Author Archives: leslie

And then there were 3

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For the last 3 Art Field Trips it’s been just Jane and I. Today Jane’s friend Leeann joined us. The theme was “bring a still life object.” I knew we were in business when Leeann pulled out a toy which went well with my rubber ducky. Par usual our conversations ranged from art to work as well as the techniques we used. Leeann went high tech and drew on her iPad while Jane and I stuck to our sketchbooks.

Many cups of coffee were drunk between the 3 of us. As we talked Leeann explained her friend’s project, a sketchbook exchange. One person drew on one page, the next responded on the following page. We talked about 1000 Journals and the MolyX moleskine exchange and how fun it would be to do an exchange ourselves. And thus the art field trip sketchbook exchange was born.

We headed down to artist & craftsman and each purchased a 6.5×9.5 inch Holbein multi drawing book with a fabric tie, coil bound with fabulous hard covers and lovely 110lb multimedia paper. The idea is that we each draw on the left page and then the next person responds on the next page, each time the Art Field Trip group meets we exchange. I can’t wait to see what we each do, as our styles are so different.

I’ll be honest, I’ve balked at the idea of art journal exchanges because, I’ve been burnt in the past. I was a member of Nervousness.org and lost several packages of ATC and a journal to the bowels of the exchange and theft. This time I know the participants and we’re going to see each other every 2 weeks. No pesky USPS involved. Frankly I’m excited.

Of course a trip to Artist &Craftsman leaves me busy purchasing way too many art supplies.

Timeout

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Connie wrote about returning “home” after an absence and how it no longer felt like home. I returned to where I grew up this past weekend, for a little rest, relaxation and deep thought. Home hasn’t felt like HOME for close to 7 years. It’s still a place to regroup, gather my wool and to return to a pace of life that hasn’t changed since 1990.

The Boston area has a much different pace from where I grew up. In Maine if it doesn’t get done today it will get done tomorrow. Less stress. In Mass if it doesn’t get done NOW I’m pretty sure somewhere at sometime someone’s head will explode. It’s intense and sometimes I need a timeout.

When I need that timeout I head to Maine. Its unchanged rugged coastline centers my mind and brings me back to a grounded reality. The farm remains the same as when I left it this summer. Sure my family has changed from hand harvesting the blueberry crop to machine harvesting but the layout of the garden beds and the flow of the river is unchanged from when I was 16. It’s not the lack of change that interests me in Maine or makes me love the state so deeply, the sense of “rugged individualism”(emerson wrote about his in one of his books) and the intensity of the colors and scenery. I plug into the Maine vibe and get back to reality.

Driving through my hometown I’m greated by the same corner store where I learned to play pool on quarter tables with my friends and the creepy old guy. I knew enough not to tell my Dad that the creepy old guy showed us how to properly line up the cue, how to hold the cue and the difference between the need for a power shot and a soft hand. I’m still a terrible pool player but I’ve got many fond memories of playing pool and listening to Nirvana on the juke box. The corner store has been overtaken by a café that I’ve never seen anyone enter but the building stands virtually unchanged by over 20 years.

Further up the road I see what was once a horrifyingly bad clearcut, they didn’t even leave the 100ft “beauty strip” as required by Maine law, which has been planted with fir trees, in neat and easily managed rows. The ingenuity of Mainers amazes me. These fir trees will be “tipped” for use in Maine Balsam fir wreaths and sold throughout the world via L L Bean. Next time I’m in town I’ll do a little trespassing and get some pics of the trees. 500 acres of neatly planted fir trees with gravel roads routed around each acre. It’s majestic in its neat parallel rows and maddening in it’s monoculture. Yet those 500 acres will have people lined up to purchase permits to harvest the tips for pennies a pound. It’s a yearly harvest ritual that I adore. I took part in it as a teen. Its hard work but almost nice. Surrounded by woods and crisp air you walk carrying pounds of fir “tips” as you walk to find the next good tree to harvest.*

Part of what I love is that Maine has this seasonal ebb and flow of life, which just doesn’t seem to happen here in Mass. I miss that in September you can tomatoes, in October you harvest your squash and cover up the rutabagas.

