ART REVIEW 2006

I have finally made the decision to switch permanently to my new blog on Typepad. I shall not be making anymore posts on here from now on, so please change your links to my new blog:

http://www.inkytinker.typepad.com

Not that different really!

Visit today and see what I have written about reviewing my output for 2006 in order to focus on my plans for 2007. Have you done a review/plan yet?

Thanks for looking,
Kari x

Kilt Pin

Here is a kilt pin I made as a present for someone at Christmas. These are great fun to do and make great gifts.

I used a painted puzzle piece, handmade bead, shell, broken CD piece and some found bits of broken jewellery.

It was great fun and I will make some more for swaps soon.

Kari x

Sketches

The festivities don't leave much time for art, especially when a flu virus also hits, but I have been doodling in my sketchbook and working in some decos. Firstly two rather fuzzy pages from decos in watercolour and pencil.

And, secondly, a couple of several working ideas for a book page on the theme of birds, feathers and nests. Think I may do a lino cut or similar on this one, perhaps using the falcon as a kicking off point.



Happy Hogmanay Everyone!

Colourful Thoughts

As most of you know, I love colour. I studied colour theory very thoroughly over many years and it is fascinating to me. I find it very difficult to choose favourite individual colours or colour combinations.

As artists we are very lucky that we can combat the dull skies and lack of flowers/greenery outside by splashing a few colours around indoors.

These little squares are examples of those special bits of magic that I love. These are the bits where two or more colours colide and the resulting strange hues that result. MMmmmm. Yummmm.

I can't post any pictures of any artwork again as most of it is secret stuff and all the Christmas preparations are taking up what little art time I seem to have these days. Not that I mind, I am really in the Christmas spirit at the moment.

Kari x

Slide Mailer and an AB page

The countdown to Christmas has really started, I feel as if I have so much to do and so little time left to do it.

I am horrified by how behind I seem to be on everything, but I am determined to clear the decks.


Here are two pictures of a slide mailer. First time I have ever done one and also my first use of embossing - yayy! I got the hang of it at last. Just thought I would just go for it and am quite delighted with the results. Mind you, wish I had just bought clear UTEE, this stuff is full of shimmery particles which is great on this, but not something I will use on everything.



And this next page is a final page in Pat's Spring AB, I decided to go for the spring cleaning theme and to reintroduce a bit more of my own calligraphic (and I use the term loosely) mark-making. The background is duster yellow and I had to resist the temptation to edge in red. Sometimes less really is more.

Final Everyday Book Page

I can't post all the things I have been making lately as many are suprises for people. But this page is now in the hands of its rightful owner as our Everyday Books have trundled home to their originators.

I am so delighted with mine and spend ages looking through it time and time again. A year-long project like this is quite an undertaking, but the rewards when you have so many wonderful pieces of art from dear friends to enjoy for many years to come, make the effort so worth it.

This is the final page I did in Laura's book, her colour was "Autumn" and her theme "Family". It isn't very clear in the picture, but that is a gingko leaf that I pressed last autumn and it is trapped behind some shimmery fabric.

Tags and Changes

I've been adding loads more people to my links on the right-hand column - there are so many fabulous artistic blogs out there and I have been very lucky in getting to see such great work being made.

I am yet to find the ideal blog host. I tried LiveJournal last year and it was OK, but not perfect (particularly when it comes to uploading images) and then I switched to Blogger, which again is great for a free program, but anyone who uses it knows that it is not without its problems. The whole idea about moving blogs was to have a serious, trustworthy, professional look to showcase my art and if the blog is playing up and no help is available, then that isn't going to cut it. So I have been doing a trial period on Typepad and so far, I quite like it. I am basically running the two in tandem sort of, just to test things out and will decide at the end of my 30 day free trial whether to keep the Typepad blog or not. Hmmm, will put the link on the right column so you can take a look. Comments most welcome.

For some reason, I seem to be working away, but nothing much to show except these tags that I made for a swap in Altered Guild. They are sanded, acrylic paint layers on light card, gold stamping, sewed images and fibres. I was going for a cool winter colour theme and think I managed it.

I seem to have spent a lot of this weekend sorting out swaps. The biggest being the round robin I am running, which is an Altered Book swap in ANUK called Literatura Infantil. It is based on the books we read as children and I shall be altering a copy of Pollyanna. The round robin doesn't start until January, but I am already very excited about it.

Hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.

Kari x

Altered Canvas

Here is an altered canvas I made for Michelle Remy (she is banned from looking at my blog until after she receives it) in another swap an Altered Guild. I have struggled with this project, something to do with the fact that I separate painted art and altered art in my mind and using canvas has really mixed me up. In the end, I worked on flat canvas, thinking of it as paper, before stretching it on frames.

Anyway, it is painted canvas, watercolour, stamp and spotty feathers sewn onto canvas, collaged bird and a tag with poetry attached. The poem says:

"Each twig I chose for you, my dear,
Down plucked from my own chest
I give you protection and warmth in here
My humble, jumble, little nest."

Again, photographed at an odd angle to avoid glare from the acetate on tag and shiny bird.

Kari x

The Most Beautiful Book Ever

Do you remember in an earlier post, some time in summer I made a Zetti page for a special Little Fat Book in Altered Guild?

Well, last night I came home to the final results. Michelle Remy has lovingly laboured over this book and turning our pages and some paper bags into the most amazing book I have ever seen. It must have taken her ages and she must have wished she had never started it, especially as she and her family have been struggling with ill health and long working hours to boot.

But, the results are stunning, as well as being so beautifully put together, and carefully planned, each and every page is fantastic, full of colour, wisdom and humour. I feel so honoured to have taken part.

Michelle's blog is Lost Coast Post and the link is on the right in my blogger links.

Mini Collages - Mark II

These are very difficult to scan/photograph. Not only are they too lumpy for a decent scan, but of course, they are tiny, just 1" x 1" and my poor old scanner just isn't up to it. Then the problem was photographing them, late at night with artificial light and the flash bouncing off the transparancies that I have used on them.

Hence the rather odd angle - partly to avoid the glare and partly to make them slightly hidden from the recipients.

They are watercolour washes on watercolour paper, rubber stamps, transparency images, sewing (on all but one) and eyelets.

In the post tomorrow - just in time for the deadline.

Kari

A few Deco Pages

Here are a few out of several deco pages I have done recently, I often forget to take pictures or scans of deco pages I have done, so this is a rarity!

The deco subjects are, from top left hand corner, going round clock-wise: Schooldays, Altered Frida Photo, Weaving and Postcard.

Lynne's Everyday Book

Lynne's book is lovely, it is beautifully bound and astonishgly well organised with tabs for each participant's piece. This round the colour theme is Pink/Silver and the word "Joy". I adored the colours and enjoyed putting this piece together. It is watercolour paper with a wash, the word joy written in silver all over, then layers of papers, fabric butterfly and sewing, beads and wire. It isn't glued into the book just yet, I will do that later.

I have also included a small ginkgo leaf in the photo (not the artwork) that I collected yesterday. I love the shape of these leaves and have put some in my flower press to use in future art projects. This one is quite tiny (ATC-sized?) and looks like a little heart.

Stitch ATCs

In my last post about the mermaid spread, I worried about whether the recipient (June) would like it. Well, I got a very enthusiastic e-mail and she does like it. Phew!



Here is one of three ATCs that were for a stitch theme. As well as machine stitching around the edges, I also stitched some wire on the top left hand corners with some beads for embellishment. I spent quite a bit of time on these ATCs and they were great fun to do, seeming to come together all by themselves.

Mermaid AB Spread

Another completed project - this is a spread for an altered book on the theme of mermaids. I used a found photograph of this lady, added a tail, printed her on a lovely antique map, added the transparency with the "Not Waving but Drowning" poem by Stevie Smith, added the phial (which I made from a cut down test tube) with tiny shells and tendrilly fibre which looks like tiny seaweed. I made a tag, added the copper dog tag (from Maz's lovely metal stash), having stamped the word WAVE on it.

Well, I love the traditional Scottish folk stories of strange sea creatures and thoroughly enjoyed this spread.

Hope the recipient likes it!

Kari x

Card and Chunky Page for Laura

I can post these now that Laura's birthday is over and I am not spoiling any surprises. This is my page that Maz made into a unique chunky book to celebrate Laura's 40th.



And here is the card that I sent her.



I think it is rather fitting that Laura got a chunky book as she often has great chunky book projects on the go (see link to her blog on right to hear about her latest special fast and dirty chunky book project - Laura's Blog is: The Altered Eye)