Tales from Studio Mailbox

Art Cards

I took on a daily action just to see what all the fuss is about.  My basic rules were that I am allowed 1-2 minutes to gather tools and collage fodder and then 15 minutes to create an art card.  I'm not allowed to re-think or analyze the card.  It gets strung up on a drying line and I need to move onto whatever I'm doing creatively for the day.

Here is what I've learned after completing daily actions for nearly one month:

One:  I don't like to be rushed.  The first half of the month, this daily action felt like pressure.  The second half of the month the pressure changed into more of a fun, challenging feeling.  Strangely enough, by the end of the month, I was creating a card rather consistently in 10 minutes, 30 seconds!

Two:  I don't like to work without a plan.  The first few cards had me feeling completely lost as to what I could possibly do in 15 minutes.  This isn't even enough time for me to wake up in the morning!  What at first felt so uncomfortable, has now become more mindless.

Three:  It's hard for me to "let go."  I want impressive gorgeous art cards.  I want the best art cards!  These thoughts are in opposition to what the practice is all about.  My art cards would obviously be "better" if I allowed myself more time.  It's not about having the best cards.  (But I have to remind myself of this every day).  I'm trying not to be embarrassed when people stop by and inspect the cards hanging from my line.  I'm trying not to excuse the practice by saying, "that's only practice, those are only made in 15 minutes."  But OH my ego struggles.

This practice is about training myself to instinctively "get going" without worry and need for control.

What I'm happiest about at this point is that I'm finally USING up some of the crap around here.  I'm a hoarder.  I have collected and piled images for years.  It's taking over my life! 

For instance, I still had the packaging that enclosed my beautiful copy of Life is a Verb, complete with Patti Digh's handwriting and signature on the customs sticker!  It was time to DO SOMETHING with this cardboard post packet.  How long can a person hang onto this stuff?  But this was such an important project in my life!  I sat with baited breath waiting for that book to arrive.  So I peeled off the labels and collaged them haphazardously onto my art card.  I wrote a little note, "it was a great day when this arrived but it's time to let go of the packaging..."

I sent Patti's original packaging onto Scotland.  (Surely this is a meaningful enough usage of this sacred postal packet).  It was used to send off an altered book to another artist. I found a way to keep what was important and sentimental to me, and recycle the rest.

Imagine all the stuff I'll get cleaned up around here if I keep at this...!  None of you will recognize the place.  Maybe if I'm run down by the Strassenbahn, they won't have to come in here with scuba gear to clear it out... imagine!  And in only a few minutes per day...

 

Trust Randomness

Is "Randomness" even a word?  My English is completely falling apart living here.  Most of the time I'm struggling with word order instead of actual vocabulary.  Sometimes when I go back and read my blog posts I think to myself: I wonder if my lack of readership is because I've convinced visitors that I'm illiterate...? Instead of speaking better German, I've actually managed to speak worse English! Schleckt!!  In any case, I simply mean to encourage you to trust in random techniques. 

Here, I created another spread in my Red-Green themed book using squares of stripey paper.  Normally, I would manipulate which way the stripes go to make a further pattern within the checkerboard design.  This time, I just let it rip.  Whichever way the square came out after applying glue to the backside, I slapped it down onto the page.  I want to start working faster, let go of control and maybe go so far as to blindfolding myself. 

If I don't post for days on end, please send someone over to get me...I can just imagine explaining to the confused German paramedics why I'm blindfolded with my limbs stuck together with gel medium.

Before and After Today

Let us take a moment to consider my life before and after today.  I am so excited it feels like Christmas all over again.  This is not "goodbye" to my Brother 440TR, (complete with "garantieschein" dated Dezember 7, 1974), merely a new partnership.  Hallelujah!! 

Has anybody else noticed that even Mac styrofoam is cool?  I want to put it up on the wall or something...

The close-up is a shot of the German keys on my "Schreibmaschine."  My how things have changed in 35 years.  AMAZING.

Anybody out there know how to work this new-fangled thing?

Pretzel Sighting #11

  Here's the perfect pretzel to start off 2009.  A twinkling twisty in all it's stained glass glory!  Spotted in the window of the Wuerzburger-Hofbraeukeller, a traditional German restaurant where you're certain to enjoy excellent food and beverage.  Just looking at this image, it occurs to me that all pretzels should be crowned.

