Monday, March 28, 2011

News on the Tutorial Front AND Another Report from the Edge

When I started this blog I thought I would actually post tutorials from time to time, but as you may have noticed, to date I have posted exactly one.  Well, number two is on its way, thanks to some gentle prodding from a group of friends who have organized a tutorial event and have put a little pressure on me to actually POST one of my own.  For those of you who love tutorials and who enjoy checking out the cool things other people are up to, click on the following people, all on my list to the right titled "You Might Also Enjoy."   The tutors are the following:  Melly, Kelli, and I on Tuesday, March 29 (tomorrow);  Jane, Carla, and Tracie on Wednesday; and Lyric, Alisa, Judy, and Jill on Thursday.

On to Reports from the Edge:  By far the strangest object I encountered yesterday afternoon at the (freezing cold and damp) Tobacco Barn was a round pillow, the covering of which was made of pink ribbons and complicated crochet with a small doll attached to the top in a manner that I could only describe as bondage.  I could only begin the sketch that you see here-- the intricacy of the crochet defeated me-- but I think you can get the idea.  For $27 this pillow could be yours.


The second-most strange object was described on its tag as a "rusty child form."  I would have bought it if I had been able to come up with the $65 they were asking.  It looked like something Louise Bourgeois would have used in one of her installations.  The leg parts were painted wood, and the wire parts were --rusty.  It was life-sized for a 19th century child, proportions more adult than child.  No arms, no head.  Fabulous.

I drew both of these in my butter box journal, which is, sadly, almost full, and I will be making a new one.

7 comments:

  1. Is that Tibetan paper or Gampi in that journal? Those two items are slightly scary--tie up your kids? Or maybe the first one represents a butterfly. I hope.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think the journal paper is Tibetan but am not sure. It feels like Lokta, too, so maybe that's what it is. Someone gave it to me long ago. And alas, it was a regular doll, not a butterfly. I think the idea was to attach the doll to the pillow and make it look like a crocheted blanket was over it??? Definitely scary.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I could totally use a rusty child form. Especially days like today.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Andi-- Actually there are TWO rusty child forms at Tobacco Barn as of yesterday afternoon. Act now and you could solve 2/3 of your problems at once!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yo, Gwen, please add our last names to your blog, and link to our blogs. thanks so much,

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gwen, I have a Lokta paper journal. Does yours act like it seriously needs paper sizing, it seems to soak up ink and watercolor?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gina- My little butter box journal with Lokta-like paper seems to be lightly sized and does okay with pen and very light watercolor. But heavier watercolor soaks right through. I think you're right about it not having much or any sizing. It depends on the kind of Lokta-like paper! This is one reason that I make my own journals-- to choose the right paper! Lokta papers come in bright and beautiful colors, and I love the soft, drapey weight of the pages, but these papers are not really meant for watercolor. I guess you could apply a surface size if you wanted-- cook up a solution of unflavored gelatin and try brushing it on a page. You'll have to google "gelatin sizing" to get correct proportions. I've used gelatin sizing occasionally and have a friend who uses it on all of his paper prior to painting and drawing on it. Now you've got me interested, and I'm going to try some on my Lokta-like soft paper. Let me know how yours comes out if you try it, and I will post if mine works. Thanks for the comment!

    ReplyDelete