One Done, Four More To Go

You know those fabric books I started on in August. Well, I finally finished one this week. I ended up making five different covers and thought I should finish one into a booklet before got any further with the idea. I might not like how they turn out and I needed to figure out how I was going to sew in the signature, how many pages I could fit into one booklet, and how stiff the cover needs to be to look and feel nice in booklet form. 

I am considering other support material, like interfacing, to make the next covers I make stiffer but still flexible. I want the cover to be soft but not too floppy. I also think the fabric cover booklets need some kind of secure closure because the fabric is unstructured and is not as hard as a regular book cover. I am basically still experimenting with this craft idea and shown below is my first completed denim covered booklet.

I added some stitching embellishments on the front and back and a flap to use with the button closure. It makes a nice neat package all buttoned up.

 

 

There is one signature of 13 sheets (52 pages) of assorted papers sewn into the denim cover. When open, the cover is very flexible and can be folded back to write, draw or add whatever you want to the pages.

 

I like how this turned out and it gives me ideas for doing the next one. This one now goes on the pile of things to give to someone someday.

 

Too Tired for 'Real' Art

I've been very busy the last couple weeks working on some home projects that leave me very tired at the end of the day. I haven't felt much like working on craft projects or art in my craft room but I still feel like creating something. That is when I sit at my computer or with my iPad and play with images to create a composition. These are a few of my recent digital play results:

Postcards from Digital Art

I love creating my own stationary. There are so many ways you can design and have cards printed. I often use shutterfly.com to make blank cards or cards for holidays. I also like the cardstore.com because they also have nice postcards. Recently I had some of my digital art printed on postcards to send to family and friends. They came out great! Can't wait to send them.

Butterfly Wings

There a finite number of butterfly wing shapes but a seemingly infinite number of Wing patterns. I have been going through my butterfly encyclopedias and sketching some of these patterns. I am working on some collages and I wanted to break down the wing patterns into the basic shapes and layouts. During this process I have come across the exceedingly simple one solid color wing to the outrageously complex mosaic patterns with spots. It's all just camouflage depending on what the butterfly needs to blend in. The ultimate blender is the transparent wing butterfly that is simply a window to whatever environment it is in. This process has helped me understand a little more about butterflies and evolution but mostly given me ideas for creating new butterflies inspired by the patterns of nature.

 

I started just sketching the basic shapes and markings patterns but also did a few in color.

I wasn't trying that hard but I liked how they turned out so I took the the half butterfly sketches and edited them in Photoshop Elements (PSE8) to create a few digital pictures.

A Little Digital Art

I have been busy with a few different things and I am still working on those denim booklets but I still find time to play on my iPad. There are so many great art apps and I particularly like ArtRage. It creates a great simulated painting textured surface and the blending of paint and colors seems very realistic. I like to just 'finger paint' and create interesting digital abstracts. Once I finish a digital painting I often edit it further in a photo app or use the picture in a collaging app.

Fabric Booklet Covers

Today I'm working on denim fabric covers for booklets made of painted scrap papers. The denim is from old jeans and I'm trying to get a nice frayed look. The pages will be randomly painted papers that are a byproduct of my other painting projects. Here are some pictures of the 'ingredients' that I am using.

Completed Collage

This collage took a little more time than some of my smaller projects. It was completed in multiple layers and a number of finish coats that took time to dry. This collage is on a 20 x 20 canvas panel. It includes a number of different papers, acrylic paint, and paint stained cotton yarn. I enjoyed making this collage and have already moved on to new projects. You'll see those later.