I didn't do absolutely nothing while I was sick

I went through an old popcorn tin I keep some memorabilia in and found a treasure. Not only did I find my Dad's old Army shirt, turned vest, I used to wear during my punk days all safety pinned up. I also found a book of my old poetry. As I read through, it occurred to me how bad it was. It was really awful, to be quite honest. I wrote poetry from my mid teens to my mid twenties, as a cathartic exercise. I had a lot of problems back then, so writing poetry was a necessary release, since I did not have access to a therapist or many friends who were understanding enough to stick around after they knew what I was really going through emotionally. I don't necessarily want to hold on to all of that. After inspecting the journal itself, I saw it would be perfect to alter. I tore out half the pages and went straight to work making backgrounds. My main goal was to cover up that old poetry, so I dragged out the garbage I have been saving and started gluing away.

Inside the front cover, I tore part of a drop cloth I had covered with paint into pieces and glued them in.

Then, I proceeded to glue in pages of the wrappers of things I have frequent contact with: Halls, tea, granola bars, the insert from an old Jane's Addiction CD, hot cereal, art supplies, you name it, I covered the pages with it. Yesterday evening, I did another round of gelatin prints and pasted a bunch of those in, as well. Nothing was safe. The combination of using items that may have been in a landfill somewhere and covering up those years of pain was very cathartic. I am not forgetting the lessons I learned but I can choose to not keep these monuments to my emotional pain around as a shrine. It is good to let go.

An exercise from the Altered Background e-course on http://gulfspritesartjournal.ning.com. This is Christy Sobolewski's site. This particular class is free, and I would highly recommend it. There are even more interesting ones that you have to pay for that I have my eye on when I am employed again.

Christy Sobolewski had a video somewhere about using stamps to cover a page. This may have been from her Altered backgrounds class, too. This is my favorite stamp, an eye. I just made a big, ill-advised impulse purchase from JoAnn's that includes a few more stamps, so I can't wait to do this technique with them!

Tea bag and Halls packaging. Gee, can you tell I have been sick?

Packaging from granola bars and more. I like the mirrored look, though I'll be darned if I know how to deal with it later.

Cleaned food packaging.

Fancy patterned tape from Daiso, the Japanese dollar store I love so much.

Another Altered backgrounds exercise. I wasn't crazy about the other one, but I LOVE this one. Who would have thought security envelopes were so pretty?

These two pages are gelatin prints on wax paper that was used until I couldn't use them anymore. I love these!

Gelatin prints on a slick, green paper insert that was between two sheets of alphabet stencils. 

I am now a handful of pages away from getting all the pages covered, and I have some ideas brewing about how to move along in the process with this journal. I feel like I am getting to the point where I am willing to move beyond the comfort of doing general backgrounds. I am at a good place and I  will be happy to see where the rest of this journal takes me.

Now, as for the gelatin prints, this round was not nearly as successful as the last, but I have some pages I am particularly fond of. It is a lucky thing for my pocketbook that JoAnn's does not have Gelli Arts Printing Plates for purchase online, because I would have snapped one up. I did, however take full advantage of their outrageous sale on scrapbooking/stamping/fine arts/jewelry making supplies. Lots of 40% off items and many more 25% off. And to top it off, if you spent over $40, shipping was free. I saved over $50, which tells you how much I spent. <blush> This online excursion is starting to get me up to speed on my crafting supplies: Cling and clear stamps, as well as acrylic plates for printing, Staz On ink pad, Acrylic inks in a few colors, Several 6"x6" Crafter's Workshop templates that I can use in more printmaking and more, a new self healing mat (!!),  circle and edge rounding stamps, Distress Stains in a few colors, Walnut ink crystals, some Gelatos, die cut flourishes, a matstack that was on clearance, and a couple of packages of gem drops to embellish handmade journals. It is going to be very exciting to get this package. I looked at glimmer mists and wow! $7.99?! No wonder people are making their own. I have a little shopping list for when I go back to Daiso. I think I will be able to pick up some spray bottles and possibly some eyeshadow powder that can stand in for micah powder (since that is what the pearly colors are). I may even have something that I can use (metallic Lumiere paints), so all I have to do is get the spray bottles. I have paint and glue. I also want to make some regular color misters for fast stenciling.

I guess I will leave you with more gelatin prints. You will notice I did a lot of prints ripped out pages from a Japanese Buddhist text and index cards. The index cards curled really bad, so I will need to straighten them out, but they look pretty neat.  I did some on junk mail, too, and it wasn't all successful. I think it would be advisable to cover up anything too bold or big with a thin layer of an opaque paint. I thought I might get an interesting look with the text showing. Not so much, sadly.

