More Watercolor and Another Box

I can't seem to stop with the meditative watercolor stuff. Maybe I should just sign up for the class. 

I also managed to finish another Fodder School collaged box.

 

 

Back to Fodder School

I watched the Stephanie Lee Fodder School June lessons; yes, I'm very late to the party. And I started by playing with the plaster mixture on a variety of papers. 

                   

A few days later, while gardening,  I decided I needed some small supports for the plants I put in our big pots. So I made some from sticks I picked up in the yard. 

 

Tonight, I made some marks on my plastered papers.

 

Playing with Dyed Papers

Continuing on with March Fodder School, I'm playing with my dyed tea bags and coffee filters...stamping, painting, drawing, doodling.

And, I'm keeping up with The 100 Day Project...

 

More Books

I made a few more mastersheets and then made more books. Now, I'm stuck, waiting to have a backyard burn so I can "age" some tins.

And I started gluing fodder scraps to my Kindle cover. This feels like a perpetual work in progress. 

Busy Few Days

 I never feel busy but I'm creating. I finished the little memorials for my mom and dad.

 They are beautiful, if I'm allowed to say that about my own work. 

I've also stumbled across a group in my own community making big papier mache puppets. So I reminded myself of my very limited comfort zone, and then drove over to the Friendship Park Community Center to help. I've been back three times and am now hoping making big papier mache heads goes on forever.

And, of course, there's September Fodder School. I have yet to watch any of the lessons from Yetunde Rodriguez, but I jumped into the stamp making this morning. I promised myself that I would watch the lessons before I went any further. 

 

Catching Up

I finished six little cat houses! For a project that initially caused my to roll my eyes a bit, it sure was fun. And it yielded some great little "cat houses". 

 

It's getting close to the day of my parents' cremains interment. Before their ashes are interred, I wanted to make some little memorials. 

August Fodder School Project

 Admittedly, I was not excited about making little houses with Alison Bomber and I was even less excited looking at my fellow students' finished projects...the berry motif made everyone's little houses look exactly the same. I managed  to make the fodder and I fiddled around drawing some dragonflies and stamping some bees but nothing really appealed to me.  Then, I decided to use the Instax photos I took of Sadie...the ones I've wasted so much film on....and then, I was excited.

Now, the very project I thought I didn't like has become one of my favorites. 

 

More TP Pouches

The heat and humidity have been oppressive today so I never left the house (and the AC). I should have watched the new Fodder School lessons. Instead, I lounged around reading, and then pausing to make more TP pouches. 

Voila!

I finished my July Fodder School project with a few days to spare. And I'm actually quite pleased with it...

My book...

 

Here is my final assembled piece, destined to be a work in progress in perpetuity.

And now, it's August. Instead of watching the August lessons and getting started on the August fodder, I'm fooling around making these little pouches out of toilet paper rolls. A friend of mine posted a photo of some on my Facebook page. Now, if I had saved more rolls, I would still be making them.

 

I also spent some time last week at the Friendship Park Community Center helping  Mary Gaynier and her crew with some big puppet heads. 

July Fodder Continued...

I made a stash of tokens and paper dolls...

And I made some hand sewn tokens...

 

 

 

And then I kind of wanted to wear them, so I added some to a knotty scarf I bought last year at an art fair. (It always felt like it needed something.) 

I think I have enough left for the July Fodder School book project. 

Finished Flashcards and July Fodder

I finished my Italian flashcards for June Fodder School but was no up to the ATC swap. The whole trading by mail process just gets to complex for me. 

 

 

And once again, I was dragging my feet about starting the Fodder School July lessons. But I watched a bit of the Kecia Deveney videos and jumped in. And now that I've actually started, it's pretty fun...tokens and paper dolls have begun. I do think I need to drop back and watch Kecia's entire videos. I kind of feel like I'm making up my own rules on this one.

My Marisol Party

While at the Toledo Museum of Art for Marisol: A Retrospective, I picked up a family guide to the exhibition. Of course, it was part of the clutter on our table and I thought I'd leaf through it before tossing it in the recycling bin. Glad I did, as it contained a template and instructions to make one's own Marisol inspired sculpture from heavy paper and a cardboard toilet paper roll. Yes, it was meant for children but I had to give it a try.

Naturally, I got got carried away. I only stopped because I used up my empty toilet paper rolls. I'll add to this Marisol party when I accumulate a few more.

And, I'm still working The 100 Day Project.

Story Board and Some Weathergrams

Yes, I admit,  I didn't want to do this project. But once I got started and stopped poo posing it, I had so much fun. I'm still adding bits and pieces, and my Yayoi Kusama fake stamp fell off into what can only be a Bermuda Triangle, but I'm liking my story board after all.

This morning,  I realized it's the day to hang weathergrams, so I made one to remember each of our last three cats...whom we miss dearly.

 

Washi Egg Season

I spent an afternoon making washi eggs with my friend, Judy. It's become an annual tradition since she was the one who taught me this wonderful art form. Our day of egg pasting always gets me started on a washi egg binge. 

Judy is teaching this next week at a cool new wine bar. Here's the link, if your local...

Washi Egg Class

 

Now, I need to take time to watch the March Fodder School project videos. 

Quick Gift Tags

I needed gift tags so I made some very simple ones. Of course, my head is swimming with ideas to make them fancier, more elaborate. But I just don't have the time. 

Some Upcycling and a Blizzard Book

I discovered a hole in the heel of my favorite Statue of Liberty socks, the socks I bought at the Bryant Park Holiday Market in NYC a few years ago. I couldn't bring myself to throw them away. So I cut them into FINGERLESS GLOVES!

 

 

After that, I was really glad that I hadn't 

 tossed my Beetlejuice the Musical 

souvenir socks!                                                                                 

                                                                         

 

And because I don't want to forget how to do it, I folded some map paper and made a blizzard book.

Fodder School 2 Is in the Books

 I finished up September, the last monthe of Fodder School 2 with collages on scraps of lumber instead of the wood cradle boards on the supply list. I had some cradle boards, But I also had these great cubes of wood that I'd been hoarding since Bill made some repairs to our pergola last summer. I had so much fun with these!

And Another Week

Yes...more Kindness Cards...

And lots more washi tape...

I also did a second box before we start the postcard section of this month of Fodder School. 

Rainy Day Making

Today, as it rained most of the day, I had an excuse to hole up in the house. So I finished the tray for my favorite New Yorker. 

It's very similar to my other NYC street art tray but I wanted to make one for my friend since he lives in the city and booked the street art tour for one of my visits.

Then, I watched a few more Fodder School videos and played with the dye spray techniques.

And although I planned on spending the rest of my day reading, I watched a few more lessons and once I made one faux postage stamp, I couldn't stop. Fake stamps are waaaay too much fun.