Artist's Journals

I am thinking a lot about artist's journals these days. I was in a "skinny book" swap at http://alteredabbey.com and I LOVE how little chunky bits of art lump up the pages. I enjoy holding the ribbons and fluffy yarns in my hands as I turn the pages. I just like add-ons, embellishments. It must be related to my love of beads.

But I also like to write. I like to read what I wrote. And all of this art on my pages, though fun, is distracting. Horrifying as it is to say, I might have to have two journals. Because I am liking using the visual stuff to tell my story. But it seems to work better for the headlines. writing is so ... flowing. So many artistic rocks in this journal. I spend all my time circling around them and I am feeling crazed to not be able to just. well ... GO.

Also thinking about friendship. I feel like I have been under one of those rocks for the last 10 years. Oh, >sigh<

I guess this is one of those topics to make a page spread about, yeah?

Well then I'm off. I have been making 5 sets of tall, skinny curtains into three sets of quite wide, short curtains for the classroom. A little checkerboard Seminole border (all with the same fabric so an extreemly subtle checkerboard) to use up the cutoffs and fill out the width of the curtain behind the teacher's desk. I keep thinking that all this work is art-juju to give the teacher, and thus my daughter, a good year.

We do what we can.

Swap Night at the O.K. Library!

You know, the thing I like about showing people art ideas is that you all come right back at me with fabulous ideas of your own! I loved ATC Night yesterday. I can hardly wait to do more.

We had a strong little group last night and I got permissions to show you some of what we did. Our theme was using those little foam adhesive dots to play with making 3-D ATCs. This is in my book: The Great Library ATC Swap (available at http://lulu.com/content/2470810 ).

This one has the picture of a girl being swept up in a tornado - in 3-D!! Oh Nooooo!
And here is a little fairy under the arch at Children's Chapel (an outdoor chapel looking out over the georgous waters of Penobscot Bay). You can't tell, but the fairy is floating above the groud on her foam dot. Again, in order to show the card in full I didn't shoot the angle to get the dimension: this next ATC has REAL sunflower seeds, and two layers of sunflowers. It is awesome in hand!

Here is a girl dancing to the band music - of course in 3-D!There is a granite seal in Rockport Harbor: Andre. He (the live seal) lived here in the 1960's with a local family and there is a book about him, a couple in fact, that you can get at your library. Here is Andre. Can you tell how he is layered?
Here is a multi-dimensional Valentine:Another fairy at Children's Chapel - I tell you, that is a very magical place! This fairy was hand-drawn with sparkle Gelly Roll pens (one of my fave brands) and set in with foam dots:
This is one I worked on. This is a photo of an embroidery I put on a jean jacket when I was about 15. See how the sun rises from behind the hills of rolling chain stitch?Then, as I went looking in the office for our pre-cut ATC backs guess what excellent Librarian Jane left for us? CLEAR ATCs!!! Thank you, Jane! This is what I did with them: made a base ATC picture, and then made a bit of a borderon the clear ATC to hide some foam dots that set the "glass" above the picture. On the sunshine I redrew the sun with permanant gold ink, and on my valentine I drew with sparkly Gelly Rollers. We had a great night (except for the part about my daughter being given a ticket by her teacher for "reading while walking outside a library.") (Joke.)

Our next ATC swap at the library is on Saturday, September 13th, at 2:30, with excellent Iris. See you there!

THANK YOU

Thank you all so much!

What a rush of delight that is to send small bits of art all over the world! Wow!! Thank you for saying appreciative things about my artworks, and for all the folks in the general area of the-hurricane-that-isn't-so-much: how relieved I am to hear that Fay isn't acting too crazy.

So: well-met and Happy Art to Germany, Canada, Ireland, VAx2, KY, TXx3, OH, CA, FLx2, GA, & MA!

(I am definitely not cranky or fearful anymore!!)

ATC giveaways are so much fun!

