Soccer and Art/Art and Soccer

It's not very often that my two main worlds, Art and Soccer, collide.  But today, thanks to a tip from one of my Altered Sisters, Lynn, I can say that they do.

If you read my blog you know that I try hard to keep it focused on my art.  Of course, personal stuff does creep in every once in a while:  married, 3 kids, Michiganian, etc.  Here's a bit more.  My kids are all athletes, with soccer being their main love.  We travel all over the state, Midwest, and as far as Florida, to watch our kids play.  My husband is a licensed coach/ref and is in charge of a very talented group of 11-year-olds.  I am the team manager for my 13-year-old's team and coordinate lots of stuff associated with the team.  We used to coach/manage our son's team too but he's at a level way, way beyond where we can help.  It's all a bit crazy.

Unless you've been living in a hole, you know that the World Cup just started in South Africa.  My son has already gone through every frozen pizza in the house sitting in the red chair in front of the TV watching game after game after game.  (Other than the US/England game, I haven't been watching and try to tune out the constant noise makers.)

OK, finally, here's the art/soccer connection...

by Diem Chau

These carved crayons were made by Diem Chau.  On her blog, The Pleasure of Tiny Things, she posts lots of pictures so you can see these in better detail and find out more about her and her work.  She was commissioned by Wieden + Kennedy to carve 66 crayons for this year's Nike World Cup press kits.  There are pictures of these elaborate press kits too.  Quite something!

Soccer enthusiasts, can you guess the players?

Robinho in Silver
Cristiano Ronaldo in White
Fabio Cannavaro in Antique Brass
Wanye Rooney in Timberwolf
Didier Drogba in Copper
Franck Ribery in Gold

I have no idea what tools she uses to get such incredible detail in these tiny carvings.  I also have no idea how she has the patience and stamina to huddle over the crayon to get it accomplished.  I do know, though, that I'll leave these tiny wonders to her and do my part instead which is basically this:  Go USA!

Lorrie

Artist Spotlight - Ingrid Dijkers

It's time for another Artist Spotlight so prepare to be inspired and amazed!

Ingrid Dijkers is a Michigan artist.  Our paths haven't crossed for very long but I'm certainly glad that they have now.  I love her colors.  I love the intricacies of her work.  I've always thought that bookbinders are special people because they must have the capacity to be creative as well as very precise hand skills in order for their work to work.  Using both sides of the brain all the time.  That is quite a talent!

She will be doing some teaching very soon (check her blog) so you could meet and learn from her in person.

Hands by Ingrid Dijkers

Where are you from? And, where do you live now?

I was born in Breda in the Netherlands. At a young age my parents and I immigrated to Canada.  Later I moved to Georgia, England, Brazil and finally settled in Michigan, which has been my home ever since. Currently, I live in Plymouth, Michigan, a beautiful small historical town.

What is your art education?
I have a degree in the Fine Arts, but consider my real education to have come from my parents and my upbringing. With both parents having Masters Degrees in the Fine Arts, I was brought up with a love for the Arts and travel. It has always been a lifestyle I appreciated and have been thankful for.

Have you always been an artist or are you “new” to it?

As I mentioned, it’s something I have always been exposed to. I have been very fortunate to have had a very supportive family and a husband that bends over backwards to help me all he can. While often what I do seems a bit strange and weird to him, all I have to do is remind him that my Father warned him when he ask for my hand in marriage … he just smiles and agrees. I know I am very fortunate and am very grateful for all this.

What is your specialty? And, have you always worked in this medium?
For the past 20 years I have been mostly a contemporary doll maker and worked as a shop owner and Artisan for the Michigan Renaissance Festival. Throughout my life I have explored weaving, pottery, painting, collage, jewelry, and wearable art. However, at the moment my specialty is visual art journals. I have become truly passionate about making and sharing them, to the point that I have put my lovely Renaissance Festival shop up for sale. This was a very difficult decision, one I agonized over for about 2 years. I can’t make dolls, be a shop owner AND make and teach journaling.

Meters by Ingrid Dijkers

What does your work space look like? What would your ideal workspace look like?

