Composition and Line in Photography

Here is an example of the importance of line and composition in a photograph.

Look at these two photographs. Which one is more pleasing to your eye?

My thoughts:

My goal was to capture the rock wall, the ferns, and the trees behind that wall, and of course, the road leading to the pasture. I was limited in my ability to take many vantage points as there was a big ugly metal gate blocking the way. I could not shoot the photo from many angles or get any closer than I already was. I could not take it from further back as the ugly gate would have been in my way. I didn't think that the ugly gate would add beauty to the image at all. If it were an old, time-aged wooden gate, perhaps, but the gate was metal and shiny and industrial looking.

After I got home and viewed the images on a larger scale, I saw other things in the photo and these are my thoughts.

In the first photo that I took. In the first photo the focus is on the road. They eye meanders down the road which leads to a pasture. You see both sides of the farm road. Did you notice much about the rock wall and the ferns growing alongside the wall? Proabably not, instead you wonder where the road leads. I was standing up to take this photo. Although my goal was to capture the rock wall well, I felt the rock wall was a bit lost in this image.

So I took the second image by squatting down at the end of the gate, closer to the rock wall. At the time I took this what I wanted to capture was the rock wall itself and the ferns with the sunlight coming through the ferns. I wanted the road in the image. In this photo my eye is drawn to the rock wall, not the road, and my eye goes down the length of the rock wall. However the very tiny hint of the left border of the road is somehow bothersome to my eye, it is not balanced enough, so I don't love this image after all.

Now that I am home and viewing the larger images with scrutiny, my favorite is the first photo.

So much for the rock wall as focal point idea as being the goal and the 'better idea'.

Which is your favorite?

By the way this is also an example of squeezing art in where we can make it. While doing an errand I pulled into a side road to take a photo of a tree on the main road, and happened to notice this on the side road, about 30 feet from the main road I've driven on maybe 75 times, something I'd never known was there. It took just a couple of minutes to take these photos (and some others).

Photos taken by ChristineMM, New Fairfield, Connecticut, late September 2007.

Art is Everywhere (Photo of the Day)

I spotted this just before entering a movie theatre in a mall. It was late morning and the lunch diners had not yet flooded the Food Court.

I am sure the people who saw me taking this photo thought I was nuts, or weird, at least. I don't think they saw what I saw.

Photo taken by ChristineMM at the Westfield Mall, formerly known as the Connecticut Post Mall, Milford, Connecticut, USA.

The Notre Dame Library and Touchdown Jesus (Photo of the Day)

Theodore M. Hesburgh Library, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, USA.

For more information about "Touchdown Jesus" see the Wikipedia entry for the University of Notre Dame's football stadium.

Photo taken in April 2007 by ChristineMM

ATC Making Day Today

Today when our plans fell through I declared today a day for me to do something for myself.

I decided to spend some time making ATCs. It has been 12 days since I last made ATCs.

I worked on ATCs for a swap with a technique from the book by Bernie Berlin "Artist Trading Card Workshop". The technique is called emboss resist. I had tried this technique back when I first purchased the book and it was interesting and fun (albeit a long process).

You paint the background, let it dry. You pick rubber stamps out and use UTEE to emboss on them and let that cool. You then paint acrylic paint on top and let that dry. Then using an iron you melt off the UTEE and the paint on top of the UTEE lifts off onto the scrap paper. Then after that is cool and dry you collage on top of that. So it is a long process. These directions are not detailed so don't use these as your base, please.

I made about 15 backgrounds for this.

After collaging, I finished 9 ATCs in this method, so I have enough for the swap I'm participating in.

I am also participating in a Yu-Gi-Oh! themed swap. Using old Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game boxes I colleged those on top of some of the other backgrounds, finishing 3 ATCs for that swap.

It was fun to make art again. I am going to see if I can eek some time out of tomorrow's schedule to make more art.

Actually first tonight while watching TV in bed I will do some doodling and drawing in my art journal.

It felt fantastic to get 'in the flow' again.

Oh and I'm back to reading "Trust the Process", as a before-bed book.





Technorati Tags: artist trading card, ATC.

Candles (Photo of the Day)

Photo taken by ChristineMM, April 2007.

For location and tons of information, see here.

My Favorite Parts of a Tom Luckey Interview

Connecticut’s WNPR radio show did two interviews on their Where We Live show. The first part was about the nature of children’s play and the need for time outdoors and playing on playgrounds. That segued into a discussion of how playscapes are being built in Connecticut which are handicap accessible and that are made safe in many different ways for children with all kinds of different disabilities to play on them.

The second part of the show was an interview with a playscape designer named Tom Luckey who creates interesting and visually amazing playscapes. (Click on the link to find the interview page which has a photo of one of the playscapes, I just can’t describe it for you in words.)

You can listen to a podcast recording of the interview by linking from this page.

The two different parts of the show are recorded in two different podcasts. This blog post links to the Tom Luckey interview, Part Two. Tom Luckey works and resides in East Haven, Connecticut.

I especially appreciated these parts of the interview and I decided to quote my favorite parts here. Luckey was an artist and a playscape designer before he became wheelchair bound and paralyzed and he continues his work after the accident as well. What I liked was the discussion of how the accident and his resulting disability led him to ‘reinvent’ himself in his personal life. I also liked what he said about finding a way to make a living doing what you love.

