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| Finished pulled string art from some other, more talented artist |
So I tried it...
Um, nope. Let me try thicker string.
Well that was a #fail. Let me try less paint, and pull quickly and more smoothly. Also less pressing down.
Ah! Getting there! That one looks more like the ones I saw in all the videos. Let me try again, still less paint, less pressure.
Voila! Now I have the trick! I still find it harder than it looks, but then again, I find all art harder than it looks.
I persevere though. Now for my altered art.
Fifteen years ago I learned about making Altered Books. You take a discarded book, preferably one that has a vintage cover, and glue together bunches of pages, and of the remaining pages you collage or pant over the words, leaving exposed the words you want to highlight. Each page can then tell your own story, or be a poem. Here is the title page and preface of my altered book. It's the story of my journey toward salvation.
I had a hard time gluing the bunches of pages together and the book came out bulky. I also had a hard time because it was a big project. My talent is small and so my projects must be small. I kept my completed book but abandoned the process, hesitant to try again.
Recently I figured out that you can alter just ONE page. Duh. So I did a few pages last night . They look childish because I used childish materials, colored pencil and crayon, but it's a start. It is harder than it looks, too. Writing poetry is difficult. Even looking over a series of words that already exist to patch together a poem is hard. But it's relaxing and sometimes the stuff comes out pretty, and it's fun, so that's all that matters. Who doesn't like coloring?
More books! The Special Store sells hardbacks for $1 and paperbacks for fifty cents. I got the Sherlock Holmes, Unbroken and Huddle of Sheep, plus the McEwan paperback there. I got the Puritan Paperback The Doctrine of Repentance for 2 cents from Amazon. Yes, 2 cents, the rest was paid for by Amazon points I'd accumulated. Score!
Summertime is time for trying new things, being leisurely, meditating on different things I'm learning, reading, and just relaxing. I hope that even if you don't have vacation time coming, that you can find some time to gather your thoughts, have a cup of coffee straight through, or take a nap. It's the little things.
1 comment:
Your last string art picture is really exquisite! It looks just like exotic plant leaves!
I took a class years ago where we made an altered book and the woman who led it never said we had to use print from the pages! That could be really hard, depending on the book. Also, it helps to tear most of the pages out, to make room for the wrinkled pages from painting and the fat pages from embellishments. I chose a small book with title pages for each chapter, so I kept some of those, the ones where I liked the chapter title, and used the text as inspiration for the art on the page. I really love that book.
I have a neighbor who was saying the other day that she really misses making things, so I gathered up some little things I've made or altered to show her to see if she wants to make any of them, and in the process found two little projects I never finished. I finished them last week and it was so very fun and so very satisfying. I think being creative must be a (very small) way we express the image of God, since He is infinitely creative.
I'd love to hear more about the Doctrine of Repentance book after you read it! That is a doctrine so sorely missing in modern-day Christendom.
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