Hmmm, that’s something I’d rather embarrassed about. While I have beautifully designed workspace and stations for different types of work, and lots of storage for materials and supplies, I claim to have too little space. I tend to drag everything around the house (inside and out and in my car) with me and I tend to leave a trail of mess. I actually am a very organized person, however I always seem to have too many ideas and too little time … putting everything back in it’s proper place ranks rather low on my list of priorities. I still like to blame it all on a lack of space, but in my heart I know that if I had a 10,000 square foot warehouse to store everything thing in I would have the same problem…. just on a larger scale.

It seems you've been teaching quite a bit lately. What is it that you like about teaching and how does it influence your work?

I absolutely love sharing what I have learned through trial and error with others. It provides a degree of satisfaction that I have rarely felt before. As I add more workshops that I can teach to my list, I hope to begin teaching more. Admittedly, I am very surprised at the amount of prep work involved with setting up proposals and gathering all the necessary supplies. I hadn’t quite figured on all that in the beginning, but it goes along with it and I am beginning to simplify a lot of it all with experience. I have found that teaching has added a whole new dimension to my work. I now keep in mind how I would be able to adapt what I am working on to a class room situation. It is often quite a challenge, but one I truly enjoy.

Alice In Wonderland Tunnel Book by Ingrid Dijkers

Do you have any special art tips for others?

I get a lot of emails asking how to get started with making journals, saying they can’t afford all the expensive supplies. I also see a lot of people (especially beginners) getting caught up on rushing out and spending lots and lots of money for very expensive supplies and gadgets. I really don’t find this necessary. In fact, I have found that a lot of people end up being intimidated by expensive materials, are afraid of messing up and actually find it crippling. Now, only after years of working on Altered Books and Journals, have I justified and purchased many of the better art supplies. I really don’t think it has made my work any better. I still think my best work has always come from the scraps I find in the trash can and a pack of markers I bought in the kiddy section at my local discount store. Don’t get me wrong, I love some of my better supplies and enjoy using them, I just don’t think it’s necessary to get started.

Alice In Wonderland Tunnel Book by Ingrid Dijkers

Into the Crypt by Ingrid Dijkers

What inspires you?

Just about and everything. I could never make a complete list.

When you're not making art, what are you doing?

Answering emails, trying to get get caught up on paper work, working out details for a future project, updating my website and blog. Sometimes I’ll do a bit of laundry.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

I have found that one passion always slowly morphs into another. I never know what direction my work will lead and I rather enjoy that. I am never bored, I just keep finding more options to explore. I just go along for the ride and enjoy the process. For now my passion is visual art journaling and sharing that, but this too will evolve over time as all my work has through out my life.

Soon an article about my Journal “Over the Edge” will be featured in Art Journaling Magazine (scheduled for the Summer 2010 issue) and an article about my Artist Trading Cards will appear in ATC Quarterly (scheduled for June 2010).


How can you be contacted about your work?
My work and teaching schedule can be seen on my website and blog.

http://www.ingriddijkers.com/

http://www.ingriddijkers.blogspot.com/

And, I can be emailed at Dijkers@ameritech.net or Ingrid@IngridDijkers.com


Many thanks to Ingrid for letting us into her world for a bit.  She might be teaching in your area.  Check out her blog for her soon-to-be whereabouts, including the big kahuna of journaling, Journal Fest in Port Townsend, Washington.

Lorrie

Paper Mosaic Mirror Frame - Julie and Marc's

Continuing on with stuff related to my friend's wedding, here is the wedding gift. This mirror may look familiar as it was done with the same colors as the mirror I just hung at the Haworth home. However, this mirror is a slightly different size and is actually a frame with a mirror in it so it hangs on a wire/nail rather than getting screwed into the wall.

Two weekends ago, while in the Detroit area for a soccer tournament, I showed this particular mirror to a gallery. It was a horribly wet and cold weekend and I walked in (with an appointment) wearing a winter coat, rain boots, wet straggly hair and basically looking a mess. I had just enough time to stop in between games and tried to make the most of it. Anyway, the gallery is in Brighton, is called The Artisan's Bench, and they want some of these babies! I'm now in the market for well built frames/mirrors with a 3" to 4" flat profile. I would have thought it would be easy but no. Any ideas/sources?

Lorrie

Paper Mosaics - Green Basketweave

While I was painting the book I showed you in the last post I did lots of extra sheets in shades of green for use in paper mosaics. There are so many steps when making paper mosaics that I'm truly afraid to count the hours in a completed piece!