Reign on, your baked excellency!

100th Comment

The Studio Mailbox blog has existed since leapyear, 2008.  I still have no idea what I'm doing.  As of right now, I've written 133 posts, have had over 3,400 page views and shortly before the New Year, I hadn't realized the 100th comment rolled in! 

Left by Lia, aka Art Junk Girl who I consider to be the warrior of the one-inch square, as well as the 99th and 101st comments left by my ever consistent and supportive Hanai sister.  Two ATCs, adorned with stapled ninchies as a little token of my thanks will be on the way to you ladies.  This qualifies as official Ninchie Usage #2 if anybody is keeping track. How wierd that I prepared an additional strange inchie of Bob Ross, (who's afro actually requires the minimum space requirements of a Twinchie) as a doorprize.

Thank you so much to all of you who have left comments.  I look forward to our future adventures together!  Lia, if you would please send me a mailing address I'll pop your prizes in the post.

  

Expression

Here is the work I did in an Altered Book themed "Artistic Expression."  This is my work for the first round of a European Round Robin that I'm currently taking part in.  Serena, (the book owner) did so many beautiful spreads in my former Red-Green book that I wanted to get some serious pages arted up for her during the longer than usual time frame where we were able to work in the books.

The spread is made by leaving some pages in-between that can be cut down into interesting shapes.  (Like a tip-in with wings). I square-hole punched one page, adhered "paper patches" to the backside, and then stapled a second page to the back, sandwiching and hiding the little squares.

Next I painted the pages with watercolor and water-soluable crayons.  A few scribbles with markers, a few stickers and stamps, a tiger-print vertical element and a altered price tag as bookmark.

The paper in this particular book was so excellent, the pages didn't need to be glued together or gesso'd.  This allowed me to paint, leaving text showing through as well as one of the original illustrations peeking through a punched hole.  Fun!

Quit Worrying

This year I want to learn how to quit worrying about every little thing. 

If I can't create something absolutely perfectly planned, then I don't get started at all.  If I'm half-way through something that isn't turning out like I planned, then I don't finish.

Maybe my resolution should've been to drive this bus. 

Can you even believe this??  What's really strange to me is the looks I got from the merry senior citizens aboard it as I was leaning wildly in our car snapping photographs.

Don't click over to the next page if you've got young ones in the room.  In case you're wondering, it's the same word in German.

My hubby said, "Schatzi it could be the family name of the tour company."  In a country where your entire identity is by your last name, I said "You've got to be kidding me."  I have no idea why this bus is decorated with this language.  I suppose it's just a word.  It might even be a name.  In any case, it's certainly unforgettable.

I don't even know what the point of this post is.  I guess I'm just trying to dare myself to do things that are out of my character.  I've become so uptight in so many respects that I somehow need to truly "let go" in order to get some good work coming out of my fingers.

So here is a start.  And I'm not even going to worry that I posted this *f'r on my blog. 

Blogging Block

It's been over a week now.  I was on such a roll too.  My stats were up, I've been connecting with more artists online and now I've just fallen flat.  Sometimes I just can't get it all done. 

Blogging takes a serious amount of time, energy and organization.   Lately whenever I've tried to sit down to post something, Typepad has been acting up too.  Is anybody else suffering from the little hourglass timer shaking and stalling and your entire system locking up?  It's only when I'm here.  Maybe the universe is telling me to take a break.

This isn't a recent journal entry, but as I was paging through my moley I said to myself, "yep. this pretty much sums it up."

I'll be back later.  Please don't leave me...

Lucky Charm Give Away

Lucky figures and decos are seen in flower arrangements, potted plants, candy and baked goods at the turn of the New Year here in Germany.  These lucky charms are called "Gluecksbringers" and are symbols of good fortune which include; clover leaves, lady bugs, toadstools, pigs, horseshoes and schornsteinfegers (chimney sweeps). 

This last year I acquired a bag full of wooden gluecksbringers at a flea market during one of my plunder moments and will give away three sets of these by random drawing from the names of those who comment on this post.  I'll draw names at the begining of February.

Although most of our creative and artistic successes comes from hard work, a little luck never hurt either...!