vbartworks

Ground Hog Day Workshop

2012-02-17T15:09:00.000-08:00

I celebrated Ground Hog Day (it's my adopted holiday, I always celebrate it) by giving a paper-making demonstration and workshop for the Garden Club of Evergreen Park at the public library. You can read all about it on their website; here's the link: http://www.epgardenclub.org/

Making Beads from My Handmade Paper

2012-01-09T09:06:00.000-08:00

Cutting my paper into strips and rolling them into beads is becoming way too much fun. Then seeing what kind of jewelry the beads want to be - they always let me know. I'm acquiring more containers so I can keep my beads accessible. It really is easier to create in an organized environment.
Some of my earrings are available at Hazel Apparel!, 1902 West Montrose Ave, Chicago, IL.

Bracelets and Earrings and Pins, Oh My!

2011-11-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

Mixing my handmade paper beads with other beads for bracelets was so much fun, I had to try making pairs of earrings. Then I remembered my button jar. Inspired by my niece who has a line of jewelry with buttons, I decided to incorporate some buttons with my paper beads.

Planning earrings was such a joy, I had to try hanging several from a safety pin as a brooch. I appears I am hooked on this.

Thanks for the inspiration, Ashley!

Handmade Paper Beads

2011-11-11T07:49:00.000-08:00

My college roommate recently flew to Chicago to visit me. Of course we had a downtown day, but being the gracious hostess that I am, I set up a jewelry station in my family room and put her to work. We cut up sheets of my handmade paper, rolled the strips into beads, and sealed them with acrylic varnish. The we played with all my jewelry supplies and made bracelets. I love mixing the paper beads with others for color and texture - glass, wood, metal and plastic add just the right visual interest.

These pieces will be on display at The Center's Art Show/Sale on November 20.

I hope my roomie is wearing her new bracelets with style.

Move Over, Harry Houdini

2011-08-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

What is it about magic that makes people stare in awe? You know, that moment when you realize, hey, I didn't have a quarter in my ear when I came in this room. But now you're handing me a quarter from my ear, and I can keep it, and even spend it? Wow!

Stay with me now while I go to the next step. It's like when I know I've just taken junk paper, soaked it in water and buzzed it in the blender. I know it was garbage, then wet, then gunk. But then there's the moment of magic (okay, I know it's chemistry, but it still feels like magic) when I pull the gunky pulp out of the vat on a screen, let the water drip away, and place it onto the waiting felt and press it. I know what it was just a moment ago, but now it's something new and beautiful and different. It's like I can go out and spend that shiny new quarter.

The words "pulp" and "hydrogen bonding" do not stop people in their tracks and cause them to say "Wow!" But when I demonstrate papermaking and people see the process, you'd think I just pulled a quarter out from their ear. Move over, Harry, papermaking is magic.

Hot Summer Days

2011-07-28T11:57:00.001-07:00

It's the kind of summer
that reminds me of playing on the beach and swimming in the lake when I was a
child. It was not unusual for me to have quite a collection of shells by the
end of summer vacation. I put some shells in my garden several years ago, and
I’m watching them weather through the seasons. Right now they are peeking out
between the hostas and the lilies of the valleys.

This pulp
painting was made with 100% cotton rag fibers.

2011-07-26T17:31:00.000-07:00

I used to consider the traditional heart shape too trite to be bothered with, but I've been using it in my work more and more lately. First as a geometric shape in cards for valentines, weddings, anniversaries, showers and love notes. More recently as the organic shape found in nature, since my stay in the cardiac unit of the hospital. In this piece, which didn't quite fit on my scanner, I repeated the bleeding hearts and added a hollyhock petal that split into a heart shape, placing it above like a winged sun in the sky. Because I incorporate the pressed botanicals into my paper, I drew in the stems and covered portions of the leaves and petals with Graphitint, graphite pencils tinted with soluble pigments. I like the effect of drawing on my handmade recycled paper.

On a beautiful summer day

2011-06-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Here's my summer newsletter.

Spring

2011-03-24T11:10:00.001-07:00

This is what I'm up to.

Art Alert

2011-01-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

After shoveling snow and making a pot of soup for supper, I have been spending more time in home remodeling than papermaking. Now it's time to get back to the pulp. Here's a few classes where I hope you will join me:

Feb. 2, 6:30 - 8:30 pm at The Center, 12700 Southwest Hwy, Palos Park. (New dates and times). Create handmade paper for cards with hearts and flowers and Valentines and the coming Spring.

March 30 and April 6, 6:30 - 8:30 pm at The Center. With inspiration from the Vernal Equinox, create handmade papers for framing or stationery by painting with pulp from recycled paper and botanical elements from the garden.