Quote (5:43):

TL: About a year and a half ago, I fell and am now paralyzed from the neck down. So, there is a whole dimension to my life that is going on completely apart from my work, and that actually takes up more time than my work. There is a lot of profit in that because a lot of the things that I neglected because I was so busy, I now am sort of going back over and picking up pieces that I’d never known existed before that are now becoming a big part of my life. My wife and I are kind of re-inventing our marriage, and that is pretty exciting. And in lots of ways, it is much closer to the stuff that really means something in life, although my work is really important to me.

Interviewer: Do you think you would have been able to reinvent yourself in this way, if this accident had not happened, is this something that you woud have done on your own or does this have to be kind of forced upon you in some way.

TL: No, I would never have done this on my own. This was like full stop, re-start in a whole new direction. And for the most part, I think it has actually been a better direction. It sounds crazy, to be completely paralyzed and sort of thinking, array, it is not like that. I mean, in a sense, as we get older we get more paralyzed, as our joints give out and our muscles get weaker, and eventually we die. This has been a real shock and a true kind of awakening.

Interviewer: (paraphrased) As you move forward…how is it changing the work and the creativity that you bring to your work?

TL: He goes on to say that he now works with his son and his major work is creating and designing and he no longer works with the installation part of the projects and makes a comment that he gets to do the fun creating part and someone else has to worry about how to duplicate that in real life during the installation process.

At about 11:15 into the interview, he is asked about someone who has a vision about doing something creative but doesn’t think they can make a living at it.

Tom Luckey replies: I’ve got the exact answer. Don’t stop, work your way along the wall until you find the little crack in it that you can fit yourself through. There is a wall in the world around the sort of the secret garden that you need to get into to make a living and to have an audience and be fulfilled, and you have to work your way along that wall. There are really no shortcuts. Because I think you really need to learn the lessons of the garden that you are trying to get into, which is really just where you can do what you want to do and get paid for it. You learn it by working your way along that wall and you have to do that. And don’t stop. If you just get it in your head that you are nto going to stop, then eventually you will get there, and it takes a long time.

Technorati Tags: Tom Luckey, playscapes, career in art, disabled children, children’s play.

My Daredevil (Photo of the Day)

My younger son pushed the limits here, with his great sense of balance he felt capable.

Location: The pier in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

(You can click to enlarge this if you want to see more detail.)

Discussing Paintings (Photo of the Day)

In this photo my older son is explaining the beach scenes of these pieces of art. My younger son had thought they were just abstract lines.

Photo taken in August 2007 on Commercial Street, Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Haiku Monday

It’s disrespectful.
He needs to stop using that
Horrid tone of voice.

Don’t back talk to me!
It is highly unnerving.
Don’t you respect me?

He got a warning
Next time he loses TV
That’s the punishment.

I left my career
To raise and teach my children
Hard, yet rewarding.

Haikus written by ChristineMM as part of the CMP Circle challenge to write and share haikus on Mondays.

CMP = Creative Mom Podcast

Creative Mom Podcast blog with link to listen to free Creative Mom Podcast

CMP Circle Flickr Group

CMP Circle Yahoo Group

Graffiti in New Haven 9/05/07 (photos of the day)

While driving in New Haven on 9/05/07 I saw this graffiti. Just two weeks prior there was completely different graffiti on these walls. I could not resist stopping to snap some pictures.

I'd like to know more about this graffiti. I see the names of two corporations in this graffiti and I am curious about why they are there. Could it be that the companies are using this as an advertisement or paying for the paint or something?

Also given that so much of these walls is covered I have a feeling that the owner of the building is allowing this graffiti on the walls.

“The Drawing Breakthrough Book” Book Review by ChristineMM

Title: The Drawing Breakthrough Book: A Shortcut to Artistic Excellence
Author: John Hastings
Format: Softcover Book
Full retail: $15.95
Publisher: Draw 3 Lines Publishing
Publication Date: June 2007
ISBN: 978-0-9749418-2-0



How this book came to rest in my hands: The author of this book found my Amazon Customer Reviewer profile and offered to send me a complimentary copy of this book for possible book review.

Artist John Hastings says that after taking drawing lessons and art classes, he was frustrated. Influenced by positive-reinforcement trainer Karen Pryor, he developed a simplified process to learning to draw. By breaking down the steps of drawing into small parts, he developed a system which he shares with readers in his new book “The Drawing Breakthrough Book: A Shortcut to Artistic Excellence”.

Rather than being large chunks of dry text, Hastings combines small photographs and illustrations accompanied with step-by-step written directions. The book is broken into three parts, and each part has lessons for the reader to read and practice.

The reader is guided through exercises which first, open our eyes to see things in real life with the eyes of an artist. We are given useful tips for drawing in proportion, using guidelines and reference points as tools. Later we practice drawing lines: straight, round, and curved lines. Lastly the book has a short primer on composition and a little bit about drawing more complex compositions.

All that is needed to begin drawing with Hastings’ method is paper, pencil and an eraser.

The book is easy to read and the small steps and short exercises are not intimidating. The reader is then able to practice drawing in the comfort of their own home, repeating lessons as needed and progressing at the pace that they desire.

The book is not overly full of repeated information. It is not too skimpy either. I have a feeling that if a person goes through the entire book and does all the lessons and repeats lessons to strengthen their weaknesses, they will be well on their way to drawing well.

I have never seen a book about the technical aspects of the learning to draw process that is so approachable, logical and non-intimidating. I have already begun using the lessons in this book and am excited to progress through the entire book.

This book is fine for use with adults. These same exercises could also be done with children.

