Realia:

Rock Solid, Sister

Sliced my first rock open this week at silversmithing class.  Last weekend, the Natural Science Center had a yard sale from years of Gem and Mineral Club stash, so we stopped by early (apparently not early enough for the REALLY good stuff) but early for us at 7:30 a.m.  Picked up two cardboard boxes for $5 a piece of lapis and black opal rough rock. 

After washing a few pieces of the lapis, I found beautiful cobalt blue stones that I must now figure out how to excavate from the surrounding grey/white rock.  (You can tell I'm a real geologist here...have no idea what the other stuff is.) 

Anyway, I tried my hand at cutting a piece of Botswana agate at class (Thank you, Mac) and it was a real beauty.  The diamond blade of the saw was so light and flexible, it could hardly cut your fingers (unless one got caught) and soon I was cutting my way through the rock, sparks flying and actually seeing light through the cut as I got towards the end.  What a rush to open the once-ugly stone to see such beauty inside.  (My children, I'm sure, are rolling their eyes thinking, here she goes again.)  But cutting stone reminds me of printing photographs...magic happens before your very eyes. 

A good friend and I scored a gem and mineral map from the class and we're going rock hunting soon. 

I was showing my rock to some kids at school and just happened to meet a student who's a total rockhound, telling me about the times he goes out with his Dad to dig.  We had a nice conversation about his collection, cutting and polishing rocks, and collecting dinosaur coprolites. 

Life just brings you these gifts of enthusiasm.

For now, I'm carrying my Botswana agate - known for it's metaphysical properties of promoting creative ability and releasing repressed emotional issues - because it's so lovely to hold.  On to the next new thing...slabbing.

It may be St. Patrick's Day in your town...

But it's the 231st Anniversary of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in mine.  All manner of fragrant, musket-toting, muslin-trousered, storytelling folks descend on our fair city to encamp in the park, oogled by mountain bikers and the dog-walking citizenry.  It's a yearly delight and always leads to that question, "Who are these people?" 

You gotta love it.
To learn more, (you know you do) visit the National Park site.

On the left, a Guilford militiaman shoots his dog lock musket (can go 350 yards with a load of shot) beside a hunting rifleman, who explained he would be sent to pick off an officer or a drummer boy, to interupt the command.  His rifle took 3x as long to load as the musket, but was a more accurate weapon.

Spring Fever. Want to go somewhere. Now.

Perhaps the train?  Our beautiful old 1920s Depot that replaced the older Richardsonian Romanesque station on Elm Street.  Both landmarks are still standing and in use.

Secret Belgian Binding

Took a great workshop last weekend at Asheville Bookworks.  We learned the Secret Belgian Binding, taught by Laurie Corral.  The two-day workshop resulted in two finished journals, with the requisite mistakes that I seem to have to make to really learn something.  I tried to hide them, but you can see a crooked thread here and there, and latching to the secret binding only once on one signature, a glue stain on the inside cover and a regular old knot, rather than a square knot, on the first hole. 

But...those things aside, the books are beautiful and I love the way this binding opens and closes.  It has a good heft and lies flat for writing in the journals.  We used large sheets of Mohawk paper, that has a nice tooth, torn into journal-sized sheets.  I really love the sewing of the signatures, but struggled with the binding when I got home because the written instructions had a mistake. 

Our teacher gave us a drawing of the binding sewing, but I seem to be stupid when it comes to schematics.  I'd rather read the instructions (go figure, Dad, if you're reading this.)  When Laurie was there to help, I didn't have much trouble.  But when I got home, I struggled and had to pull out the stitches three times. 

So I found a great book with more instructions (Alisa Golden's Making Handmade Books: 100+ Bindings) that included instructions for the stitch (backwards, though, from my class)   I eventually got it right with a combination of Laurie's instructions and this book. 

While I struggled with the binding, I picked up some great tips from Laurie on how to cut paper properly, paste paper to get maximum coverage, tucking in edges, working with thin sheets of handmade paper, and a few other things that I didn't get from reading books.  Taking a class with her was an eyeopener.  There is so much to learn from a good teacher.  I especially liked her pacing of the class and the steps involved that each deserve the same amount of care.  It's the doing that is important...not getting a journal finished in the fastest time. 

It is a good lesson in patience and focus for me as I spend my days in the library multitasking with constant interruptions. 

Here are some of my journals from the weekend. 