This is such a treat. I just have so much fun meeting people from all over, and I have added some little ATC ephemera papers in the envelopes too, this time.

Let's see, I have met people from California, Virginia, two from Florida (God Bless all the people in the path of the storms this week!), I have only had one international player - Ireland, oh, and Massachusetts, Texas...

So: I still have some cards left and am still delighted to send them anywhere in the world: Numbers 1, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 23.

I highly recommend this: just giving them away! It HAS totally changed my emotionally state from feeling small to feeling generous, and happy, and excited to chat with people - artists! - from all over!

Yay!

Fiddle Camp ATC giveaway...

Oh. I feel foolish.

The ATCs that I thought yesterday might have been stolen at Fiddle Camp were in a coat pocket which I found doing the laundry this morning. Oh dear. I am sorry to have gone so quickly to that place.

Well, to completely change the energy of this whole situation I am going to give them all away as gifts to you. I will picture them all below: if you like one just send me an email (robinsunne@robinsunne.com) with your postal address and I will send it to you. (Maybe you had better give me a second choice just in case..) You will see that they have a musical theme going ... in honor of Fiddle Camp ...

I send these with wishes for your happiness:

#1 fiddle-faddle!:

#2 Susannah, don't you cry - the quote reads: "It rained all night the day I left, the weather it was dry" - !:

#3 The treasure of our passion:#4 Our Bounty:#5 And now I'm found - Amazing Grace is one of my most favorite songs... I can't wait to learn it on my violin:#6 How sweet the sound:#7 Keep Going! - This is encouragement that I heard, and that I think has some merit, and that I heeded at Fiddle Camp:#8 Strong Loving Peace - this is one of the cards that I made while I was teaching the ATC Specialty Workshop at Camp:#9 Come and sit by my side - I enjoyed quite a bit of adult time! (That's a parent joke.) Old and new friends. Oh yay. Also I was in the "Hawk" group, I know, this is a Kestrel/falcon, but not all that far off:#10 Skye Boat Song - Oh! My! I really like this song. It was the only one on the list that I learned before camp, and I learned it a bit off and so had to relearn it, but it is worth it. It is so beautiful. The quote reads: Speed bonny boat like a bird on the wing...:#11 Your Heart's Content - reads: "Fiddle to your Heart's Content":#12 You are the flower of Love #1:#13 You are the flower of Love #2:#14 Banjo Journey:#15 Cello Celebration - You shoulda heard those cellos and basses. Wow! They have such a rich sound. The classes would play for us, only cellos or only basses, and the sound was fantastic!:#16 Contra Dance Band:#17 When She Comes - the quote says: "She'll be coming around the mountain":# 18 'Tis a Gift to be free... - the quote on the front of the card reads: "tis a gift to be simple":

#19 Sing Me Something - guitars are all mixed up in my mind with singing, tho at Camp they often did instrumentals which were lovely: #20 Fiddly-I-Oh:#21 Hot Fiddles! - the caution warning label came from some of our sparklers this past July, and you shoulda heard some of those fiddles at Camp!:#22 Fiddle Travels - the background papers on these last two ATCs came from American Express credit card advertising that looks like luggage and passports!:#23 Don't you cry for me - a fitting end to my Fiddle Camp ATC saga if you take the title another way ... all is well:

Gain and Loss

Well, I am home from camp. I took my children to Maine Fiddle Camp. I was not looking forward to the experience. I am not a strong fiddle player and I tend to crash and burn in the self-esteem department when I try. But, as a few of you may know, parenting beloved children gets you to do the most amazing things ... It's all an opportunity. It's all a Gift.

First of all I began hearing of other adult musicians (there's more than just fiddle there) speak in the same beaten up way - even adults who are WAY better players than I am. We have in common that we started learning within the last 5 years or so.

