Paper Craft Hiatus

I've been on a paper craft hiatus for almost a year now. Really, ever since I went to ArtFest and stopped at a yarn store in Seattle called the Yarn Gallery. There I fell in love with all the yummy yarns they had.

I bought some yarn straight away and made a crotched scarf based on a knitted scarf in the store. When I came back home and needed some more yarn to finish up more scarves, I went to Hill Country Weavers in Austin, TX. There I found more yummy yarn and classes for knitting.

I had want to learn how to knit for several years but couldn't teach myself even though I had bought books and dvds to teach myself.

Well, I took a class in May and I've been knitting ever since. I have a knitting blog and a knitting podcast. So you can see my creative energy has been somewhat diverted.

Well, last month I attended our semi-annual retreat weekend in Llano. There I worked on a book from one of Michael Jacob's books. I had a lot of fun with that. So I cleaned up my studio and this weekend I worked on some tags for a mingle.

It is a Cinquin tag mingle, where you write the cinquin poem and then create a tag based on the cinquin. It was a lot of fun. I came up with several poems, made a card, and three tags.

Now, I'm thinking of working on an altered book so that I have a compact place to put my art. I'm thinking of season based one. And I'll use the Spring themed cinquin tag I made as inspiration for the first page.

The altered book will be a work in progress, where I can experiment as well as have a place to put my art. And I don't want to put any pressure on myself to complete it. I'll just work on it when I have time and the inclination.

I'll still keep up with the knitting. I have a lot of projects I want to work on. But I don't want to let my other art forms go.

Michael deMeng is giving away a piece of art for the holidays.

Michael deMeng posted this on one of my Yahoo! Groups:

"Okay here's the deal. I've been thinking that because of all the
support that everyone has given to me this last year, I've decided
to give a little something back. I'm giving away an art
freebie...that's right, free art. I'll be giving away one of my
mixed media "trashy novels". Those of you who have taken a Book
Shrine class will have seen the piece before. Here's the prize:
http://www.michaeldemeng.com/bookcombo2.jpg The rules and the
skinny. 1. Email me on December 15th (the next full moon)
between the hours of 6 p.m. and 12. p.m EST 2. Send the email
to: assemblage@michaeldemeng.com (IMPORTANT: must go to this address. Any
entries sent to my other addresses will not count.) 3. The
Subject line MUST read: "Where's my book, dag nab it?" 4. You
are limited to 2 emails. 5. To win: you must be the 66th (year
of my birth) email I receive between those hours. All I ask is
that you speak kindly of me and forward my site to someone who
might be interested (this is an honor system sort of thing). I
will annouce the winner the morning of Dec. 16th (I will mention
your name unless you don't want me to...please indicate) and will
send the Art Book out that same day. Not sure if it will get there
before Xmas...but should be close. Ho Ho Ho."

And who knew we had same the birth year?!?! He'll be 40 next year too!

Anyway, Michael does incredible art. I've been able to see his work and the work of his students the last two years at ArtFest. I'd love to take a class from him.

Anyone who wins this will be LUCKY and the owner of a fine piece of art.

Salado

Met up with Kristi at Stamp Salado today before heading over to Kates for Art Get Together.

I was very good and didn't spend a ton of money at Stamp Salado. They have so many cool rubber stamps and supplies I would have loved to buy. But my goal for today was to get some cardstock to make some holiday cards. I also bought a white pigment inkpad. Plus I bought a product that lets you make handmade paper. Too cool.

Kate and her mom have the coolest studio. It is the envy of all us gals. Lots of space for tables and supplies. Plus a bathroom and kitchen area. There is also an unheated/air conditioned area that they are going to have all their kilns and such. Can't wait to play with that stuff some day.

Kate bought my Paragon kiln that I've had for about 2 and 1/2 years. I used it once or twice to fire PMC. It sat in the garage in Austin for the last 2 years so I decided it needed to go. I'm glad it went to a good home and will have lots of company with three other kilns!!!

I worked on holiday cards while most every one else played with polymer clay.

Attendees: Kate, Peg, Pat, Amy, Karen, Joan, Ava, Kristi, and Elizabeth.

Calendars Received

I sent the calendars out earlier this week and everyone who has received them really likes them despite the fact that a couple got messed up at the printers.

One of the pages had embellishments on them that caused the binding machine to jam so the embellishment on that edge had to be removed. Well, when they recollated the pages the January pages didn't get put back in right. Sigh.

But other then that they turned out great!!!

Collating Calendars

Spent the day collating the two editions of the An Affair With Art 2006 Calendars. My face hurts from smiling so much. Each time I looked at each page as I put the calendars together I would smile because of the lovely art. 26 pieces of art times 26 calendars is a lot of smiling!!!

Yesterday, I scanned each page for the back cover of the calendars. That way each artist is recognized for the month that they created.

Here is the back cover for edition 1:



Here is the back cover for edition 2:



I just love how each of the calendars turned out. Each artist has a unique and creative style that really shows on their pages. It was a joy to put them together. Can't wait to take them to Kinko's tomorrow to have the bound.

2006 Calendar Swap Update

Yesterday, I received the last of the pages for two calendars I'm producing for a swap on one of my lists.

Between moving and pages getting lost in the mail, the mail out is a month behind.

But I spend yesterday scanning all the pages so that I could make the back cover with each month and the artist that produced it. It was easier going this year since I had last years back cover to start with.

Wow!! Both calendars are awesome. I'm so glad that I'm participating in both. I contributed the front cover and of course, the back cover plus the calendar pages.

One is going to be a gift for Xmas. It will be hard to decide which one to part with!!

Today I'm assembling the calendars so I can take them Kinko's tomorrow to be bound. I'll post pictures of them as soon as I send them out and people have received them.

Missed An Art Get Together

Really bummed that I had to miss the Art Get Together hosted by Kristi today. But the movers are coming on Monday and I needed to pack up the rest of my studio today. Then I did a run out to the house in Marble Falls to take my plants and some stuff from my studio.

The space in the house in Marble Falls for my studio is a whole lot smaller than what I have now which is the master bedroom. I'm moving back into a small bedroom.

I have gotten rid of a lot of stuff though. I gave my silversmithing supplies to Cristina. I just don't see myself going back to that anytime soon.

And once we are living in the RV (read more about our RV Trip), there just won't be room for all my hobby supplies.

I also gave Krisiti all my polymer clay and supplies. She is really getting into polymer clay and I never did much with it except make pendants for my Willow's Designs and Beads business.

Lots of books and other art supplies have been given away at the last art get together and an art day at Kate's a couple of months ago.

And a ton of fabric went to Goodwill.

Now I'm down to mostly paper art supplies. I just couldn't give up all my rubber stamps or papers yet. And since I just started knitting, I'm not giving those supplies away. Although I did give Cristina a bunch of left over yarn I had from my crocheting days. She is going to use for teaching some students at her school how to knit.

And she may be getting some more yarn. Last weekend when we went out to the Marble Falls house to clean out the shed, I found a whole box of yarn I had bought years ago. There are some skeins that I want to keep. I can use them for knitting projects. But some of the other yarn will go to Cristina.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Born November 11, 1944.

I love you! And I miss you so much!!