Roz Wound Up

It's Full—I'm Finished

Above: my fake journal kept to celebrate International Fake Journal Month 2009, finished today, the book contains exactly 30 page spreads, one done each day in April. The journal is an Alvin Field book with water resistant pages. I worked with dip pen and Ziller Acrylic ink (glossy black) and Schmincke Pan Watercolors. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Well, it's over. For me anyway. Other folks have about 4 more hours until the end of IFJM. If you are new to this blog and wondering what the heck IFJM is you can click on the IFJM category in the category list, click on the appropriate page in the page list, or go to the Official International Fake Journal Month Blog and read more about it; as well as see postings of the images in my 2009 fake journal and the fake journals of some other folks too..

More on Schmincke Pan Watercolors

Above: Another "chart" I made when testing Schmincke pan watercolors in December 2007. I'm mixing new selections with colors already on my palette. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

I thought it might be helpful for people to see the other types of tests I put watercolors through when making a selection for my palette, so I have included in this post two additional "charts." I put charts in quotation marks because I am not trying to make a formal, tidy, structured chart for the most part when I do these tests, I'm just interested in blending colors together and seeing what happens. A lot of artists I know take a much more orderly approach to these types of tests and put them into columns and boxes and apply a lot of order. While I love order probably more than the next person I'm happy to just get in there and mix. I think each artist has to do what is most useful to him. (My colored pencil charts are extremely orderly!)

The Best Compliment You Can Give a Bookbinder—and Yourself

Above: plein air watercolor and gouache landscape ©2008 Diane Wesman, created in a 4 x 3 inch (approx.) journal made with Strathmore Aquarius II 80 lb. watercolor paper. Sketch made with a black Uniball pen.

As a bookbinder one of the saddest things to see is a series of blank books on someone's shelf. The books' mass represents acquisitiveness, lost opportunities, stalled creativity, postponed engagement in the world and a hundred other sad things. It's frustrating to see. It's one of the reasons I started teaching journaling. I was very sneaky about it—I would have everyone make a book using paper I knew was perfect for the process I was teaching. Then, perfectly timed, when the books were completed we would USE THEM. No one went home without working in their book.

My Schmincke Pan Watercolor Palette

Above: A color chart of the selection in my Schmincke travel palette. This chart is on a page in an 11 x 7.5 inch journal I made with Arches 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Today on the Official International Fake Journal Month Blog I posted another spread from this year's journal and wrote about how I am experimenting with these Schmincke colors. I thought people reading this blog might be interested in that post and other folks might like to see swatches of the colors mentioned.

Another Quick Note on Stan Fellows

My friend Terry Garrett wrote to me today to talk about the book I mentioned yesterday—The Cuckoo's Haiku. Well he actually had gone to Stan Fellows' blog! I'm sure many other readers here did so also, but if you didn't, well I'm sorry I didn't put a link to his blog site (just one to the book). And here it is now: Stan Fellows.

You should go over there and check it out because he has lots of lovely watercolors. (I'm glad I got the book because I can hold the paintings in my hand, but his site has all sorts of subject matter.) His April 23, 2009 post has a wonderful fishermen on a lake scene where Fellows has done something wonderful with the clouds. And other delightful offerings, many of which are for sale.

Also, something fun—after Terry wrote to me I simply opened my browser and typed in Stanfellows and not Blogspot. Well that gets you to a photo of the artist doing a plein air painting, and that's fun to see too.

Anyway, thanks go to Terry for reminding me to use the internet a bit more!

The Cuckoo's Haiku—Lovely Watercolor Illustrations in a Children's Book

Left: Cover of The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Birding Poems, cover illustrations ©2009 Stan Fellows.

Candlewick Press has published a lovely children's picture book: The Cuckoo's Haiku and Other Birding Poems.

Author Michael J. Rosen has created pleasing text about the seasons and the birds one sees, but the graphite and watercolor illustrations are the real star of this book.

If you love birds you'll find Stan Fellows' illustrations charming and engaging. They are realistic but loose, often fading to unresolved edges.

