I've been making a ton of art lately in my oil painting and intaglio classes. Thought I'd share some with you since it's been approximately 10456 days since my last post.

Two monoprints with an image transfer out of a series of three from my mono/intaglio class. They're based on a poem by Mary Oliver called "Breakage."

An oil painting I recently finished. It has a pair, but that one isn't quite ready to be photographed. Both are 1.5' x 1.5'.

There's much more work to post, but I haven't gotten a chance to photograph it all yet. Needless to say, it's a busy semester! Next up is an intaglio print incorporating some aspect of chance and a huge 4' x 5' oil painting. :)

Blue Crab!

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

I've been working hard in my free time trying to come up with a good design for the Oil Spill cleanup journals, and I'm really happy with what I've done so far! The two that I've made have closed spines, and I got them to case in straight, which was really exciting (casing in is what it's called when you put the text block [the stack of pages sewn together] into the cover)! I decided to start with the blue crab, for no apparent reason, and think I'm going to continue with the same sort of style for the rest of the animals (all animals that are harmed by the oil... brown pelicans, sandpipers, loggerhead turtles, sperm whales, etc...). I'm enjoying this project a lot, and hopefully others will enjoy the results as well so that I can raise enough money to make it worth it! I'm thinking The Nature Conservancy will be my organization of choice. Once I've finished making the journals, I plan on adding an insert with some information on what they're doing to help the clean up process, and maybe how each individual animal has been hurt by the spill.

New directions

So blogging apparently is not my forte. Despite all my good intentions, it just has not been easy for me to update regularly.

The book binding process has been slow, but I'm getting much better! The first attempt was pretty upsetting, because the binding turned out all crooked (although, after a few frustrated tears on my part and some shoving the binding around on my mom's, it looks a lot better than it did originally and I think I'll be able to use it as a day-planner). The second attempt was much better. I decided to do it with an open spine, because I figured it would be easier not having to deal with making sure the spine is the right size, and it was! Despite some glue issues, it looks very pretty. Here are some pictures:

And now for my real reason for posting: I had a stroke of brilliance today while buying more paper. There's a craft fair at St. Olaf sometime early fall semester, and I have been thinking that it would be fun to make enough books so that I could get a booth. However, today I decided that instead of making money for myself, it would be awesome if I could donate to an organization that is helping out with the oil spill. I'm sick of sitting in front of the tv each evening, watching Brian Williams report on the disaster, and feeling sick to my stomach about not being able to do anything. It would be cute to cover the books with original art having to do with the area, maybe animals that have been effected... nautical themes... so that they're more relevant. The only problem is, I have no idea where I would send the money. I'm going to start researching, but if anyone has any ideas, please let me know! Something animal-related would be good, or maybe even an organization helping those who have lost work because of the spill.

thanks for reading!

UPDATE

Ideas for organizations:

• National Wildlife Federation
• The Nature Conservancy (they have committed to long-term help on the coast)

First text block attempt!

Most of my book binding materials came today! I was so excited to get back from my run this morning and see a big package from Hollander's waiting for me. In it were four nice sheets of binding board, three yards of linen tape, as well as PVA glue.

Until today I had been biding my time folding signatures of random paper laying around the house, getting ready to test out my first text block. I went at it tonight, sewing together five signatures of four pages, and it actually went pretty well! I won't be using it for a book, that's for sure (definitely don't need to bother with the fussy end sheets with hinge cloth or whatever), but it was good practice, and I think I'll use it to take notes on the process.

Here's a snapshot of a bit of the binding:

(I had no idea my nails matched my walls so well! XD)

So next step I suppose would be to use some better quality paper, do a much neater job of sewing the text block, and then going to the fabric warehouse to find some fun fabrics for the cover!

I love starting new projects. Hopefully this turns out a success!

Getting back at it...

So when I created this blog, I had completely true intentions of keeping it up and running. But then computer issues happened, then finals happened, then spending time with my family happened... and blogging didn't. But never fear dear readers (anyone out there?), for I have my laptop back, am finished with exams, have mostly caught up with my family, and am good and ready to get this thing going!

Not quite sure where to pick up, as I never really found a direction for this thing, but I guess a good place to start would be by laying out my plans for the summer. As an English and studio art double major, I'm constantly trying to find ways to bridge my two interests. In one large, valiant attempt, this summer's project is going to be learning how to bind books. I have an internship at a small, independent book sales company and so I'm sure I'll get lots of inspiration there, and I've also been checking out books like mad from the local library, trying to get myself started. It'll be tricky, seeing as there's some pretty pricy machinery that I'm going to have to get creative in order to live without, but I'm sure the process will be incredibly rewarding. It will be fun to have some nice, handmade gifts for my friends and family, and maybe I'll be able to make some profit out of the endeavor. But even if I don't, it will surely keep my busy and maybe even be something I can keep exploring as I finish my degrees!

So, I suppose I can chronicle my journey through that process some this summer in the blog (or "the blob" as my mother once referred to it as), as well as the other random projects I use to keep myself from going insane.

Before I sign off for the night, I was wondering what people think of the layout. I'm not sure if it's too simplistic (read: boring!) or what. Not sure what I think about it.

In Perpetual Spring

I have a terrible case of spring fever today. Or, have had it for the past month at least. It came super early this year, which is both a blessing and a curse. It's pretty much impossible to concentrate on reading Heart of Darkness when all I want to do is walk around the natural lands!

Anyway, I stumbled across this amazing team of designers before breakfast this morning. They're called Poppies & Posies, are located in New York, and make the most beautiful, rustic little arrangements.

It's finally spring, and all I want to do is arrange pretty flowers in vintage containers! 

Also, in honor of spring, I thought I'd share a poem I recently came across:

In Perpetual Spring

by Amy Gerstler

Gardens are also good places 

to sulk. You pass beds of

spiky voodoo lilies

and trip over the roots

of a sweet gum tree,

in search of medieval

plants whose leaves,

when they drop off

turn into birds

if they fall on land,

and colored carp if they

plop into water.

Suddenly the archetypal

human desire for peace

with every other species

wells up in you. The lion

and the lamb cuddling up.

The snake and the snail, kissing.

Even the prick of the thistle,

queen of the weeds, revives

your secret belief

in perpetual spring,

your faith that for every hurt

there is a leaf to cure it.

Happy spring!

Fairie-ality

My parents got me this book by the illusive Ellwand for my birthday sometime during my middle school years, and it was one of those books that I used to sit in my room with for hours, flipping back and forth through, taking every little bit in. It has elements of almost everything I love - miniatures, faeries, fantasy, fashion, story-telling, typography... If only I could fit into one of Ellwand's exquisitely designed gowns!

Also, note to self: must fix blog layout so image isn't size of postage stamp. Image kind of the whole point of blog.