I am glad that more books are coming on the market to simplify the learning to draw process. I applaud the fact that this book attempts to enlighten and empower more people to learn to draw. This book is down-to-earth and sincere in its tone. If you have always wanted to draw better or more but were afraid or intimidated, I encourage you to buy this book and give it a try.



Technorati Tags: drawing books, learning to draw, The Drawing Breakthrough Book, book review, John Hastings.

Thought About Opening a Soap Making Cottage Business

Two of my friends have been trying to talk me into opening a cottage business with the handmade soaps I make. Last week one of them really was persuasive.

I am a realist and immediately a bunch of questions and concerns came to my mind.

First, what would it cost to buy all the base product I needed. Where could I get it at a lower price so I could make a profit? How many different soaps should I have for sale at a farmer’s market, for example? (I can’t show up with one kind.) If I had to make a variety of soaps all at once I’d need to buy more molds, more equipment costs more money.

Then the packaging. How would I package it and have it look attractive? I had a few ideas using my handmade rubber stamps. What would I call my business? Would I need a logo? Could I design it or would I have to pay someone to make one? What has to be on the package—do laws require that I list the ingredients?

Does the business need a state license? How would I apply for that and what is the cost? Are there laws regarding selling items that will be used on another person’s body? What if a person has an allergic reaction or some other issue and wants to sue me? Do I need liability insurance?

How would I make contact with stores to sell my product? Would I have to spend every weekend at craft shows and farmer’s markets trying to sell the soap? Would an Internet site be better? I don’t know how to make a website or do business over the Internet, so that represents a big project.

Does anyone want to use natural soap or do they just want cheap soap? What would they be willing to pay for homemade natural soap?

How much prep work and research would I have to do and do I have time for all of this in between mothering and homeschooling?

Would I make any money in the end? Is it worth it?

To this end, all excited at what my friend was telling me, I did a little research on the Internet. Here is what I found.

First I found a bunch of websites that were selling expensive e-books to answer all the questions I was asking. That was not an option for me as I felt I should be able to access the questions about laws and insurance online for free. I wasn’t about to be ripped off by an e-book writer to give me information I could find for free online with a little more time and effort put in.

Even the smallest cottage business has to follow certain rules. I’d need to buy a business license, through the state and maybe also through my town. I’d need to check my town zoning ordinances to make sure they would allow for a home-based business to happen inside my house.

I also need a separate liability insurance policy—the homeowner’s insurance would not cover it (and I read that most people make an error and assume that their homeowner’s would cover it). The insurance is mostly in case someone was hurt from using the products I made or if I am sued for any reason.

Additionally to protect the business name I’d probably have to register it (trademark it) or something like that, get it on record with the state or something.

For the finances, I’d have to keep detailed financial records and maybe also file tax returns for the business (especially if I am using a tax id number to buy the materials exempt from taxes). I might even need a new checking account in the businesses name right away.

It makes sense that farmers who are also ‘businesses’ make soap and can sell it as all that stuff is already covered by their business. It appears for me, a non-farmer, to do the right/legal thing, it would mean some up front expenses.

I found a handmade soapmaker’s guild that if you buy a membership, they have a discount on insurance or you buy the insurance through them or something like that (I need to read more about that). It is called the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild.

I’d not feel comfortable breaking the law and not doing those things listed above by ‘winging it’. I have since confirmed with my friend that her friend is indeed not following the laws nor does she carry liability insurance. My husband and I are just not comfortable doing things in an illegal manner.

So you see it sounds so cute and easy when someone says, “start a homemade soap making business” but in reality if you look at all the issues and all the work, combined with the risk (lawsuits) and if you comply with all the local and state laws, it is not so easy. The making of the soap part of the process is the easiest and most fun while the rest of it is more like ‘real work’ and/or a hassle.

For the time being I don’t think that my opening a cottage business to sell handmade soap is going to happen.

Technorati Tags: handmade soap making business, soap making business, soap making .

Made Time For Clay Play (photo of the day)

Apparently yesterday my boys were already feeling that I was pushing too hard on the typical homeschooling lessons, and they asked to play with air-drying clay. Hey, that is art class!

So instead of doing math as planned, in the morning we played with clay.

There is something very special about playing with this clay. This is the type that you add water with a sponge or your figertips to make it wetter and to work with it. My boys have always liked to play with it, it is a very different and fun tactile experience.

I want to also state that this was open-ended. I let them play with it as they wanted.

My older son made a bunch of different sculptures like rockets and shapes and pinch pots. In the end he balled those up and made a wishing well, including sides that look like rocks, and a little pail. When they are dry we will use fishing line to attach the pail to the wishing well.

My younger son made a bowl, pinch pot style, about eight inches across.

They did all the clean-up themselves, too.

They had a lot of fun with that!

As for me I liked the pattern left in the big clay block and snapped a photo of it.

I bought this block of clay in a 25 pound box at A.C. Moore for, I think, $20 retail. A worthwhile investment. And if you do buy it there, use their weekly 40% or 50% off coupon for even more savings.

Gearing Up For Metal Crafting Projects

With last month’s Amazon Associates earnings I purchased Michael deMeng’s book “Secrets of Rusty Things”. I am partially though it. You can see Michael deMeng’s website to get a gist for the assemblage work he does with metal.



I have been itching to do more metal crafting, on a smaller scale such as are shown in the O’Brien and Vollrath books.

Here is how I’ve been getting ready for metal crafting.

