Another ATC

As a reward for attempting to clean the studio (the drafting table is pristine and 1/3 of the bookcase is back in order), I decided to reward myself with finishing an ATC that was started last week. This is another technique from the ATC technique book.

A telephone book page was cut to size and mounted on a piece of card stock with gel medium. A bit of pthalo blue acrylic paint was mixed with glazing medium and painted onto the card. The excess was wiped off with a baby wipe. When dry, white paint was applied in the same steps.

The phone book page made me think of operators, information, Ma Bell. What better way to represent the thought than Lily Thomlin's, Ernestine.

I should have been more thoughtful about the background color or paid better attention to what Ernestine was wearing. I don't think she shows up all that well on the blue background, and even though it's my favorite color, the blue makes it hard to see the page is from the phone book. Live and learn.

I think I was supposed to apply a coat of glaze medium to the card after the first image of Ernestine was mounted and the lettering applied. My bad. A second image of Ernestine sans the switchboard was cut out and mounted with mounting tape to give a 3D effect. I was hoping the card would look more glossy, but that's what happens when you don't follow instructions.

ATC Album

I want an easy way to look at my ATC's whether they are in portrait or landscape form. What to do, what to do? Simple. Alter a book into an album. Wait! Before you former librarians , this textbook has been sitting in the bottom of a box for eons. I don't remember when the last time Himself taught Environmental Science, at least 10 years ago. I rescued this lonely, unread book and decided it is the perfect size to alter into an album.

I've removed pages (lots and lots of pages) and glued the remainder in groups of 3 to give strength to the paper. There are a little over 100 new pages which will hold several hundred ATCs with 3 to 4 per page.

Now, what to do about the cover? Off to play

I See The Light

The sunlamp arrived today. The bulb is broken! Amazon makes the return process easy. I asked for a replacement. Amazon had me print out return shipping label at their expense. I'll take the package to the post office on Tuesday. Have no idea when I will see the replacement light. Until then,I'll still walk on the dark side.

Same Stuff Different Day

Still playing around with the ATC technique book. I liked the idea of the string, but didn't really care for the author's example. She had knotted and wound string around a card, secured it with gel medium, added photos and then slapped paint over everything. My ATC was inspired by a nautical example in the book. Just got to love a man in uniform. And any BV fan knows the answer to the question. Send him to Red's until he's shanghaied. Send him to Red's until he's shanghaied. Send him to Red's until he's shanghaied earlye in the morning.

The magazine and gesso technique was just too fun. I doodled accessories on all the chicks.

The last card for the day was done using a Krylon leafing pen which acts as a resist to the water color. I think I'd like to try a larger version of this piece. The lettering needs to be planned out and executed better.

One thing I enjoy about ATC is other than a size restriction, there are no rules. Anything goes especially since these cards are for me and not an exchange. I've tried keeping an artist book, but somehow the white page, bound in a nice book is daunting. And then all the what ifs. What if I make a mistake? What if I hate it? What if...

The Young One has a sketch book. She let me take a peek at it. I told her I admire her spotaneity and creativity. Somewhere along the way, I lost the ability to just do it. Just put something down on the paper. No planning, no judging, no grade. Just get in there with line and color. Maybe the ATCs are a step in that direction.

Btw, the sun was out today though stormy weather is predicted for the end of the week. The SAD light was shippped which may be a relief for some of you.

Dark Side

Don't know if you're like me. You buy lots of books and supplies, the must have toys and then leave them sitting on a shelf. I bought Artist Trading Card Workshop by Bernie Berlin. I bought the book so long ago I didn't even remember I bought it and was surprised when I saw it sitting with the other How-to ATC and altered books.

Flipping through the pages, I found this magazine and gesso technique and surprise, surprise, I had all the ingredients to play.

The Young One thought it was kind of cool and creepy at the same time. I agree. It's not my usual style, but once in a while it's fun to cross over to the dark side.

Snow Day

It wasn't necessary to turn pj's inside out before going to bed. We knew by the early news the Young One would have no school today. Boston and Worcester both declared a snow emergency at midnight and many other cities and towns had cancelled classes for the day.

