Tales from Studio Mailbox

Oktober Daily Action

I started to draft my November daily creative action post and realized I hadn't reported on what I accomplished in October!  Nearly every day I sat down and worked for at least 15 minutes carving and printing.  I carved some new stamps from erasers, I made linoleum printing plates and even finished off a couple UFOs that were laying around.  While testing the results from my carved creations I even printed some grape leaves. 

My friend Julie told me during our weekend printing pretzels that linoleum is much easier to cut if you iron it first.    So now I pass the wisdom on to you.  That's right folks...iron your linoleum.  (Just mind that whatever you used to draw or transfer your carving design onto the linoleum is going to transfer over to your iron if you don't lay a rag or something over it first).   It's no wonder my child doesn't recognize an iron, it's never anywhere near our clothing! 

I have a love-hate relationship with linoleum.  Compared to carving erasers or a Staedtler Mastercarve block, it's a nightmare. (Can you imagine that the German brand Staedtler headquarters is only an hour from where I live but I can't buy one of their carving blocks in this country?)  But I digress.  Linoleum is such hard work and  it crumbles.  Yet I suspect it's what you need to work with if you have future printing press projects floating around in your mind.

The other thing I learned part way into the month was to put a plaster on the knuckle of my right middle finger before I even got going.  I anchor my hand on this one spot intensively enough that it became apparent that I needed skin protection.  Maybe I'll buy one of those funky leather thimbles and see if that works. 

If you're going to start lots of carving, I'd also strongly recommend upgrading your tools.  I've gotten my money's worth from the purchase of two swiss beauties - an 11mm U-gouge and a 12-mm V-gouge.  It's not worth the frustration of getting the tight spots right without the tiny instruments to give you clean edges.

What I'm happiest about is that I've created things that I can use over and over in countless ways.  I want to continue working towards an entire collection of carvings that I can take to the next step.  For now, practice is giving me a steadier and steadier hand.  Watch out for my pretzel stamps to take the world by storm!

Polar Fleece Duvet Cover

Our internet router crashed and I've been offline for a few days.  Our heating crashed too and instead of calling the German heating/plumbing man, I first went downstairs and finally slapped together two huge pieces of polar fleece to cover my 2yo's down comforter.  Nothing like motivation to learn how to sew a zipper.

Can I just say that polar fleece with appliques all over it is really difficult to cut squarely?  OMG.  Something that should be so simple was sort of a nightmare.  I knew enough to make sure I cut the front side with the "stretch" going one way, and the backside with the stretchiness going in the other direction, yet I really struggled to get straight edges. And despite using my machine's largest stitches, the fabric is so stretchy the thread just wants to break (even after sewing it pulled a bit taught).  Grr.

Whatever the trials, the end result was a happy, warm, boy.  And never fear dear readers; both the heat and the internet are back on.  But then the dishwasher didn't drain, a light bulb blew and I've just kind of laid low and stuck my nose in a book!

RAK Grandma

Is RAK a noun or a verb?  Can I say "RAK Grandma?" Or should I say, "I've sent Grandmother a RAK?"

In any case, for mail art beginners, "RAK" is an acronym for a "Random Act of Kindness."  It's simply a little handmade token, usually sent through the mail for no particular reason except as a surprise for the recipient.

Sometimes I'm so busy coordinating mail outs for my arty friends, I forget some of the other important people in my life. 

In northern Minnesota I hear there's already snow on the ground.  My Gram is nestled into a new assisted living apartment, her cozy home has been winterized and shut tight against the coming blizzards.  I know the adjustment is not easy, and I need to get into a consistent habit of sending her little notes and letters so she knows we're thinking about her.

My favorite part about mail art is the envelope.  In this digitized mass-generated world I love the idea of a hand made envelope passing through the hands of mail carriers who just might pause to consider what it is.

Grandma's RAK was this printed, punched and sewn ATC.  And in case you don't know my BBF concept, get informed here.  That's right, the tiny pic is the backside of the card!  That paper was painted with an old German rubber wallpaper roller and stamped with my hand carved initial stamp.

Maybe for Christmas I will make her a little box to hold her ATCs and this will encourage me to create her an entire collection!

September Daily Creative Action

In September I was a little challenged for my 15-minute daily creative action because I was on the road for most of the month.  I was out of my element and away from supplies.  The only chance I had to keep at my daily creative practice was to keep my camera at my side.

My old Fuji FinePix S5000 has seen better days.  This poor baby has not only been bounced around in countless purses, bags, backpacks, and strollers, it's been outright dropped on several occasions.  It's been to births, birthdays, pools, lakes and about a dozen different countries.  Let's just say having bought it over 6 years ago it's given me my money's worth.

