WOYWW #435: More Messy One-eyed Art

Welcome, fellow deskers! Not many words this time around. It's still difficult for me to read for very long, and this includes most typing too. My apologies in advance for not being able to either read or comment very much today. I'll try and visit as many places as I am able to, yet probably won't do much beyond viewing some photos there. Thank you for understanding about comments here as well, where only short answers will be offered.

For more WOYWW fun, please visit our reigning and creative Queen of the Deskers, Ms Julia Dunnit, by going HERE.

I've finished adding to the page behind last week's 2 pager.

The pain was at its post-operative worst when I began this newest 2 pager, below. It is improving now, thank goodness. Sorry for the gore. The DIY texture paste which frames the gory image transfer (onto Deli paper) is a mixture of unused coffee + Liquitex Heavy Matte Gel Medium + a dab of Mod Podge and a  small amount of water. Everything else is self explanatory.

Here is this week's.

Apologies on going so anatomical.

More medical appointments soon, with a test or two. Will try and join weekly here, regardless. It gives me something nice to think about, knowing I'll be able to visit a few of my fellow deskers, even when I cannot visit all of you each week or write to much in comments.

~Rose

WOYWW #434

As tomorrow will be a big day for me, and with family dropping by later on today, I'm afraid I won't be able to comment much at all today.

But I was able to add 2 new entries to the junque journal I made last month. The first entry may be seen in my previous post by following this link HERE. For more WOYWW fun, you may visit our WOYWW Queen of the Deskers, Julia Dunnit, HERE.

I am scheduled to have a biopsy tomorrow on the side of my face. This will allow a few tissue samples to be tested. They are trying to save the sight in my left eye that became impaired right before Labor Day weekend. If you pray, I would ask that you would please add the whole situation to your prayers. Nobody knows quite what's causing the optic nerve to become inflamed, thus leading to serious visual impairment. The grey veil is still with me this morning.

Meanwhile, there is still art, isn't there? 

The grey veil truly frightened me at first, but now I am a bit used to it. I did cry a good deal that first week. Terror and tears. A terrible week. Steroid treatment seems to keep the veiled look less heavy, sort of like a semi sheer drape with a thin wash of acrylic paint overtop, so that's better than before. The blood draw 2 weeks ago was intense. I'd never had so many vials drawn in one sitting before. My phlebotomist/"vampire" was a nice guy with a trim beard and a smile who made me feel more at ease. He had a kind sense of humor as well. That always helps, doesn't it?

As challenges continue, I won't give up on art entirely.

Art Therapy for one, given by one, from self to self.....

A First Attempt at Making Art One-Eyed

Despite my eyesight issue, I find that I cannot abandon any ideas for creative play. My aim is terrible today. Making little dots go where I wished them to be turned out to be a trying time, yet I refuse to stop altogether. In fact, during this dreadful time of wondering what's causing the problem with the sight in my left orbit, I know that I will have to make art in order to help my mind relax, even if it most certainly is bound to be sloppy and messy.

It's kind of handy the way in which I gave myself permission at the turn of the year to be as messy as I want to be for 2017. I say kind of. Once messiness was imposed upon me by this new and serious health problem, however, I began to worry that I might never be allowed to make art in a refined way again. This new worry comes after having been told that nobody's yet certain as to how come the left optic nerve is problematic. In fact, I'd always had pretty darned good eyesight up till now, a thing I long to have restored. I will never, ever be able to take eyesight for granted again. Even typing is more difficult than before - and I am all thumbs at the keyboard usually anyway.

So here is my first entry that is the title page for the new Junque Journal. From now on, it will have to be a no holds barred, wild and messy little book. The blue tape is from the length that a nurse cut for me at the place where they had to give me IV steroid therapy for 3 days in a row (she sent it home with me along with a spare glove so that I could still safely shower even with the IV still in my wrist). At first, that stuff would not glue down so easily. Seems it only likes to stick to skin and itself. I had to apply Gel Matte Medium thickly. I am pleased with the effect, tho', so that's nice to reflect back on. I plan on utilizing every bit of ephemera/junk I find during all of the various clinic and hospital trips I'll be taking. I already have a small stash to get started on.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. The alphabet letters are mainly from a small mixed bag set of typeface letters. Some are made of wood, while the rest are metal and quite heavy. They were a 2nd hand store find from a fun day out shopping long ago. These I stamped using a Colorbox Dragonfly Black Pigment ink pad. I added a thin layer of matte gel with ultramarine blue watercolor for a glaze to pull the blue bits together on the monotype clean-up pull page I chose from my junk stash for the book. The card is from a mixed incomplete deck of playing cards I keep around for collage purposes.