In August I bought a soldiering iron. They are $5 at Home Depot and later I found some at a dollar store for $1. I bought one from the dollar store, I am worried of the quality and if I will burn the house down or get electrocuted. You see, it was Made in China and two weeks ago, a lamp I own which was Made in China gave me an electrical shock when I went to turn the knob to turn it on! That thing was put right into the trash! Between my personal experience and the news reports, I am getting more and more leery of products Made in China.

On another day, my husband picked up the flux and the solder for the soldering iron, at Home Depot.

My mother said she will give me some of her copper tape which she has left over from her stained glass window making days.

I have aluminum metal tape on hand already and have been making ATCs with it so far, but I can use it in other ways also.

I picked up, on sale, some jump rings and fasteners (jewelry making parts). I also bought, on sale, a beginner’s jewelry making kit. These are so I can make necklaces.

I have on hand already, many resin plastic dominoes which I can alter and change into charms and pendants for necklaces.

I have been saving up various interesting metal food containers. I also have some old cookie tins and food tins with decorative designs on them. I plan to cut those apart to make some metal craft jewelry with.

I have some glass beads on hand from old art projects from the last two years.

With a 40% off coupon, the other day I bought a pair of fine detail shears for cutting metal, at Michael’s Craft store.

My husband already owns a Dremel and various power drills. He also has some metal files to smooth the edges with. We have steel wool here on hand also.

So basically I think I am all ready to dive in and to try my hand at metal crafting again.

The last step is to make sure I know the techniques. To that end, I am presently re-reading Metal Craft Discovery Workshop by Linda O’Brien and Opie O’Brien. Their website is Burnt Offerings and it will give you an idea of their style. I really want to make some metal craft jewelry similar to what they teach in this book.



I have also finished re-reading the book Metal Mania by Lisa Vollrath. The book is self-published and can be purchased on the Ten Two Studios site.

After I get that copper tape from my mother I’ll be ready to go with experimenting with metal crafting again.

I am really excited about it and hope that what I own already is enough to get the job done.

On the wish list for future purchases:
Two hole metal punch tool
Better metal files
Nibbler

Oh and I plan to also make some metal craft ATCs!

Wish me luck.

Technorati Tags: metal craft, metalcraft, Linda O’Brien, Opie O’Brien, Lisa Vollrath, Michael deMeng.

Cool Museum Art Internet Tool

Here is my art as seen in a museum!

If you want to play around with this Internet tool, you can find it here.

Hat Tip: Mental Multivitamin

When Too Busy, Still Can't Do Everything

I am so annoyed right now. Joseph Cornell is one of my favorite artists. Back in May I heard that there was a special exhibit up in Salem, Mass. of his artwork including 30 never-before-seen works. I made a mental note to go see the exhibit. In my mind I'd take a Saturday or Sunday and drive up there alone (or with a friend) to see the exhibit.

In my memory was an exhibit ending date of October 2007.

Now that our family's busy summer has ended, now that we've had one week of our 'fall'--new school year---with its lighter than ever 'outside events' load, there is time in the schedule to do more things, for myself, that is. I have more time to catch up on projects, just relax, read books and such.

A few days ago our family committed tomorrow to helping my in-laws do a project. Those plans were just cancelled by another relative. So now the day is empty. A perfect chance to go see the exhibit. So I logged back on the Internet to get the information. And I find out that the exhibit ended August 17th.

GROAN.

This is an example of how when a family (or a mother) is too busy, some of the things that a person wants to get done, don't actually end up happening in real life. This exhibit, without a firm appointment that I 'must' do, got pushed and pushed off until it was too late.

And now I resent it.

This is another reminder that a light schedule is best for everyone in the family. We all need room to breathe, to do things like see a museum exhibit of an artist whose work we love, to do special events like see a traveling exhibit.

In Episode #63, Creative Mom Amy talks of how we mothers must find the time in the margins of life, to carve little bits of time out to pursue the things we really want to do. Amy said she plans 15 minutes of sketching in her artist journal each day. Another important message in the Creative Mom Podcast Episode #63 is to be gentle on ourselves, set realistic goals and be happy when small steps are taken, not to criticize ourselves for not reaching goals which are too high.

I am looking forward to a fall with less appointments, time to catch up on fun stuff and important things. I actually want to file the important papers in file folders. I actually want to get that mammogram that I am now behind schedule in getting. I actually want to do serious exercise workouts. I want time to do what I think needs to be done as well as what I feel I want to do for personal enrichment and for plain old fun.

Note the Joseph Cornell exhibit is on its way to San Fran. So if you are out there and you like his work, please don't make the mistake I made--make the time to go see it.

Info on the exhibit, in case you were interested--

Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination

APRIL 28, 2007 THROUGH AUGUST 19, 2007
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA

"Joseph Cornell is one of America’s most innovative modern artists, known for his distinctive box sculptures, collages and experimental films that continue to influence many artists, writers, poets, filmmakers and designers. Co-organized by PEM and The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM) and curated by PEM chief curator, Lynda Hartigan, the exhibition represents the first major retrospective of this American master in 26 years. It features 180 of Cornell’s artworks—making PEM the largest venue for this touring exhibition, including 30 pieces on public view for the first time. Works in Navigating the Imagination were borrowed from an international array of public and private collections. The exhibition travels to San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Oct. 6, 2007--Jan. 6, 2008)."

Relaxing On Vacation (Photo of the Day)

Here are my two boys hanging out watching TV while on vacation in Cape Cod. I think you can tell in this photo how much my younger son loves our cat, and how happy and relaxed our cat is.

Line Study: Trees and Wires (Photo of the Day)

This scene caught my eye as we were driving on I-95 in Maine. I noticed the criss-crossing of wires with straight man-made lines contrasted with the craggy, dead trees.

