I was experimenting with paper towels when I saw some great stain patterns that were left after cleanup yesterday. A blog post on Cloth Paper Scissors prompted me to try some kitchen ingredients for mixed media surface enhancement, so I got some curry powder and some Chinese Five-Spice Powder and sprinkled them on very damp paper towels (white with fiber). It looked good – after it dried a bit, I brushed off the small clumps and painted some gloss acrylic medium over the surface.

Once the paper dried, I adhered the spicepaper to a journal cover frame that I had constructed and covered with Kraft paper. A little gold leaf added to the texture. The results were fun, a cross between aged canvas and distressed leather. And it smells like a spice bazaar!See what you think–too bad you can’t smell it:

Design mode has kicked  in and I went on a font hunt for some letters with a craftsman look. I found some beauties – here’s a sample board with just a few. Fonts are so expressive all by themselves no matter what the words might be.

Behind in my work as usual, I had to do a quick change from a collage and drawing studio to a clay studio in about half an hour today. Actually, I’ve organized my tools so that it’s fairly easy. I keep all of my clay tools, clay press molds and carving tools, and rolling boards stacked in one area behind a kitchen butcher block shelf. And I have baskets for the collage material – here are some pictures which show the transformation. Pretty slick re-purposing in a small space!

I agonized over how to present my work to the Cloth Paper Scissors editors before I packed it to mail it off. I ended up “re-imagining” some of those brown kraft expanding office folders. I put a strip of mat board in the bottom of the two smaller ones to hold them open, then scored and trimmed the flaps to make fold-overs with punched holes and ties. The larger one was done the same basic way, but the iPad cover was too large for flaps, so I skewered it with some bamboo toothpicks.
If *I* were the judge, I’d choose *me* based on the creative packages alone – – too bad I’m not!

Yesterday I received an email from Jenn Mason, editor of the popular national art/crafting magazine, Cloth Paper Scissors published by Interweave Press. I am a finalist for Artisan of the Year 2012!
In this post, I described working for this in the studio – and I’m happy that they liked the work!
Here is another piece from that set of three submissions:

I am pretty amazed, but happy that I seem to be on the right track – good to be validated by a community of incredibly talented people.Stay tuned!

These are for the Nueva Street Gallery – I did a small edition, only eight pieces, but I like them all. Seven pieces sold last week – I’m hoping these do as well, although there are some in this series that I hate to let go of.

Been working on some new journals in an attempt to send some ideas to a national magazine Here’s one I really like – it’s an iPad cover called Eye Dear. I lined the inside with some very textural recyclable packing paper – wonder where I can get more of this stuff? It’s great!

Opening the kiln is both fun and nerve-wracking, especially when the clay is really too damp still to be safely fired, which is what I did yesterday. I need to have some new pieces for the Nueva Street Gallery this morning, so I pushed it, loaded the kiln and crossed my fingers.
Hooray, the Kiln Gods were looking out for me – it was a perfect firing. I took a photo before I opened it early this morning and then just as I lifted the lid. It looks like a smaller firing that it actually was because there are pieces stacked under the shelf on the right. But nothing broke! And, even better, two of the new pieces sold at the gallery this afternoon.

Change of pace – went to Jones’ Autowerks in north San Antonio with a friend yesterday morning. It was like visiting a sculpture gallery. The contrast between the finished Porsches and those being restored and rebuilt was striking. I loved photographing the tangle of tools and cables and seeing the fine automobiles as few people get to see them. There were engine noises and garage smells and craftsmen quietly going about their business in a confident, expert manner. Great place, hope to go back.

I made this yesterday and wore it to lunch with a friend. The waiter loved it and almost forgot to take our order! I like it too – I scented it with a bit of peppermint oil and it helped me feel cooler in the heat (103F yesterday).
The little shards take as much time to make as the larger ones, interestingly enough, but I like the delicacy of the small faces. I wish I were a better jewelry craftsman. Maybe I can learn patience if I sit quietly and string beads for a little while every day.
I’m going to put together another one of these today with some African trade beads and heishi.