Have a great holiday weekend. As with most of our April, May, June weekends, my family will be at the soccer fields with 10 games for sure (potentially 13) for our 3 kids. Craziness!

Lorrie

Paste Paper Wedding Guest Book

One of my best friends got married Saturday. It was the second time around for both bride and groom and marks the beginning of two families joining together not just two people. The ceremony, in a monastery chapel with huge windows overlooking a beautiful valley covered with trees, was everything it needed to be: special, elegant, and heart-felt. The reception, held at Genitti's Hole-in-the-Wall had, as you might guess, a more fun, casual feel to it. The bride asked me to make the guest book. With the less formal feel in mind, I made the following book...

First, I paste painted a large sheet of Fabriano paper. One side has lines of varying widths that act as guides for the guests to write on. The other side is painted in the same colors but has no discernible texture to it. Her daughter and sister wore green attendant dresses so that's where all the green comes from. The color of the dresses and the book is a light "celery" color.

I kept it pretty simple as the words from the guests on the inside are the most important part of the book.

This is the picture she gave me to work with. Nice of the two of them but a not-so-great background. I sanded the background over a textured printing plate and then scratched into the background with an awl. Then came watercolor and oil pastels. Finally it was sprayed with a fixative.

On the inside front cover the Irish Wedding Blessing was printed on a sheet of vellum and then tucked into the folded cover. The folded part, on the left, is glued down and holds the vellum in place.

For the structure I used Teesha Moore's wonderful 16-page-book-from-one-sheet-of-paper directions. You can see the video here. I had to change Teesha's directions to fit the dimensions of my paper so this book was not a vertical 8" x 10 but about a horizontal 9" x 7". This structure worked really well as the book could lie flat when open so people could write in it without the cover getting in the way. While not a typical, "sign here" type of guest book, it fit the occasion. Guests were able to write a prayer, a wish or some light-hearted advice where ever they wanted in the the book, including tucked away under the gatefolds.

Their day was beautiful and I hope their new life together is too. They deserve it.

Lorrie

Jerry's Artarama Art Tip Contest

I submitted an art tip at Jerry's Artarama.  They then chose eight to be in the running for a $250 gift certificate. I'm one of the eight!  $250 can buy a lot of paint, paper, canvas, etc.   Please take a minute and help me win by voting by May 26 at:   Jerry's Artarama

My tip is about using acrylic paint and a heat gun to raise bubbles and make interesting textures.  There are a couple of other good tips there too (but don't vote for them).  :)

You don't have to sign up for anything or give any contact info. For those that are inclined to vote lots and lots of times:  thanks very much.  But this contest only allows each voter one vote.  I'll take all the one votes I can get!   Pass it on...

Lorrie

Taylor Grainger

Three years gone...

But, kept alive through our memories and Team Taylor, a biking group that raises money for Make-A-Wish kids in Michigan.

Lorrie

Paper Mosaic Mirror Frame - Haworth family

A friend and neighbor hosts an amazing art party each November.  She invites five to nine artists to invade her home, pound nails in her walls and show their work for one evening. Lots of people ready to drink wine, chat with friends and spend money attend this four-hour whirlwind event.  A portion of the sales goes to a charity that has been chosen ahead of time. It's a win-win for everyone.  And, what does the hostess get in return for her efforts?  She gets a piece of art from each of the participating artists.  You can bet that her home has lots of cool artwork!

Here's the journey of the half bath mirror frame that I made for the Haworth family of Kalamazoo, Michigan...

The existing mirror is glued to the wall with no frame around it so my dad and I bought wood at a Big Box and made the 2' x 3' frame ourselves.  Several trips to measure, to make sure it was right, ensued.  The frame was painted with a primer then black.

Claudia's home is tastefully done primarily in earth tones so my uber-bright colors don't always work well there.  I made lots of 18" x 24" sheets of brown, terra cotta, cream and tan sheets of paste papers.  Some have a bit of metallic shimmer too.  This reminded me that I can work in brown, even though I seldom do.

The sheets of paste paper got cut down into mosaics.  Here they are drying after being coated with Mod Podge.  The kitchen table didn't see any meals for several days throughout this whole thing.