Then I just kept listening to that voice that kept telling me to keep my heart open - which is what playing the violin makes happen to me. (The rush of huge emotions screaming for attention then drowning out what ever else is happening.) So I moved myself down to the Oh-So-Beginner group where these two fabulous women took us note...by...note through each song (five in all for the week). They were so kind. May the Universe shower them with blessings. By Wednesday I was actually playing the songs so often that even amidst keeping my children dry (its been an unusually rainy August here in Maine), and encouraging them in their endeavors, and hearing the strains of 229 other instruments come winding through the woods: I was able to play the songs with a minimum of mistakes. And guess what. I began to see that it was fun.

I am still processing this. It is huge to be an adult learning at the rate of a child (very fast). And I am learning alot about what love and trust have to do with that. So: a Gift indeed, and I am grateful.

And when the head of camp called for "specialty workshops" (not necessairily musical in nature) I of course brought out my ATC supplies...

About 25, or maybe more, people came and got a whiff of what we already know: can't hardly get enough of this stuff. Yay.

The sad part of my post is that I brought along most of those cards that I had been working on from the last post, adding little pictures of violins and lines of verse from some of the songs that we'd been learning. When I went to work on them this morning I am stunned to say that I cannot find them. While it is still possible that I have misplaced them, I have a bad feeling that they were taken from me.

I also brought along a favorite songbook: Rise Up Singing, for artists to get lines of verse for their cards too. I told everyone not to cut it up, but look: someone did.

Clearly, whoever did that realised their error and at least returned all the cut pages to the tabletop, but she didn't apologise, and it was a surprise this morning to be flipping throught the cut up book and realise what had happened.

So, an open heart, and fun, and maybe some confidence, and some ouchies too. Ain't that just the way.

Sounds like a topic for a country western song...

Camp Art

Well, while we were at camp this week, and while the children were off being ... child-like, I started looking around in my ATC bag. (Some people bring novels for their down time...) I had some sheets of cardstock, and I had a zip-lock bag full of tiny scraps that knew would come in handy eventually! I grouped the bits by color and then glued them to the cardstock.

When I got home I sealed each card with gel medium. This morning I cut them into individual cards - now I have 50!! ATC backers. The last thing that I will do is add words: song lyrics, tea tag sayings, fortune cookie fortunes...
The red/pink sheet has red foil from the inside of a christmas letter from my cousin and odd ends from other crumpled tissue paper ATC backers that I hadn't quite finished.

The greens included some tissue/glue papers, gold doily parts, a teabag envelope and green punch-out strips from a scrapbooking effort.

The pink/purple has torn mulberry paper strips and stars cut from pink scrapbook paper as well as the magazine paper envelope that I got from an enamel artist woman I know, in trade for one of my birthday ATCs back in June.

There is one that has some sparkler packaging mixed in with bits of gold and "go make something" tags from Lisa Volrath's website (tons of freebies there!) (gomakesomething.com I think).

And lastly one in orange and yellow and gold: teabag envelope - gold!, handcarved rubber stamps and Tibetan incence packaging on that page.

AND NOW ALL OF THOSE BACKERS:

Say The Words update

So the books are printed and bound and now comes the embellishment part. This is kinda cool so I thought that I'd show you.

First, here is how the embellishments look on the page: (with some metal behind the book)

And here is the process: metal duct tape (found at hardware and auto stores) covering a sheet of craft foam (for this I used a teal color as it matches the colors on the page), and then doodled with Sharpie extra fine permanent markers. I find that I am having to go over the doodles again to make the marks really black. The foam really holds the "engraving" of the line. You don't get it from these photos, but I painted a layer of pale green nail polish (wasn't my color) over the top. It looks wonderful with the other greens on the page.

Later, then.

At work on the new book

Well, here's a pic of one of the pages for the book:

It is a "skinny book", meaning long and tall. This one is 4" x 8". (Did I already say this?) In internet-art-group land these books are a compilation of the work of many different artists, but this one is all by me. Each page will be a digital print of an original, hand-drawn picture, spiral bound, and then individually embellished with beads and cut-outs and such. These books don't lie flat, but instead are thick and juicy with little intriguements sneaking out from between the pages.