Another finished journal page

Hooray! I finished another journal page. That makes me very happy. A couple of days ago, I went on a cheap spending spree. I stopped off on my way back from a job interview and went to a Dollar Tree and Goodwill. I almost did major damage at the Dollar Tree. It is so easy to just throw items in your cart, not thinking. Before you know it, there is $80 worth of cheap crap in your cart. Luckily, I caught myself and weeded out all the things I actually needed and carefully chose several things I wanted. I came out with an alphabet sticker sheet, many glue sticks, a package of raffle tickets, a couple of pouffy holographic gift toppers and some large beads I think would be cool as an embellishment for books, a glass cutting board I think might be tempered glass so I can try cutting stencil on it with the versa tool, and a cheapo set of watercolors. Afterwards, I went to Goodwill. The last time I went to a regular Goodwill(as opposed to the pay by the pound one) was in the late 1990s. At that point they were starting to charge higher and higher prices for things, especially clothes. I am not sure they understand the point of a thrift store was to sell cheap to people. It is supposed to be a place people who are strapped for cash can go to get an outfit or more. The cheapest clothes I saw there sold for $5.99, and that was a scarf. Now, something is definitely rotten when one can pay roughly the same amount of money for clothes at a WalMart.

Okay, rant over. I wasn't there for clothes. I was actually hoping for books I could alter. They had no books. No books at a Goodwill down the street from a university? I don't think there is any hope for them. I went digging through the housewares and misc. stuff section, and I hit pay dirt. There were a bunch of scrapbooking materials that were being sold for much less than you would find them new. I got a book of 12"x12" scrapbook paper, all photos, for a few dollars. They were one sided and many I am not sure what I would do with, but there were 100 sheets, with enough of them that were quite useful, that I picked it up. Then, to carry on the theme of alphabets, I found a package of alphabet stickers and a set of stencil sheets of upper and lower case letters (along with numbers) in a slightly fancy font. I believe I paid only a dollar or two for each. There was a Fiskars Zig Zag edger for a couple of dollars. Love it! I really want the deckle edge, but I can't really be picky. Zig zag is cool, too. I can simulated rick rack. What's not to like about that? I am thinking the last thing I bought there was a really beautiful memo pad. It is 1 1/2 inches thick, which silver mirror-like edges. It is set into a black book that simulates tooled leather with fancy flourishes. The front of the book doubles as a frame. It was only a few dollars, so I couldn't pass it up. It was just so darn pretty. I know I can do something with it, but I would hate to mess up that beautiful edge. I'll just enjoy it for now.

It has been a dramatic week for me. I lined up three job interviews, if you include the interview I have tomorrow. I feel like I might be on the verge of getting a job. The job I thought I wanted the most seems to be playing second fiddle to an admin job at a real estate company. I think I did really well there and it isn't so darn far from where I live. there are places to go to lunch, and it is across the street from the Space needle. Who could beat being able to sketch at the Seattle Center during your lunch break? That makes up for the lack of convenient espresso stands I can just run to on a quick break. And the people I talked to there were very friendly. The library is in a nice little neighborhood, but the only places to eat, save a convenient store, are too far to walk and there is only one bus that goes through...every half an hour. Not ideal.

So what else has been going on? I found out a childhood friend will be up here this coming week. I am so excited to see her! I am stressing a little that I might get a job and not be able to do anything with her after being unemployed for 6 months and 6 years of failed attempts for her to come up to see me. I guess if the worst thing that could happen is I get a job, that is just fine with me. I did some shopping for cheap stuff, which is one of my favorite things. I get a thrill out of getting a bargain, almost as much as getting something of good quality I have been waiting to buy. On the negative front, starting this weekend, suddenly, the smoke from my downstairs neighbor is seeping up through to my apartment, leaving conditions intolerable. I am extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke. My eyes, sinuses, and throat have been burning. And my poor asthmatic cat has picked up on his wheezing, to boot. My landlord is really accommodating, but the maintenance guy can't get over to seal the side of the apartment we think the cigarette smoke is coming from. In the meantime, I bought a cheap air purifier out of desperation. It doesn't seem to be doing much, but I am guessing I will need to give it at least a night to see if it helps. With that purchase, I bought another set of cheap watercolor paints. So begins the journal portion of this post.

I played around with the Dollar Tree watercolors. They were not very easy to work with, but they had nice color. Unfortunately, when they dried the surface was like sandpaper. I tried doodling with a Sharpie and it tore it apart in moments. Not good. I botched that page pretty good, so I will not be including a photo. Now, the other page, the one I experimented with the Loew Cornell Simply Art watercolor set of 36 colors was much better. I still destroyed a Sharpie, but not until I was pretty much finished with the page. It dried much smoother, and some of the colors are very vibrant. Actually, most of them are. Most of them dry and look softer, but they are still respectably pigmented. The pink is amazing.  So are most of the yellows.

Here is the beautiful little set of watercolors. Seeing all of those colors under little clear bubbles makes me so happy!

And the journal page. I played around with most of the colors, settling on a swirly pattern. I also flicked and dripped paint on the page. When it was mostly dry, I traced the speckles and circles on the page with a fine tipped Sharpie. The surface of the watercolor paper is very fibrous and erodes the tip of the Sharpie. If I did this page over, I would probably use a gel roller pen instead of one with a felt tip. Lesson learned. I decided I should put a word on it, even though I am starting to think phrases and words on my pages are not necessarily my style, even though I can appreciate it in others' work. The page looked a bit chaotic, like a storm. So, I pulled out those adhesive backed letters from Goodwill and stuck the word, "storm" on the side of the page I kind of wanted to cover up. That was where I started painting and obviously didn't have a sense of what I was going to do at that point. So, it doesn't really go with the rest of the page. After adhering the letters, I dotted them and made shadows with a silver Sharpie. I dated it , too, but I don't think it can be seen in the photo. All in all, I really like it. I didn't even realize until the letters were on it that it looks like a hurricane. Fitting.

