Danny Gregory and I Discuss Visual Journaling From May 2008: Part one of a two-part podcast. Danny Gregory, author of "An Illustrated Life," talks to me about journaling, art media, and materials…The second part is in the same location. Be sure to check out the great interviews he does with other artists included in his book!
Finding Bits of Time Ricë Freeman-Zachery, author of "Creative Time and Space," talks to me about finding time to be creative. (Taped October 23, 2009.)
Above: Hawk sketch made at the Bell Museum. Gutenberg paper. Click on the image for an enlargement.
Don't forget: TOMORROW, Sunday, January 31 from noon to 5 p.m. the MCBA Visual Journal Collective is going to sketch out at the Bell Museum of Natural History (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Campus).
Rain, shine, sleet, snow, you'll want to join us for this fun afternoon. There's so much to observe and learn. Build skills that will help you sketch in the field. We might even get in a round of "Speed Drawing"! (A wonderful game for one or more players!)
If you have read the New Yorker Magazine, or any major print publications over the past 20 years or so, or have watched one of several popular animated films (such as Ice Age), then you've seen the work of illustrator Peter de Sève.
And if you've seen his work, you'll know how full of life and visual interest, story, and humor it is. And you'll want to own this book: A Sketchy Past: The Art of Peter De Sève.
I purchased my copy about 10 days ago and have been smiling ever since. It hasn't moved from the corner of my desk. I pull it out and look at it in odd free moments, or make time to savor it with longer looks. His work to me seems to capture what I love best about all my favorite illustrators (book and magazine) from the past with a melding of insights from growing up in an animated world.
In these pages you'll be able to read something about his life and influences and see pages from his sketchbooks. But even more fun, you'll see early drafts of illustrations before they took on their final form. Also included are pages and pages of character designs that animators later brought to the big screen. (His notes for the Troodon [Ice Age Dawn of the Dinosaurs] detail the transparency of skin at the wrist as well as the profile of the tail and other body parts—he sees in three dimensions and his illustrations reflect this.)
An artist's drawing is a catalog of the shapes that he loves. When I'm drawing something, I'm trying to find the shapes that please me. I believe that's what makes up what people refer to as a style.—Peter de Sève
I found out about this book at the same time I learned he had illustrated a children's book written by his wife. You will want to check out The Duchess of Whimsey,as well. It is a lovely story with charming illustrations that will engage adults and children.
Several months ago I was able to purchase Peter de Seve: Sketchbook which is a delicious collection of drawings culled from his sketchbooks. The black and white reproductions in this book show how with pen and pencil the artist captures emotion and character. I also recommend this book. I see that it is available in the store on the artist's website.
In the 1990s one of the "how-to" graphics magazines (I believe it was "Step-by-Step Graphics," but I can't swear to it) did a feature on de Sève. They walked the readers through the creation of one of his illustrations ("Rogue's Gallery" from Islands Magazine; the illustration is in A Sketchy Past) with step by step photos. It was fascinating to see his working method and watch the illustration emerge. He used one of the brown Derwent Drawing pencils to marvelous effect with watercolors. De Sève already had a brilliant style, one made up of lines that obviously pleased him, but also pleased his audience. Over the years he has continued to provide us with interpretations of our world (and others) that can impact us emotionally, intellectually, and visually. You really owe it to yourself to look more closely at his work. Now these books will allow you to do that easily.
Note: Nita wrote in to remind people to check out de Sève's blog and I'm putting that reminder here because not everyone makes it to the comments. Go check out Peter de Sève's blog now!
The other day my friend, photographer Tom Nelson, took a Gigapan of my bird painting show, and while I've posted a photo of the salon on my blog, the Gigapan allows you to zoom in and see details. The only downside is that if people move before the panning process is finished in their area, we only get partial people—but you're not looking at it for that anyway right? I didn't want to ask one stylist to stand aside for a couple minutes (I hate being interrupted in my work and don't like to do it to others) so there is one rooster image you will not see in the panoramic view, but you can see it in my photo.
Also visible on the Gigapan is my sign showing one of the necklaces I made. A couple readers have asked about this. If you go to the Gigapan link and look at the "snapshots" along the base of the image you'll see one for the necklace. Click on it and the image will scan right to it and you can scroll around to see the rest of the necklace and read the poster. (Note: you do not have to be a member of Gigapan to scroll its images. If you want to create snapshots you do need to create a free account.)