Big Doodle Page I Finished Today

On two nights in August while watching TV with my family as our before-bedtime ritual, I doodled this with a fine point Sharpie marker onto watercolor paper.

I was not sure if I’d use watercolor paints to color it in or not.

Last night and today while listening to TV I colored in the doodle page with Prismacolor colored pencils.

After scanning it, I cut it into artist trading cards.

Tonight I’ll share the scan of the one page doodle. On another day when I have time I will prepare the individual scans of each ATC.

Sketch Crawl Didn’t Happen For Me

In the Creative Mom Podcast #60 and #61 I was inspired to take part in a Sketch Crawl on August 25th with other Creative Mom Podcast listeners. (There were no Sketch Crawl's in my local area.)

However I spent that day cleaning my house and re-organizing books. I culled books and listed books on PaperBackSwap.com. I was productive with homeschool-mom stuff.

I never did do the sketch crawl.

Sigh.

In CMP #62, Amy shares what she did for the Sketch Crawl.

I love listening to the (free) Creative Mom Podcasts! If you have not listened yet, please consider it.

My ATCs: Gesso and Magazine Image Technique

Here are the six finished ATCs all made with a "gesso and magazine image" technique which I learned about in the book "Artist Trading Card Workshop" by Bernie Berlin.

I made these for a swap on Swap-bot. These have flown to my swap partners in California and Australia.

How did I find the time to make these with summer busy-ness? I did the work in stages.



Twice while watching television with my family I multi-tasked by flipping through magazines and tearing out pages which I thought would fit well onto the small ATC size.

On another day I narrowed down the selections making sure the image would fit onto the small canvas size. I then adhered the image to thin cardboard (recycled food boxes usually). They were left for a few days to dry thoroughly.

Then I applied the gesso (white) and let that dry for a number of days.

On another day I used a Sharpie marker to outline what I wanted to highlight.

I then was busy and not home much. One day I woke up earlier than everyone else and sat down in the quiet house to paint with acrylic craft paints.



Some of these have straight paint. Some of them I painted then wiped it off a bit with my finger or a dry paintbrush as the color was not sheer enough. I used a paintbrush and also other times painted with my fingetip. I also used the end of the paintbrush dipped into paint to make round circles for some of the eyes.

The face-ATC below is my least favorite.



Okay, now for the jewel-encrusted skulls!



One thing I want to explain about the skulls is they are what seems to me to be odd pieces of jewelry. They are goth-inspired jewelry and each costs over one thousand dollars! They were three dimensional and cut out of jade or something like a sculputure then they were encrusted with real gems. I found them bizarre looking and though they would make a different subject matter than always using women's faces.



As I mentioned earlier I learned this technique from the Bernie Berlin book "Artist Trading Card Workshop". I am enjoying making ATCs with techniques in this book.



Technorati Tags: artist trading card, Bernie Berlin, Artist Trading Card Workshop, collage.

Me In August 2007

Here is a picture I took of myself earlier this month. I figured I needed a new photo on my blog and there was a challenge on the Creative Mom Podcast to take a portrait of ourselves by holding the camera in one hand and snapping the photo.

It was a spur of the moment thing. Not much makeup, hair "as is", etc. This is the real me, summer style, with sun-bleached hair. I took it the evening of my older son's tenth birthday, on a whim when I went to grab the camera out of my car. So here I am, mother of a double-digit child, the 40 year old me.

In case you noticed a change, last month I decided my hair style was not flattering so cut off three inches. I am back to short hair after a bunch of years with longer hair.

ChristineMM Book Review: Artist Trading Card Workshop: Create, Collect, Swap by Bernie Berlin

In December 2006, North Light Books has published a book authored by Bernie Berlin called “Artist Trading Card Workshop: Create, Collect, Swap”.

This book serves to teach techniques for making artist trading cards. Actually the techniques taught in this book can cross over to other mediums such as larger works of art such as larger collages, can be used in altered books, in “decos”, to make postcards to use in mail art and in many other applications.

I have a feeling that due to the legal issues with copyright violations, many techniques and materials currently used by many ATC swappers are NOT covered in this book. I’ve been swapping ATCs for nearly two years and so many of the ATCs I’ve seen do not use these great techniques. While thinking about the ATCs I have seen I realized that many would not be accepted for publication in a book due to copyright violations. Therefore what we have here in this book is largely based on either antique images (photographs) whose copyright has expired or whose source cannot be located to ask for reproduction permission OR the art is completely original to the artist’s hand. There is some rubber stamping in here as well.

Since entering the world of mail art and artist trading card swapping, and being a member of online discussion groups I’ve learned a lot of different techniques yet this book has taught me even more new things. It is not a re-hash of the common techniques that are already available on the Internet for free.

There are many examples of artist trading cards made by a lot of different artists which I really liked. The author does have some of her own wonderful ATCs in this book and the inclusion of so many other artists’ work in addition, is also appreciated and inspiring to me.

Each technique has many examples of the finished ATCs made by different artists. There are directions for each technique as well as photos of the steps in the process. My only complaint is that I was a little confused sometimes as the directions sometimes have two or three steps combined into one paragraph with one photo which shows only one of those steps. I would prefer that every step be separate and that a photo depicted each step. Also sometimes the final card is not shown, we have just that last step with it “in process” to use. It would have been nice to see that finished piece for every technique.

Overall the book has given me a lot of inspiration and ideas just by viewing the finished ATCs of all the contributing artists as well as teaching me so many new techniques. My couple of complaints are minor.