I will also be doing a Valentine/bookmark workshop at Evergreen Park Public Library on Feb. 3 at 6:30 pm with the Garden Club. Respond to this post for contact information if you would like to join us there.

Enjoy the beauty of winter for the next few months, stay inspired, and continue creating.

Glimpses

2010-11-29T09:05:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we get a glimpse of what is beneath the surface, behind the ordinary, to a deeper truth. Maybe we're surprised by the brightness, perhaps we knew it all along. These moments of spiritual light give us hope.
This weekend I cut through the top layer of my handmade papers to something special. I'll have to photograph and finish setting up all the connections on my computer to show these.

Art at McCord Gallery

2010-11-27T14:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a great place to look at art and shop for Christmas gifts and decorations: Holiday Shoppe at McCord Gallery, 9602 W. Creek Rd., Palos Park, IL 60464. It runs from November 26 - December 22, 2010. Check hours at www.mccordgallery.org

2010-11-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

One of my pulp paintings, Hand with Spiral that you see in the art gallery on this page, is an illustration on page 39 of Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction, vol. 16, no. 4 - the December 2010 issue. The reflection it illustrates is "Spiritual Direction and Standing in the Tragic Gap: From Aging Parents to the Battle over God."

Whew

2010-11-23T10:02:00.000-08:00

What a long time since I last posted. Our old computer became quite fussy, so I did as little as possible on it. Now we have a new computer and need to set things up as we go along. I'll get there.

I woke up this morning with two awarenesses:
1. I have a house of chaos that needs cleaning and straightening, and
2. I have an inspired idea for a new art project.

So glad to be able to claim a year wiser: I spent the morning making paper. The house is waiting. I hope to get things up and running in the next weeks to show my new projects.

Remembering Rich's birthday/retrospective art show/party

2010-08-26T12:38:00.000-07:00

What a time this was – so many people celebrating all of Rich’s artistic gifts. People who didn’t know him “back when” had no idea that he was a talented, prolific artist. His work filled two rooms and several halls. Great art, great food, great friends – a great night.

Solution du jour

2010-07-24T15:48:00.000-07:00

Somewhere between Yankee ingenuity strikes again and necessity is the mother of invention, self-preservation kicked in and I put cork on my work surface. No more worries about my cards being haz-mat. My fingers are happy and healing.

Suffering for My Art

2010-07-23T13:12:00.001-07:00

So far today I've stuck the needle through the ends of two fingers in the process of sewing the buttons onto my hand-made papers and cards. I have to stop and apply bandages so I don't bleed on the cards. But the response to these is so positive I have to keep trying more. The good news is I'm getting better aim.

Simple Designs Are Not Easy Tasks

2010-07-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

My heart notes have been selling very well, and I wanted to make a variation on the theme. I liked the idea of layering hearts and attaching them to the card with a button. The idea seemed simple enough. But I needed contrast, so I had to make a background paper in a different color. Sewing a button onto card stock is a lot trickier than it sounds, and that nylon thread wants to disappear. But here are my first four attempts. Can’t wait to see where I go from here.

Japanese Paper

2010-07-12T12:59:00.001-07:00

Paper-making is my passion, and I have been making hand-made paper for many years. But I've always made my papers in the Western tradition. This month I had the opportunity to go to an all-day workshop on Japanese paper-making.

The instructor brought buckets of gampi, kozo and mitsumata fibers that we beat with sticks on wooden boards. The rest of the day we made paper with sukettas (the Japanese mould and deckle). At the end of the day we used cotton linter for cast paper and a nod to Western papermaking. I took home 34 pieces of various sized papers and 7 castings. Exhausted beyond words, but not too tired to smile. What a wonderful experience. Thanks, JoAnne!

Summer Flowers & New Heart-notes

2010-06-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

This very rainy spring and beginning of summer has brought a garden full of flowers. I'm enjoying the picking and the pressing.

I made a new heart-note template that I like better than the old one. Since I embed my flowers in recycled pulp instead of gluing them to the surface of the paper, I sometimes lose the visual effect of the stems. I now hand-paint the stems to restore the visual balance of the designs.

Lent

2010-03-18T18:41:00.000-07:00

I pressed nails into clay to make a mould for this cast paper cross medallion. After it dried, I painted it with water colors. I hope this symbol of sacrifice inspires thoughts of faith and hope.

Winter Walk

2010-03-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

This is a pulp painting of what I saw on a walk in my neighborhood one sunny winter day:
When I looked up I saw a cardinal on a branch in a tree.
When I looked down I saw the red berries on a holly bush in my neighbors' yard.

