michelle ward

serendipity boxes

Still defaulting to cardboard......I've been collecting anything and everything with brown paper packing.  These little craft boxes are a terrific addition to my cardboard sculptures, and they were the perfect fit inside an assemblage frame.  See the July/August Somerset Studio for the complete article. 

pulling (out) the gelli prints

As I'm sure you know, if you're a Gelli Plate fan, you can't pull just one print.  In an hour you're likely to have run out of paper while still filled with enthusiasm to keep at it.  Here are some prints I worked on with some stencils last fall.  In two days I had boxes of prints - lots of experiments that taught me valuable lessons, and lots of papers that will be fashioned into a journal.  I pulled out the pile today to start making selections and sort what will become part of the journal and what will get put in the collage files.  So much to choose from - can't wait!  I think I will start with the turquoise + taupe + leaf motif shown further down.

Be sure to check out the upcoming book by Joan Bess, Gelli Plate Printing:  Mixed Mono-Printing with a Press, due in September.  We already know she delivers when it comes to demonstrating the gelli plate - her blog and videos are terrific.  The preview of the book looks grand!  I'm honored to be in the guest gallery.

 

 

 

taking care of business

As a teacher, we are constantly asked by organizers to help promote our classes.  It's good for everyone.  In just three weeks CREATE NJ 2014 will begin.  My Roll With It class is full, but there is room in my other two.  If you're curious about mixing paint, or want to improve your collage compositions, join me!  I will be vending on Friday, with some new additions to the Gothic Collection.  Sneak peek announcement from my website below.  I will be posting the new items for sale soon.

Also, for California residents, I will be in San Diego in September for a two-day Frond Chronicles workshop hosted by the San Diego Book Arts.  I'm looking forward to heading West - haven't been there since a True Colors event ten years ago.

 

 

for the men...

To Graham, my Dad, my brother, my Father-in-law, brother-in-laws, and all men who are fathers or play a father-like role, have a happy day.

even more b&k

Wow!  There's been a ton of feedback on the cardboard journal tutorial I presented on Stampington's blog.  Many visitors left comments, there are hundreds of pins from the post, and a huge amount of likes and shares from their facebook page.  I've even rec'd emails from artists who have jumped in and made their own.  HCIT? 

A little background - I first started making these cardboard journals about five years ago.  One was included in the Artist Portfolio feature in Stampington's Art Journaling (Issue: Summer 2011)  The first one, called Table Scraps Journal, made it's debut on this blog in August, 2011.  Then I started showing you others, which I started calling Debris Journals, in December 2011.  I taught my first cardboard journal class at Create NJ 2012, and again in 2013.  I will be teaching The DeComposition Journal this October at The Ink Pad in NYC, along with my cardboard sculpture class, What a Relief.  My last two columns in Somerset Studio have been about cardboard, and the next one will also feature it.  What I love is that the material is versatile, readily available, and unintimidating to work with.  As I continue using this humble supply, I find new ways to manipulate it, and can't stop pushing my expectations of how it can perform. I'm currently working on an end-of-the-year article that will make you re-think cardboard for the holidays! 

Here is more from my Black&Kraft:

I love to leave a peek at some of the markings from the cut up cartons that show up on the pages.  I've used some of these spreads to document my collections of black&kraft papers, and have made some deliberate cuts with stencils.  I just love the look of this color combination.  Just think, if Borders bookstore hadn't closed, where I used to get my kraft paper blank journals, I may never have conspired to make my own, and found out all the cool things that be done with recycling bin treasures.

This week we had to get a new table for the deck as the glass top on the old one shattered.  You should see the stellar specimens of cardboard that the new table came wrapped in - a full sheet of mini-honeycomb plus several full sheets of perfect corrugated goodness.  I'm delirious about the possibilities!