It is called Say The Words.

I will sell them on my etsy page next to Nannee, my hardcover papercut-picture book about a young woman who spends the day with her grandmother who is an herbalist.

I am off to make one of the final cutouts ... see you again soon.

grandparent photo ATCs

Hi, It's been weeks... I started working on my next book, a cut paper picture book, when out of the ethers another book dashed to the front of the queue and demanded first attention. The conversation wasn't too long: I caved and started working on that.

So the current book is a "skinny book". There are lots of specific sizes for skinny books, but in general they are about twice as tall as they are wide, are handmade and spiral bound, and often are embellished with all manner of trinkets and artistic devices. I think that I am going to offer this one in two ways: one just the images - they will be computer copies of the original hand drawn pages - and the second version will be fully embellished. I am thinking that I will offer them on my etsy shop (http://robinsunne.etsy.com/)

And otherwise in life I have been joining in some group swaps at artisttradingcards@yahoogroups.com. I joined a "pink and orange"swap, a sunflowers swap, and have a print swap to work on next week, and a name swap after that. I can't wait to start getting them back!!

I also promised that group that I would post two ancestor ATCs from my new book here.

Here is Hettie:

And here is Madie:Fare Thee Well!

ATC - ROH

Cool news in the local ATC world: Molly, the library director, and I are going to throw a big ATC party to celebrate our ATC Year. We will ATC at the ROH. That is short for "make ATCs all afternoon on Saturday, November 24th, at the Rockport Opera House with your friends and neighbors and have so much fun that you will hardly believe it".
There is a kitchen so we'll have eats. There is a big open space with linoleum floors and so we might go really wild and crazy and use paints!!! (Can't really do that in the carpeted library.) Oh My!!! There are so many ATC painted background ideas that I have been sooooo eager to try. What if we did that there???!!! On that day! You and I! I have to go tell Molly. That's a great idea.
Yaaaay!
(I will have Great Library ATC Swap books to sell and autograph.) (!!!)
We could all get a great start on end of the year presents - I mean what is better than hand-made gifts? Yes? But mostly what a lovely way to wind our way towards winter: making art, telling stories, sipping tea and cocoa...

We will have only two more ATC swaps in 2008 after that: Saturday the 13th and a revised date of Tuesday, December 30th, when we will be making Goals and Resolutions cards. I will keep you up to date as we get closer.

And just to reassure you, Iris and I have been thinking up more fabulous Art-at-the-Library ideas for next year... skinny books and such...

I am also proud to say that my art quilts have been "approved" for possible inclusion at the Maine Crafts Association's new retail location in Gardiner. (!!) I just got the letter yesterday. I really love the work of sewing and I have missed it in this year of paperarts focus. So it will be very good to have another excuse to get back to it.

I wish you a Tuesday full of art and love.

Last night's ATC swap at the library

Well last night, at our local library, we had our fifth Wednesday evening ATC swap. We looked around in our junk drawers and came up with some intriguing design items. Have a look:

This one says "Meditate by emptying yourself and letting the universe fill you." that came from a tea tag, the woman from a Dover clip art book, the gold from a paper doily, and the marigolds from a seed packet.

This next one has a reproduction of an old playing card with my face glued in, some Chinese spirit offerings, and a golden paper skirt.

And this last one from last night has an empty needle case folder (which opens and I want to put something else in there...), two twinkle lights from a Christmas tree string, a paper tea tag reading: It is not what you have that is your greatness, it is what you give." and some Viet Namese spirit money.

The tea tag quote was interesting to find in my stash because I had realised on the way to the library that I was suddenly really nervous about teaching ... "would I be good enough?" and all that. But I remembered that old wisdom about how when we put our selves in the position of giving our gifts - rather trying to gauge other people's evaluation of us - it takes the pressure off. My job is just to give what I have and the rest is up to God/The Universe.

