I've done it before and it worked fine. The viscosity of the mixture is supposed to go from goo to the consistency of glue. It wouldn't thin down. In fact, the tar and the mineral spirits wouldn't even mix (think oil and vinegar). The result was that I had to use the very, very thin mineral spirits with only a bit of the color provided by the tar. Not quite the effect I was looking for. I hope it still works.



Step 9: Cover the whole thing with tar. You can see in this photo how thin the tar was. The whole piece, at this point in the process, should be totally black with no/little color showing through. Since the mixture was so thinned down, I did it twice.

Even the side view looks pretty cool!

Close-up. And below, a super close close-up.

I'm off to a soccer tournament in Lansing for the weekend so now it sits until Monday. Wow, I'm really cutting this one close (too close!) as it is due at the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre for our show on Wednesday.

Have a good weekend.

Lorrie

Being Brave - Days 3 and 4

So far so good, but the time it takes to dry in between layers of paint/spackle/glue gets frustrating. When I take the time to work, I like to get to it, not be interrupted with waiting.



Here are pictures from Days 3 and 4...

Step 5: Paint the spackle with house paint, again. Let dry thoroughly. I'm not sure I need all these layers of paint, but I'd rather have too many layers than too few. Some of it may end up showing up again as an underlayer. If I do more work in this style I'll get a better feel for what must be done and what short cuts I can take. At this point, I really feel like I'm constructing a piece of art rather than painting it.

Step 6: Spray paint certain areas. Dry.

Step 7: Use heat gun to bring up bubbles. Don't burn down house. When the canvas starts smoking it's time to take a break! Lots of fumes so I work outside. The use of spray paint and the heat gun is bit tricky because I want more control than these tools allow. I find myself using scraps of wood to block out certain areas to keep paint/bubbles away. It works but is awkward. Day 3 ends with not much visible progress but the efforts will show up as I continue.

Step 8: Paint, paint, paint. Dry. Spray with a fixative. My neck hurts from bending over the table all day. Wow, looks a lot different by the end of day 4! Now I feel like I'm creating instead of constructing.

Here's a close up so you can see the texture a bit better. I really like what I've got so far. Tomorrow is the Be Really Brave day. Stay tuned as I continue with this adventure...



Lorrie

Being Brave - Days 1 and 2

I tend to overthink things both in life and in my art. Sometimes its a good thing. I usually make good life decisions. Sometimes its a bad thing. I'm not as spontaneous as I'd like to be with my art. Well, I now have a situation artistically that requires some fast process-oriented thinking and actual doing.


Next week the annual Handmade Paper Guild show of Southwest Michigan will hang. I have one piece done. The other, much larger piece, has been done in my mind for months (that whole overthinking thing again) but is certainly not done so that others can actually see it. I've never be brave enough to post my in progress work because I always want to make sure what I'm working on turns out before showing anyone. Well, because of this show deadline, and because I need entertaining fodder for the blog, and because I'm going to be brave this week, I'm going to show you how it goes along the way.


I can only hope it turns out as good as what's in my brain!




Here we go: I'm using new techniques for me. In May I took an online course with a guy named Gary Reef. (Notice I didn't show you any of that WIP but I will as some of them are finished now and I had some decent results.) Anyway, I love his abstracts and was thrilled to be able to get a glimpse of the techniques he uses. I'm using some of his techniques and added what I love: handmade paper.


Step 1: The canvas is 2' x 4'. Draw out where I want the handmade paper to go. Can you see the forms of houses?




Step 2: Cut highly textured handmade paper to fit the sketch. Glue down paper. Dry. Ignore the colors on the HMP as it will all be painted over.




Step 3: Paint the whole thing with housepaint. Two coats on the HMP as it is very absorbant. Thus ends day 1.


Step 4: Cover the background with a texturing medium (spackle/glue) and put string in the spackle. Let dry. Remove string. Day 2 ends.



More as I go. Encouragement, tips, criticism is all welcome...


