Finishing My Artist's Altered Book Pages

Making artist's altered book pages has been a challenging, interesting, and satisfying activity. There are 10 of us in this group, living all over the U.S., from California to Florida to Massachusetts--talented artists who I only know from online contact. But we share a passion for creating art and sharing it with each other. Theoretically, it works like this: every month I create a 10" x 10" page and send it to someone on the list. Every month, one of the group sends me a page. We can make our pages any technique and style we choose, and several have used this as an opportunity to work in a series. We try to keep on schedule but don't get upset when other events cause us to be late. It is a wonderful surprise to get a large envelope no matter when it comes. I have my August, September, and October pages ready for tomorrow's mail--October 5, meaning I was late with two and on time with this last one. The last one is inspired by the large mushrooms growing out of the tree stump which I pictured in my blog a few days ago.

for Gabriele DiTota

for Carol Jones Frank

for Nanette S Zeller

September's new Artist Altered Book pages and Celtic Banners

For Nanette S. Zeller, 8" x 8", theme See the Forest for the Trees 

I have created two more pages for my exchange in the Artist's Altered Book Project, with only one more to go for October to complete the exchange among ten artists scattered from California to Florida to New York. Here are my August and September pages for Gabriele DiTota and Nanette S. Zeller:

For Gabriele DiTota, 5-1/4" x 8-1/4", theme Fire

I received pages for my Tree themed book, pages 8" x 10" from Leni Weiner and Joani Share. I have a new computer and haven't managed to transfer and find all my pictures--maybe later!

Our Pine Belt Quilters show is fast approaching and I hope my computer work is about finished. Our dates are October 7-8-9, 2016 at Lake Terrace Convention Center. Chairing a show is daunting work, but with 15 shows behind us I counted on lots of folks knowing lots of jobs.

I helped create two large felt cut-away banners for my church's new monthly Celtic Services that began in September. The patterns are by Fashions by Sarah and are similar to the Advent banners shown here and Fall banners shown here.

More Artist's Altered Book Pages

I created this page for Sandy Donabed for her Aerial View theme. She replied that her granddaughter has a special fondness for eagles--so do I!

by Martha Ginn for Sandy Donabed

Janis Doucette sent me this beautiful page she made from her eco-printed cotton and silk. The front and back of the page are both pieced in crazy-quilt fashion, which she has heavily embroidered with silk ribbon and floss. She added a clever little tab on the right.

by Janis Doucette

Then I returned from a trip to find my page from Joani Share. She says, "Flowers add joy to any environment," and I heartily agree. Joani used flower petals overlaid with transparent rice paper, adding cut paper flowers and free-motion stitching. She wrapped painted branches in copper wire for the stems--creating "a mixed media bonanza of organic materials."

by Joani Share

This brings my pages received to five, with four more to go. Each page is so different in style and technique and I imagine these next four months will bring more surprises! Seeing what these artists have made for me encourages me to dig deep into my creativity for each of them. I'm a month ahead of schedule, but with quilt show coming up in October, getting ahead seemed like a good plan.

Another Artist's Altered Book Page

Another page arrived--my fourth one--from Sandy Donabed. Sandy has written on the quilted back "remember, on the darkest night you can see the stars. (4-color monoprint, fabric collage, paint and stitch)" This piece is amazing in its beauty and the variety of techniques she used. Again--each page is different and I'm sure represents the maker and her desire to surprise the recipient with a real treasure! Click to enlarge.

by Sandy Donabed

 I have made four and received four, with five to go. This is fun.

More Artist's Altered Book Project and Rosemary

Our Wetlands by Gabriele DiTota

I received the third page for my Artist’s Altered Book Collaboration, and is it a beauty! Well, another beauty! My theme is “Leaves, Trees, Rocks, Water, Anything Nature Related,” which is pretty broad, just like the pages I’m receiving. Gabriele DiTota made this page, which she titled “Our Wetlands,” with such realistic depictions of muddy bank, cattails, water, hillside, and sky, that it evoked such comments as “I can almost hear ducks calling overhead,” and “I can imagine soft whimper of a baby from a basket.”  What a rich image and feeling it evokes.

I have a huge rosemary bush at the edge of a flowerbed by my driveway. Occasionally I trim it and deliver cuttings to the chefs at two of my favorite restaurants (Patio 44 and Tabella’s). But the bush is still shielding the flowerbed from sunlight so I did more severe trimming. Here is what it looks like after stuffing two bags full of cuttings. I wish it would root so I could share the growing plant, but it seems resistant to propagating.

I’m looking forward to presenting the program in New Orleans April 30 for the Gulf States Quilting Association quarterly meeting.

My son drove here from Dallas last week and did lots of fix-up projects. The weather was perfect for replacing the outdoor security lights and planting caladium bulbs. He enjoyed my cats Rah-Rah and Elizabeth, and the girls enjoyed him; Tarbaby took several days to warm up. After three days of non-stop activity, a little relaxation with the girls was in order.

More Artist's Altered Book Project

by Carol Jones Frank

I have received two pages for my book. Carol Jones Frank sent this one, describing it as fantasy leaves floating on water. It has silver stitching simulating bubbles and froth on the water--beautiful! Carol says often her art features the idea of floating: "that of stopping time, being ethereal or otherworldly."

by Nanette Zeller

Nanette Zeller's page came next. She watercolored a sweet gum leaf and added some copper tape and hand embroidery. Sweet gum trees are some of my favorites because of their wonderfully colored leaves in the fall, running from bright yellow through orange and bronze all the way to deep purple. The seed pods are treacherous to step on but have a special beauty in their intricate design. I was interested to learn that the sweet gum is a host species for luna months.

I have made two more pages which I will send. Janice Dawes' theme is "Life Began in a Forest." Here is the page I made for her:

for Janice Dawes

for Carol Suto

 

Carol Suto's theme is "Habitat." I chose to feature apartment living for her page. Thinking of the crowded conditions many people live in makes me even more thankful for my home and yard.

These pages can be made using any technique or even a combination, so it is interesting and challenging to decide what to make and what methods to use. We are supposed to send and receive one page a month, but most of us are enjoying the process and tend to get ahead of schedule. No problem with that.

Artist Altered Book Project

I'm enjoying participating in an Artist Altered Book Project. Here's how it works. Janice Paine-Dawes set this up for the ten of us who asked to be included. We each choose a theme and size we want for our book and create a cover. Then once a month another artist sends us a page for our book while we send a page to another participant. Janice has sent us a schedule to follow as well as setting up a Yahoo group so we can post our work.

My book's theme is Trees/Leaves/Rocks/Water--anything nature-related, in an 8" x 10" portrait format. Here's my cover:

I've made a page for Joani Share with the theme People, Places or Things, 6" x 8".

Here is my page for Leni Weiner with a Bird theme, 8" x 10": It is based on a photograph taken by my photographer friend Carol Clark and she gave me permission to use it. See more of her work at   www.facebook.com/carolclarkphotography.

I'm eager to begin receiving pages for my book!