Rather than just covering the mirror frame with one mosaic style, my intent was to use all the different mosaic styles and colors on the one frame.  Lots of scissor work, glue and time.  Oh, did I mention lots of time?

Here's a close up of one of the corners.  You might notice that the circle at the top has a hole in it.  I had to somehow allow a way to get the mirror frame attached to the wall.  These holes are where the screws will go.  They will be covered with half inch wooden plugs.  Pretty ingenious, huh?

When the frame was finished, I put three coats of a varnish on.  This is important for lots of reasons but mainly because it will be used in a bathroom with moisture around.

Ta Da!  Installed!

After it was screwed into the wall, I caulked around the mirror with a clear caulk to keep any moisture from getting between the frame and the mirror.

Wow, what a project!  The Haworth family is really happy with their new bathroom mirror.  I'm really happy with the results too and fully expect to be doing more of these in the future.  Claudia has offered that anyone in the Kalamzoo area interested in seeing it up close and personal is very welcome to do so.  Contact me at lorrieabdo@aol.com to set up an appointment and discuss fees.  Or, if you know her, you are welcome to go directly to her.

Lorrie

Basketweave Paper Mosaic Pattern #2

Here's try #2 on the basketweave pattern with paste paper strips.  Each square is one inch.  Once you get a rthymn going, it moves along pretty quickly.  Well, I guess "quickly" isn't quite the right word.  Let's just say it goes faster than "slowly".  I have a plan for all this pink...

You can see try #1, in shades of brown, in my March 21st post.

Lorrie

Artist Spotlight - Nancy Donaldson

I've been following Nancy Donaldson at All Pulped Out/The Evolution of Nancy for about a year and a half now.  Like most of the blogs/art I like, I typically pop in every once in a while, enjoy myself and move on.  A rather selfish approach really.  But, when Nancy made a blog post with the title "I Love Texture", I knew I had found my next Artist Spotlight interview.  I hope you'll enjoy her words, her art and absorb some of her enthusiam.  (Special bonus for you lovers of Paris:  she just got back from a trip and has posted lots of photos on her blog.)  Please read/enjoy here.  Please read/enjoy there.

Where are you from? And, where do you live now?
I was born in Windsor, Ontario, Canada-- which is just a mile across the river from Detroit.  When I graduated college in 1982 I moved to Toronto which is just 365 km up the highway northeast from Windsor.


What is your art education?
I have my degree in interior design. Architectural drafting and the history of art and design were my two favorite classes.  I've taken many classes here in Toronto, at Art and Soul, and at Art Unraveled.


Have you always been an artist or are you “new” to it?
For as long as I can remember I've been creating some form of craft or art.

My grandmother started me when I was just about four. I learned how to sew with a darning needle and yarn around a paper plate, before I knew it I was making clothes for all my Barbies. I was crocheting when I was seven and had my own sewing machine when I was ten, revamping all my clothes as I grew really tall at a young age.  At the same time my grandfather (who was an electrician and I was his "helper") taught me how to construct things out of anything we could find.  It was my first attempt at assemblage.

In school I loved trying anything new including making all the bulletin board displays, creating projects for class, and drawing buildings in perspective. When I moved to Toronto I always took night classes in different forms of art, from still life drawing, japanese painting, watercolour, collage-- just to name a few.

What is your specialty? 
I enjoy creating. Anything.

I've always wanted to know how things are done and so have tried just about every craft. I have a huge collection of paper and found objects and love mixed media. I also love photography and incorporating my photos in my work. I've been learning and discovering Photoshop for five years.  In the fall of 2008 I started encaustic classes at the Toronto School of Art and have been hooked ever since. I love that I can combine everything I have learned so far with this medium.

Please describe your work.
It's me! I'm not sure how else to describe it.


As a papermaker, I was drawn immediately to your site because of the title All Pulped Out, yet you're not a papermaker. Tell me about the blog title.
My website is All Pulped Out.  I've always loved paper and started making papier mache in the early '90's.  I was making a lot of home decor items and was enjoying it very much.  I made my own pulp, sculpted each item, added wire, and painted or decoupaged each piece. By '96 I was attending a huge craft show and needed to make a ton of work so I invited all my girlfriends to my house for a "margarita" party and asked them each to bring a blender.  Well before you knew it, drinks and pulp where flying everywhere. At the end of the night I was taking a break and one of my friends said "Hey, get back to work" and I replied "I'm all pulped out" and she said, "That's it! That's your name!"