Lorrie

New Year - New Goal

Here it is September 9 and I've just remembered that September 4 was the day that I started this blog. One year has passed by already! As everyone knows, time flies, and this is true whether you're having fun or not. Thankfully, this past year has been fun.

My goals when I started the blog were to create (check, did that), tell you about some of it (check, did that), and make some cool new friends/reconnect with old friends (check, did that) along the way. My goals for the upcoming year remain the same but I'm adding a new one: sell more work. Don't worry, you don't need to stop reading in fear that I'm going to be hitting you up for your money. (Although I certainly won't discourage you from parting with some of it!) When I say "sell more work" it means that I aim to use the internet better to get my work out there via etsy, cafepress, facebook, etc. I hope that this blog can help too.

It's said that part of the success of achieving any goal depends on telling others about that goal.

You never know when someone might be able to provide a great contact at a gallery, a gift shop, an ad agency, a licensing company, an interior design firm, a ???.

Or, give you a super how-to computer tip.

Or, tell you something you might not want to hear but need to know anyway.

Or, just smile a big smile just when you need it.

So, I hereby proclaim that I will be working hard on my artwork and on selling it too. Now, it's out there. It's floating about. It's partly under my control but partly out of my control. Yikes, this is scary but exciting too. What happens from here? Guess I'd better get busy!

All the best,

Lorrie

Chocolat

Not only is chocolate one of my favorite things to eat, it is also one of my favorite movies. Chocolat, with Juliette Binoche, Judi Dench and Johnny Depp, is beautifully set in 1950's France and is rather quirky and fun.

In the Altered Sisters Round Robin that we've been doing for several months now, I was faced with Heather's book called Cinema. Each artist has to do a spread on their favorite movie. This is a toughy for me as I'm definitely NOT a movie-goer and seldom watch one on TV. What to do? What to do? My favorite movie list is short: Shrek, The Princess Bride, Chocolat and You've Got Mail. Pretty lame, huh?

From past posts, (here, here, here and here), you may remember that I vowed to complete each spread in this Round Robin with an altered photo. I couldn't come up with any photo to alter for this one so I cheated a bit and used my 12 year old's alphabet photos that she has taken over the past two years to spell out the name of the movie. I tried to make the background look somewhat chocolate-wrapper-like with foil and various browns. When the group sees this at our next meeting, I'm prepared for lots of wise crack comments because I NEVER work in brown and am quite vocal about avoiding the color in most everything I do.

I think I'll go have a candy bar now. My tastes aren't extravagant: I'm happy with a Kit Kat or a Hershey bar with almonds. But, a piece of good Belgian chocolate sends me into orbit.

Lorrie

Recent Workshops - Just Take the Plunge!

In July I had the pleasure of teaching The Art of Paste Painting and then a Paper Mosaics class at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center. The classes were filled with many wonderful ladies, many of whom took both classes so we were able to get to know each other a bit.

Here's an idea of the mix of interests and backgrounds of some of the ladies that came:

* A mom and daughter just looking for a fun thing to do together, as well as an experienced graphic designer, played with mosaic patterns using commercial papers and had great success. (I must admit, I've not used commercial papers before but definitely see the possibilities after seeing what they did.)

* One gal found me at the Portage Library Book Arts exhibit last winter during a terrible blizzard. Now that's some serious interest! She did a great job with her colors, especially the blues, and made a beautiful frame. I think there will be more in her future.

* Another woman is a calligrapher and had tried paste painting before but wasn't able to achieve the watercolor-y look she was after. I think she succeeded with this look after taking the class.

* One papermaker friend plans to turn the mosaics into jewelry. Are you kidding me? That's really tiny!

* One gal is an all around creative person: altered books, collage, painting. She is always exploring as one artistic interest usually leads to another!

* One gal is a teacher's aid and is always making things for her students and her own children. This lady has talent, an abundance of energy and lots of smiles!

* A friend of mine from our days together in Jr. High and High School is going to make a large frame for her son and his fiance in the colors of their wedding party. She quilts beautifully so she was easily able to pull together colors.

