Category: sketchbook challenge

maple moon (wings)

July 30, 2012

july 30

via www.flickr.com

Still experimenting with gelatin printing.

I used a biscuit cutter to cut nice round circles out of the sheet of gelatin, and experimented using those as block for printing. Since my biscuit cutter is smaller than my circle-a-day circles, there is an unprinted edge that I wanted to accentuate.

I realized I have not yet posted links to my sources for gelatin printing.

My favorite, and primary source, is Linda Germain, and her blog Printmaking Without a Press. Linda does lovely, delicate work. She has answers to frequently asked questions, and videos on YouTube for those who want to see what she's talking about.

The Sketchbook Challenge blog also has a tutorial, and some pictures of the process.

I have really enjoyed having the gelatin block around to experiment with this month. It has been a lovely cool way to spend time working with fabric and color. I found it easy to get started. The gelatin block was fun to make and fun to hold (and fun to make wiggle! think industrail strength Jello Wigglers…) The materials I used were things I had on hand (white fabric, fabric paint) so the project scrimmage was small. 

It took me a lot of experimenting to come up with truly lovely things, making me uneasy until I hit my groove. I am also not entirely sure what to do with the pieces I don't love. I finally decided I'd hold them as potential blocks for stitching together into a lightweight coverlet or unfilled quilt. Or maybe I'll just give them away. It is a good year for it!

 

seven = one week

January 7, 2012

seven front

I've been doing some doodling in my sketchbook, partly to get in the habit and partly for the Sketchbook Challenge (which has a blog and a Flickr Group). The theme for January 2012 is Doodling. So I doodle on paper, which is easier for me than many tings, and as I was messing about with markers it occurred to me that I knew how to do this with thread. So I did.

There are seven tiny gold foil dots on it too, continuing my counting stars theme. I couldn't find the smallest star punch, so I used a (smaller than expected) hole punch to produce the fusible shapes for the foiling. 

And, I like the back so well, I documented that too: 

seven back

GO! (four)

January 4, 2012

four

For a short while, Alice counted "one, two, three, go, four." Later she had a better grip on numbers until they got large. She asked Al how old he was on one birthday, and then laughed and laughed, telling him there was no such number as 43. 

It was brutally cold last night, into the single (farenheit) digits. The horses were all standing carefully on the frozen ground, all their visible coat standing out to hold in as much heat as possible. Kaboose is one of the few who is not routinely blanketed; she has a serious coat, courtesy of her Quebecois childhood, but even she was wearing a windproof sheet to keep in an extra layer of warmth.