The book is laid out very well and the photography is stunning.

Regarding the style of the artists, it runs the gamut. This book is full of all different colors and many different techniques. It is not the same-old, same-old nor is it full of just the latest trends (thank goodness). At the back of the book is a listing of the contributing artists and their contact information and websites (if applicable). One could spend hours just viewing the websites of these artists and that provides yet more inspiration and eye candy.

The book also has a short history of ATCs and brief information on how to do mail swaps. There is a listing of Internet swapping sites as well. (I would add the new and growing Swap-bot.com site as my personal recommendation.) There is also a list of resources for supplies and tools for making ATCs.

Since purchasing the book I’ve tried a bunch of these techniques and had a lot of fun trying them out. As with all new experiments, there is some trial and error, some mistakes are made and some lessons are learned, that is all part of the learning curve. I can’t wait to try even more of the techniques and I plan to host some ATC swaps based on the techniques taught in this book.

If you are already trading ATCs and want even more techniques to try or just want to own more eye candy inspiration, this book is a must-buy.

So go play, make some art and have fun! Then go do some mail art swapping and have more fun with that!



Technorati Tags: artist trading cards, ATC, Artist Trading Card Workshop, Bernie Berlin, mail art.

Making ATCs for Swap "Magazine Paper"

Today I made some time to make some ATCs, in between doing other things. I had also spent a couple of hours making some for this swap, two days ago. I have a deadline approaching for an ATC swap with a theme of using magazine paper as the major source material for images and words. That is one of the techniques in the Bernie Berlin book "Artist Trading Card Workshop".

I had fun getting into the art groove the other day and again today. I have twelve completed ATCs with the "magazine paper" technique now.

After I scan them and put my contact info on the back I will send them out to my swap partners, probably tomorrow.

Making the art was fun and knowing I am close to finishing one project with a deadline feels good too.

I'll see when I can squeeze in the prep work to share the scans of the ATCs with you here on my blog.

You can read my book review of Bernie Berlin's book here.

PostSecret Mini Movie

This week instead of posting the usual scans of postcards, PostSecret is featuring a mini-movie (it is under five minutes long). We are encouraged to share this mini-movie, so here you go.

Warning: Contains some mature themes.

Unknown: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the last of ten mixed-media collages I made in July 2007 as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope, titled “Unknown”.

In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

Uncertainty: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the ninth of ten mixed-media collages I made in July 2007 as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope, titled “Uncertainty”.

In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

Confusion: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the eigth of ten mixed-media collages I made in July 2007 as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope, titled “Confusion”. This one is ideal for the second-step in the book’s process which is to use these pages as a base for journaling, that is, to write on top of the artwork which was created.

In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

Tell Me What Will Happen: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the seventh of ten mixed-media collages I made in July 2007 as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope, titled “Tell Me What Will Happen”.

In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

Overwhelming: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the sixth of ten mixed-media collages I made in July 2007 as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope, titled “Overwhelming”.

In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

Change: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the fifth of ten mixed-media collages I made in July 2007 as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope, titled “Change”.

In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

So Much To Think About: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the fourth of ten mixed-media collages I made in July 2007 as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope. In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

Look In, Look At: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the third of ten mixed-media collages I made in July 2007 as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope. In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

A.C. Moore Coupon Rule Change

Well this stinks. I just noticed that this weeks A.C. Moore coupon has added more things that cannot be discounted to their list. In the past it was the one or two very expensive die cutter machines (that I don’t own nor want), so I didn’t care about that restriction.

This week they have added magazines as one more thing that can’t have the coupon applied. That is a problem for me. For the last two years, I was using that coupon to buy Somerset Studio and also the Somerset Studio Gallery and Somerset Workshop publications. Since the Workshop is priced at $14.95 the 40% or 50% coupon was a huge help in making those publications affordable for me. Also the price to buy it at the store with a 40% or especially the 50% discount made the cost lower than the subscription price. Also since the regular SS magazine costs $7.95, the 40% or 50% discount was nice to get!

In the past I have not been able to find SS Gallery or SS Workshop at Michael’s Craft Store to buy with the coupon. The regular issues of SS are not in large supply at Michael’s so often I can’t find them there at all to purchase, and was forced to go to A.C. Moore.

On another side note about finding these magazines at a discount, Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores don’t let teachers (and homeschoolers) use their educator discount on any of the magazines they sell. This includes the Somerset Studio Workshop, which in content, is more like a book as it is a book of “how to” instructions that can be used with children. Oh well, it was worth a try.

I guess if I want to get the magazines at a discount now I’ll have to buy a subscription. And I have no prospects for buying the SS Gallery or the SS Workshop, for a discount.

Or I wonder if A.C. Moore’s Moonlight Madness sales on selected Sunday nights that give 25% off everything in the store that is not already on sale would still apply to magazines?

I am so disappointed by this change in the coupon. Sigh.

A.C. Moore still publishes their weekly coupon online. You can find the most recent coupon by doing a Google search for “AC Moore weekly coupon” and the link will come up. This is good for people like me who do not buy a local city newspaper on Sunday so we don’t have access to the weekly sales flyer in paper form. The A.C. Moore website also has their full sales flyer online to read from home.

Michael’s Craft store accepts competitor’s coupons but they must be from the actual newspaper, they don’t take the A.C. Moore coupon that you print off from the Internet.