Anyway, that's it for the first try. Expect more in future as I feel my way through this new limited ability, self-made art therapy course I'm set on giving myself. As the famed British Prime Minister, Churchill once said, Never, never, never give up.
Words to live by.

WOYWW #430: Junk Journal Flip-Through

Happy WOYWW #430 and Welcome to the Flip-Through of my August Challenge Junk Journal.

If you'd like to find out more about Julia Dunnit's fun weekly Wednesday blog hop, please visit her excellent blog HERE. I may get behind in responding to comments as well as visiting the whole list early enough. Please forgive any lateness. I should be able to manage it eventually, even if I get behind. I am an irregular, sporadic desker, so you may not see me for a few weeks.

So what is on my particular workdesk this time around? A finished Junk Journal. I'm offering a "tour" of its many pages here. My guests are welcome to view as few or as many as they wish. I actually did not think that there would be enough time to finish it, but once I'd rediscovered the ease and quickness of wrap style bookbinding, I knew that I'd soon have the whole thing done and ready to be played with. This is a long post, so I will leave the rest to the photo "slide show" below. For more on the earliest stages of this project, guests may wish to follow the link HERE.

I can hardly wait to see what my fellow deskers are up to this week!

WOYWW #427: A New Junk Journal

Happy WOYWW #427! If you'd like to learn about this fun blog hop, you may follow this link HERE. I can hardly wait to see what my fellow deskers have been up to this week. I may be a bit late in responding to some, as it is quite late for me here in the U.S. at this moment. I hope you'll bear with me.

Kerry of Kerrymay Makes recently issued a Junk Journal Challenge for the month of August at G+ and at Instagram. That Instagram page may be found by following this link HERE. Kerry's blog may be found by following this second link HERE. 

(How come Blogger is making all of the letters of the links suddenly so oversized?)

Anyway, as fools really will rush in even when there are a million and one other things to attend to, I've decided to blog along as time permits and then post in the G+ group entitled All Things Mixed Media Art. I've also broken my one time a month WOYWW rule by joining in this time. As time permits, I will be answering any comments left here by anyone interested.

Kerry asks that we mention our chosen materials. This post is about making the starting point for my Junk Journal, so here are a few notes and photos of it in progress, including my materials used thus far.

I started by removing the text block from a used hard cover book that had a sewn binding. I then altered the cover, both outside and inside. I began with the outside first, as I knew it would be messier.

Once the wrinkled tissue paper had adhered to the used book cover, I covered it using some Liquitex Brown Gesso, a chocolate-y, lovely way to begin. Then I switched to Mod Podge for a medium rather than the Liquitex Heavy Matte Gel Medium I'd already used as a glue. To make small batches of shimmery spatter color, I chose a formula of either Perfect Pearls Copper Metallic or Winsor and Newton Iridescent Watercolor Medium with a bit of perfect Pearls Pearl color powder. This last pairing of materials is what gave me the bright metallic white you see here:

The coral/orange splatters are a mixture of Iridescent Watercolor Medium + Daniel Smith Pyrrol (sp?) Orange Watercolor paint. As already mentioned in an earlier blogpost, I'm giving myself permission to make messier art than usual for the entire year. I'm beginning to relax into this now, and am wondering whether or not to continue forward into 2018 with the same attitude.

Top coat following some drying time: gloss original Mod Podge mixed with a bit of water and some Perfect Pearls Metallic Copper powder. After this had all dried, I coated it lightly using Microglaze by Judikins. Then, I lined the inside side using some old scrapbooking papers I'd been keeping without using for about 10 years. (I know - I'm a bit of a packrat!) 

And here is what it looks like standing up on one of the 2 scrapbook paper collection books I've been keeping since forever. No "innards" for it when the picture was taken.

And here are some of the pages I've chosen to make the book ready for use. Note the older scrapbook papers and the "oops!" prints, all destined at one point or another for the waste basket. Note: I am still debating which kind of binding to use, but that will be for a later post.

My thanks to Kerry of Kerrymay Makes for this fun August challenge! And Happy WOYWW #427 to my fellow deskers !!!

WOYWW #422: Permission to Get Really Messy!

Perfectionism is a trap that I've fallen into now and then. It usually puts me in a gloomy frame of mind. No more gloom!

For a chance to find out what the WOYWW fun is all about, my readers can follow the link HERE to Julia Dunnit's Stamping Ground. I'm posting quite late at night this time, and may need to wait till midday on Wednesday due to another commitment before I will be able to visit other deskers. I can hardly wait to see what's on everybody's desk this week!

