Little Boats
collage, gel pen, and acrylic on 140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor paper
3 x 7 1/2 inches
I still have some finishing touches left to do on the book, but the boats are all done. And, yes, that last one does look a bit like the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It wasn’t intentional, but the FSM works in mysterious ways.
Little Boats
collage, gel pen, and acrylic on 140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor paper
3 x 7 1/2 inches
Little Boats
collage, gel pen, and acrylic on 140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor paper
3 x 7 1/2 inches
Little Boats
collage, gel pen, and acrylic on 140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor paper
3 x 7 1/2 inches
I wanted a change from bottles and vases and plain old doodling, so I thought I’d work on something else for awhile. I bound this miniature book, using left over scraps of paper and book board I’d pre-painted with acrylics, about a year ago, as a demo for a book binding tutorial I wrote. Because of the sea foam greens used on many of the pages, my intention was to eventually do something water-themed with it.
Little Boats
3 3/8 x 3 15/16 inches, 11 signatures of 2 pages each (22 pages total)
140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor pages, pre-painted with acrylics, bound with waxed linen thread
The Cynic’s Apprentice (in progress)
20 x 16 inches
collage (child’s dress pattern, glass, nails, knife blade, and bone), oil pastel, and litho crayon on canvas
What She Kept
mixed media: collage (brass beads, 35mm negative, yearbook photo, obituary photo, movie ticket stub, and fragment from 1854 patent book), drawing (India ink), and crackle glaze on 90lb Stonehenge paper
5 1/8 x 5 1/2 inches
Mask I
collage (dried leaf, fragment from dictionary, fortune, diary key, and brass brad) on 90lb Stonehenge paper dyed with instant coffee
3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches
Mask II
collage (fragment from dictionary, altered Polaroid photo, and mirror) on 90lb Stonehenge paper dyed with instant coffee
3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches
Little Boat
collage (fragments from dictionary colored with Portfolio water-soluble crayons) on 90lb Stonehenge paper dyed with instant coffee
3 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches
These are all rather on the bitty side. Most of my paintings are fairly large, so it’s weird to work on such a small scale. It feels more intimate, though, which makes for a nice change.
oil, oil pastel, and oil pencil on newspaper adhered to 90lb Stonehenge paper, with mirror and braided dress patterns and tissue paper
11 1/4 x 15 inches
3 July 2006
In Greek mythology, Medusa was one of the three Gorgon sisters. She began life as a beautiful maiden, but after becoming inadvertently entangled in the on-going rivalry between Athene and Poseidon, she was disfigured by Athene. Athene replaced Medus’s hair with a mass of writhing snakes, making her so frightful that all who gazed upon her were turned to stone. Medusa finally met her end when Perseus, using a polished shield as a mirror, beheaded her.
It’s been a a month, exactly, since I started this one. The base coat was oil, so I wanted to give it plenty of time to dry before working on it some more. I also was feeling lazy, to be truthful. I’ve had two more goes at it, with oil pastels and oil pencils. I like the visual and tactile texture that’s beginning to develop, but it has a way to go yet.
oil, oil pastel, and oil pencil on newspaper adhered to 90lb Stonehenge paper
11 1/4 x 15 inches
29 June 2006
I’m not sure what this little bowl will eventually hold. I’ve got some gorgeous luna moth wings (thanks, Pyewacket!) that I might combine with leaves. The problem is, figuring out how to adhere the wings without damaging them. I’m also considering something viney, perhaps hair and/or braided paper.
Rory, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 8 June 2006
acrylic paint and metallic gel marker, photo, receipt, and Gepe mount containing fur
I hid the journal entry behind the receipt. The fur in the Gepe mount was shed at the vet, while I was petting Rory. I made a little pile of it and brought it home with me. The rest of the page is just doodles I did that evening while watching television.
Sacred Heart / Guacamole
Composition book journal, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 9 June 2006
I saved the stickers from the last time I made guacamole. At about the same time, I burned the end of one of my favorite Mexican candles. I soaked the candle so I could reuse the label, and placed it on the page opposite the vegetable stickers. Since guacamole is so simple to make and it’s such a healthy food, I thought I’d use this spread to share my easy-peasy recipe.
Guacamole
2 avocados, mashed
2 large tomatoes or 6 romas, diced (I prefer romas, because they aren’t as juicy)
1 lime (lemons will work in a pinch, but given the choice between lime and lemon, I always prefer the flavor of lime)
4 scallions, minced (use both the white and green portions)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of Kosher or sea salt (iodized salt will react with the citric acid, and will make the guacamole bitter tasting)
Note: All amounts are approximate. I aim for something that is more like diced tomato salad with an avocado-lime-garlic dressing. I like chunky guacamole that, when paired with toasted whole wheat pita, is a meal in itself.
Mash or dice the avocados and add the juice from half the lime. Sprinkle with a little salt. Dice the tomatoes, mince the scallions and garlic, and add to the avocados. Mix everything together, then taste. You may want to add more garlic, salt, or lime. You can also add green chilis, hot chilis, or tabasco sauce, if you like spiciness. If you want a bit of crunch, diced bell peppers are a nice addition.
If you want to serve with chips, be careful not to over salt. I like to serve it with toasted whole wheat pita triangles. They’re whole grain and not as fatty as chips, so they’re healthier, I think. I also really enjoy the warm, nutty flavor against the cool, creamy, freshness of the guacamole.
red paper boat 