Links
Info about Somerset Studio publication

Info about Somerset Workshop publication

Info about Somerset Studio Gallery

Technorati Tags: A.C. Moore, A.C. Moore coupon, Somerset Studio.

Happiness: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the second of ten mixed-media collages I made about a week ago as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope. In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

In or Out?: My Mixed Media Collage

Here is the first of ten mixed-media collages I made about a week ago as part of a guided exercise in the book Kaleidoscope. In a nutshell we were told to assemble certain types of art materials and then I followed the directions on what to do, but they were vague such as “paint five surfaces” and “write one word” and “scribble with a pencil”. I was forced to work quickly and without the time to put much thought into what I was doing.

This is a fantastic book which is actually a collection of previously published articles from art zines. There are many different authors who wrote the articles in this book. There is also a lot of interesting art contained in the book, again, from many different artists.



Technorati Tags: mixed media collage.

Art Making Has Resumed

At the library fundraiser book sale I went to a week ago I picked up a bunch of books on art and photography.

Throughout the week I have been reading these books, mostly as before-bed relaxation reading. My creative juices started flowing again.

Yesterday I was busy doing things and going to appointments and that prevented me from making art when I had the urge.

Last night after dropping my kids off at a Harry Potter sleep-over party I took some time to cut apart food boxes (breakfast cereal etc.) to reuse as bases for making art. As we finished the box I’d toss it on the dining room table. So I went through that stack and cut up the pieces.

Because I had larger sized panels of thin cardboard I was inspired to try a technique I read about in Kaleidoscope by Suzanne Siminaitis. (That book is great but I don’t have time to tell you a ton about it right now, sorry.) However I decided to go to bed.



My cats woke me up at 4:50am playing with something in my bedroom. I was unable to get back to sleep. So I got up and did the project.

I had chosen the project “mail art postcard book”. The exercise was supposed to be a surprise of sorts. There was a list of materials that we were to assemble. Then we were not to read ahead at the directions. We were to do what the directions said. This was to be a fast, intuitive thing. A timer was to be used to time each step, we had only a little time for each technique.

I will admit that when I bought the book I did read the directions. And they scared me so I didn’t do it back then.

However I had not peeked at them since then, and I had forgotten exactly what it said.

Assembling the materials took a lot of time since I had them scattered around the house. We also were to pre-assemble these things then we could not change our mind. So for example I selected a few colors of acrylic paint and that took me some time to figure out what colors I felt like working with.

I had five pieces of cardboard and I was to use both sides. To give you a gist of what I did, I had five minutes to write one word on each side. Another time I had five minutes to completely paint over three of the sides. Another time I had to collage five items onto each of three surfaces.

At one point we were told to completely paint over three boards which I had already done a lot of work on. That directive was killing me. I was tempted to not do it. But she said, “you have to do it”. So I did it. I actually watered down the paint so that the stuff underneath shows through.

At this point in time I have ten surfaces which are a combination of acrylic paint, Sharpie marker, paint-ink-pen, rubber stamp ink, rubber stamped images and collaged papers.

The next hard part is that we are supposed to cut down these larger boards to 5x7 inch size. After that we are to use the scraps to make new postcards.

In the end the recommendation is to pick seven 5x7 inch pieces to bind into a book, two for the cover and five interior pages. The rest of the left over postcards we are advised to use as mail art.

However I really love some of these collages as full sized pieces and I simply cannot bring myself to cut them up. They are not dry enough to do that anyway, at this point. I will let them dry further, then will scan them. On another day I’ll figure out if I really want to chop these up.

This was a challenging exercise to work so quickly and to keep moving from working with one media to another.

I can’t wait to do it again.

What I’m Up To Lately

I have not made any art since getting back from vacation.

I am busy with planning out my children’s homeschooling year for 2007-2008. That is taking many, many hours.

I'm also on a house cleaning spree. I'm trying to keep things uncluttered. I am busy packing then unpacking. The laundry seems endless.

In the last four weeks I’ve been book hunting. I’ve held a homeschool curriculum tag sale at my home and bought stuff from other people. I’ve attended a huge used curriculum sale in Massachusetts. I have visited two used book shops which also sell rare books, in two states. I have been to a gigantic library sale here in Connecticut. So I am up to my ears in “new to me” books and am busy sorting them, cataloging them, and organizing them/putting them away.

I also have been having summer fun and spending lots of time playing with my children.

I am in a bit of an art lull.

I have even resorted to not reading art books since getting home. I am in a mode of doing a lot of living real life not immersing in books.

The only creative thing I’ve done is I’m writing more and blogging more on my other (main) blog.

I am a bit burned out of ATC swapping and am fed up with problems with “problem swappers”. I go through cycles of feeling annoyed with the problem people then rebounding. So now I’m in that funk where I am feeling let down by swappers. Frankly at this point in time I have no desire to swap art with others. Right now I am hosting two swaps and those will end in August. I must force myself out of this art lull by the deadlines. But whether I’ll sign up for new swaps to participate in or to host is unknown to me at this point in time.

Creatively what is on my mind is this:

I am itching to try lino block cutting. I do own a starter kit and want to use it. But frankly I’m too busy right now.

I want to do more rubber stamp carving but right now have no new, uncarved rubber to use.

I am itching to try woodcutting but am putting that off until I use the lino cutting starter kit I own. (Side note: I have found it easy to experiment with designing and cutting my own rubber using a book as a guide. However I looked into a nonprofit art instruction place near me and they want nearly $500 for a beginner class on woodcutting and the same for a beginner class on monoprinting. Wow.)