You used paint from where???!!!!

Christmas money is the best!

I went on an art supply spree today with the money I received for Christmas. I am exhausted and excited to try these things I purchased. Here they are, at a glance:

My goodies included:

• 24 Derwent Intense pencils
• A bunch of glue sticks
• some Pan pastels
• Some technical pens
• 2 white paint markers
• A small container of Glossy Acrylic medium/Varnish
• A medium size container of Matte Medium
• A sketchpad with 100lb weight paper
• A sketchpad with cold pressed watercolor paper
• A water brush
• A Tim Holtz Distress inkpad in Walnut Stain
• 2 color shapers-- They look like brushes, only with a solid rubber tip. Used to push draw patterns in wet paint. I have seen someone use them to apply liquid frisket, which is a very smart way not to ruin brushes.
• An enameled metal butcher tray  that I intend to use as a heat proof base when I use my versa tool to cut stencils.
• And a small pad of Martha Stewart paper in Halloween pattern that was on clearance

I came home, ate, and immediately went to work gessoing and drawing and painting base coats of paint. I also tested out my Inktense pencils. I think these will be better for smaller details, rather than backgrounds. They make a pigment stick that I would like to get for that purpose when I am able.

I received an ad in the mail a couple of weeks ago that had a nice arrangement of graphics set in squares and rectangles.  I painted in each of the shapes with acrylic paint last night. Today, I set out to doodle a design in each and every shape, using technical pens and white paint markers. Mission accomplished.

I am going to finish my second scary movie of the evening, then sleep like the dead. I haven't done this much walking in ages. And I am going to bed happy in the knowledge that I got something finished. I don't know how it will be used, but it is complete. And I am also happy that I have a lot of new media to try out that I never played with before. Tomorrow is going to be another fun day!

My Love for Cheap Crap

Daiso is the best place, ever! This little overstuffed Japanese dollar store with its agoraphobically narrow aisles and quirky, cheap stuff draws me in like a magnet. I can get several melamine sponges (Hello, Magic Eraser) for $1.50, fantastic kitchen storage/utility items made for tiny apartments, and a host of wonderful and sometimes insane things. Today, there was what looked like a back scratcher with a giant, weighted strawberry at the end of it. (?!) And they often have the funniest little self-inflatable fake boobs!

 I had to fill a prescription at the drug store across the street from the mall and there was no way I was going to miss out on the Daiso goodness. It was a horrible trip, barely being able to stop and inspect anything not at eye level, but I managed to thoroughly scour the place for things I could potentially use for my art journals, without a panic attack. Here's a sample of what I bought.

I took more photos, but I thought I would spare you the terrible quality. I promise, I will improve over time. I take lovely pictures, I swear. Exhibits 1 and 2:

Now, that I feel better about my photographic abilities, what did I get at Daiso, you ask?

• A couple of rubber sink mats in cool patterns that can be used as stencils.
• 2 packs of sparky gems meant for decorating a cell phone.
• 2 rolls double sided tape.
• Package of 3 bottles liquid adhesive.
• 2 packages lace trim.
• Adhesive backed paper lace.
• 2 chalk pens.
• Tubes of water colors, two to a set, in 5 colors
• Set of 3 curve rulers.
• Set of 3 round brushes.
• A set of clear stamps (several trims, a couple of name plate stamps, and an acrylic block included).
• Lace curtain that has interesting designs on it that will be nice to stencil.
• A set of 5 watercolor crayons.
• A couple of small spray bottles (I intend on making my own alcohol inks).
• 2 packages paper string (will be nice for use in binding).

 I also got a couple of beaded Christmas garlands and a couple of rolls of ribbon for very cheap at the drug store. Now, I have a ton of beads for embellishing the books and journals I plan to make. Whew! I have been on quite the little spending spree this week. I didn't mention the two tools I bought on eBay (Cop-a-Dile Big Bite, for punching holes in heavy stuff and a Vera Tool, so I can make my own stencils more easily) or the clothes I bought. Well, the clothes I actually need. I am not much of a clothes shopper, and most of the clothes in my size are better to buy or only available online, so I found an excellent sale at JC Penney's that also included 20% off my total and free shipping. I couldn't pass it up. My shirts are getting a little tattered and faded. I wear the same shirts to work, so it was necessary. I realized that all the shirts were in peacock feather colors, lol. What can I say, I love color! I did want to get a black shirt, but they were out in every style.  Maybe next time around.

So now it is time to give all that good stuff a home so I have room to play. So Merry Christmas to me, from me! When I get my Versa Tool, my spending spree will be complete. Now, it is time to tighten the belt and hope I get a job before my supplies run out.