So now that purple lines are showing up across some of my images and on occasion it can no longer focus or regulate light, I can't exactly complain.  It's days are simply numbered.  I dread the replacement of such an expensive accessory, but I do look forward to a nice upgrade with a better lens.

For now, some of the last images captured by my old loyal friend...

And how about this awesome old wooden block I found...what a funky way to share my initials!!  I have to figure out how to get a little icon of this in my side margin.  And speaking of images and margins, I have to get a copyright notice in there too.  For now, lets just think the best of everybody and trust we're not snatching one another's intellectual property!!

Creality Defined

 Creality = the distance between a concept and an outcome.  The pain of a manifested idea falling short of it's potential genius.  The realities an artist faces when creating.  Creative reality.

I visited so many blogs over the weekend during the virtual open studio event that it got me thinking about the realities of creating.  Creating is messy for some and organized for others. We are all different and we are all at different places on our creative journeys. 

Somebody should make a Creality TV Channel!!  I would watch everyday.  I would sit hypnotized before the tube and probably never get anything  done ever again.

Thank you to everyone who visited Studio Mailbox over the weekend, and especially those who took the time to leave such nice thoughts in their comments. 

Candy Wrapper Cow Cards

 Candy wrapper cow cards.  Say this ten times fast...! (Now lets all please take a moment of silence to consider how much candy I consumed for the sake of this project!!)

Remember when I was slopping paint around on loose pages when I was sicker than a dog?  Well now I decided to make some 6" art cards from those results. 

I collaged coordinating papers with old plastic candy wrappers to create a cow theme. 

If you're going to use plastic packaging, I would suggest gluing it down first with a glue stick, and then flattening it out beneath something heavy for a few minutes before sewing.  You basically need something that just tacks the packaging down in place until you can sew it into permanence.  I wouldn't mess around with gel medium and drying times.  I think it would just make the whole thing harder than it needs to be.

The fun thing that happens with plastic packaging is the surprise see-through effect you get.  It's like instant extra layers you hadn't expected.  As always, my sewing leaves a little to be desired.  If there was a sewing police, I'd get an excessive use of the presser foot ticket.

We say "cow" the Germans say "Kuh."  I say I really like carmel, fudgy type candy any day.

Knit Lavender Sachet

Do you remember my painstaking knitting with beads?  Remember my lavender harvest??  Put the two together and you have a nice little sachet to suspend from a hanger in your closet.

I'm sorry to report the lavender plant has bit the dust.  It's not only dead, but exhumed and composted.  So despite the lack of a harvest this year, the old blooms live on.  One project at a time.

Regarding the rose bushes, I fear they croaked too.  This reality is especially hard for me to accept after dragging a million pounds of mulch into the back garden and researching online what to do after a storm broke all the blossoms.  

All these experiences have me contemplating a yard full of painted rocks and sand.  Like a Zen garden on speed, full of gnomes.  Perfect idea really.

Angel Messenger

I found the coolest website to have an angel card reading on-line! 

Now don't get me wrong. I typically find "angel people" a little bit scary.  Not so much that I don't believe in their angels, but more because I'm spooked out if it's for real. 

So whether or not you believe in this kind of thing, it's fun and I suspect harmless.  Even if it's from your own subconscious, positive healing type thoughts and messages never hurt anybody that I'm aware of!

August Daily Creative Action

In August, I regret to report that there were no consistent 15 minute daily creative actions.  I'm not sure if there was even one.  I'm not talking about a day off here.  I mean the whole. Entire. Month.

It makes me guilty and mad at myself when I focus on this and if I'm in the wrong mood I can turn it into just another symptom of my inability to finish the things I start. 

And then sometimes I'm able to come to the conclusion that in my long artistic career, I highly doubt that my fall off the wagon in August 2009 is going to make a hill of beans difference one way or the other.  And I'm quite proud of myself for this perspective because there was a time where I couldn't have seen it this way.

July Daily Action

Just as in the other months of this past year, I tried to complete a daily 15 minute creative action in July.  These fits and bursts of creativity were sporadic and not even close to being a daily practice.  

For once I can't blame sickness.  Instead it's simply been a really fun summer.  Lots of visiting and laughing and sharing with friends. 

When I compare with what I knew on Jan 22, I've actually come a long way with my MacBook (with a little help from Bakes, Ida and the Governor, as well as endless patience from the hubby).  

I even spent an entire morning at the German Mac store.  And although I didn't accomplish as much as I had hoped, I still consistently made myself tackle the endless mountain of learning that I need to climb.  Baby steps.  I can't profess to be a MacWhiz yet... but with friends like mine the possibilities are endless!