I have been interested to try monoprinting. I worry that right now I don’t have a proper press. Buying one is not in the budget, I am pretty sure they cost hundreds of dollars. I guess I could start with simple prints that use a brayer (which I own).

In May I found this old book at a library sale for 50 cents, Printmaking by Henry Frankenfield.




This little book outlines everything a person needs to know to make prints. It covers everything from linoleum (lino) cutting to woodcutting. It covers lots of stuff, from printing on cloth to printing letters, printing in one color or multiple colors. This is the more old style book that keeps things simple and covers a lot in few words. This book left me feeling that I could most certainly do this and even do it without taking a $500 class.

I also suspect that if a new book on this topic were to be published the author would drag out the subject, take up a lot more words and they’d increase the word count and make the whole process seem harder than it is.

Anyway this old book left me thinking that the most important thing to do is to just TRY IT and as a person works with the tools and the materials they will learn by DOING. I think that is true of every art form but really I think lately it is not stressed enough. Instead we are led to believe that to try something new is SCARY and requires a lot of up front information and they assume we are all needing to be led by EXPERTS. Well, Mr. Frankenfield, your book was published in 1964 and you are still influencing people like me to JUST DO IT. Thank you!

Metal Crafting---
Again I want to try my hand at working with metal. I have been re-reading Metal Craft Discovery Workshop by Linda and Opie O’Brien. This book outlines cold fusion techniques, that is, you don’t use heat or a solder to seal the metal. I don’t know anything about making my own jewelry but I am tempted to make some funky metal jewelry with using old metal cans and cookie tins and such as the base material (free stuff I have on hand already).



I also was looking at a book on metal called “Metal Mania” by Lisa Vollrath. This book is self-published and is a soft cover with a comb binding. The book is only sold through the author/artist’s website, Ten Two Studios and it retails for $15.99. The thing I like about this book is that Vollrath makes learning to solder seem easy. She gives step by step instructions with photographs for each step. I appreciate that she gives her tips along the way.

I was speaking to my husband and he said that we already own some of the materials necessary to solder. Additionally since my mother used to do stained glass I am going to ask if she has any unused copper tape cluttering up her house that she’d give to me.

I am getting the itch to try to make some charms for necklaces or pins.

I think that the ability to solder would be a good thing to know.

Who knows maybe if something I made comes out decent I can sell it on etsy and actually make a few bucks.

So that is what is on my mind lately. I am pretty busy and trying to have some summer fun this summer. It is ending up to be an “out of the house and having fun outside with friends and family” type of summer rather than a “stay inside and make art and crafts” type of summer.

I hope your summer is going well!

My ATCs: Gold Leafing Pen Resist Technique

I made the following ATCs for an ATC swap centered on the challenge to make ATCs using the technique of gold leafing pen resist with watercolor paint. I learned this technique from a book called “Artist Trading Card Workshop” by Bernie Berlin. The book is fantastic and I highly recommend it.



Before I share the finished product, I will share the trials and tribulations first. This swap had many starts and stops before I was able to finish it.

First I had trouble getting the Krylon gold leafing pen to make splashes. I finally figured out that I needed to push down on the pen on the paper then to flick it upward and the paint would splash out. Also I took the pen and flicked it downward toward the paper. However once that resulted in the pen flying apart, whoops.

The first time I put the gold leaf on the paper. A little while later I thought it was dry. I painted it and the gold leaf smeared everywhere and it was ruined.

The second time I put the gold leaf on the paper and let it dry for two or three days. I then used a cheap set of watercolors and used green and blue. The colors looked muddy and horrible. I did not use that sheet.

The third attempt was that the deadline was approaching and I was going on vacation. I took a new sheet of white watercolor paper with the gold leafing already splashed on it. However when I got to my destination, I could not find the sheet. I had taken other art materials with me so that I could spend time making ATCs but was unable to work on this swap. I was very frustrated.

When I got home, which was less than 48 hours before the deadline, I was faced with unpacking the luggage or working on the swap to get it out on time. I decided to work on the swap! I made a new splashing of the gold leafing pen and I used a heat gun to dry it. I will say it bubbled up a bit kind of like what embossing powder does.

I made just one sheet. I used old paints I had from the days of doing Waldorf-education inspired preschool at home, using the liquid watercolor paint made by Stockmar. I used yellow and red. The colors blended well and made lovely shades of oranges and reds and yellows. So all the ATCs in this series are with the same colored backgrounds since I ended up with just one sheet of decent painted backgrounds.

“A Sign of Summer”
I made a packing tape transfer of a butterfly image from an old field guide. Hand wrote the words onto the background using a Micron pen.


“Summer is here.”
Made a packing tape transfer of a butterfly image from an old field guide. Hand wrote the words onto the background using a Micron pen.



“Columbian Coffee Pickers”
Cut out image from a Berkley and Jensen coffee bean package and adhered it. Edged with an embossing pen and black embossing powder.



“Pilobolus”
Cut out image of the Pilobolus dance troupe and adhered it to the background.


“Fantasy Stamp”
Collaged used postage stamp onto the background. Rubber stamped design in black ink onto the edges. Rubber stamped and red embossed image from Nick Bantock line at the top.


“Breast Cancer Fund the Cure Find a Cure”
Used several used postage stamps to make a collage onto the background. Note that I chose to cut them up as the postal worker used a thick Sharpie marker to “cancel” the stamps with which was ugly and cutting the stamps inspired this abstract design.





Technorati Tags: artist trading card, Bernie Berlin, Artist Trading Card Workshop, collage.