Carving Space This Week

I found the perfect storage of some of my paints in my studio.  It allows

me to see colors and frees up much needed shelf space.

All is not in the clear though. . . . there is still the 

stacks on  my desktop to contend with. 

Still I was able to I make this little five inch square book from rosen paper.  I applied a thick 

layer of gesso, let it dry and did the same for the other side.  I textured some pages by

using stencils or the back side of a paint brush.  Then I cut 5 x 10

inch pieces and painted them with various shades of blue and some white.

I used the coptic stitch to sew the pages together.  This book feels so 

soft and supple in my hands.  One of the pages tore as I sewed it 

so I added some blue tape and it is fine.  Don't know whether

there was less gesso on that particular page but after

collaging in the book the pages seem sturdy.

I worked on this photo more and  added it to my new journal.

I need a lot of practice so that the paint is not applied

too heavy a handed but I like seeing the 

photo come to life with color and of course

I like thinking of my sweet mom

on this Mother's Day weekend.

Also after getting away from basic sketching I practiced a few faces

and a journal page with another painted photo copy.

I have been working on this painting for a while.  I wasn't exactly giving 

me problems but it was not clear what it wanted to become.  

This week I finished it.  It is always  a gift when 

I can see what the next step is as I apply paint.

To me it is akin to some sort of magic.

I didn't think I spent much time creating art this week but when I sat down to blog 

I found that I did more than I realized.  

Does that ever minimize yourself~ think you did not

create much until you stop and really look?

I also want to pass on some  good news about a friend.

Orly Avineri's book, One Artist's Journal,  has been 

published this week.  It is now available

here https://www.createspace.com/3868179.