Friday, August 27, 2010

India Journal Completion

OK, Here are my cover boards for the India journal (see below/earlier blog entries for the beginnings of this journal if you are just tuning in). They have gel medium on them and are ready for the screening just above them there. This will make very durable hinges in the cover. Now, with the screening glued in I attached them to my painted paper grocery bag and flipped it over for you to see.
That all dried under a stack of magazines for a while today, then I cut it to size and folded and glued the edges over.

Below you see the paper signatures ready to bind into the cover ... but wait ...
See how the gluing didn't work so well? Pondering the situation I came up with a repeat cut border in metal tape to cover the errent edges and make them stick - but in a pretty way.
Here is the cut. You will see it set in a few photos down ...
Here I am punching the holes into the signatures according to a template carefully measured to fit the spine board.
There is the metal tape border. I like how it turned out. And here I am punching the spine board according to the same template. (Sooo much easier with an awl. I have always used tapestry needles and a thimble. Ouch.)
The beginning of the binding ...
And the mostly completed book. I still have to attach the closure bead which must be somewhere in my stash at home. Somewhere.
The journal open. See the envelope on the front inside cover? That is for whatnots. (You can see it better up above.)
I like this binding a lot. I am very pleased. :)
So here is your enticement: Come to Sunne Spot and I will walk you through the binding and give you a sketch of the stitching pattern.
Now what magic thing will I have fill these pages?
Good night! Thanks for wandering through this with me.

Maine Media Workshops Visits Sunne Spot

Well, this summer has been a season of serendipity and good fortune for Sunne Spot. Through this and that little turn of fate I have met, and had the good fortune of working with, some wonderful artists.

One of my favorite groups of people to work with are parents with their children. I have had the astonishing and nigh on miraculous opportunity to work with my children over the years. I have a theory that keeping this practice of art - like meditation or prayer - is both intimate and healing when we regularly share it with someone. And when that someone is our child we parents are given a sweet way to deepen and strengthen both of us in the relationship. I welcome you to visit the Studio and test my theory. (!)

One of my favorite and regular moms, Beverly, happened to meet Clem Spaulding, a student at the local art school: Maine Media Workshops. Clem has been a still photographer in Texas for years and was taking a class to move his work into videography. In their conversation Clem found the subject of his Workshop video: Sunne Spot Studio.

You can see the result here at youtube:

Well, Clem showed the video to his longtime friend, photographer Judy Herrmann, also teaching at Maine Media Workshops this summer, and it turned out that Sunne Spot filled a need of hers and we were able to collaborate this past week.

Judy has been teaching "Jump Start Your Career", a course about using creativity in business develpoment. (It sounded so wonderful - wish I'da been there..) Judy wanted to have her students not only do the classroom work, but also to have an opportunity to just play, knowing that this kind of visual "what if-ing" gets all of our work re-charged.

How true.

Here they are at work: And here are some of the results. They painted, printed and stamped some papers on Tuesday ...
Then came back this morning to make paper chains, journals ...
(make some more papers)
make an Artist Trading Card (this one is called Paper Bag Elvis) ... (and is actually up on the Trading Rail waiting to be traded on...) and even origami.
I enjoyed working with the Workshop students very much. (Thank you all for visiting! Beautiful artwork.)
And I was delighted to be asked to brainstorm with teachers this summer.
I might be turning into a part time art consultant.
It is all good.