I've decided to relieve a lot of pressure this year by relaxing and playing more using whatever materials may happen to inspire and please me. That is, when it is time to let go of digital art for a time and loosen up. (fussy stuff, digi artwork)

The Main Idea
This altered book project began with an idea I had gotten from some videos on reorganizing art and craft areas. Apparently, paper that gets stored on its edge tends to survive better than paper that's kept flat in stacks. I have different sizes of papers in my collection. Portfolios house my larger sheets and boards (up to 32" x 40"). I 'd already made a Steampunk scrapbook paper sized one last year that's been working for me ever since, but it is too deep for my smaller pages and sheets.

I had these two antique book covers which I'd removed from their previous book blocks (a book block is all of the pages either sewn or glued together without the cover). I'd very nearly tossed them a few years ago. These were the ideal size for smaller sheets and scraps.

The other promise that I'd made myself was to use as much existing stock this year as possible. I don't toss things very easily anymore. I've learned by past experience how reckless this can get for me. Hanging onto too much "stuff," however, seems wasteful and pointless. It's easy for me to get hung up on such a dilemma.

Coming Together

The two uninspiring old book covers belonged to books that were literally given away for free. Sometimes even books which exceed the 100 year mark in age can be worthless to collectors. I've used a number of illustrations and photos from these books for my Free Graphics blog, Plush Possum Studio, but the covers needed a chance to be of some real use. I added bottoms to both covers, then glued the two together using PVA. I chose some berry colored mulberry paper for the lining.

One Side View

I chose my old monoprinted cardstock from last year as the starting point, and vowed to allow the project to be messy looking but interesting if necessary. I think that I've succeeded! Lolz   

Nothing perfect about this side view, now is there?

:)

Unfortunately my camera does not photograph metallics or iridescent colors very well. The torn mulberry paper at the top edge has been overpainted using copper metallic acrylic paint. I used Liquitex Heavy Matte Gel Medium for the lining in order to avoid any possible tackiness from a glossier product. My final finish with all such projects that I know are bound to come in contact on wet rainy days with other acrylic-coated objects is Microglaze by Judikins. This has never failed me. 

The Icing

The spine area of my 2-book cover altered book project is a drippy mess, but I really like it. I enjoyed that part immensely. Loosely controlled chaos! The iridescent drips were made by mixing Mod Podge with Winsor and Newton's iridescent Watercolor Medium. A small amount goes a really long way!

Let the 2017 messiness continue....

WOYWW #415 Cleaning + Altered Book Breaktimes

This book that I've slowly (10 years now!) been altering needs some love.

To join in this week's WOYWW, you can hop on over to Julia Dunnit's Stamping Ground where there is a Linky tool that allows her guests to join her weekly workdesk events. 

I really like this book for altering. It's fairly good sized, has a sewn binding and sturdy plain black covers, front and back. The spine seems a bit weak, but that can always be remedied, of course.  
:)

Here's a sneak peek at a few of the details. I've only recently added some gesso to one page, overtop of which went soft lavendar with mooshed in streaks of gold Perfect Pearl Powder. The splatters are of Mod Podge original formula with some copper Perfect Pearl blended in. More on that later.

Some of you know that I've really got too small a creative space nowadays for much storage. This means keeping things as simple as I can. I live life on a budget too, so anything that I might choose to buy I'd need to think about first like this: 1) Where do I put the thing? And 2) Would it be useful in enough ways to make storing it the thing to do?

The next photo shows some of what I've been working on this past week. The clutter is all about tidying up following clearing my Mini Mister set of that messy residual pigment. The zipper bags are waiting for their new home. 

Mini mister cleaning is...well...fairly messy! That turned out to be a bit of a tough and long project in and of itself. You see, using anything gooey such as thinned paint or (as I did) acrylic ink, with a Mini Mister is bound to clog and/or collect inside of the tiny parts that you can see but that nobody could reach without breaking into them. This led me to experimenting using the leftover liquid from a canister of Clorox Wipes for soaking. (No bleach in that formula, so please don't worry)

The first step, of course, was to break everything down into the separate parts. I even removed the little interior ring from inside the mouth of each container. Everything then got a nice, leisurely soak in the leftover Clorox wipe cleaning solution. I actually forgot that I'd left things that way for a few months, I've been so busy with other things.

I followed that step by rinsing everything well, wiping out residue using a corkscrew of paper toweling (that softer kind called Viva) I next filled each one with enough water to use for a spritzing final rinse. This worked! One benefit was a soft pink sprayed blur on some scrap paper that I may use someday. They may not look brand new, but they do look a lot cleaner. It's a cleaning tip...sort of. Lolz

:)

Now back to that book altering project! The 2 pager being added to on its left hand page.

And now for something else to do with my cleaning and reorganizing project. I like good quality PVA whenever I bind books that require some gluing, don't you? This bottle I've managed to keep now for years. And years. Long time. You see, I generally use stitching and folding techniques most of the time for the making of books nowadays. I sometimes need to rest my hands, and gluing in bookbinding can be very unforgiving if one cannot remain busy for long enough to make sure that everything comes out smoothly. That's how come there's still so much of it that remains still inside this bottle!

