Mastersheets and a Book

I combined pieces of my eco-dyed papers into several master sheets...

 

And then I cut them into pages for a book to fit in a tin.

I had a video but Blogger isn't cooperating right now so here are a few photos...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Altered Photos, Sigils, and an Enso

I tried all of Jack's photo altering techniques, and combined a few. I can't walk by my work table without messing with a photo. 

I finally moved on to the sigils. Jack's demonstration used positive affirmations and I started with those. But then I went to the dark side...it was cathartic.  It's a great way to say the things I'm feeling after this election. Can't wait to use some in a few greeting cards to a few special people. 

 

 

I also followed Jack's lesson and made an ensō. I absolutely love it.

Life Goes On

I'm trying to stay in the now, and I'm trying to keep my heart open. That's all I can do right now. And I'm keeping busy. Creating helps. 

I jumped into the most involved of Jack Ravi's lessons and created bundles of papers to dye. I loved the look of my bundles and I had very low expectations for color...I was very heavy handed with the turmeric. 

Opening the wet bundles and trying to find space to lay my soggy papers out to dry was challenging, but I did it. And when the papers were dry and the dust brushed away, I was amazed. It was like being back in college, pulling pottery out of a raku firing and hoping for flashes of beautiful color. 

I wanted to start more bundles immediately but I knew that there were more Jack Ravi lessons to try and I am moving on some of his photo altering techniques.

 

Halloween Puppet Parade!

 I completely forget to post photos of the finished puppets! We had a parade!

They are incredible! I was so lucky to have had the opportunity to work on these amazing creations. Mary Gaynier is a creative genius!

And I almost forgot...my 2024 Jack-o-lantern! I had to put a battery operated lantern inside to light it as it was crazy windy on Halloween.

 

 

 

Election Anxiety Projects

 I, like millions of others, can hardly wait for this election to be over. I am suffering from the worst election anxiety I've ever experienced.

I started rolling paper beads to deal with it. By Tuesday, I should have quite a stash. 

This morning, after rolling beads, I thought I'd try to replicate the scrappy scarf I bought last year at an art fair but with my own scraps of black, white, and cream fabrics. I'm pretty pleased with it!

Voila! Medals!

I'm thinking that if medals were awarded for chaos, clutter, poor planning, and general untidiness, these would be those medals.

I loved the Jack Ravi medals challenge. Can't wait for his November lessons.

 

October Fodder School 4

After some initial confusion, I realized October Fodder School is a series of "fodder challenges". The Polaroids were one of those. 

After the Polaroids,  I chose to try Amanda Trought's leaf painting challenge. The sewing portion of the lesson went a bit astray when I ran across the sequins and seed beads I'd forgotten I had.

 

After leaf painting, I tried  the Stephanie Lee texture lessons. I have some beautiful boards to use as book covers or bases for more collage work.

Then, I moved on to Carrie Smith and her sacred hearts, inspired by Mexican folk art. Once again, the sequins and beads made an appearance, along with (gasp!) glitter...I do love glitter. So, my sacred hearts are VERY sparkly! 

 

I wish I'd started all of this earlier in the month as there are 11 different challenges and I'm running out of time. In my defense, I've been spending a a lot of time working on the big puppets. They are incredible!  I think I'll try the Jack Ravi medals next.