Next, Tim Jennen at Wet Paint has compiled a "recommendations" page from me and one of their cartoonist clients. Both of us have listed products we highly recommend. In my case, these will are products I have reviewed here in a post, or have mentioned in several posts because I use the item all the time. For instance, people interested in the Japanese nibs I use for dip pen work will find them here without having to worry about Japanese package labels.
I'll make a link in "Pages" or find some other way to put this link in the left-hand column of my blog, so that later visitors can find this information, but in the meantime I wanted to let daily readers know the recommendations page was up.
I do not receive any payment from Wet Paint if you purchase anything from them. I'm doing this as a way to provide quick links to the items I talk about. Also I do most of my shopping for art supplies at Wet Paint so it is logical that I refer to them. And finally, I think Wet Paint is the best art supply store in the world so I know that if people purchase from them I don't have to lose any sleep over it. You can find my art materials recommendations here.
If you end up wanting to return to the recommendations page and haven't bookmarked it, simply go to the Wet Paint home page and look in the left-hand column for "Bloggers' Picks." That will take you to the recommendations page.
Above: the final page spread from 2009, a quick gesture sketch of my beloved penguins from Como Zoo. I used earlier sketches made on site and a couple photos (thrown up on the computer) as reference as the day wound down and I had just this spread to fill! Pentel Pocket Brush Pen, light washes of Schmincke gouache, on Magnani Pescia. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
“Dick?” “Yeah?” “Last year I did 984 pages. This year 985 pages.” “You’re going to have to work on your consistency. If you’re going to be all over the place like that I don’t even know if it’s worth keeping a visual journal.” (A conversation from January 1, 2010, about an obvious subject.)
Why keep track of any of this? Well you’re asking the wrong person because I keep time sheets on everything and it’s a simple step from there to other types of stats and records. My rationale: if I know what I’ve done I can improve (do it faster and better with better time management and scheduling) or decide how an activity fits or doesn’t fit in my life. (If I suddenly started producing 2000 journal pages a year and no paintings, for instance I’d know something was wrong. Or my priorities had changed. Or I was on an around the world trip—or in Antarctica for the winter.)
That’s the thing. I like to keep my priorities in front of me. (Where I can look them in the eye when I ignore them!) (You can read more about my thoughts on time management in Ricë Freeman-Zachery’s great book Creative Time and Space. She did a wonderful job making sense of my interview answers.)
Seven years ago my second Alaskan Malamute bitch Dottie (Black Ice's Spellbreaker, AKA Dorothy, Dot, Smudge, Dotster, Dot-T, Sweet-T, well you get the idea) passed away from liver cancer. When I was filming a bunch of "Prized Possession Episodes" the ball caught my eye. It is the perfect post for today, because as always on this day, and most days, I'll think about Dottie. I like to celebrate her life.
It has often been remarked that I am Victorian in my propensity to collect mementos of this type. (And I do admit to a total fascination with Victorian hair pictures!) Some people set it aside with a "well she did spend so much time studying Dickens, after all." Actually, it started way before that, in the Philippines, when my favorite doll was tossed the same day I got my typhoid and cholera boosters. Excuses of the doll's dishevelled and worn state didn't make the loss easier to bear. If anything those excuses seemed to highlight the capriciousness and nonsensical judgment behind the disappearance of loved objects, people, and animals. I have never regretted learning this lesson again and again, early in life.
We each of us approach life's lessons differently, absorb them differently. I have kept a journal since childhood because of the same impulse that causes me to save Dottie's ball. I can capture things on the page, before they vanish.
Desperation is absent from this act. Things change, things go, it's that simple. But as they change I do like a record of now. It all seems as natural to me as breathing.
And that ball, with its toothmarks seems like a journal of Dot's chewing to me.
Dogs helped me learn this lesson—dogs and one budgie.
There is a line between obsession and celebration. Dogs can teach you the joy of that boundary. Birds, well they can't really help much with that. But damn they are pretty to look at, which brings us to drawing, and being in the now, and well—I guess maybe they can help with that boundary after all.
You can view my Daily Dots
on my website. For almost five years, until her death, I drew Dottie
daily and filled 43 volumes with the sketches. Another memento mori.
Another happy celebration of her life.
