Joyful Stitching

adoration des fleurs

A page in an Altered Book. The poem is printed onto "scrumbled and dab-painted" paper bag. The acrylic paint has metallic flecks, which makes it challenging to photograph. The "frame" is a fibrous paper, a lovely fern-moss green. frame machine sewn onto poem center. then adhered to book page with Golden® matte medium. Pressed flowers in corners are covered with sanwa tissue, and adhered with the same medium. circa 2003-2005, best guess.

Attribution for poem varies ~  Count Your Age by Friends, Not Years. Count Your Life by Smiles, Not Tears

 

above: pressed flower detail, corner of "count your blessings" collage art.

A mixed media collage, an Altered Book page ~ celebrating found items, spring, and my love for pansies and violas. Background is a paper napkin from an afternoon tea with friends, always a luxury.

I first covered the book page with acrylic paint. I then cut a "frame" from the napkin, and adhered to page with a thinned gel medium. The pansies were crochet left-overs from another project, most likely an edging or doily, or maybe from the jadeite bowl that sits beside my armchair, and crocheted items sit in or get pitched into, while watching baseball or hockey. I do have oodles of them, which is hilarious when I think of it!  Pansies were attached to the page, by sewing beads through the center of the pansy and and then through the book page. This left the edges of the crochet pieces flexible. I really love this piece ~ I think my Mama would have as well.

note: to see more detail, click on photograph, then if you wish to see it larger with even more detail, click on the photograph that you have just opened. I hope it works that way...

 

 

Diogenes Lantern

Diogenes with His Lantern. Mini-book, bound in an altered-book. cover. Golden® mixed-media. 2003.

Diogenes with His lantern. Culture and change, myths. mini-book, bound into altered book. Golden® mixed-media.

Diogenes with His lantern. mini-book bound into altered book. Stamped and painted image, with pressed flower opposite. Golden® mixed-media, acrylic paint, rubber stamp. 

Diogenes with His lantern. Myths. Mini-book, bound into altered book. Golden® mixed-media. 2003.

Diogenes with His lantern. babies and current or past "current events". Mini-book, bound into altered book. Golden® mixed-media. 2003.

Diogenes with His lantern. Einstein and common reader. Mini-book, bound into altered book. Golden® mixed-media. 2003.

Diogenes with His lantern. woman who runs with wolves. Mini-book, bound into altered book. Golden® mixed-media. 2003.

Base book is a German language textbook, with interesting history. It was mine originally - high school German class (circa 1962). A younger sister ~ Juliette ~ used it in her high-school German class (circa 1968). It went the "rounds" as old textbooks do, and arrived "out of the blue" in my mailbox about 1991 from it's 6th "user" on endpiece. Owners signatures and miscellaneous information such as date, teacher/professor and various scriggles.

Materials:  paper cuttings/findings - totally random and seemingly unconnected - from old newspapers, old books and catalogs and "who knows where it came from" scraps of this and that caught my inner-eyes at one moment or another. Stories within stories, that speak with and for themselves, or perhaps in a way, closes the book on those stories.