My only dissatisfaction with this book is the design. The text of the "poems" doesn't quite fit with the illustrations and all the labeling that occurs in the images. They fight each other rather than marry. But I am more than willing to overlook that to have these delightful bird illustrations in my hand.

The cover caught my eye yesterday as I was browsing in Barnes and Noble for some birthday and parent holiday gifts. I had to add this to my stack, just for myself. I collect children's books, but I have to say, even if I didn't I would have purchased this book just for the illustrations. Seek it out. Enjoy.

There's Still Time to See Linda Koutsky's Jewelry Exhibit

Linda Koutsky's beautiful found-object art jewelry is still on show at the Minnetonka Center for the arts through May 2. Read my review at the link provided. Make some time this weekend to get over to the exhibit. It will change the way you think about jewelry, jewelry shows, and those little bits of stuff that find their way into your life.

Don't miss it.

And take a moment to hear Linda talk about her exhibit by checking out an interview with her on Minnesota Public Radio. Click here for directions to the interview.

If you aren't at Linda's exhibit today, then I hope you are out on your bicycle. It was supposed to rain, but it hasn't. Use the cool spring weather to good purpose! Then shower and go see Linda's exhibit. You get the idea.

Book Arts Roundtables at MCBA

The following Book Arts Roundtables will be held at Minnesota Center for Book Arts. These are free programs open to the public. Mark your calendar today. Come and hear what other book artists are doing, learn of new opportunities in book arts, printing, and things related to books.

Tuesday, May 12, 7 p.m.
Participants in the 2008-09 MCBA/Jerome Book Arts Mentorship program present a peek at their past work, discuss the mentorship process and share their current explorations into the book arts.

Tuesday, June 9, 7 p.m.
Bolger Vision to Print president dik Bolger leads a discussion on print-on-demand and offset printing options for artist books.

Saturday, July 11, 3:30 p.m.
Book Arits Clair Jeanine Satin guides us through some of her unconventional and beautiful bookworks. Presented in celebration of the opening of her solo exhibitin at Susan Hensel Gallery, Minneapolis.

Tuesday, August 4, 7 p.m.
Kathleen Richert, Director of Artist Services at Springboard for the Arts, gives an overview of the organization's resources and services, including the emergency loan program, healthcare access, and legal assistance. Q&A will follow.

Consider This…
If you are interested in book arts, if you are a book artist, or if you are raising the next generation of book artists, take some time to check out free programs like the above at MCBA. You will find the roundtables a great introduction to the people and other programs this institution provides. Look into the many classes available from printing and papermaking to bookmaking. There is a wealth of experience and information in this fabulous institution. Consider becoming a member today.

Looking at Noodler's Polar Brown

Left: A quick sketch of Gert (my rubber chicken puppet) using Noodler's Polar Brown Ink (notice that I wrote "Polar Bear Brown" on this page because my label was already obscured and I wasn't sure of the title; read more about this below). This is on the last page of my current, until this page early this morning, journal, which I made with Nideggen paper. I filled a Niji waterbrush with the ink and sketched with that. Click on the image to view an enlargement. Read on for more details

I'm still on the fence about Noodler's. Dick has used it for years in his fountain pens. He carries several pens with different colors to take notes and draw diagrams in his work journals which detail all the "science" stuff he's doing. He's been happy with it.

When I try it I have been less happy. It doesn't flow the way I want it to flow, or it isn't waterproof on the paper I'm using it on (a problem of the paper's sizing I'm guessing because the inks I've tried are advertised as waterproof on cellulose).

But I'm always looking at inks and yesterday I noticed that Wet Paint now had a whole shelf of Noodler's inks in a range of yummy colors. The inks don't all have the same characteristics (as to lightfastness and water resistance) so you have to choose carefully for your intended purpose.

Seattle Sketcher Makes a Move

Above: The Gerberding Hall at the University of Washington campus. ©2009 Gabriel Campanario.

Artist Gabriel Campanario who has kept a personal sketch blog and who started the very popular, always visually engaging and interesting blog Urban Sketchers, has started an illustrated journal of life in the Puget Sound region on the Seattle Times website. If you enjoy looking over people's shoulders as they illustrate their world go bookmark this new site and give Campanario some feedback on his wonderful sketches!