lost and found in brooklyn

As you probably know by now, we have had a lot of snow on the East Coast this year. I saw this video a few weeks ago when we had the blizzard that basically shut down New York for a day or two and thought it was pretty amazing.  I came across it again today and noted that the film maker, Todd Bieber, still has not found the owner of the photographs.  Take a look...maybe you can help and email him at brooklynfoundfilm@gmail.com

sketchbook in the mail!

My sketchbook is finished and in the mail (delivered in fact...I just checked my shipping confirmation)!  It was a very exciting and exhausting project, but I am so happy I decided to enter and see it through.  I didn't use all the materials I thought I would to create my book (not really all that surprising).  As it was coming together, I actually felt less was more and liked the simplicity of the book and composition of each page as I was designing them.  The photo transfers each took on their own life and no two were the same.  The photos also changed as they became transfers on fabric...which I really love.  Tom helped me photograph the book before I shipped it away so I would have a record of my work since it is now part of the permanent collection of the The Brooklyn Art Library.  Here are a few shots of the book, more can be seen here or if you visit one of the shows when all the sketchbooks are on tour!

Tom shooting my final book!

Can't wait to see all the creative books everyone made on tour!  

Did you enter? Well...there's always next year...OR next up

A Million Photographs...I'm still deciding :) 

sketchbook project...here i come!

Several people I know, including myself, entered The Sketchbook Project this year.  Sweet Dani B mentioned her sketchbook back in August on her blog and and our friend Dallas is also participating. It is an incredible project; over 28,000 artists are participating and making sketchbooks to be exhibited all around the country.  Check out the website, it's pretty cool, they have images of books from the previous year and give dates when the tour may be in a city near you.  So I entered, got my theme of "facing forward", and received my sketchbook months ago.  I have also had an idea of what I have wanted to do for months....and now those months have turned into weeks and now I am of course, down to less than two weeks before I need to send my book in...and I am just getting to create it.  The past few days I have been trying out what I have been "thinking" about, and I feel my ideas and concepts are really going to work.  I love photo transfers...and I have been reading about new ways to transfer onto fabric.  I want to make my book out of images and transfers, but I also want to incorporate fabrics and have the book be textural.  I had thought from the beginning I would have to "deconstruct" the book a bit.  One of the requirements is you have to have your pages fit inside the cover, but you can change out the pages if you'd like.  I have decided to make fabric pages for my book out of a thick muslin and use additional vintage fabrics throughout the book.

vintage fabrics for use throughout the sketchbook

transfer test on thin cotton muslin

transfer test on thicker cotton muslin

I kind of feel like I am back at RISD and will probably have to pull a few all-nighters to finish my book...however I am pretty excited with the results so far.  Anyone else participating and still working on your sketchbook?

new year's eve walk

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the last day of the year than a walk in one of our most favorite places, The Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.  We (myself, my husband and my dog) spent about an hour trekking through the snow covered paths, taking in the fresh air, jumping around in the drifts and admiring how different our surroundings looked (we received about a foot and a half of the fluffy white stuff earlier this week).  It was the perfect ending to the year and gave us some time to reflect on all that has happened in 2010.  I wish you all a very happy and peaceful 2011.  

large oak tree, damaged by a storm a few years ago and later turned into a sculpture by a local artist

also part of the oak tree

What are your plans for the new year?

a little bit of snow

So we finally got some snow here on the east coast...a blizzard in fact.  The airports were closed, trains were delayed, roads were treacherous and well, basically we are covered with about a foot and a half of that fluffy white stuff.  Good thing we had no where to go.  Our new dog Mel was not so happy at first...but after a path was carved for him, he started to find the joy in the powder below his feet.  He is all white however, so we put on a bright red fleecy jacket to make sure we didn't loose him out there.  In case you don't have any snow where you are...I'll share some of mine...I have more than enough :)

very thankful for the snow blower

Mel checking out the drifts

buried garden gnome

my husband finished with the dig out  & taking a break with Mel

I hope you are enjoying your holidays...We spent our day digging out and frolicking in the snowdrifts!  How did you spend yours?