I think that it helped.

And an added treat is that one of my Birthday ATC Recipients came to the swap, gave me an ATC in exchange for the one I had given to her, and ALSO traded two more times with me!!

A good night. Next month we are going to play with portraits of famous people from Maine. July 30th. I will also have some of my new books, The Great Library ATC Swap, to autograph if you would like one. See you then.

The Great Library ATC Swap is HERE!

Yaaaay!!
My latest book is out! It is all ready for you at lulu.com Click HERE to be taken to the page where you can purchase it! Then write to us to swap with the Rockport Library ATC Swap Group!
Here is a bit from the introduction:
***
We have been holding ATC Make and Swaps at the Rockport Public Library for a little while and I’ve been thinking: what if libraries all over the country held Swaps? A person could travel all over during summer vacation visiting Swaps in state after state. Our Library could hold a 10 for 10 swap with your library. We’d all get clearer on our geography. Northerners and southerners, westerners and easterners would be making friends. Folks from blue and red states would be sending little art gifts back and forth to each other. The possibilities are endless. And fabulous. I wanted to share this with you.

Let’s do it!

In this book I tell our story hoping to inspire you! I have included more than 30 different ATC techniques to bring to your group. All of them, (except a couple that are just too cool to leave out), are simple cut, and paste, and draw ideas that will amaze and delight you when you see the interpretations that blossom from all of the individual ATC artists each month. I hope that many, many folks will try this all over the country. And if your Swap Group would like to swap with our Library Group, (which we would love!), join the fun at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Robinsunne

It is very sweet to make art with your friends.

Hope to hear from you soon!

ATC Birthday Party Success!!

Well, that was So. Much. Fun!

I had birthday wishes from old friends (24 years and counting), newer friends, folks I've only met once, and people I've never met at all from western Maine to Northern Ireland to New Zealand with CO, MS, VA, and GA in between.

WOW!! It was great! A couple of people talked to me about doing it them selves for their own birthdays. I would highly recomend it. I just put my pictures here on my blog and then sent out a couple of notices to two yahoo groups that I am in, (ATCs and unschooling) and a select group from my address book - all folks who appreciate the finer - and smaller - things in life.

I am sending out 20 cards actually. Some friends didn't ask for a card, but I was feeling so happy and full that I just kept addressing envelopes.

Thank you all very much. I had a great day!

Happy Birthday!!

It's my birthday! I am going to give out party favors: I have started my day in the best possible way, lazing around in bed until nearly 5:00 then a couple of hours playing with some of my June ATCs. Now it is time for the presents! I will show you some of my artistic endeavors and then you can write to me - robinsunne@robinsunne.com - and I will send you whichever one you tell me to! I wish you all a great day!

Here is Postage Stamp Landscape:

And: Inner Peace (non-violence):

Sharing Our Gifts has a tiny booklet in its pocket:

Do Your Dream:

Love Poste (also has a tiny pocket with a small card):

We Live In Community (was hand drawn on a brown paper bag):

Lotus (hand drawn on glazed tissue paper):

Friendship (done in the March technique from The Great Library ATC Swap due out this week!!!):

Art Washes Away (from the soul the dust of everyday life. Picasso) (two more little pockets!):

To Invigorate, Stimulate ... Make Joyful (has some candy wrapper faux postage stamps):

Random Act of Art (also hand drawn on glazed tissue paper):

Throw Paint! (Life is a great big canvas, and you should throw all the paint on it you can. Danny Kaye):Good Morning (is a card within a pocket):

And last and fabulous is Where Are We? (which has a 10 page book in its pocket!):

NOW REMEMBER: Please send me an email with your choice and your mailing address to robinsunne@robinsunne.com, don't comment here as it is both laborious on my slow speed computer to get the messages and also it doesn't protect your private mailing address as much.

Have a lovely, lovely day!

R