Traci Bautista - Macrame Journal

The One and Only Traci Bautista!

Imagine walking into a classroom which is covered with bubble wrap! No! We weren't the artists in a bubble but artists getting ready to literally immerse ourselves in liquid watercolor, glue, paper towels, and much, much more!

I knew ahead of time that this would be a fun class, lots of action and new techniques. Kathy had taken Traci's class the previous evening, so she had alerted me to what the day held. Armed with our supplies, we entered and claimed our spots near the back of the room so we would have time for our papers to dry!

The techniques were simple: take paper towels, fold, then dip into liquid watercolor. They were placed between a sandwich of paper, then set aside to dry. It wasn't long before the room was filled with wet paper and colorful artists. Next we created text paper using by scribbling, stamping, and otherwise enhancing our pages. Just before lunch we used some of our dried paper towels to create cover board for the journal we were going to make.

The next step was to create "sections" for our books using the covers we had created and the text paper. Traci demonstrated her "macrame" technique, a variation of the buttonhole stitch, and we worked away on our journals. A few beads were added to the binding, and our journals were complete!

What fun! It was a class where everyone rediscovered the kindergartener still lurking inside!!!!!!!!!!1

Passion Book - Leighanna Light ( Saturday)

Passion Book
I was intrigued by the description - a book with secret pockets, tags, and much more, so I looked forward to just what "passion" I was going to explore! Class began with assembling our book which meant gluing pages of an accordian strip together to form the pages. Next came decorating the covers and cutting a hole into the front cover, a very scarey operation!The pages were so much fun to do. Using paint, paper, glue, and many other items, we created backgrounds while thinking about what our passion to explore and document. Part way through the morning, I had the idea: dedicate the book to the "passion" of the Art and Soul conference! I had collected bits and pieces of ephemera, trades, post cards, all sorts of things from the retreat, and decided to use them for my book. I needed to created pockets, hidden items, and use a quote - my work was cut out for me!As you look at the scans of my book, you will see that I tried to reference the classes I had taken (and Monday's as well.) Looking carefully you will find a list of my classes on a pocket, an ATC from my artful friend Margaret Rogers who lives in California, a postcard with Traci Bautista's beautiful work (back page), and other little mementos. I had used a bird as the picture to view through the window on the front, and borrowed a bird image which connects the pages. Other images were cut and glued down, and the scariest part was stamping the quote.I really like the final project, a very personal keepsake of a wonderfully inspiring week!

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Here is the cover of my "Passion" book with a window to what lies within.

The next few scans will show some of the work I completed in this treasure.

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Here's the first two page spread.
You can see the window I created in the cover,
the beginning of my "bird/wing" motif using
the images,
a feather,
and a phrase.

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The second two page spread features a hidden message under the tag. I found a feather to add to the tag continuing the "wings" motif from the previous page. The image after this one reaveals what is hidden.

Here is what is hidden unter the tag on this page,

an image from and Art and Soul postcard.

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Below is a detail from page three. The ATC was a trade from Margaret Rogers. Her ATC was perfect for my theme and the recurring image of wings.
I listed all of my clases on the library pocket.

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Last two page spread with the quote I used as my theme.

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Back cover featuring a Traci Bautista postcard

Juliana Coles - Diarist's Sectional (Monday)

The Diarist's Sectional was such an intersting class. Again, the project was created quickly which didn't give me a lot of time to think about it, just create. It is difficult to imagine what the final project looks like, so imaging that you are looking the page, but see three separate sections. What was the process?

We first deconstructed a hard back book, removing the pages in sections, leaving about an inch wide piece of the beginning and end of the individual sections. You can see it in both pictures - in the center of the left pic, and stamped along the left side of the right.

Next was to create pages. We used large pieces of paper and followed Juliana's directions, creating very quickly using many different techniques including washes, scribbling, stamping. It was great fun! The parent sheets were cut to size and then glued into the individual sections.

Each section contained a "flag," a smaller page a little more than 1/3 of the size of the original page. These were assembled in the following manner: top, bottom, and middle; when this was completed, we started over. We were then ready to journal.

Juliana took us through many different journaling techniques. We used pictures, words from poems, and our own thoughts on both the fronts and backs of each flag. To prepare for the journaling, each of us journaled previously,so this journaling was more of a reflection on experiences rather than reporting. I had journaled a vacation to Arizona in April with some friends and my husband. I was amazed at what I discovered about the meaning of the vacation, more than just sight seeing.

While I will probably not use this technique exclusively, I am glad I took this class, another artful journey.

Finished Puzzle!

PURPLE PUZZLE

Here's the finished puzzle. I decided that I wanted to showcase the pieces made for me, so I painted the corners and frame rather than add other embellishments.

Round Robin, part 2

Here are the pieces that I received in the round robin. My theme, obviously, is shades of purple. It is amazing how the pieces coordinate so well. Now I need to finish the four corners and frame. I'll post the results when I'm finished.

Round Robin Puzzle Pieces

A small group of friends and I belong to a round robin swap. We have swapped board books, paper bag books, etc., and our latest project is puzzle pieces. Each of us chose a theme and altered puzzle pieces which were sent out. These are the ones I created. The themes (top row) are: Sea Creatures, Birds, Black and White. The bottom row themes are: Dragonflies and Oriental Zodiac Signs (mine is a rooster.) Each of us has the four corner pieces and frame to decorate in our personal themes.