Have you noticed all the incredible recycled art that has been popping out lately? It's crazy!
On that topic - I want to show you something rather fantastic; so delicate, so intricate, so beautiful - it just makes me tingle. I am talking about the work of London-based artist and cutting master: Claire Brewster.
Claire uses old maps and atlases to create detailed cut outs of nature-inspired subjects; flora and fauna are her allies in this creative journey.
By: Alie Preusser
The journal is complete and now it is ready for me to document life, love, parenting, creating art, and all the things I enjoy. After taking a workshop on maps it inspired me to include some maps and journal some of the places I have lived. Now that I am an Army wife the journeys will continue and I am going to include map art from each place we live.
Post about Jill Berry and the map making seminar is, here.
Middle stage post is, here.
Cheers,
~Alie
I absolutely love libraries and am a total bibliophile. The library is the first place I seek out in a new place. What I cannot believe is that the coolest library is so incredibly close to me and I have never been there.
While helping my son with a project I saw photographs of the Kansas City, Missouri library. It looks amazing! This is my next adventure and I am so excited. Have you been to this library or heard of it?
Slideshow photos courtesy of Google Images.
The 36th Avenue
The 36th Avenue tutorial is great for the above project. It is very detailed. I saw one that was similar to this in a jewelry store. It was much bigger and had a vintage frame around it.
A peg board for my jewelry and jewelry making is on my wish list to make. My husband and I even visited Home Depot so I could show him the parts I needed. It is going to come to fruition once we move.
Please visit The 36th Avenue for details and beautiful photos of the process.
~Alie
How many of you like Picasso?
“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.”
~Pablo Picasso
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.pablopicasso.org/blue-nude.jsp
Over the past two weeks I have been working on journals and altered books, along with taking a class about maps and the art of maps. I found this quote very fitting. I like the imagery of painting as a form of diary.
Really any medium is a diary, very personable, yet calling others to partake. I feel only the artist truly understands the layers because the art created is a “diary.” We choose the work we want to share and we hope to inspire others. The sharing and inspiration are what I find beautiful about art. There are so many avenues for expression and there are no fixed “rights or wrongs.”
How do you express yourself? Do you have a favorite medium that is your diary?
~Alie
Do you want to join me in a writing challenge for the month of February? I discovered this challenge on Twitter. The challenge is to mail a letter, postcard, article, anything of interest to someone every day that the post office is open, so it comes to 24 days in the month of February.
All of the details can be found, here. There is also a badge that you can post on your blog. It is shown below.
A Month of Letters
Enjoy,
~Alie
Have you heard of Santos Dolls? You can read about the history, here. The name is taken from the Spanish word, Saint. The dolls flourished during the 1700s and 1800s.
I had never heard of them, until I signed up for the Creatively Made workshop. We will be making these dolls. I went to Hobby Lobby today and did not find the supplies I needed for this project. However, I am going to look online and see if I can find the supplies.
If you have made these before, I would love to hear from you or perhaps you can share a link with a photo. Once I have completed the project, I will post a photo.
Photo Courtesy of santoscagedoll.com
Photo courtesy of santoscagedoll.com
Enjoy,
~Alie
A previous post explains my current project, which is an altered book journal. I am doing this as part of a workshop. There are several layers that I have applied and I am nearly done. Since I am not quite done, I would like to share the middle stage. It is pictured below.
Middle Stage: Front Cover
Beginning Stage: Back Cover
The front cover started with a collage of magazine cut outs, layered onto one another. Then I painted over those and added another layer of scrapbook paper cut outs, and painted on top of those. I also included some gloss varnish and gesso for more texture. Now I will do some more painting and add embellishments.
The back cover has scrapbook paper of sheet music. I am going to layer a map on top of that. I am not sure about the shape yet. I took a map class yesterday and am going to incorporate what I learned on the back cover.
I will post the final product when I am done.
Have a great weekend!
~Alie
Today was the free webinar hosted by Create Mixed Media entitled, My Journey with Maps. Artist Jill Berry shared her passion and knowledge with map making. The class had some interesting ideas and ways to create maps about family, rites of passage, or actual road trips. Jill uses mixed media to create her maps and also Photoshop.
Jill Berry's Book
Her book is on sale for 50% off until the end of the month through Create Mixed Media. Jill also shared some of her map collection with us. She has some nice vintage maps, maps from McDonalds, etc. It truly was fascinating and inspiring.
During the webinar it was brought up that maps are slowly becoming extinct and probably will become extinct. I have a few maps that I am now going to keep and create some treasures with, especially knowing that they will soon be hard to come by.
Photo Courtesy of Jill Berry; Personal Geography
I would strongly urge teachers to visit her blog or purchase her book. She has projects that could be done with elementary through high school students, great for art and English teachers. I know I am strongly inspired to create a few on my own and then create a lesson for some fourth grade students I am working with.
Enjoy,
~Alie
My original post can be found here.
