Work Done During Summer

Finally a chance to post some of the work I did over the summer months related to altered books. Not much, as it was a busy summer. But as the days lengthen, I am going to get more art done. That is my goal.

This first picture is the cover of my latest AB. It contains a poem, Dare to Dream, that my mom gave to me. It is a good reminder of the need to not be afraid of pushing for what you believe, for reaching your dreams. Over the poem, I used a mustard colored glaze and then added motivational stickers.

This is the most recent spread. This picture comes from a magazine and I had been waiting to use it... The quote just seems to fit. Background color is a cat's eye stamp pad. I am finding I like the grey-green and rust colors in my work.

Another of my Asian inspired spreads. This one has a lot of meaning and history, as most of the items on the page came from my box of Japanese artifacts I used when teaching 4th and 5th grade. The background with the trees and birds is a rice paper napkin that when adhered, it is impossible to tell that it is not just drawn on.

The background beneath that is done with Korean tea bag wrappers.

The rich green ribbon in the middle was used to close the gap that was starting to show in the spine. Mistakes can easily be covered - with nice results. The dolls were decorative on chopstick boxes. The Asian writing - Korean, from paper I bought in Insadong in Seoul, South Korea.

This spread is meant to be a background, done in a book that I think will someday use as a journal. All of the spreads are done so that writing can be done over it. It is a mixture of various papers -- the right side top is a piece of coffee filter that Jaden "colored" in preschool and the purples and blues were really the inspiration for this page.

I like that I used torn out pages from a book and serendiptiously included a page on the left top entitled, "The Professor." Not seen easily, but I used lumiere purple on top of the spread - it glitters nicely in the light.

Ah, summer... this page is not "finished," but I don't think I will finish it. A bright, bold statement of the summer now past...

My Son, the Artist

I now have to share my blog with my son who is an artist himself. Yesterday he wanted to play with scissors, markers and a glue stick and he created the right half of this piece. He called it a train. This morning he got out his art supplies and added on the left portion and "hooked up" another train. I think it's wonderful and love that he is utilizing his artistic talents. He is only 3 1/2, but on his way! He is into trucks, trains, diggers - all the things little boys typically like. Here is a favorite picture of him sitting on a digger and loving it.