Labyrinths

2009-12-31T15:41:00.000-08:00

2009 began with thoughts on labyrinths, so it seems fitting to end the year with my creations. I wanted to make a sculptural piece to hold in the palm of the hand and trace with the finger. I had to go to the ancient labyrinth form and work with 3 layers to fit the size I wanted. I made a clay mould to cast my recycled pulp on and made a color sheet to cover the cork backing. Everything is painted with a clear acrylic varnish.

I hope people who get these find serenity as their fingers follow the path from the beginning to the center and back again. The labyrinth reminds us to be aware of the journey and not focus only on the destination. A good thought as we face a new year.

'Tis the Season

2009-12-18T07:01:00.000-08:00

Original Card Art to Frame

2009-11-20T05:37:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning I set up the second of my four holiday shows this winter. A friend recently asked if I would make a card that could be given as a gift- to drop a piece of original art into a standard frame. So I chose this bamboo design. By trimming the card, I was able to drop it into a 4x6 frame from a discount store. I could also have drop mounted the card onto mat board in a 5x7 frame or mat opening. So here it is – an original art card suitable for framing.

The design of this piece is based on a drawing I made of a bamboo fountain my daughter gave me for Mother’s Day one year. In order to make a clay mould, I had to change the design to bamboo in a bowl, but I like the simplicity. I painted this cast paper with watercolors and acrylics and drop mounted it on a piece of wall paper.

Thoughts on Fall

2009-10-05T11:15:00.001-07:00

I can hardly believe we need the furnace to take the chill off the early fall weather. My Black-eyed Susans are nearly spent – time to pull them out of the garden. And I’ll pick the last of the rhubarb to make a few more batches of cobbler and jam (then home-made bread to spread it on). A few leaves on the local maple trees are already turning color.

Time for the holiday arts and crafts fairs to begin.

Since so many people are feeling the pinch of the tight economy, I’m making a special line of matted and framed pieces for this year’s shows. They are small, personal pieces of handmade paper with flowers and leaves I gathered from the garden and pressed for this line. The prices are very low. When life gets difficult and stress levels rise, I think we need beauty to calm our spirits. I made these intimate pieces to speak to souls in troubled times and whisper a quiet word that all is well. Just right to place on a dresser or give to a special friend. I hope people enjoy them.

Making a Concept Piece for Grace Church

2009-09-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Here is the concept piece I worked on in August for Grace Church.

Worshipers took home half sheets of blue and yellow papers with scripture verses and questions for reflection and meditation. The following week they brought their papers to the baptismal font, tore them up and dropped them in the water.

The next few weeks I picked leaves from the day lilies and lilies of the valley in my garden, cooked them in my fiber pot with chemicals, and incorporated them into the torn paper to make a pulp. I even pressed a few petals from the lilies and added a few wild flowers.

Here’s the thing about concept pieces: you read about an idea and it’s so interesting you just have to try it out. I read about thread-embedded paper to make a patchwork quilt effect and just had to try it. This means I poured the pulp into my deckle box for a sheet of paper, took it out, placed nylon threads a half inch from the edges on all four sides, made another sheet and couched it directly on top of the first, sandwiching in the threads to make them part of the paper. Day after day, over forty times. You’ll notice only half of them are in the frame in this picture. We’ll call the papers on the frame not shown our “practice piece” that showed us what didn’t work. Did you know nylon thread is practically invisible? Especially when you’re trying to tie it in removable bows on a frame.

But in the end we had recycled green paper that resulted from blue and yellow offered meditations mixed with lilies (“behold the lilies of the field….”) arranged in the shape of a cross. Other papers, some red (signifying shed blood), some green mixed with red, were placed around the cross in the frame. And we could see something new created from the old. This visual art was displayed for our communion service.

More Papyrus

2009-08-12T09:11:00.001-07:00

I think Beverly, Dorothy and Terry made some amazing papyrus pieces at our workshop at The Center. Because of the history of papyrus, I thought making it from local plants and products made the most sense. I got a little carried away at the produce department and farmers' market, so my basement fridge is still overwhelmed with vegetables.
The process is specific, but simple. And look at the possibilities! Wouldn't these look beautiful framed for kitchen art? Or laminated for coasters? Or hung in a window? They are translucent and feel like vellum. It's so exciting to see artists inspire each other with new ideas in a new medium.

