2025 05 Vanity

 

At a recent flea market shopping spree I saw this child's ironing board for $8.00. I told Denice that if I could get it for $5.00 I would buy it.

I am also cleaning up my basement and after, stress after, I bought the ironing board I uncovered six children's sized ironing boards. That I already bought. That were buried in my basement. That I forgot that I had.

So I told my friend Xela Garcia, Executive Director of Walker's Point Center for the Arts, this story. She must work well with a lot of artists because her instant response was, "Sounds like a series to me. There are seven deadly sins."

Never one not to appropriate a good idea that is not mine, I decided to venture into the world of series, something I have never done before.

I decided to work with all the things I bought at the same flea market where I bought the ironing board. The items seemed like they were flight oriented so I think this piece about Pride is going to be an Icarus story. 

I worked some mixed media techniques on the board

Not sure why but I have fallen in love with resin

Thus we have Vanity (Seven Deadly Sins: Pride). It is 24"H X 14"W X 6"D. It consists of a Child's Ironing Board, Vanity Kickbusch Tumeric Can, Tin Type, Model Airplane Engine, Model Airplane Wings, 3 Metal Circles, Wood Block, 2 Metal Numbers and a Wood Caster. 

OK, six deadly sins on children's ironing boards to go. OK, sure.

2025 04 Paper and Book Camp with Karen Robison

Paper & Book Camp

Karen Robison

April 25-27, 2025

In April I went off to Shake Rag Alley to take the Paper & Book Camp with Karen Robison. Here is the course description:

"Paper! Old, new, all sorts. Alter papers with masking, wrapping, sewing, ink drawings, tea dying, stenciling, and combinations of all of these. Our first tea-dyed batches will focus on layering, masking, wrapping, and ink contact prints. As we wait for all the papers to cure and dry, we will sort and design with collage papers, trot out stencils and stamps, sew and make cyanotypes. After ironing the first papers and starting another round, we can build paperback books. Books can be bound or not. Pamphlet stitches, long stitches, accordion folds are all possible. After all that work, we can embellish with our new scraps and stitches".

The workshop was held in the newly remodeled Sardeson Studio.

What our tea dyed papers will look like (we hope)

My first rolled bundles before they are dipped in the tea

The tea baths

Karen doing the laundry

Unrolled the papers still need to dry

The dried papers ready to go

MEN WORTH IMITATING

I decided to use an actual book, Men Worth Imitating by William Groser (1915), as my covers.

I cut out the cover graphic and replaced it with an image

Here are the inside signatures which are made up of 

the tea dyed papers, transfer images and mixed media techniques

Thus we have Men Worth Imitating. It is 7.5"H X 5"W X 1.5" D.