Drawing Table

I straightened my drawing table last Sunday evening.

It may look cluttered but I know where everything is...

The rabbit gazing at the moon is only 1" square.

I went through a phase of tiny painting and not so great soldering.

The horse a study for a much larger piece.

: )

Can't wait to get back to making things.

New Book

Here is a peek at the book I sweated over this weekend.

(My fan broke and I just couldn't bring myself to turn the air conditioner back on!)

Hidden in the woods are a deer, fox, rabbit and turtle.

Still working out the cover and searching for a title.

Annoying color variations and shadows but you get the general idea.

Forgive my recent absence...sometimes I just need to disappear for a while.

Have a great week.

xo, j

Campsite 34

I finished assembling my accordion cut out book last night.

The front panel is attached to the background with a small folded hinge.

This allows you to move the scene around as shown in the first photo.

Sorry about the annoying yellow patches, I'm not much of a photographer.

Probably should shoot it in actual daylight, but you get the idea.

Thanks for looking in!

j

Copernican Box

This was a box that I made years ago based on a child's marble game.

I love to make boxes, this one is about 12" square and covered in

a faux orange snake skin paper with a glass over lay.

I had a great time digging through a bin of old marbles to find

just one right ones to represent the planets!

Congratulations to the team of the Mars Rover Curiosity

for a successful landing!

Can't wait to get back to work.

Time is not something I have much of lately,

but I'll try to squeak some out to make something this weekend.

Wild Carrots, Acorns and Bears

My fascination with Queen Ann's Lace this year has been apparent.

But what of the lovely root that gives it the common name, wild carrot.

Definatley my summer plant this year.

The acorns are growing and the squirrels have begun to feast.

The branches they fell reveal the tiny nuts.

Although it's still quite hot, summer has begun to turn.

I spent the afternoon cutting a new accordion book.

It was difficult for me to photograph, so this is just a preview.

A thoughtful bear watches over a campsite.

I'm really quite fond of bears.

Missing the smell of a campfire tonight...

Rushing About

It seems all that I've been doing is rushing about lately.

Just back from the Laundromat and a quick brunch before heading into work.

I have 5 more copies of Farm to bind, 

these were done about a week or so ago.

As you can see, my obsessive cleaning binge has not extended to my drawing table!

And yes, I work in an art supply store so materials abound.

: )

Loose Ends

Yesterday's heat brought on a fierce late day thunderstorm.

Today the sky is almost blue and it's only in the low 90's.

Quite a relief.

This morning I set back to work on the Farm books, half should be bound by this evening.

Other books are waiting to be made...I couldn't ignore them any longer.

Last night I finished up my Rocky Coast Cardigan.

A seamless construction that required only a sewing in of ends and a quick blocking.

It kept slipping off the hanger and falling into pine needles while photographing.

Not the last time it will find itself covered with pine needles, I'm sure.

Cicada shells on the tree.

So now a new knitting project 

and that much closer to another book idea.

Sunday - At Home

A mostly cloudy afternoon has given way to sun.

I did the usual domestic chores today

vacuum

dishes

grocery

Then settled down with some iced tea

in a favorite little glass.

You used to be able to buy sour cream in these glasses.

Now I stumble upon them at flea markets.

The black wheat pattern was an especially striking find.

I've finally colored and cut all the pieces for the Farm book

and will begin assembly this evening.

Basil and cherry tomatoes share the windowsill.

I'm still amazed that the tomatoes are growing indoors.

Happy Father's Day!

Saturday

Since my return from the mountains I've been very, very busy.

As my friend, littlelichen, suggested 

"Head to the woods and never return to civilization!"

My heart is always in the woods...

Yesterday I had to give a block printing and bookbinding demo at work.

I hauled in the pages for Farm and a copy of April, among other things.

The response was great and I even had requests to purchase each book.

Last night I spent three hours cutting around the 12 first panels of Farm;

12 complete copies are going to take a while to finish!

The flowers on my yellow orchid are starting to droop,

pretty amazing since they bloomed in February!

As impossible as it seems, I have three tiny cherry tomatoes on my windowsill plant.

The hothouse beauties will be used to make a tomato and avocado sandwich for lunch.

Hope you enjoy your weekend.

Monday - Memorial Day

The book is now in production.

There will be a total of twelve copies when completed.

Seventy-seven prints made today and only thirty-three more to hand color!

I must maintain momentum...

Today is a day to remember and thank those who fought 

and gave their lives for this country.

A very dear friend wrote an important book about torture and 

its lasting effects on soldiers, their families and our society as a whole.

Sunday - Book Art - Farm

It feels like I've just run a marathon, 

but here's the first copy of Farm.

Tunnel book on one side and concertina on the other.

Lettuce, onions, carrots, pumpkin, eggplant, tomato, pepper and corn.

It does require that you look down into the tunnel to see all the veg.

I do believe this was the quickest I have ever made a book.

Now only 12 more copies to make!

Enough for tonight.

Some yoga and then a salad from my already ailing 'salad bowl.'

(I should have listened to the garden center lady)

Saturday - Garden Book

It feels like summer has officially arrived.

The air is hot and muggy; typical Pennsylvania haze

gave way to intense thunderstorms that still grumble in the distance.

The last couple of days I've been working on my next little book.

Again, it will be a tunnel format but with a twist this time.

The proof sheets are pictured above.

I spent little time figuring the plates out and didn't do any 

preliminary drawings but instead drew directly 

on the blocks and cut fearlessly.

My mantra, "This is supposed to be fun."

The salad bowl in the first picture came from the local garden center.

"Don't keep it indoors," the sales person warned me repeatedly.

Could she tell I was without a plot of land or balcony?

So there it sits on my windowsill.

Sunday - Done!

Not feeling at all well today, I ignored the very long list of things

that I should have done and instead finished up the little books.

All six copies are bound

I took a late day ride over to the neighborhood baseball field 

and photographed two of the copies on a green bench.

The long shadows and half moon of late day.

Will work on my knitting tonight and plan out my next book!