Making Papyrus

2009-07-23T04:30:00.000-07:00

I've been making papyrus this month. Here you see banana leaf papyrus, tamale papyrus, mixed veggie papyrus, zucchini papyrus and carrot papyrus. As you can see, these fibers are not dispersed in water. It's a very interesting process - next on to fruit. One small aside: I've banned beets from my press.

Artist's Statement

2009-06-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

I draw my inspiration from the amazing world around me, and want to share the beauty I see in nature in my artwork. Incorporating objects from nature into my work allows me to display rich color and texture in a single formed sheet of paper.

My love for fibers began in my childhood as I watched my mother, a gifted dress designer and seamstress, creating unique garments with an array of fabrics at her Singer sewing machine. Growing plants at home reminds me of my mother’s garden; I have an abundance of lilies of the valley, tiger lilies, roses, lilacs and rhubarb. I press the flowers and petals to incorporate into my papers, and cook the stems and leaves to use as botanical fiber inclusions in my pulps.

I first experienced the exquisite touch of thick, cotton paper in my college printmaking class. Years later, after watching a paper-making demonstration, I began reading books on the subject in my local library. The materials were simple enough: torn paper, water, wooden frames, screens and felts. I immediately felt comfortable enough with the medium to stray from the directions in books when they didn’t feel right for me. I love the process of dipping a mold and deckle into a vat of pulp, and the deckle boxes I’ve made for myself and my students work well in my work space.

I enjoy making visually pleasing designs with simple shapes and colors in my pulp paintings, incorporating my love for drawing by making templates for a series - much like an edition of prints - which I number and sign. My love for cast paper began when I pressed pulp into a ceramic cookie mould. I now make my own clay moulds to cast paper reliefs and sculptures.

Human beings, made in the image of their Creator, are by nature creative. I thrive in the excitement-filled atmosphere when students marvel at the beautiful papers they have just formed. And I love the process of bringing pulp to paper that is, itself, a piece of art.

Artist's Reception

2009-05-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

Forty to fifty people attended the artist's reception for my one woman show of hand made paper artworks in Palos Hills, IL, on the evening of April 30, 2009. Eighteen framed pieces, a dozen unframed pieces, and a rack of cards were on display for the month of April in the hall of Dr. Rory McKenna's office. That evening I shook a lot of hand, hugged a lot of friends, and generally basked in the joy of the event. Then I got to enjoy counting the 8 sold signs on the framed art work, in addition to the many unframed pieces and cards that also sold. I'm still smiling.

Earth Day 2009

2009-05-01T11:55:00.001-07:00

This year I joined a dozen other presenters in Evergreen Park’s Earth Day celebration at the Activity Center with a paper-making demonstration on Saturday, April 25. From 9am – 2pm I made recycled pulp in a blender, botanical papers with pressed flowers from the garden, pulp paintings, cast paper, and gift cards with envelopes. Several dozen visitors, adults and children, stopped at my table to make bookmarks with confetti paper or cast paper medallions using cookie molds I provided. With all that activity, I spent most of the time on my feet, so I was glad to soak them in the tub when I got home.

How It's Done

2009-03-09T16:40:00.001-07:00

Admit it, you've always wanted to know how paper is made. So here it is - a photo commentary of me making paper at the Columbia College Center for Book and Paper Arts paper-making studio in Chicago.

1. The vat is full of 100% cotton fiber pulp.
2. After dipping the screen and deckle, I pull it up and let excess water drip off. Then I remove the deckle.
3. I walk over to my couching area (pronounced cooch - it's a French thing) where my plywood board has wet layers of felt and non-woven fiber pellon.
4. In a rolling motion, I press the wet pulp onto the wet pellon.
5. Wet attracts wet, so the sheet transfers from the screen to the pellon.
6. As I make more sheets, I separate them with more layers of wet pellon.
7. I stack the same size sheets on top of each other in each layer.
8. For pulp paintings, I pour over-beaten dyed pulp onto the newly formed sheet.
9. With the addition of a top layer of pellon and felt, my work gets sandwiched between another plywood board and goes into the hydraulic press. Here two things happen: water is squeezed out, and the pressure causes the chemical hydrogen bonding process - which means the sheet is no longer pulp, it is paper, and only needs to dry.

So now you know.

Winter Inspiration

2009-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

On a very cold morning I sat in a coffee shop and watched cars driving carefully while the snow continued to fall. My car guys repaired an unfortunate meeting of the under-bumper of my car with a very big chunk of ice in a parking spot on the north side. This happened to my husband, Rich, while I was at a Mindfulness & Miracles Retreat at The Center last weekend.
While he was driving on Lake Shore Drive, I was eating breakfast in silence after taking 15 minutes to mindfully enjoy eating a single grape. While he ate breakfast with our daughter and went to his class at Lillstreet, I followed deer tracks in the snowy woods and walked the labyrinth for a second time. First time was by candlelight, second in the fresh, bright daylight.
I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to slow down and focus on the tiny miracles that surround us every day. I'm sure my meditations from the labyrinth will appear in the artwork I do this year.

