one january dayOn My Drawing Board
Whenever my daughter visits, we spend at least the first half hour or so exploring all the things we’ve made since our last visit. That sharing time is very special to me and I thought it might be fun to make it a feature here on One January Day too – a weekly post of what I’ve been working on (even if it’s stuff in progress).
That said, here’s what’s been on my drawing board this past week!
- I’ve been working on these little collage pieces – they still need a little something I think, but I’m decided to let them steep a little…
- I still get a LOT of junk mail, even though I’ve submitted all the “opt out” things I can find. Lately though, since discovering junk journaling, a whole new world has opened up – not to mention free substrates!! Friday, the mailman delivered my daughter’s Biskinik (a newspaper issued by the Choctaw Nation – we are a miniscule part Choctaw Indian and she registered for college tuition assistance). She usually throws them away (though maybe not anymore!), so I claimed this issue and turned the pages into collage papers. I had sooooo much fun just playing with these that I’m sort of looking forward to the next time a newspaper-like substrate arrives in the mail!!
- Finally got to trade my challenge project with the Artsy Gals (my local art group that meets once a month), so I can show you the copy I kept (click here to see the other wonderful projects). I loooooooooved the end result of this project so much I’m thinking about submitting it for a show that’s coming up later in the year (courage… deep breaths… yes, you can)…
- On Friday, I took a wonderful class at my favorite paper art store. I goofed the stamping on one page and decided to cover it up with a sewn-in piece. What a happy accident!! I love it even more with that little addition…
- I’ve been a stamp-carving NUT all spring and carved another one yesterday while my daughter visited. I adore how it came out and this one actually started with an unknown-to-me photo (which I found here) – below is the original photo and the final stamped image…
- Finally, as I was playing with the Biskinik, I was intermittently laying paint and stuff down in my good ole art journal. Here is the end result – before journaling, of course, which will be hand-written in black ink…
All-in-all a productive and FUN week. I’m finding that when I have a plan in place I do whole lot better (as in, “have more to show for myself”). So, next week I plan to…
- Work on my “About” page for my Etsy shop (though, honestly, I’m not sure why they added that – isn’t the “Profile” page the same thing?!).
- Start working on my next Artsy Gals challenge, which of course I won’t be able to show you til we trade in July, but I’m really excited about my idea.
- Make something (ANYTHING) for my shop (geez Louise, I’ve been so inattentive over there!).
- Work on a few other stamp-carving ideas I’ve got up my sleeve.
- And I’d LOVE to give some quality thought and attention to Kind Art this week (i.e., art for no other purpose than to delight). I’m really itching to expand that area of my life – make it a regular habit and share the results with you!!
What’s on your drawing board right now? I’d love to hear!!
one january day 
Hi Kelley !
It is fun to see all the bits and pieces you have been up to. I love that you use the word “steep” for letting your collage sit until it feels right. That is the perfect description, I think. Looks like you are having fun exploring all kinds of things, looking for the “Kelley” in it. Love that.
The thing I loved most was the stamp you cut. Wow !!! How perfect ! I can see that unknown to you yet little girl starring in lots of places.
I hope the week is a smooth and creative one.
Much Love !
Thank you Miss Kim – I’m always exploring it seems, but starting to find glimmers of what really matters and that feels so good!! Big hugs to you!!!
Kelley: I absolutely adore your hand-carved stamps! I have done some myself and would like to try and do some more complicated ones, like figures of people. May I ask: did you take a class to learn this? and, what method did you use to get the photo of the little girl into a line drawing that would work as a carved image?
I am itching to try some new techniques.
Thank you so much!
Sandra
There are lots of great tutorials on the internet – I looked at different ones, then just tried things out until I got the look I wanted. There IS a great new book out by Gennine Zlatkis, called “Making an Impression”, that has some good info on carving, plus some fantastic inspiration and projects – you might check that out.
Transferring the image is actually the easiest part! You’ll need a carving block, tracing paper and a #2 pencil – just lay the tracing paper over your image, trace the details you want onto the tracing paper, then turn your tracing pencil-side-down onto your carving block and rub the back with your thumbnail or a bone folder. Hold one corner of the tracing and lift the opposite corner to check whether your lines have transferred fully and, when you have the complete image, you’re good to go!
Good luck!!
Thank you, Kelley!
I thought maybe you used photoshop to convert the image into a line drawing. There are filters that allow you to do edge detection etc. But I guess just deciding what details to leave in (or out) works just as well!
Have an artful day!