NEW TOYS

New art supplies!  Nothing better.

 Last July my friend and I ordered ceramic pallets for our studios.  We spent and afternoon painting pieces of paper narrowing down what color went where and which were the same.  It seems I had a few that were.

I ran out of time and came home with mine like the top pallet(only paper color).  Well...........you know we artist, at least me, are chickens.  I have no idea why but I just filled my pallet with the real thing yesterday, Oct 7.  It sure is pretty to look at.  I wonder how long it will be before I use it to paint

Back to a slower pace, or NOT!

Things are slowing down a bit.  No more Book Binding classes until Spring.  Our Winter has so much snow and cold and I live on a bad road for students to travel.  I will miss it but I wouldn't want any accidents.

My Journaling friends, Catherine and Karen, came over yesterday and we made books.  I found this fabric for the book cloth on a trip to Indiana to see my parents last weekend.  Catherine purchased the paper on a trip to Hollander's in Ann Arbor.  It just seem to fit so well.

We had a great time matching up paper and trading supplies.  It's always more fun with friends.

I had a few adventures this summer I'll try to start posting some of them soon.

Returning to a little slower pace or NOT

Red, Yellow, and Blue

This is Lokta paper. It is handmade. Aren't the colors beautiful? I love looking at these all spread out on the table. They remind me of my palette. I love color! Most of the time I use to much color or can't stop adding color until I have a muddy mess. Can you relate to that?You can't do that with this paper. I use this for the flyleaf of the inside cover of my books. Everyone is always so excited to choose there color. We gave a workshop last Thursday and Friday in my home studio on Lake Charlevoix, MI. The weather was perfect and everyone had a great time painting in their new journals.

Weeds or Wildflowers?

It was a beautiful day in Northern Michigan and I just had to journal outside. We have been allowing the natural wildflowers to bloom, or should I say weeds? They look a lot like weeds because they are scattered all over. They are starting to go to seed. I knew I didn't have much time before they would be gone. I wanted to record them in my journal so I could compare them to next years crop. We have more each year.

From the Workshop

One of the students in the bookbinding watercolor journal workshop wanted to use a rough sketch she had done for her fly pages. We were a little worried how it would handle with the glue. I stayed by her side and we hurried. As you see here it came out very nice. I love it.

Students Books from Workshop

Beautiful books from the Workshop. Everyone did a great job on their books. I hope you are all enjoying painting in them also.
The weather here in Northern Michigan has been perfect for getting outside and journaling, gardening, even swimming and it's only June 1. I love it!

Handmade Watercolor Sketchbooks

I made these awhile ago, before I took a class at Hollander's in Ann Arbor, MI. I love making these books but I am a little surprised that I am driven to fill them even more. This, I think may be the one thing to help me improve my art and my mood. It you are an Artist and are not keeping a journal. Do! If you want to improve your art. Do! If you want your attitude changed. Do!

A little like Christmas Morning

Our first Bookbinding/Journal Painting Workshop was completed on May 25. My friend Catherine and I co-taught the workshop. This photo is the girls opening their books after having weight on them overnight. I was a lot like the excitement we felt on Christmas morning when we were kids.

We taught two, two day workshops back to back. We had five students in each workshop. It was hard work completing the books in one day and the girls were good sports to work so hard. It paid off on day two when they could relax and paint in their new journals.

Inspiration from a friend

My friend Katrina sent me a birthday card. It was a watercolor sketch she had done on 300lb paper. She added a loving saying in ink. It inspiraed me to do this little watercolor of Lar and Beck's sunflowers as a thank you to our wounderful friends the Brown's. They gave a very special pre wedding party for our son Patrick and his gal Kyndra.

Obsession with Book Making

These are two of my latest handmade journals. I am loving the process of choosing papers and making my own journal. It is so satisfying to paint in them too. I think this will keep me painting more often and that is my goal. Hopefully, this will help me improve my painting skill. For sure I am having a great time at this.