• A smaller Indian B&W print (that I should have used wheat paste to avoid discolorings on the paper, although I kind of like it's bleeding through) , my handmade paper on spine and jute endpapers
• a B&W, silver and gold journal, my handmade paper on spine and endpapers.  I'll use it for my silversmithing class on Thurs. nights.  (So far, I've made two rings in that class, but hope to learn bracelets and how to make jewelry enclosures for my journals,) 
•  a map journal for my hubbie made from a map of one of his favorite hikes and jute endpapers (in progress)

Going to try for a scholarship/work study this summer at Arrowmont.  I'd love to take a workshop with Daniel Essig someday.  He teaches there sometimes, but also at Penland and occasionally at Asheville Bookworks. 

Bookmaking slows down the world a little for me.  Today, I'm trying a little gel printing to see what kinds of effects I can get.  My friend, Kate, who took the workshop with me, made one and left me with it while she flies off to a retirement trip (not jealous...she left me the gelatin plate) It's a nice rainy day here, the house is clean, the children doing their own things, and I have time to play!

Now, if I could only convince Asheville Booksworks to open a Greensboro satellite.  Such a special place with room to work. 
I found this place on the internet the other day --- a place in the country with simple accomodations and studio space for textile artists.  At $50 a day, it sounds perfect for a weekend trip with friends and hiring a teacher.  We need something like this in the NC mountains.  Maybe someday!

My future career as a bookie

 
During a trip to the western mountains, we visited a wonderful new art space for book artists in Asheville, NC.   Asheville Bookworks is located in the artist-friendly West Asheville area.  More affordable housing and shops that cater to more of us working class folks surround the co-op.  We talked with a very helpful librarian at the area's community-oriented public library, who helped us find the place.  Aspiring book artists can take weekend and extended classes in letterpress, papermaking, printmaking, bookbinding and a host of other related arts for affordable prices.

After completing some coursework, the studio is open for use of book artists.  Which is a great thing  because so much of the equipment used in making books can get expensive -- a hobby that can quickly grow out of control.  The co-op has trays of type, dingbats, lots of presses, a wet studio for papermaking, a well lit work space and knowledgeable artists.  It's just about as beautiful a place as I can imagine right now for what I want to do.   Too bad it's three hours from home.   Sigh.  Another reason to move to the Asheville area.

Bookopolis is held Sept. 23-24 and "showcases the contemporary book arts & original prints." We saw a letterpress show there this summer that was great, and I hope to make it to Bookopolis this fall.

So...until I can sign up for a class, I've been trying to learn bookbinding by myself in the back room with the help of youtube.  So far, I've made a few journals with bought papers - a drawing journal for my son and a poetry journal for the other.   I want to make a few more before using my own handmade papers I made with paper artist Suzanne Martin.

A fellow librarian, now retired and equally gray-haired, and I are collecting equipment -- turkey fryer, pots, etc. -- to make some paper from bamboo, canna leaves, and other spent flora from the summer.  We'll be boiling plants outside, probably looking like MacBeth's weird sisters, to create some interesting fiber -based papers.  We hope. We may end up with a wicked mess. 

I'll let you know how the kudzu paper goes.

Camp for grown-ups (stained glass)

 
So I bought some glass at the craft store and tried to cut it up - cut myself instead.  Shards everywhere.  Perhaps this is not the next craft for moi.  Perhaps this I cannot learn from a book. 

I took a great class, a summer camp, at the Sawtooth and finished a panel of glass.  My teacher was wonderful!  Betti Pettinati - Longinotti was knowledgeable, serious, and very supportive -- one of the best teachers I've had in an art class in a long time.  She's currently working on a low residency MFA at the Art Institute of Boston/Lesley University.  Her blog features a series of vitreous paintings of female artists on stained glass.  Many of these are on beveled glass boxes and they are beautiful. She also does commissioned work.

She encouraged us to create our own designs, rather than copy a pattern already out there.   I had just seen the Tiffany windows and lamps in Richmond at the Virginia Museum, which have a web site detailing this great road trip for viewing Tiffany glass. 

 
On another road trip to Charlotte, NC, I visited the Orchid Conservatory at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden on a hot, summer day.  Hard to believe I could find a more humid place than a summer day in Charlotte, but the Orchid Conservatory was it.  While the temperature was uncomfortable, the flowers were amazing, coaxed between waterfalls with passing butterflies overhead.  A beautiful place.  I loved the windows of the conservatory and used them for my stained glass piece.

There's a lot more to building a stained glass piece than I thought.  But we managed to do it in five days.

Our our first day, we sketched a pattern, cut it out with special shears that leave a margin (for the leading), selected glass and pasted the patterns to the glass and then cut with special nippers.  It was a lot like working on a quilt, but in glass.

