Violet

Judi's altered book with the story of Violet was super interesting and fun to do.  It was my thought to do a "Dada" poetry idea.  Instead of rearranging words, I took four pages and took sentences from those pages to reinvent the ending since I was the last artist to work in her book. 

I took the beginning page of Judi's as my start of the story line.

I was thrilled to find in my stash of vintage ephemera, TheCunard Steam-Ship Company brochures which was a perfect background Violet's story.

This photo was inside the brochure and I thought the conversation I wanted to add fit so well.

The rubber stamp image is from B-Line Designs named "Chris".  I enjoy having this stamp in my collection as he is named for my brother, Chris - pretty darn cool.  I thought the image worked well with the gentleman visiting with Violet and not yet described in the story. I stamped the image onto a copy of the ship's crew list.

I made the assumption that this conversation was a continuance from the same gentleman she has met above and is a welcomed distraction for her.

This is another great stamp from B-Line Designed named "Michelle" which is named after my sister-in-law who is married to my brother Chris.  They are good friends of Beverly who owns and designs her stamps.  She names her stamp images after her close friends.

I saw this idea in a visual journal book and thought it was a great idea for creating a skyline.  I did have an Empire State building stamp and took liberties in using a Big Ben image along with others from the UK to now be a part of the NYC skyline.  It's all made up anyway.

I used a vintage customs declaration as the background for this text entry and giving explanation for Violet's extended stay in NYC.

I stamped the telephone image onto mulberry paper and added diamond glaze for the dial numbers.  I was thrilled to locate a conversation where Violet has decided to contact Edwin's office.  Of course, the response has to be highlighted by the red metal file pull.

This page was highlighted by the rubber stamp image of what could be Violet's expression after receiving a response from Edwin.  And of course, she has thoughts about her past.

This page is intended to give the viewer a feeling of reflection.....

a yin and yang for destruction and goodness.

I was thrilled to find the text above and rearrange them in a manner that left the reader with the option of believing Edwin appeared in person and all is well or if in a dream.... perhaps to be continued.  The final text entry is the name of the book "Dancing Backwards".

I made an insane number of page entries but since I was the last artist working in Judi's book, I gave myself permission as I knew I was not taking away pages from the others.  When I gathered all the text that I wanted to use and sorted them in the order that I wanted the story to be told, it took a number of pages. After the text was selected, it was easy enough to decide on the background images.

Delicious News: MCBA - Minnesota Center for Book Arts

I am over the moon that my handmade books are being offered through MCBA! I had a great time making "FifthChildStudio" tags for each book to be sold.  They are only a few blocks away from my office and I can see that in the future, I'll be possibly missing from work!  You check out MCBA here:  http://www.mnbookarts.org/

 The photo isn't great - the book has a navy leather cover.

YIKES - I totally forgot to photograph the deep plum leather book that this tag was made for!  I think it is my fav!

Art Journal Recycled

This is one of my many art journals that I have used for personal notes when I was taking a seminar series.  I am keeping the notes and adding my own version of a "smash" journal.  I will share some of my favorite pages when I am finished..... whenever that will be.

 The cover is made with scraps of polymer clay.

Spine

Paris Pink

This case had quite a transformation from the ordinary to a Paris themed case with a hint of pink! Awesome job Allie! You can see Allie's art case at Croppinsville Studio in Collinsville, Oklahoma.

Art Sale

Delicious goodness for sale! A talented group of artists representing calligraphy, quilting, and book arts. We're now on to planning a fall event.

Alice In Wonderland

Who could resist making a postcard book with the theme of Alice in Wonderland?.....not me! So I took a class being taught by Dianne Hicks at Stamp Asylum in Plano, Texas recently. It was wonderful having Dianne teach so I could learn some new techniques. After I saw her article and art in the latest Mar/Apr '10 Somerset Studio issue, pgs 22-25...I knew this would be a fun class!



The backgrounds are photos taken by Dianne of her backyard. They have been altered using paints and glazes. Don't you just love the idea of what looks like a rabbit hole?!









The class used carved rubber stamps made by Dianne for the large images in our books. I chose to make a tag for "Drink Me" instead of a rubber stamp.



I love the Cheshire cat perched on the tree limb. Isn't that an awesome carved tree stamp!





This particular page was a disaster for me.....I misunderstood what the directions were for this page...however, Dianne rescued me. At home I had a chance to redo some of the images and take time to color the caterpillar, add smoke, and repaint Alice. Now this is one of my favorite pages!




I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the double page spread! I completed these two pages at home and I am glad that I did. I used a background foliage stamp by B-Line Designs that I thought fit perfectly. I was able to paint gesso to extend the table....and use those great Copic markers, too!




These two pages were completed in class. I switched the page layout as I wanted the rabbit to be looking into the book.








I had a great time making these pages. The King was made in class and I finished the other page at home. I used a rubber stamp from my collection for the arch background.






The Red Queen was almost completed in class and the following page I made in my studio. I decided to use rubber stamps for the quote and a grunge board crown from Tim Holtz.

I used text from an old Alice in Wonderland book and made a top/bottom border using a rubber stamp from my collection.

Alice in Wonderland is now complete with the fibers given to me in class! I really like how this book looks and enjoyed completing the processes at home. What I learned from Dianne was using the glazes that gives a lot of depth. And of course, the shopping opportunity at Monica's store! She has an awesome staff, too! Thanks Dianne and Monica!