I found a nice new (to me) online source for unusual paper called Mulberry Paper and More. They are out of Parker, Colorado near Denver. They have a great selection and very good prices. The Unyru Mulberry, for example is $2.41 for a 25×37″ sheet, and it’s lovely and silky but sturdy. Lots of colors, too. Of course I got black and Terra Cotta – how predictable, Lyn! They were out of one paper so waited a day or two till it came in before shipping, but checked with me before they did that. I will order from them again, for sure. Here’s their website:

Ahem. I was given an interesting fungus today. It’s called Phallus Impudicus. For real. It’s also called “stinkhorn.” Want to know more? Mushroom expert Dr. Michael Kuo says, “Stinkhorns are astonishing. Their abrupt appearance in gardens and lawns is frequently the cause of considerable consternation; they arise from an “egg” that results from the immature mushroom’s universal veil, quickly breaking the “shell” and thrusting themselves up to heights of nearly 10 inches in a matter of hours! . . . Phallus impudicus covers its tip with a foul smelling and spore-laden slime; flies are attracted to it, and carry the spores away as they continue on their little fly adventures.”

Charles Darwin’s granddaughter Etty “so despised stinkhorns that she mounted an antifungal jihad with the aid of gloves and a pointed stick,” burning the stinkhorns in secret to protect “the purity of thought among her female servants.”

It’s kind of an appropriate Valentine’s gift – now I just have to figure out a good way of working the photos of my Phallus Impudicus into a collage . . .

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess I’m flattered – I came across a site on Etsy this morning that looks somewhat familiar 🙂
The construciton and even the presentation is a lot like mine – it’s a good lesson in what is and what is not one’s own intellectual property, but I have no problem with sharing my ideas with other artists. Good luck to “Craftycovers” and may you have as much fun with your Kindle covers as I have with mine.

It’s always a little risky to step out from what’s already working, but I just finished two new collages with an Asian influence and a different, softer palette than the previous Renaissance-themed work. I liked the idea of using Noh masks as a central motif – I’m still using my altered fruit photos, and they still seems to work. So far, so good – would like some fresh new work for the April show at La Vida. This feels like a good direction right now, or maybe it’s because I’m just ready for spring after all this unusually cold weather!

I have LABS (lazy artist blogger syndrome) – no entries for several weeks – but the good part is, I’ve been working – a lot! Custom Kindle cover requests are coming in and I’ve sold over 70 covers since my Etsy shop opened in August. It’s wonderful, lots of experimenting and learning – speaking of learning . . .one of the things I discovered after getting back into collage after so long away is the slew of new products available, mostly thanks to the scrapbookers out there.
I was watching a collage video on You Tube and the demonstrator kept talking about Soft Get for adhering paper – what’s that?? I found some at Michael’s and tried it – great stuff! It works beautifully for delicate papers such as joss and tea papers. Here’s a pic of one of the latest covers with joss paper accents:

It also makes a good over-coating because it’s quite flexible and transparent.
Another news flash – it snowed in San Antonio this morning. Trinity University is closed, so I get to spend the day in the studio – yay! Here’s a view out the studio doors – poor Prius.

Not really “autopilot.” but after being frustrated with photographing the larger pieces, my new Kindle covers went together so well and relatively quickly – and each one is different. I finished three of them over the weekend and got an inquiry about another custom cover today. I also got an inquiry from someone who wanted to know how to make her own, so I gave her the link on this blog – it’s just great to share stuff.
Hope she has as much fun as I do. Here are the new covers – the titles are Temple Bell, Gypsy Ledger and Florian’s Song. You can see other views on my Etsy Gallery.

I completed two pieces that I really like today and just finished cutting the mats and assembling the frames – one has a four inch mat and one has a three inch mat. I think I like the wider one, but am just not sure. And I am so frustrated about not being able to get good photos of these larger pieces. My light box isn’t big enough. I do take photos before they are framed. Any tips out there? It’s something I need to work on and figure out, especially if I want to make a giclée print of the one on the right.
The two pieces are titled “Inedible Fruit” (right) and “The Architecture of Dreaming” (left) and both are 22×24″ framed.

My girlfriend Gina came over yesterday for a studio visit. I was cutting a mat for a piece that was finished (I thought). We decided to go down to La Vida Gallery, so I put off framing the new collage. This morning I got up at five and realized it really wasn’t finished. It was an incomplete story. The fact that I had already matted it didn’t matter, it just needed another small dimension. Here is the before and after. It’s not necessarily better, just different, and I am much happier with it. The “before” is the top image. After I added the second profile on the right, it brought the focus back into the center of the collage. This one is titled The Cat’s Dilemma. There’s a whole mini-drama behind what’s going on in this composition but that’s for me to know and you to figure out!

The day before New Year’s Eve, a group of friends gathered at Casa Belisle to make tamales. What was I thinking? But we did it! Ten intrepid tamale makers, including our expert, the fabulous Elaina, spread homemade masa (lard-y and veggie) on shucks, filled the tamales with beef, pork, beans, squash, chiles, cheese – all manner of wonderful things, rolled folded stacked and steamed. The result? At least 16 dozen of what were undoubtedly the best tamales we’ve ever eaten. It was a holiday miracle – good intentions, lots of laughter, and one person who knows what to do and can show the rest of us works. Special thanks to Elaina, who can pull steaming tamales our of the pot with her bare hands to check to see if they are done, to Raven and Sandra for washing mounds of dishes, to the wine and cheese bringers, to Jim for being a good sport at a grownup party, to Michael for making masa and fillings, to Sherry for the awesome shredded pork, to Stuart for the veggie inspirations, to Carol for the Lady of Guadalupe that blessed the venture – and a happy new year to all!
Viva Tamales!

I sincerely hope that my son Rick doesn’t read this post before Saturday – it’s about his Christmas gift that I commissioned from my friend and fellow artist Gina Mitsdarfer. I always have trouble finding something special for him but when Gina showed me a journal she had made for her trip to Ireland this fall, I loved it and knew Rick would, too. See her Ireland journal here.
For his gift journal, she crafted a brown leather wrap cover that closes with a silver Celtic dragon ornament, and the inside paper is beautiful ivory. Gina includes touches like pockets and envelopes to hold notes and tickets, and her hand painted divider pages are amazing. It’s a perfect blend of form and function – the thought and craftsmanship she puts into her work is inspiring. Thanks, Gina, this is a treasure.