Visiting My Sister

I visited my sister in Maine for a week in July and had a great time.  She is an artist who is currently obsessed with making jewelry using foam - the colorful kind of foam that kids use to make art projects.  She is designing earring, necklaces, and bracelets that are colorful, creative, and fun.

The purpose of my visit was to help her write instructions for making her foam jewelry.  I have read a lot of books that contain directions on how to make stuff: jewelry, paintings, books, collage, and more.  I also write technical instructions as part of my job.  That means I have a little more experience than my sister when it comes to writing directions. 

So many instructions - so little time

Foam comes in a rainbow of colors

My work table

While in Maine, I made 10 pairs of earrings using my sister’s instructions and edited what she had written.  Her ultimate goal is to publish a book and she is working diligently toward that goal.  I am very proud of her for being so focused and productive.  Whether she publishes a book or not, she has accomplished a lot.

One of the necklaces my sister has created using foam

- christina

Sharing the Wealth

The mother/daughter (and in this case, granddaughter) art group.
That's me on the right.

I have some friends who have a mother/daughter art group.  It’s a wonderful thing and makes me wish that I could make art with my mother.  They recently invited me to share a project that I had learned at CREATE last year.  I accepted the invitation immediately, because it allowed me to spend time with people whose company I enjoy and they fed me dinner!  

The project involved adding Citrisolv to National Geographic pages.  This process makes the ink bleed, smoosh, and bubble in unexpected and interesting ways. 

Putting Citrasolv on the magazines is messy and smells
funny but it is a natural, citrus based, cleaning product.

You start by painting the magazine pages with Citrasolv.  Close the magazine to let it process for a few minutes and then rip out the pages that you like.  You can remove additional ink in areas by using Citrasolv on a paper towel. 

The paper towel will work through a stencil too.

In the end you have a piece of paper that may be used as a background or it may contain a shape that leads you to create a focal point.  Anything can happen.  Thanks to Cathy Taylor for sharing this idea with fellow artists.

(I believe this a collection of artwork that Cathy Taylor made using this technique)

By the way, this process only works on National
Geographic magazines because there is clay in the paper.

- christina

Not using the B Word

I can’t call it a yarn bombing because it occurred at an airport and one can’t say “bomb” at the airport.

A yarn "enhancement" at the
Philadelphia airport.

You never know where yarn might appear!

- christina

Another Bombing (the Yarn Kind)

Once again, I have assisted in the subversive act of yarn bombing.  The Knitters for Peace gang struck in the dead of night (around 9:30 pm) depositing knitted artwork along a local walking path.  There was a knitted banner as well as flowers, birds, and butterflies. 

The “yarn bombers” hoped that people would take the knitted pieces home, but the work stayed untouched for over a week.  Eventually it disappeared and I don’t know if it was removed by the police, a citizen, or a gang member.  I know that many people had the opportunity to enjoy the work, because I witnessed some bikers taking photos in front of it.

Have you ever left art somewhere for people to find?

- christina

Summer Goals

I am a teacher and, like my students, I am giddy with excitement because summer break has begun. (Yay!) Summer seems to fly by and I want to feel that I have spent my time wisely.  In order to get that feeling of accomplishment, I have to define summer goals.  Sometimes this is a long list, but not this year.

 

(sunshinecity @ flickr.com)

I have 2 very specific goals for this summer: make 20 journals and sew 20 canvas pouches.  These items will be sold at CREATE Chicago in August.  My friend is going to have a vendor table at the event where she will sell hand-dyed fabric and she is allowing me to add to her items for sale.  It’s going to take me all summer to make these items, but I am excited about the prospect of selling my work to the public.  I am not confident enough to do a big art show or flea market, but the CREATE event is small and somehow feels “safe.”  I guess because I am one of the attendees and I have purchased wonderful stuff in the past.

I will post my progress as the summer continues.  I hope that you have fabulous summer plans as well.

- christina

A Visit to Bead & Button

A beautiful piece of wearable art

Last weekend I drove to Milwaukee for the Bead & Button Show.  It’s a 90-minute drive each way, so I had about 2 ½ hours to hang out there before I had to be back in Chicago. I just wanted to visit the exhibit hall, buy a few items, and say hello to some friends who had a booth.  I have been going to Bead & Button for 10 years, but this was the first time I went without my BFF.

I love these colorful storage cabinets.
$159 each. Drool …..

This is one of my favorite vendors, My
Elements.  They sell rubber components  for
jewelry making and are incredibly creative.

This is half of the Exhibit Hall.
There seemed to be fewer attendees than last year.

Yes, they actually sell buttons
at Bead & Button.

This is my friend Dee Dee's booth.
Banyan Bay Studio beads

Dee Dee makes her beads from layers of
wood.  She turns each one on a lathe.
They are beautiful.

It was a nice day trip, but I really missed my BFF.  We usually walk through the exhibit hall together, stopping occasionally to say "ohh, ahh" or "who would buy that?"  We also smuggle little bottles of rum into the hall where we buy $4 cokes and doctor them up.  That makes the shopping even more fun.

The only things I bought at the show were some brass chain and a few silk ribbons that I use as bracelets.  Next year I won't go to B&B unless my BFF goes too.  It just isn't the same without her.

- christina

A New Binding

I just tried a new book binding technique called the crossed structure binding.  I saw a video of an artist using this technique and she said she learned it from a book that I actually own!  What a pleasant surprise.  So I got the book, found the page, and made my first crossed structure binding book.

 

I used the cover of the watercolor
paper pad as the cover of my journal.

I cut the cover to the height of the paper
and 3 times the width of the signature, then
I cut the "teeth" out of the middle third.

The signatures are sewn to the 2 "teeth"
on the back cover.

To attach the front cover, the
"teeth" are woven in and out of the covers.

Here is the final journal.

I like the new technique and plan to use it again.  I will need to get a better Xacto knife, however.  Check out Making Handmade Books by Alisa Golden for 100+ bindings.

- christina