Category: Art

Altered Books, Art, Collage, Found Poems, Poetry

The Automatons

Shelly

I promised art a couple of days ago, but obviously, I lied. And by the time I finished last night, it was way past my bedtime.

This one has another packing tape transfer (a phrenology model), but it’s even fainter than the last one I did. I like the way it turned out. Tape transfers are kind of hit-and-miss for me. Often, the image pulls completely away from the tape, no matter how careful I am or how well I burnish. Some folks recommend soaking the taped image for a few minutes, but that makes the problem even worse. I’ve settled on taping, burnishing the hell out of it, then using a baby wipe to remove the paper from the tape. I haven’t had 100% success with doing it that way, but close to that.

This is a totally adorable demo for making tape transfers. I love that it’s a young boy doing it. He uses clear contact paper, instead of packing tape, but the technique is the same.

The Automatons

collage (altered Polaroid, anatomical illustration, packing tape transfer, and fragment from antique curtain) with watercolor pencil, watersoluble crayon, and found poem in altered book
9 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches

The Automatons
(a found poem)

More valuable than anything else,
his own desire for becoming.

The work and the excellence,
The common instincts of humanity
regarded as the highest virtue
And in the duties of tradition and custom
A convert denied
that destiny ruled his life,
Rejected demands and expectations
To devote himself
to the obstacles that were within him.

Only those who dared
could claim their autonomy.

Journals, Photography

January 7-13

Shelly

100_5076
January 7-13

There’s nothing exciting on these pages, content-wise, but I thought I’d show why I wanted to use art paper in my planner. It’s cheap paper, but it works fine for watercolor pencil, Prismacolor, and Pitt pens. And, you can see why I complain about the lack of sunshine. This was actually a pretty good week, for Winter in Indiana.

Altered Books, Art, Found Poems, Poetry

The Witnesses

Shelly

The Witnesses
collage with Portfolio watersoluble crayon and found poem in altered book
9 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches

The Witnesses

When they die
you call them gods
made and placed in shrines.

Hoping to convince the uninterrupted generations,
defiance was the response;
The terrible choice between denying
and the claim that these could catch fire
Among the disaffected and the restless
who had inspired with the idea
who had dared a stubborn dissident
who had refused to obey
And took for granted the sacrifice and submission.

Art, Doodles, Photography

Doodles

Shelly

100_5030
DIY Planner

I haven’t liked any of the planner inserts or DIY hacks I’ve seen (or, at least, when I did like them, they didn’t end up working for me), so I made my own out of 60lb student grade “art” paper. Tearing the paper and punching holes took me about 30 minutes, and it’ll take me some time to block out all the dates (I got through April done during today’s meeting).

The bonus is that during meetings, I now have easy access to art paper for doodling. I’m all for using what you have, and if all you have during a meeting is a steno pad, then that’s what you use. But having better paper at hand is nice

And now, that’s one more thing I can cross off my 101 Things list.

Art, Collage, Journals

The End

Shelly

End of 2007
The End of 2007
collage with Portfolio watersoluble crayon and India ink in composition book

One fringe benefit to writing on crayon is that the ink, which is otherwise permanent, will wipe away pretty well if you make a mistake, as long as you catch it while it’s still wet. A baby wipe works well for this, but I would think a wet napkin or tissue would do the trick, too. (Don’t ask me how I know this!)

Art, Journals, Photography

Composition Book Journal

Shelly

100_4940

100_4937

I managed to finish up my current composition book journal last night. I don’t normally care if a journal is spread across two years, but since this one was nearly full, I thought it’d be nice to complete it.

These last pages were done with collage and Portfolio watersoluble crayons, using a dip pen and India ink for the writing. Like I said, this is about the only reliable way to write on some surfaces. In fact, at the art museum, one of my jobs was to put accession numbers on objects. For hard surfaces (metal, plastic, ceramic, etc.) we used a base coat of clear acrylic (nail polish will do in a pinch), then wrote the numbers with India ink and a dip pen, let it dry thoroughly, then put a protective top coat of acrylic over it.

Journals

Pens

Shelly

Sun

The subject comes up periodically in just about every one of my art groups, of how to write on various media. Some pens just won’t write on some surfaces. One of the most difficult things to cover is watersoluble crayons. If you use them, and have tried to write over them, you know what I mean. A very thin application can usually be written on in pencil, Pitt pen, Prismacolor, oil pencils, etc. For thicker applications, about the only thing I’ve found that works consistently, without clogging, is an old fashioned dip pen and India ink.

Art, Collage, Journals

Harry and David Pears

Shelly

The problem with my scanner being recognized was due to Zone Alarm. All is now well!

Pears
acrylic, Portfolio watersoluble crayons, eraser stamp, RoseArt ColorSharp metallic marker, fruit wrapper, and ink in composition book
9 3/4 x 15 inches

I messed around with this last night, while watching The Amazing Race. I was annoyed to see Kynt and Vyxsin go. Even when they had a melt-down, they did so without being mean to each other. Not an easy task, I think, under the circumstances. They did well, and they ought to be proud of themselves for that. Not so much the team that came in ahead of them. Aieee! I hope they’re sufficiently embarrassed by their behavior, but somehow, I doubt it.

Altered Books, Art, Collage, Found Poems, Poetry

A Tiny Cell

Shelly

A Tiny Cell
A Tiny Cell
collage, Neocolors II, packing tape transfer, with found poetry in altered book
9 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches

A Tiny Cell

All that you have
they do not want.

Suspected
schemed
intended to renounce the world
to ask for protection,
Scattering on the earth
giving shelter
a tiny cell
a shrine to the martyrs,
Like others before and since,
Obligations
all the heavier
because they were so often denied.

This spread gave me all kinds of fits. It helped to put down a protective layer of acrylic matte medium before blocking out the text, but I didn’t apply it to the margins. Duh. So, of course, I got crayon everywhere. And then, I couldn’t find any imagery I liked with the text. I wasted a few hours last night, trying to put something together, before giving up. It wasn’t until this evening, while I was on the phone with my mom and rummaging through a drawer of old magazine clippings, that I found something I liked. When all else fails, go for the giant brain, right?

The transparent box is actually a tape transfer I did of another magazine clipping. I liked its dark, smoky, uncertain quality. It was the borders of the box, and the way they tied everything to the text, that sold me.