Maine screws my head on straight, or as gaily forward as it will go.

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traveling

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I arrived in Maine safely after a 6 hour drive with a few leisurely stops* to stretch my legs and investigate the Maine reststops. My advice, there is no investigation needed they are pure gross.

Jonesboro seems to only change with the seasons. It's quiet and peaceful. The silence is ony disturbed by dumptrucks full of sand traveling to the town "sand pile" in preparation for winter. Back and forth they go, load after load.

I thought I would have missed peak leaf season but a quick look around the farm shows me alizarin crimson blueberry fields framed in the bright yellow of aspen and oak. Dotted with the red of the maples and all framed further by the dark evergreen of fir and spruce. Many of the trees have dropped their leaves but those that remain are intensely colored and begging to be painted or drawn.

As much as this area was once my home, I'm deeply aware that I'm "from" here and don't necessarily belong here. This is no longer MY place. I've felt this way for close to 7 years. At some point after you move from what is your hometown to a new place you transition to being at home there. What was formerly home, feels good but not as right as it once did. So here I am sitting in my choldhood home, writing this post on an unfamiliar computer that is not set up for someone of my height; musing on the colors and chill of my hometown and how I've grown out of it.

I had forgotten how much I love this season in Jonesboro. The air is crisp, the sun is warm and the colors are bright. Harvest is nearly over and Halloween is almost here. I could tell you many stories of school time shenanigans but we'll leave those to memory.

On a quick side note- I have no cell service here, which means I can't check twitter or facebook unless I'm on my laptop. I might see if I can check my cell over in Machias, but I'm suspecting I won't get service there either.

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MIxed Media Rant

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It seems mixed media is the new art world buzz word. I partially love and partially hate the labeling. I love it because it means that mixed media is gaining a foothold, it means I no longer had to adapt and change stuff to make it work with other media.

That is how it is supposed to work.

In reality it doesn’t. You see all the companies want to cash in on what we do. Art journaling has grown from a few of us messing about in our sketchbooks with paint, transfers and glue to the start of an industry. Sort of like when scrapbooking was taking off 10 years ago. All the companies got on the bandwagon and now they want on the art journaling bandwagon.

My gripe is that many of the companies slap the label “mixed media” onto their products without proper testing to see if the product WILL actually work in a mixed media environment. Take for instance the Ranger tissue tapes. Labeled mixed media, yet they won’t stick to acrylic paint. Or the Ranger masks that if you use spray ink the glue rubs off and won’t stick to an acrylic painted page, or a page with ANY media on it period. Both products will only stick to raw paper with a smooth finish. By not properly testing the products for true mixed media use these companies make their products useless for mixed media.

It’s really aggravating to pay the price for one of these products and have them not work as advertised. It’s a great disservice not only to the artists but to the budding art journaler and mixed media artist. Instead of bringing more people into the form they drive people away by making the form seem more difficult. If companies decided to accurately define and  test their products they would make what is an engaging art form more engaging and easy to take part in.

Instead they want to ride the wave of cash to a fat bottom line.

Washi Tape reviews

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I have a particular artist’s book/ art journal project in mind. My design idea includes a very specific color of washi tape- white. I initially wanted masking tape colored but I think the white is a better fit for my idea. The secondary part of the project includes green graph style tape. Anyway, this led me down the path of washi addiction.

I always test my ideas before spending a lot of time and money on them. I headed to Michael’s with my 40% off coupon in hand to buy some washi tape. The only variety they had was the Tim Holtz line called symphony. At $8 for 2 rolls I was appalled at the price but figured with my coupon it was only $4. I brought it home and began to test my idea and also do a little art journaling. I was instantly disappointed. The tape didn’t stick to my heavily applied layers of acrylic paint. It also didn’t stick to itself well. I liked the look of the page but ended up having to use double sided tape to get it to stick to my page and itself.