Since then my art has evolved. I work in collage, mixed media, assemblage and jewelry as well as concentrating lately on my digital work and encaustic.  My blog became The Evolution of Nancy because my art is always evolving.

What does your work space look like?
Organized chaos.  I've spread out into four rooms of the house and taken over several closets.

What would your ideal workspace look like?
A huge room, maybe 20 by 30, with a large window on either end overlooking nature and hopefully some water.  It would have two walls of shelves filled with supplies and several large tables in the middle. There would be an office at one end, a lounge area at the other and maybe include a small kitchen.


What inspires you?
Everything!!!


When you're not making art, what are you doing?
My day job is a hair stylist, which is creative.  I take photos anywhere I go.  I love digging in my garden, going to flea markets and garage sales and hanging out with my friends.


Is there anything else you'd like to share?
My art is my meditation, my therapy. When I create, the external world drifts away and I'm free to concentrate on what is in front of me. I never know where my art is going to take me, but I enjoy the journey and look forward to the many experiences yet to come.

How can you be contacted about your work?

Email:  nancy_allpulpedout@yahoo.com
Blog:  The Evolution of Nancy
Photos:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/nancydonaldson/
Encaustic:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/26191877@N06/


Many thanks to Nancy for visiting with us.  We all should remember to continue to evolve artistically and personally.

Lorrie

New Paper Mosaic Sheets

On Friday, after working my last-fundraiser-ever at the elementary school, I got moving on some paper mosaic sheets.  As usual, the papers that I use are sheets of commercial tagboard that I paste paint on.   These will be made into picture frames, mirror frames and the other home decor items.

Lorrie

Andrea Peterson Workshop - My Pulp Painting Results

Continuing with the Andrea Peterson workshop...  here is my work from the pulp painting frenzy.  None of these are finished.  But, all (I think) have potential...

Poured pulp and a little brush work.  This was the last one I did of the day and it took me about 5 minutes.  I think it has the most potential.  Don't you think that I'd learn one day that the stuff I labor and fuss over is usually less good?

Playing with orange.

1.  Pull white sheet.  2.  Pour blues and purple.  3. Use stencil for flower blossom.  4.  Use dental syringe for orange squiggles.  5.  Wrinkles are bugging me.

This one was also toward the end of the day.  I used mostly leftover colors just to get ride of them.  Fence stencil used on the bottom.

Poured background, drips made by flinging pulp with a spoon tip, brushed on brown pulp over a stencil.

I made the fence stencil during the workshop.  Original photo is from our trip to Monticello last year.

Next steps on all of these is probably to go back in with pastels and/or ink.  We'll see.

Andrea's studio, Hook Pottery Paper in LaPorte, IN, is not far from here and several Guild members and I hope to made a road trip this summer to see her set-up (she uses sustainable art practices whenever possible) and spend more time with this really cool lady.

Lorrie

Andrea Peterson Workshop

The Handmade Paper Guild typically brings in one or two artists each year for a workshop.  Sometimes we focus on surface design, other times bookbinding, papier mache, or another paper-related technique.  But this year it was back to our roots:  handmade paper.  We enjoyed the company and knowledge of papermaker Andrea Peterson of LaPorte, IN.  She is amazing!  I'm very happy to have met her and benefit from her expertise.  The workshop, with 13 Guild members, was held at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center.

The workshop was all about pulp painting.  I'm not talking about just squirting overbeaten pulp from a ketchup bottle onto a freshly pulled sheet of paper (although we did that).  She talked about the chemistry of it all (and made it interesting).  She demonstrated how to color the pulp with pigments and retention aid so that the pulp was really highly saturated.  We then each had to try to match a paint chip so that not only was the color correct but it didn't bleed either (sounds easy, it's not).  Then big fun:  using stencils, paint brushes, titanium white, dental syringes, spoons, cups, ketchup bottles, spray misters and other tools, we experimented.  Into the press and then voila, finished masterpieces.  Ok, I'm getting carried away.  No masterpieces maybe, but all good tries anyway. 

Here are sample colors.  I mixed the orange.  You can see how the bottom left blob is bleeding so more retention aid was added until the bleeding stopped.