On January 14 I posted as page spread of puffin sketches made at the Como Zoo. I told you Dick spotted two self-portraits there. Some readers were brave enough to guess which puffins were me. Thank you for playing along. Now you know which ones Dick spotted. A: because I have a large nose and I'm pigeon-toed; B: because I have a large nose and am always peering at things in exactly this way. BIrds are great peer-ers. Watch them do it. You can learn a lot from them.
Left: A view of the scraps, with a couple peeks at the decorative paper (top right and bottom). Click on the image to view an enlargement.
After posting about this give-away on the 18th I did some more clearing out my fabric files and rack. I found some lovely long pieces of red bookcloth that were 7 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches and a large black piece (12 1/2 x 13 3/4) to add to the lot, bringing it up to 28 pieces. I also found 3 pieces (7 x 12 1/2) of my metallic paste paper, and a full sheet (24 1/2 x 19 1/2) of lovely marbled paper (by a local artist—didn't write down the name when I bought it though).
So I've added those to the pile and contacted Chris (rchristinew—for clarification since there was more than one Chris in the drawing). I hope that she'll enjoy using these pieces to cover spines and book boards for small and even medium sized books! (Which I also hope she'll then fill with sketches of course.)
Thanks to everyone who offered to give these bits a new home and new life.
Recently an email friend who has started making books asked me about punching signatures. I made the above short video to show people how I do this without a cradle. My philosophy of bookbinding is that people should be able to make beautiful books at home without expensive or bulky equipment. I also like to do things without fuss. And when I travel to teach it is not possible to bring bulky equipment with me. Therefore, with only an awl and a towel you can punch your signatures.
I create a paper template as shown in the video for books that are multi-signature. If I am working with a single-signature book I simply punch holes directly into the gutter of the single signature. For purposes of this video however, I only had a single signature book sample I was working on, so I made a template as if I were working on a multi-signature book. Please don't waste time with that if you're doing single-signature books.
If you are sewing a book on tapes your hole pattern will have a hole at the head, at the tale, and then one hole on either side of each tape (or cord, if you're sewing on cords). How far in you make your head and tail holes will depend on a number of factors. Probably most important is height of the spine. Also important is the number of tapes arrayed along the spine. I find that 1/2 to 5/8 inch in from the head or tail will do for most situations. Once you have your head, tail, and paired tape holes marked on the template, simply use it as shown in the video.
Sewn-on-the-spine structures require more thought and the layout of a template that can be placed on the spine of the book and punched, and then used to punch the signatures themselves so that they will correspond to the appropriate vertical row of holes on the spine. That's a process to show you another day—when I have a video camera and am not shooting instructions in 60 second increments on my compact digital camera!
Left: Artist Jean Shannon presenting at the meeting. Her accordion journal shows sketches she made of a Japanese folk art toy exhibit at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. The exhibit fed her interest in these charming toys. On the foreground table you can see prints from a stenciled calendar by artist Keisuke Serizawa. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
On Monday 18 visual journal keepers listened intently as Jean Shannon introduced us to the world of Japanese folk art toys by recounting her own growing interest in these objects and her use of them in her artwork.
Jean's collection began with a woven grass owl she purchased for $1. In the 1980s when the Walker Art Center had a show of these toys Jean became completely captivated. She returned daily to sketch the toys, filling an accordion journal with images of the toys (journal is shown in the photograph).
Later, Jean accompanied her husband to Japan when he went to study with a pottery master—a "living treasure." During their sojourn in Japan Jean continued to pursue her interest in collecting these toys and exploring their shapes and colors in her own artwork—printmaking and watercolors.
Above: The lastest batch of casebound books. Read about them below. Top left has navy blue bookcloth and the top right has purple bookcloth, not readable in the lighting. They all have hand painted decorative papers made by me. Click on the image to view an enlargement.
Last week I spent my spare time making book samples for upcoming classes, well for proposals for upcoming classes. The new adult program director at MCBA has asked for a year's worth of proposals at one time, and I'm fine with this, because it's what I've been doing already (otherwise it's too difficult for me to keep all these non-work related deadlines in my mind or on my calendar it seems).
I had one brainiac idea that I had to step up production on, however, since the deadline had changed. But things kept interrupting me and I finally pulled the plug. I'll work on that idea for 2011.
Because I stopped working out the technical issues in that new structure I had several sheets of Arches Text Wove (now called Velin Arches but I can never think of it that way) yet to tear down and I decided to make them into my regular journals. (While this paper is lightweight and there are opacity problems, I love painting and writing on it.)