The second day, we worked on cutting glass.  This was challenging for me, but I hope to get better.  Lots of grimacing. I have to get over the idea of cutting myself.  This, however, was a one bandaid-project for me because of a sharp blade and oiling my cutter and learning how to nip the glass correctly. We used a frame with moulding on two adjoining sides to knock the glass against to square it while working on cutting - a bit like making a jigsaw puzzle.

The third day was spent grinding all the pattern pieces with a wet diamond bit grinder.  My bit was so dull, that I wasted a lot of time grinding.  This sure was slow.  And irritating.  I figured this out on the fourth day when I used a better grinder. Another reason to get to class on time.

The fourth day, we copper-foiled each edge and started soldering, tacking the glass together and avoiding the edges before soldering each section.  This was my favorite part, next to selecting glass.  I liked the way it smokes.  My soldering, though, leaves much to be desired, but I will get better.  

The fifth day, we finished our soldering, put on our framing and soldered to that to the piece, brushed it with patina and soldered rings for hanging.   Finally, we buffed the piece with Carnauba wax and carried it home in paper.  Mine hangs in the window and in the early morning casts a grass-green light across the floor. 

I will never look at stained glass the same.  I can really appreciate the artistry more and I need to visit those Tiffany windows again.  I've heard a new book is coming out that details some of the women who worked for  Louis Comfort Tiffany.  I saw an episode of one of my favorite shows, History Detectives, which is basically a librarian's dream show.  I hope to learn more about these women and this art.

 

Watch the full episode. See more History Detectives.

Whatever.

Great presentation by Michael Wesch, assistant professor of cultural anthropology at Kansas State University, on where our students are heading as media consumers.  He has a totally positive focus on the history of the slacker term "Whatever."

Dr. Wesch's Presentation

View more presentations from Northeast Kansas Library System

Gaming in the library...now the librarians have some fun

Happy Library Ireland Week!

Marbling paper

I love any kind of craft/art that is unpredictable - photography (before digital), watercolor, glazing clay. The surprise that comes at the end is sometimes disappointing, but often, welcome.  It's like the $2 surprise bag I just bought at the art store, full of supplies that needed to be moved on out of the store, but new to me.   I really like not knowing what's in that surprise bag...or what my next art project will turn out to look like. 

Marbling paper is such a pleasure.  It's not hard to start.  But it looks really complicated.  The tools are pretty easy to make or find online.  And there's so much more to learn after getting the basics down. 

I first noticed marbling in books.  End papers and edges of older editions, family Bibles and diaries often feature marbled paper.  These beautiful papers from the University of Washington University Libraries collection show the great variety that can be achieved with great skill, paint, size and raking tools.

I had a lot of fun teaching high school AP Art students the process of marbling the other day.  They got some amazing results and really seemed to enjoy it.

I've had luck using Dharma Trading Company for carrageenan, derived from seaweed as an additive to water that "gels" the H2O so that paints can float on top.  It's pretty snot-like and only last a few days, unless refrigerated.  I use eye droppers to drop liquid acrylics or Dr.  Ph Martin's Spectralite onto the surface.  I make my own homemade combs from long quilt pins in foamcore (someday, I'll make my own wood and nail combs).  I have a collection of cheap fans, straws, bamboo sticks and chopsticks to swirl the colors on the surface.  Amazon has some excellent and inexpensive books available on marbling.  Google books also features some informative titles about marbled paper.

I like Asian papers, if I can find them, but many papers that have been prepared with some brushed-on alum will take help take color without bleeding.  The process goes something like this:

• Prepare the bath and let it sit for 24 hours
• Drop acrylic paint or inks, the consistency of cream, in stone patterns.
• Using combs or bamboo sticks, move the color into u-shaped patterns.  Do this from all four sides for a traditional look. 
• Grasp the mordanted paper on opposite ends to float it on top of the bath and pick up color. 
• Pull off and rinse on a board,
• Dry and
• Clean the surface of the tub of old paint with newspaper.

An oriental version of this technique is suminagashi.  This is a simpler process and yields very subtle results.  All that's required is a very cold water bath in a tray with suminagashi inks floated on top.  Very like watercolor, these inks are dipped into the water with bamboo brushes balanced on the side in a meditative posture.  Fans, or movement of the pan, shift the paint onto the surface before the paper is again floated on top and color transferred.  There is no need to rinse with suminagashi inks.  The papers can then be dried and used in books, on lampshades, boxes or any other decorative use.

Making your own tools from the hardware store.  http://www.seenmymarbles.com/blog/

There are many traditions in marbling.  This Turkish example shows a very controlled use of the paints.  

Caught

Download VN810005 I like this poem.