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