A no brainer really after the events of the snowstorm we had the Thursday before Christmas. That storm hit at noon with a few random flurries and in a blink of an eye things turned very, very white as snow fell at a rate of 2" per hour. Schools and businesses dismissed at the same time and that caused problems. With traffic jamming the roads, snow removal equipment couldn't get through to clear the roads. It took Himself 7 hours to make the normal 50 minute commute home. Lots of fingerpointing took place the following day as the highway department blamed the Governor and he blamed the highway department.

We got up at the usual time to watch the school cancellations whether out of habit or reassurance. We were shocked to see Himself's school closed. He teaches at a community college and it never shuts down! The President of the college must have gotten a ton of angry emails after the last storm!

I rolled over and went back to sleep. Both my chicks are home. Himself is home. Everyone is safe and warm.

The storm is winding down. Himself went out to shovel the driveway. Looks to be a foot of snow. I'm having a hard time moving this morning. Hope the SAD lamp I bought arrives by the end of the week. Only 158 more days until the first day of Summer. Deep sigh. Forlorn look.

Open House

Last night, was the WAM Open House. The warm temps and clear night brought out a good crowd. So good, that the buffet table was wiped clean as if a herd of locusts had descended. Someone remarked vultures cleared the table, but vultures leave bones. There weren't even any crumbs left on the table cloths!

My teacher, mentor, colleague, friend, Callinana was there and we shared a display table. I haven't seen her in quite some time so we were able to catch up during brief lulls when the tide of people would recede. We chatted with lots of folks that stopped to look at our work.

The downside of the event was I only have 3 students signed up to take my class. Seven students are needed to run the class. The class was supposed to begin tomorrow, Saturday.

My boss emailed me this afternoon. She wants to post pone the class for a week and see if they can get a few more students to sign up. I suggested they contact students who had signed up for a calligraphy class that was cancelled in the past.

I really thought the Saturday morning class would be a good time slot. I usually teach at night. Don't know if the lack of interest is due to the economy, time slot, color of the sky, or if calligraphy has fallen out of fashion.

Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for me.

Table Display

Tomorrow night is the WAM Open House. As an instructor, it's a chance for me to show off some of my work, promote my class, and meet and greet students.

In the past, because of bringing in some of my altered books, prospective students have thought my class was more about scrapbooking than lettering arts. I made a display for my table that I hope will draw people in and also make it clear what my work is about.

I would have preferred to leave the tin cans in their naked state with just the "who" and "you" wrapper, but there was the worry that the edge of the can was sharp and since people like to touch things, the sharp edge would be a problem. So, altered cans.

If you're in the area Thurs. night from 5:30pm to 7pm, drop by to say hello. There will be a student art show, demonstrations, and food. Sign up for a class. Calligraphy's a good choice.

The One Word Meme

Found this on Erica's page

Here's a fun game....
You. Can. Only. Type. One. Word. (not as easy as you might think!)

1. Where is your cell phone? pocket

2. Your significant other? cute

3. Your hair? peppered

4. Your mother? exasperating

5. Your father? befuddled

6. Your favorite thing? art

7. Your dream last night? compost

8. Your favorite drink? tea

9. Your dream/goal? teach

10. The room you're in? playroom

11. Your ex? none

12. Your fear? spiders

13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? alive

14. Where were you last night? here

15. What you're not? tall

16. Muffins? Thanks!

17. One of your wish list items? Chip

18. Where you grew up? Massachusetts

19. The last thing you did? Glued

20. What are you wearing? polartec

21. Your TV? on

22. Your pets? lounging

23. Your computer? working

24. Your life? contented

25. Your mood? happy

26. Missing someone? yes

27. Your car? greige

28. Something you're not wearing? bra

29. Favorite Store? BN

30. Your summer? short

31. Like someone? yup

32. Your favorite color? blue

33. When is the last time you laughed? supper

34. Last time you cried? Thursday

35. Your favorite animal? Ink

36. Last thing you ate? Glop

37. Dream vacation spot? Heidelberg