Holiday Art Shows

2009-01-28T13:13:00.001-08:00

Some of my framed art work joined that of other Chicagoland artists in "Art for the Hungry," an art show at Jacob's Well in Evergreen Park, from November 14-16. A portion of the proceeds from the entrance fees helped support the local food pantry.
The Center's Christmas Art Show and Sale was November 16. I joined the talented and creative art instructors from The Center to display and sell my cards and mounted and framed artwork.
McCord Gallery in Palos Park accepted my work in their juried show from November 22 - December 27, where over a dozen of my pieces sold.

A November Demonstration

2009-01-28T11:50:00.000-08:00

Little Company of Mary Hospital hosts the CHEER program to support and encourage patients and families who are living with difficult diagnoses. I met with them on November 12, demonstrated the papermaking process and showed some of my framed art work. The people attending then made their own unique bookmarks out of recycled pulp, adding pressed flower petals from my garden.

Fall Handmade Paper Demonstrations

2008-11-17T19:07:00.000-08:00

This Fall I exhibited my work and demonstrated paper-making in 2 locations. On September 12 I joined other art instructors from The Center at the Orland Park Barnes & Noble bookstore in the Starbucks Cafe. A percentage of Barnes & Noble's sales that day benefited The Center (www.thecenterpalos.org), one of the places I teach paper-making. I made cast paper by pressing pulp on textured clay molds I've made. After I blot out the water, I dry the "medallions" to paint later and attach to cards.

On October 8, I displayed framed artwork and cast hand-made paper at the Palos Park Metra Station's Crooked Arrow Cafe as part of Palos' celebration of Illinois Arts month. A visiting patron of the arts joined me and made a piece of cast paper on a ceramic cookie mold which I supplied.

A mild Fall, beautiful colors, good coffee, good art. That'll do.

Cast Paper

2008-09-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

I love making paper castings. Paper doesn't have to be flat; it can be textured, or it can be scuptural. I press an interesting object, texture, or design into clay, bake it, then press thick pulp onto it, blotting to remove all excess water. When I pull it off, the result is cast paper that I can either paint, or allow light to cast shadows to show the design. I put most of my cast paper medallions onto card stock and sell them as one-of-a-kind greeting cards.
This description is for the card above:
While walking in my garden in early spring, I saw my rhubarb plants poking up through the soil. I picked this first, tiny leaf and pressed it into clay so I could cast handmade paper and remember how beautiful small beginnings can be.

This cast paper design of a bamboo plant is based on a drawing of a bamboo fountain my daughter gave me for Mother's Day. This recycled, handmade paper is painted with watercolors and acrylic.

Pulp Paintings from photo silk screens

2008-09-19T08:59:00.000-07:00

What's going on in my life seems to make its way into my art. Last year's trip to New Mexico influenced several pulp paintings. Oh, what's a pulp painting? Pretty much what it sounds like. While I have about 3 variations on the theme, it comes down to putting a different color pulp onto a sheet of wet pulp before it has been pressed into paper. "Santa Fe" is a larger piece I did in a class at Columbia College where I made a photo silk screen from a picture I took, then I squirted over-beaten pulp (very short fibers) with a spray bottle. I made a series of several designs, then signed an numbered each. I also made a hand design based on a southwest theme. And I drew a southwest inspired design of a kokopelli in a cornfield near a pueblo. I just love the story of how he carries seeds in the hump on his back, scatters them in the soil, and waters them with the music from his flute.
You can see some of these pieces of art by looking at the slide show on this page.

So what do I do, anyway?

2008-09-14T13:35:00.000-07:00

Think of me as a green alchemist. Environmentally green in that I use scrap paper and junk mail, and an alchemist in that I take what would be garbage and make it into handmade paper artworks. I may not spin straw into gold, but I do what I can. The botanical inclusions I put into my work come from my kitchen, garden, and from the gardens of friends and relatives. I cut fibrous stems and leaves into pieces that I cook in my fiber pot, then literally beat them into a pulp and add them to my recycled paper pulp. Other leaves and flowers get pressed and dried to become part of the paper I make, not just glued onto the surface.

Last year my sister sent me dried fern leaves from the asparagus in her garden. I added pressed flowers and leaves from my garden to make a Sisters' Gardens series.