Leannderthal

Our ATC group is in its second round for the circus book swap, this time I did a flea circus poster.  This piece is 6.5 x 10.5.

The results of workshop day:

The assignment:  make a small accordion book.  My own assignment: add skulls.  Here are some close-ups.

Today was workshop day!!  These are my feet with Lynn’s feet and my art and Lynn’s art and Karate and Ninja whabblers from Kate.

See Jane.  See Jane play with art supplies.  Jane is happy.

See Lynn.  Lynn is explaining life to Kate.

See Ruth and Jackie play with art supplies.

see a table full of art supplies.  We had big fun!

Where I Stand Sunday is an ongoing photo essay examining the different places Lynn Krawczyk spends her life standing. Too often we take for granted the everyday places we spend our lives walking on. If you’d like to join her by posting a photo on Sunday of places you’ve been on your blog/photo hosting site/website, leave a comment on her Sunday posts telling her where she can find you/your photo and she’ll add a link to her sidebar so others can find you. I am one of those that Lynn has badgered into joining her, I have changed it to “where I stood”, because right now I’m sitting in front of the computer, not standing anywhere.

This is a print I did for an on line book exchange.

This month the theme for artist trading cards is Spirit.  I tried to think about team spirit, spirit airlines, Spirit of St. Louis, alcoholic spirits, and all other sorts of spirits, but I kept returning to Dickens.  I decided to draw an image inspired by this passage from “A Christmas Carol”:

It was a strange figure — like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man, viewed through some supernatural medium, which gave him the appearance of having receded from the view, and being diminished to a child’s proportions. Its hair, which hung about its neck and down its back, was white as if with age; and yet the face had not a wrinkle in it, and the tenderest bloom was on the skin. The arms were very long and muscular; the hands the same, as if its hold were of uncommon strength. Its legs and feet, most delicately formed, were, like those upper members, bare. It wore a tunic of the purest white, and round its waist was bound a lustrous belt, the sheen of which was beautiful. It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand; and, in singular contradiction of that wintry emblem, had its dress trimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible; and which was doubtless the occasion of its using, in its duller moments, a great extinguisher for a cap, which it now held under its arm.

Our artist trading card group met this week.  I just wanted to write a little about this group, they are some amazing women.  We started meeting to exchange trading cards, but we do many things that involve paper.  Our latest was a page exchange for a circus book, and I can’t get over how creative these pages are. 

Barb made pages that move, a lion tamer putting his head in the lion’s mouth, and a cat that turns into a lion.

Ingrid’s tight rope walker with umbrellas can be seen here.

Jane’s clown face poster for an imaginary troupe of IT workers that started the cirque du bouffons is, well, extremely  imaginative.

Lynn’s creepy clowns (What?  You’re not surprised she made creepy clowns?) can be seen on her blog here.

Norma did a lovely fortune teller, Madam Zia, and Cheryl gave us a sweet, vintage circus girl with bells.

After the exchange, we made spontaneous trading cards.  It nurtures our creativity to make things on the spot out whatever we have available, not to mention we have a lot of fun!

When my sister Jane and I were preteens, our parents took us to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus.   I don’t remember a lot, I do remember horses, and trapeze acts, but mostly what I remember is the amazing wild animal tamer, Gunther Gebel-Williams.  He had long blond hair and a bare chest, and he didn’t use whips and chairs, he coaxed the animals into place.  Gunther had incredible showmanship and a gentle way with his animals, you could see he loved them.  Being preteen girls, we were smitten.

So when our artist trading card group decided to do a book exchange with the theme Circus, my mind went to Gunther.  In researching the mesmerizing Mr. Williams, I found out that he was only 5′4″ tall, which probably made him look all the more brave in the ring with lions and tigers.

This is the front of my page, I hand carved the stamps on Gunther and the animals.

This is the back of the page, the images come from some antique rubber stamps I have in my collection.

In one of my art groups Kate has taught us how to make flip journals.  I already knew how, because Kate and I have both been with the art group a long time and I’ve seen her teach this a couple of times, just like she’s seen me teach eraser carving several times.  Because I knew what I was doing, I decided to make a small journal, 4″x5″ instead of the 5.5″x8.5″  that Kate makes them.  Kate had made us great kits to make the journal, so I got one of those and I’ll do something with it later.  I thought the small journal was a great idea, so I decorated it with hand carved rubber stamps and named it Great Ideas.  Now, of course, I have no great ideas to put in the journal.  Maybe I should have named it Mediocre Ideas.

This weekend, while up north, I brought some watercolor paper cut in circles and encouraged the creative participants to make their own mandalas.  I was surprised at the results, these guys were great!

Jane’s mandala

Lynn’s first mandala

Lynn’s second mandala

Stephanie’s mandala

Cathy’s mandala

cool, huh?

This past weekend Stephanie and Sidney, two very cool sisters, invited several people included Jane and I (two less cool sisters) up to their parents summer “cottage”.  Cottage is in quotes because it’s nicer than my house, get rid of images of dust and bugs and outdoor plumbing and no power.

Jane and I could only make it up for Saturday, but, man, what a great time!  What I found coolest was even though the house is huge and there are lots of places to work, we all crowded around one table so we could keep easy contact.  Despite the lack of room for art supplies on that table, we still made room for snacks.

Jane and Lynn working diligently.

Stephanie, with Kathy hand sewing in the background. 

Sidney, blowing everyone away with her talent, as usual.  Thank you guys, it was a fabulous time!