The cups of colored pulp that became our pallete.  We used white, buff and gray sheets as our base.

Sally, Lauren, Judy, Alice and Sally working away...

Pouring pulp and using a brush to paint the pulp on the surface.

Preparing to use a stencil.

Barb and MaryJo pulling sheets out of the press.

An experimental group project where each person made a mark of some kind with the color that they had mixed.

At the end of a long, productive day...

Andrea Peterson, instructor

Eve Reid, founder of Handmade Paper Guild and Andrea's hostess 

Sally Rose, professor at Central Michigan University

Lorrie Grainger Abdo, workshop coordinator

Can you tell that it was more than a full day and we all went home exhausted?  Many, many thanks to Andrea for a great day. I'll show you my results from the experience in the next post...

Lorrie

Armand Merizon

Armand Merizon, 90, a great Michigan painter with international fans and collectors died earlier this month.  At his memorial service last week some of his paintings from the family collection were on display and they are awesome.  Not awesome in the typical teenager use of the word.  But awesome in the way the word is intended to be used:  invoking awe.  The memorial was a beautiful tribute as the speakers came from the various paths that he walked in his life:  his art, his family, his faith. He always said that if he couldn't paint he would die.  While certainly not a medical explaination, in the end, that's what happened. 

Armand was my uncle.  My dad's sister's husband.  In his prime he was a large man with a flowing beard and a giant cigar forever nearby.  He painted every day, usually throughout the night, in a chicken coop converted to his studio.  Painting came first.

During our couple-times-a-year family gatherings, he sat at the head of the dinner table and told stories that usually ended with a loud, deep, booming laugh.  He was king of his court.  And, oh my, he was intimidating.  Not unkind, just intimidating.  As I got older, and the infrequent family gatherings became even less frequent, he intimidated me less but what to say to one another?  Then as an adult, pretending to be an artist, when I would have loved to talk with him about art, it never happened.  I didn't know him well, but wish I did.

During the last year of his life, Uncle Armand lived with one of his daughters and her family.  As a result, his 17-year-old grandson Jesse, got to know him better and wrote this poem in tribute.  It is for his grandfather, but let it also serve as a reminder to all artists.  Our job is to find the beauty in this world that others can't see or simple don't stop to see.

Hidden Beauty
by Jesse Ludema

A blind man ponders as he gazes upon the magnificence

Why can’t we see the beauty?

He treasures every moment, and finds wonder in hidden places
We move too fast for the beauty

He lives a simple life, taking pride in simple things, like dogs and shake-spear curls

Why can’t we see this beauty?

As he looks out he sees a brilliant sight, blue and white wings flapping and soaring in the breeze… or is it just laundry hanging outside…

Why can’t we see this beauty?

He sees roaring waves crashing and tumbling in the sky… I only see dark clouds…

Why can’t we see this beauty?

The sun reflects off a small old window on an ugly aged house… He sees an explosion of majestic illumination beaming before him

Why can’t we see this beauty?

We look and look and look and look, but he tells us to look some more

We are still searching for the beauty.

He sits there in thought and begins to paint; he lets his mind flow free; he loses himself in his art

He is trying to show us the beauty.

He paints dancing colors; his painting comes alive and tells us marvelous tales

Now we can see the beauty.

For more about him you can go to the Armand Merizon website which has more information about him, his work as well as providing information about the documentary that was made about him several years ago.

Keep looking.

Lorrie

Trip Around the World

And now for everyone's favorite past time:  viewing someone else's vacation pictures!  I promise to keep it short.  The goofy family pictures will remain within the family.

Italy

Nepal

Africa

Carribbean

New York

Hollywood

Pretty flowers somewhere in the World

No, we didn't travel around THE world.  We went TO the World (and Tampa for a Spring Training game.)  This picture was taken at about midnight on day 4.  Even the kids look tired.

The most amazing thing I find about anything Disney is the attention to detail.  Every plant, screw, bolt, paint color, and architectural feature is there for a reason. Unfortunately, in the rush to get from one attraction to another, in the huge masses of people, it is easy to forget to look.  And looking is what artists do best.

Spring Break 2010 will go down in our family history book as fun, expensive and exhausting. There is no such thing as relaxing at Disney when you open one of the Parks and then close it too.

Lorrie