* And finally, a lady who was signed up by a relative and thought she was going to a cake decorating class. This could have been a teacher's nightmare: someone who didn't want to be there. However, she was won over quickly, was delighted with the process and did some beautiful papers that she plans to make into cards. I'm glad she came.

The lesson here is that anyone can create, you only need to give yourself permission to do so. If you need a push, take a workshop, get a taste of what you can do, and then go for it.

A sheet of mosiacs drying.

So beautiful. I want this!

An almost finished frame. Lots of glue to dry.

Making a small tray with scraps around the outer edge.

So, what are you making today... Money? Friends? Art? Trouble? Nourishment? Good choices? Let me know.

Lorrie

Guests in the Garage

Periodically over the past couple of years a local mom has been asking me if I would teach a group of her daughter's friends to make paper. "You bet," I'd always reply. "You get the group together on a date that works for all and we'll have at it." Well, it never came together but I knew the interest was sincere. Finally, another one of the mom's in the group of buddies was able to pull it off and we met in my garage last Tuesday evening for some colorful papermaking fun.

We worked from 6:30 to 9 in the garage and on the driveway. It was a beautiful summer evening and the Michigan mosquito only showed up toward the end of the party. The girls learned basic sheet forming and how to use pigments/inclusions. They also learned a few fun papermaking tricks like dragging a piece of thread through the pulp to make a "line" of pulp as well as how to stamp into a wet sheet to add interest and dimension. We used boards as our drying method.





As usual, I only remembered to take pictures after the workshop was over. Here are the girls (moms declined the picture opp) proud of their work and ready to come back for more.

To my local friends: think about this for a birthday party, girls-night-out or some other gathering. It's a great way to relax, have fun and create.


Lorrie

Some Updates

Warning: No art stuff today. But it is time to update you on some loose ends on the personal front...

Vacation: We're back and had a great time at the cottage on Long Lake near Traverse City, MI. With the exception of 1982 when I spent the summer studying/travelling in Europe and again in 1983 when I was a camp counselor in the beautiful Berkshires of Massachusetts, I have vacationed on this lovely lake for 40 of my 47 years.

Here's the view of two of the five islands in the lake. I wish I could say that the lakeshore is equally uninhabited and pristine but, sadly, most of the old cottages that blended in with the trees so beautifully have been torn down for McMansions.

Here's the evening view from our little piece of heaven. (And actually, it's not even "ours". We rent it.)

My sister is now lucky enough to actually live there! Here's the view from her lovely place.

Just so you don't think that it's all about the views. Here's the reality of it all: loud, goofy kids having a great time.

50th Anniversary: While we were "up north" we extended the 50th wedding anniversary celebration for my parents. (I wrote about them back in June on their real anniversary.) We surprised them with a casual dinner at my sister's cottage complete with wedding veil, bow tie, grandchildren coming down the stairs with a daisy for each and Michigan sparkling grape juice in our glasses for a toast. Hey, do we know how to party or what? We're kind of a no-nonsense kind of family but this low-key silliness was perfect and they enjoyed it immensely!

Mom and Dad

Make a Wish/Wish a Mile:

My brother's daughter, Taylor, died at age 14 in 2007. In the end it was many things that finally knocked her out but the base cause was a heart defect. Since her death Rob has organized Team Taylor, a bike team that rides in the late July Wish a Mile cycling event for Make a Wish. This year the team of 86 riders raised over $147,000! The total donations for the entire event raised $1.6 million for the kids and families of Make A Wish. It is the largest fundraiser in the United States for Make A Wish and this was done in a state that is barely keeping it's head above the waters of the Great Lakes! People are amazingly generous. Several of my regular readers contributed to this effort and I am very thankful.

The 300 mile bike ride took the riders across Michigan from Traverse City to Chelsea (near Ann Arbor). They pedaled through rain, fog, sun and wind. All of the 85 riders on Team Taylor had a great time as they learned a little bit about themselves and about the challenges that Wish kids live with every day. If you're really interested you can visit Team Taylor for pictures and more.

