Home and creating

Well, I am home from our trip to Vegas and have felt like I had a hangover from sheer exhaustion. My body is still sore too! We didn't really go for a vacation but for Chuck to see a Dr. there but I did take the boys out one day and I'll talk about that later. I am just so glad to be home and Phoenix is so much prettier than Vegas!

A couple of years ago, I participated in my first altered book round robin with a storyline theme. Each participant was to start her own book with art and written story which was then added to by each participating artist. Well, as it neared it's end, my dear friend, