Thursday, June 6, 2024

Commit Acts of Art: Garden Wreaths

 "Not every act of art creates something special, but it creates something. It is the act of art that is important, not the result." Michael L. Goodman

My acts of art this week have been in the garden. When it is hot and I need a rest, I sit in the shade of the apricot tree and weave wreathes from Oregon grape vines that I trim from the fence. The vines try to escape from the fence and invade the edges of the garden. I pull up on the growth end of a vine, and all the nodes along the vine that have sent out roots pop out of the ground. A firm tug and the vine snaps off at the fence. I peel the leaves from the vines, but I don't remove the wiry root clusters because they add an interesting element to the wreaths. The wreaths start out as wobbly circles, but as more vines are woven in and out around the base, the circles become more regular. My woven heart is a bit lopsided, but it is just fine for my garden. I will hang wreaths on the wall of the garden shed.





"Everything is good for something" Italian Proverb


Book Arts Mania: Another "Hidden-page" Book

 "Not every act of art creates something special, but it creates something. It is the act of art that is important, not the result." Michael L. Goodman

This is another collage book in the "hidden-book format that I made when I taught middle school students book arts. It is slightly larger than the two books I showed in the last post.

The front and back cover.

Pages one and two. Each page is 8 inches by 5 1/4 inches.
Pages three and four, the center spread.
Pages five and six.
The inside hidden page. (16 inches by 21 1/2 inches)

My favorite Grant Wood quote in this little book is: "All the really good ideas I'd ever had came to me while I was milking a cow."












Monday, June 3, 2024

Book Arts Mania: Simple Folded-paper Books

 "Not every act of art creates something special, but it creates something. It is the act of art that is important." Michael L. Goodman

I taught a book arts class for the Cultural Arts Society of West Jordan in May. Eighteen people signed up for the class, but only nine showed up to participate. It was a free class, so there was no financial commitment to attend except for curiosity and a desire to learn something new. It was a Friday evening after all. Those who did come had a good time learning to fold paper into simple books, and I enjoyed teaching again. We had a creative discussion about ways to use the books while we committed acts of art folding "pants" books, hidden-page books, "T-fold" books, and book covers.

I showed a few examples of how I used these "origami" books when teaching middle school art students. This is a simple "pants" fold book using one sheet of paper. It is 4 1/4 inches by 2 3/4 inches with a folded-paper cover.

Title page.

Pages one and two.

I made some collage "hidden" books with images and quotes from various artists I admire. I laminated each book so the students could handle them without weakening the folds and wearing the books out. Even so, someone thought to improve Lautrec's work with a red line on page four. These two books are 5 1/2 inches by 4 inches.

The cover of the Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec book.
Pages one and two.
Pages three and four.
Pages five and six.
The hidden image inside the book. (15 3/4 inches by 10 3/4 inches)


The cover of the Georgia O'Keeffe book.
Pages one and two.
Pages three and four.
Pages five and six.
The hidden image inside the book. (15 3/4 inches by 10 3/4 inches.)