Taylor would have been 16 on Friday.



Thoughts: I'm so grateful for all the people in my life!



Lorrie

Funky Fish looking for Fun Friends

You DON'T need a license. You don't need a pole. You don't need a worm. You don't need a boat. You don't need to clean your catch. You DO need a wall, a vision and a desire to have some decorating fun in your very own ocean. I'm happy to announce that my colorful, one-of-a-kind, handmade paper fish are now available at Beach Grass Cottage.

Sophie, 10" x 16", has a raised eyebrow and a dimensional tail.

She looks great by herself or in a "school".

On the Beach Grass Cottage website you can check out her buddies Angel, Taily, Amber, Sunny, Pinky, Lilly, Devin, and Killer to see if one might want to live at your house. They are each very lightweight and ready to hang.

This opportunity came about recently when I met a great gal with big plans for her creative inspirations. She makes beautiful beach glass frames, mirrors and other items perfect for a cottage or cottage-like home. We got talking. We met at a coffee joint. We did some brainstorming. And we realized we our work might fit together. So, I'm excited to present her very cool website to my friends and readers.


My thanks go out to Shari and Beach Grass Cottage for this opportunity. Spread the word about her cool website. Oh, and if you know anyone that needs a fish friend, you know where to look.



Lorrie

Mosaics on my Mind

I've got mosaics on my mind today. I'm teaching a Paper Mosaics class at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center on Tuesday so I'm working on pulling everything together for that. (I love the teaching but the lugging of supplies back and forth, not so much.) The class should be a good time as I already know some of the students and several took The Art of Paste Painting class with me this past Tuesday.

Also, you may remember from a previous post that my mosaic work is done in honor of my niece Taylor. The Wish-A-Mile 300 mile bike ride, with all funds raised going toward Make-A-Wish, starts tomorrow in Traverse City, MI. All the riders that have worked so hard to raise money and practice, practice, practice for this great cause are almost on their way. I wish them all a safe ride and offer my thanks for the effort they put forth in Taylor's name.

Here are some mosaic frames that I created recently. They are available at UniQ, Three Rivers, Michigan.

I'm sending out a hearty welcome to new subscribers and thank each and every one of you that reads my entries. I know my posts have been less frequent lately but that doesn't mean that I'm not thinking of you!

Lorrie

Sure is Quiet Around Here

Well, here's the deal: if it's quiet in blogland that means it certainly isn't quiet at home! Lot's going on but not much of it art-related.

However, I am teaching a couple of great workshops very soon. As I mentally prepare for the classes I am getting inspired and excited about the experience. Packing up for that experience is something entirely different! I hope you'll join me in downtown Kalamazoo for one or both of the classes in the wonderful Kalamazoo Book Art Center.

The Art of Paste Painting

Tuesday, July 21 from 6 to 9 pm

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A

Suitable for all ages and ability levels

$25

Paste painting is a surface design technique made by brushing colored paste onto a sheet of paper and using various tools to move the paste and create graphic images. Students are encouraged to bring combs, chunky rubber stamps, brayers or any other mark-making objects. I will have paper, tools, paint and paste for your use. Come play!

Paper Mosaics

Session 1: Tuesday, July 28 from 1 to 4

Session 2: Tuesday, July 28 from 6 to 9

Kalamazoo Book Arts Center, 326 W. Kalamazoo Ave., Suite 103A
Suitable for older teens/adults and all ability levels
$25

This class uses beautiful papers made in the Art of Paste Painting class, or card-weight papers that you might already have, to make incredible mosaics. The finished look is similar to ceramic mosaics but without the heavy equipment and messy grout.

You can get the registration form for these classes at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center. Print out the form, fill it out and mail it, along with a check, to the Center. Or, you can call them at 373-4938. While you're at the website, check out all the other amazing classes too! Your experience will be positive and you certainly can't beat the price. Our town is so lucky to have resources like this. Please don't go the extreme of moving away to realize that this is true!

Lorrie

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