Being a mixed media artist I work heavily in acrylic paint in my journal. Many layers of it some heavily applied. I glue shit to my page and torture it into submission. I often refer to my pages as having been muscled into what I want them to do. So I need a tape that STICKS to acrylic, ink, watercolor, collage as well as raw paper. I get really angry with companies that label their products as MIXED media and it clearly doesn’t work with one of the media. This is not Tim Holtz’s fault. He doesn’t work in crazy layers of acrylic paint like I do, he works in thin layers. I’m sure the tape will stick to dauber applied craft acrylic. I need tape that sticks to artist grade acrylic and gel mediums.

I tweeted my disappointment. (Not one word from Ranger btw…) I got a ton of response from other art journalers- try this brand try that brand, I have good luck with x brand. Though sad I placed a couple of orders on Etsy for 2 different brands of Japanese Washi tapes. One I ordered through Washimatta and another through PrettyTape. Both arrived promptly and very cutely packaged.

The PrettyTape package of the gridded tape arrived first. So cutely packaged! I tore off a piece and found it was VERY sticky. The tape felt stronger than the Ranger tape as well. I stuck it to the first heavily acrylic covered page in my journal and it stuck, no peeling of the corners, no lifting just strong sticking to the page. I also peeled the tape off the packaging and used it to stick a penny to the page, it stuck well, though I had peeled it off a glassine envelope. I poured glaze medium over the top of it and let it dry. No color lifting, no curling of the edges and again just sticking. PrettyTape washi tape has a vote of confidence from me. The tape sticks everywhere and doesn’t peel up.

I decided to take part in a little retail therapy in the clearance section at AC Moore after a rough week at work. I shockingly happened up $3 packages of 7 Gypsies colored masking tapes. These are more like American Masking tape than the washi tape but were super cool. At $3 a roll I could not pass them up. I grabbed a package each of the available colors. Spending $6 for a total of 6 colors was a steam. These are a peel and stick tape with a backing. The colors are grungy and rough, the way I like them. I used them to stick a medication package to my journal page. They stick, with no lifting or peeling. I used them again on another page and added a glaze of color over the top and I noticed some peeling but I didn’t burnish them down well on that page. The verdict: For clearance steals the 7 Gypsies tape was awesome. I suspect that it was what we call in the industry a “miss-pick*” as I’ve never seen any other 7 Gypsies product in that location.

The Washimatta tape arrived last, as it came the whole way from Japan. Again super cute packaging, opening these tapes was like opening a gift. I love it. The perfect white tape is perfect for my project. She also included a super thin roll of bright blue tape. It’s very cool. I pulled a piece off the roll and could feel that it had strong sticking power immediately. I stuck it to the same page as the other tapes and again burnished it with my fingers, it stuck, strongly and cleanly. I peeled up one corner and stuck it back down, perfect sticking. I’ve not added a wash of color to the tape as I’m not planning on using it in that manner. But in a typical art journal application of sticking to acrylic paint, it sticks and well. Washimatta tapes get a double thumbs up. I can recommend them.

I’ve got to tell you, like anything that comes in patterns and colors you can get really addicted to washi tape. It’s super cool, adds a perfect line of color to an art journal page and is fast. I’m looking at those solidly colored pieces of tape I bought and imagining them with rubber stamped patterns, sharpie drawings and other embellishments. No need to buy all the funky patterns, or even that many colors. Buy a few rolls of plain colors and ADD to them the patterns you want or a glaze to alter the colors. I’ve seen a whole host of great tips and hints on how to do this online. I’ll get my rubber stamps out for UStream one of these days. I wouldn't have bought it except for my project but I'm glad I've gotten to play around with it.

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