Hahaha!! It had a "hat" on when I removed the cap! Apparently, some of it had splashed to the top of the inside of the applicator tip when I was moving to where I now reside, where it dried, forming that funny looking "hat." I simply had to take a picture of it before removing that hat. I hope you can appreciate my strange sense of humor!

:)

The part which I think really has kept that old bottle so fresh was how I made certain to keep its tiny red cap snapped into place on the applicator tip along with placing the whole kit and kaboodle inside of a zipper bag. This last I always "burped" any excess air from just prior to closing. The final step was to wind a slender rubber band very tightly around the tip, bundling the plastic of the bag in place at the same time. For ten whole years, this has worked!

But then, perhaps that accidental and funny looking little "hat" has helped a bit too. Who knew that glue could help me out in such a funny way?

:)

See you all later today and Happy WOYWW!

Rose

WOYWW # ? Altered Book

From second hand to creative play.

I'm a bit late, but it is still Wednesday here!

This week, I've been playing around using my monoprint stash. 

Today's project was a relatively simple one. I had already used brown gesso on the outside sides of 2 doubled and already glued together pages, prior to cutting them using decorative scissors.

Then I simply tucked my monoprint page in between the 2 snipped and doubled ones, and glued all 3 pieces together using Mod Podge.

Still working on that lamp problem. Sorry the photo looks a bit wonky.

Monoprint Page, Altered Book Art Journal

An Altered Book for Paper Storage

Knowing how far to go....

That's a lesson I am still learning. How much is too much, and how little is too little? I tend to have a minimalist approach to certain kinds of design. I'm not sure how that all started. I just know that I like to have places in my work where my eye can rest for a little and relax. Anything too ultra "busy" really bugs me.

That being said, I do not think that I had gone far enough on this fun little storage project before I got out a camera for its pose.

But what is it? Well, it now houses my smallish collection of 12" by 12" sheets of colorful, patterned papers. What it was before was a slightly wonky older book that I never had any use for. It was a hard cover book. I like to alter books, but I'd never tried anything like this before.

Ingredients List:
Vintage hard cover book with fairly thick spine; torn and distressed old maps and technical engraving illustrations from the same book; Plush Possum Studio antique ephemera; a variety of distress inks, including Tim Holz and other brands; my favorite Mod Podge; Liquitex Matte Medium; FW Sepia liquid acrylic ink; embossing powder in clear, silver, black and gold colors; home made and pre-packaged stamps; die cut letters and shapes; 1/4" thick foam core board (a remnant, destined for the trash); metallic paint by Jacquard (copper and bronze, now mainly obliterated by added elements); Perfect Pearl Powder in metallics; regular PVA white glue; salvaged, wrinkly brown shipping paper; decorative edged scissors; Ranger mini mister spray bottles; Exact-o Knife; box cutter knife; various old brushes; sand paper; embossing gun; waxed paper.

I cut out the text block and kept it whole, but I chose some pages with fun images to tear, wrinkle and tint first. I cut the foam core remnant as a base, leaving about an inch jutting out of the fore edge end. That temporary extra bit added some stability while the glue dried. It got trimmed away prior to the addition of the Mod Podge parts. 
The remainder of the foam core remnant (of about the same width) was used to help me keep the wonky old cover from warping as things dried. This glue step took me 3 days, while I added and smoothed the PVA into every nook and cranny, allowing each bit to dry. Once this had finally all dried, I used the distressed bits of pages (maps and machinery from the steam era) along with the brown paper I'd kept from a package that had come to the door a week or two before. These got glued on with my old standby, Mod Podge.

I lined the innards  with 12" by 12" patterned papers, keeping to a black and white color way for both patterns used. Mod Podge worked really well for the trickier inner corners, etc. Next, I cut the decorative edged strips used to cover the book's raw edges, and Podged those into place. Die cut letters and gadgets I added embossing powder to before gluing into place. The clock face is from Plush Possum Studio, my older blog. This was originally from a 1907 or 1908 magazine in my own collection of antique ephemera. I used it as an afterthought.

3 of the Ingredients were things normally destined for trash or recycle. These included the brown shipping paper, the foam core remnant, and the unused, slightly wonky vintage (not antique) book.

I am still not done with the embellishing part. You see, every time I look at this project, even though it is completely dry and in use today, I think of MORE things that could be done to it!
:)

For the clock, or rather, watch face, you can visit its page at my older blog HERE.

The final ingredient: Enjoyment of the trash-to-treasure process!

Thanks to Carolyn Dube for the really enjoyable and challenging prompt!