Category Archives: Books

Pacific West Quilt Show

Wonderful day today spent surround by fabric,quilts and fabulous people !

Yes I did indulge a little but with purpose.

I brought the two small batiks on our trip to DC from a wonderful artist Owino Martin (kowinobatiks.com) We talked about me wanting to make a fabric traveling journal for my trip and I thought his pieces would be be perfect for my folded book form.That said these have remained being pressed under my cutting mat since we got back.

We arrived at the show today and I quickly found Maendeleo (maendeleoimports.com) I had promised to be very restrained but these batiks were just perfect to complete the project.

The fibers were from Janet (tenajcreations.com) thanks to her for the help and patience.Have to thank Karen for inviting me.

The other thing  realize during many conversations is that I hadn’t linked the blog to my old Flickr feed

http://www.flickr.com/photos/essexdebs/sets/

This originally was where put my gallery pictures pre-blog .Enjoy

Foundations

We have a crafty family but all explore very different media.

I have “stuff”,hubby has photography, and the teen paints and builds models in the basement.

Not sure the teen fully understood the fact that we pieced his first crazy quilt.We then took it to the tactile workshop and cut up to make fabric books and business card folios.It was a small class so I still have plenty to play with.

Altered Journal

Time to share.Lo’s brief was to create a journal where she  create and explore her own  poetry.This was a fun project and something that I had done previously.I’m glad to report that this swap has safely arrived in Canada into safe and welcoming hands.

End of an Era

Time to share that idle play.
On our trip two major things happened.I received the news of my place on the u course and the last shuttle flight occurred.We visited the National Museum of Air and Space a number of times.
Somehow when we came back this two ideas merged to form the creation of a new altered book.
“Fly me to the moon” “let me play among the stars” just seemed appropriate text for this blue-theme star inspired tactile book.

The cover has watercolor, metallic crayon ,acrylic paint, silver pigment stamping and of course the heat gun applied- I still have lots of learn about surface work !

This book now lives in AL with a very crafty lady who does amazing things with bottle caps.

Idle play

I’ve been requested to create an altered journal as part of a swap.This is a fun.It expands my knowledge of working with different products,papers and surfaces.It also takes time as the pages need to dry.

Idle hands will play so I found out an old part altered board book.More pictures when the recipients have their new treasures.

10 cents fun

Not temperature but book sales !
Today the teen needed airing.While I’m trying to make black and white christmas ornaments for submitting to a crafty mag-where do I end up but at the library.They were having a 10 cents end of the month sale.

This iMy first ever altered book.Text reads “I woman common”The book is a history of William andThe bottom shelf had old bound copies of Punch magazine.There was Jan-June 1967. This

This was my first big altered book project my “I” book .The Punch book covers  a significant time frame for me as I was born during this period.As with all altered books Punch sits in a special cubby waiting for the muse to be so that I have to alter them.I’ll dip into the text and try to understand the cartoons some are timeless, others need decoding for political and social context. Book trawling  probably the slowest part of the art I make but as most of the books are over 40 yrs old it seems fitting.

Finally able to post !

This is Flowermouse’s swap and I posted it here as I really liked making the Art quilt.i have been exploring using Lutradur as a fibre.This was the first a many experiments.I used white gesso to paint the squares.Then applied metallic water colour. pencils,damped with brush to release colour.Blasting with a heat glue to achieve different effects.

A full life


So this is the closing page of Fantasy.I printed Aunty Katies poem onto fabric and used part of the page.This is the poem text.

Fantasy K   M

I wandered along the pathway

Far from  my little grey house

Far from the things I loved

I wanted to roam.

I wanted to see what it felt like

To be by myself

With a land of Strange things around me

So I crept forward with stealth.

I left my garden of sunshine

Where my favourite flowers grew

The flowers I tended daily

And I wondered if they knew.

I wondered if I’d been dreaming

When I bade them farewell

For they all seemed to talk plainly

Though usually tis hard to tell.

They seem to say “we will miss you’

But we understand why you go

And I turned away for it must be me

I loved them all so.

I prayed to the dew & the sunshine,

To tend my garden well

And the snow and the frost to keep it from harm

When winter fell.

I trundled along the pathway

To my land of strange things

They sparkled in the sunshine,

And beckon me in.

I went because I’d no money,

And imagined myself awfully poor

I knew when I reached the city of wealth,

I’d want for money no more.

But through money came quiet easily

My wealth was diminishing fast

For I found when inside the city

The glitter did not last.

Though money past through my fingers,

Hundreds of pounds a day,

Yet my interest lie in my little rough spot,

A thousand miles away.

I dreamed of my garden of sunshine,

When asleep in my city of glare,

I fancied it all choked with weeds,

Because it was needing my care.

So I gave back my gold to the land of strange things.

And away from those pavements I hastened my steps.

Nor did I take note of the voice that called,

From the city of gaudy glitter.

I hastened my steps to my garden

Once more my flowers to tend.

And never again

For money or fame

Will I my small plot exchange

KM

One More


The view is a huge inspiration on my art.From my desk at the time I made this piece I had this view.Things change and now I craft in a different area of the house so the view now includes a large tree but is no less stunning.

Next page

So I started to experiment with hand dyeing fabric a while back.I don’t do this very often and tend to hoard the fabric produced.The left hand page is one experiment and has E’s crochet flowers from Norway.The right hand page is pure play and I like it.