Travel Journal: Book 221

I am part of a book artist group called Art Books Cleveland.  Every year the group has two exhibitions during the month of October: our Abecedaria show usually at the Morgan Conservatory, and a second show at the Ingalls Library in the Cleveland Museum of Art.  This year the group decided to have a special show themed on Travel Journals.  A small group of us met every month to talk about our ideas, show progress, and work through problems.

After thinking about it for months and changing my idea a few times, I ended up making a book documenting one day of my trip to Scottsdale, Arizona in April.  The book is titled Arizona: April 2013, One Day in Scottsdale.  The cover features a map of the Scottsdale area, and every page is watercolor painting with pen and ink.

I tried a book structure I had never done before called a Drum Leaf Binding.  I discovered a great tutorial for drum leaf binding that was simple to understand, and had great step-by-step instructions (I highly recommend it for anyone interested in bookbinding, beginner or advanced.)

Using drum leaf allowed me to do the watercolor paintings flat, over the whole page instead of worrying about paint pooling in the crease.  It was great for the panorama views and looked very professional when finished.

I really enjoyed learning a new structure and having a reason create a book with content.  I will definitely be making more drum leaf books in the future.  I also want to make more art books and book with content.  (Maybe next year's challenge...?)

Monday Project: Astronomy H-I-J

Last Monday I was dealing with day one of a cold... So my "project" for the day was laying on my couch, napping, and drinking tea.  My whole to-do list of projects, laundry, and writing blog posts went out the window (and got put off another week.)  This week on my day off I made the pages for H, I, and J in my Astronomy alphabet book.  H is for Halley's Comet.  I is for the International Space Station.  J is for Jupiter.

Sneak Preview: Astronomy Book

I couldn't wait to share with everyone the book I'm working on.  It is an alphabet book based on Astronomy.  I am using acrylic paint, fine tipped markers, and embossing powder on navy blue cardstock...  And pure AWESOMENESS.

So far I have made 6 out of 24 panels.  Aurora Borealis, Cassiopeia, Draco, Eagle Nebula, Flame Nebula, and Gemini.

I am planning on entering the completed book into a show at Zygote Press in May.

BW Student Art Exhibition

After the Senior Art Exhibition came down from the gallery, it was time for the Annual Student Art Exhibition.  Any student on campus is allowed to enter up to 5 pieces in the show, with a juror selecting the pieces to be displayed.  The juror also selects awards including 5 Honorable Mentions, first, second, and third prize, along with a Best in Show.  Additional awards are also given by the Academic Dean's Office and other groups.  The show ran from April 11-29 with a reception and awards ceremony on Friday, April 15th.

This year I had all 5 of my submissions selected to be in the show.  I entered two framed monoprints, an oil painting, a necklace, and a metal container.  My painting, titled Enter, was awarded an Honorable Mention.  Additionally, one of my prints and my necklace were purchased later in the month.

The necklace is a one of a kind piece created using a Euro coin and a gold toned pocket knife purchased at an antique store.  The coin is riveted between two pieces of copper and hangs from a handmade sterling silver chain.

My metal container is actually a Knitting Needle Case made from square brass tubing.  The lid of the box features a ceramic cash register found at an antique store.  The front of the box has glass cabachons set in silver and arranged to mimic the floral motif on the cash register.

New Paintings

The first completed project for my painting class was an "unusual view" painting.  The idea was to paint a space that would not normally be considered art, or to take a normal location and portray it in an unusual way.  My painting is of the bushes and icicles outside my kitchen window.  My current apartment is a ground floor apartment, so the windows look out at ground level.  This creates what I consider to be an unusual view.  In this painting I focused on creating a subtle color variation in the otherwise neutral areas.  I also wanted to capture the radiant qualities of the ice.

Another recent project was a painted self portrait using subjective color.  This means instead of using realistic flesh colors I used various shades of violets.  To help create the small changes in the planes of the face, I added red-violet and blue-violet in certain areas.  The self portrait was an intriguing challenge and I can see more self portraits in my future.

Painting Alla Prima

For the first week of my Intermediate Painting class, we worked from a still life to create an "alla prima" painting. Alla Prima is an Italian term meaning an initial painting, or painting done all at once. Essentially, the painting is worked all in one sitting, or in multiple sittings while the paint is still wet. The method of painting encourages a looser, more expressive style with an emphasis on interesting brushwork. The alternative method of painting includes multiple layers of paint and thin glazes to enhance colors and add details.The still life I chose to work from included a piece of red cloth, an animal skull, and purple foliage. The painting was completed in roughly 2-3 hours and not reworked. I consider this painting to be more of a "sketch" using paint as opposed to a piece I would hang on the wall. It had also been nearly a year since my last painting class, so this exercise was great for reaquainting myself with the materials.
Stay tuned for more posts about painting. Photos of my first painted self portrait are coming soon!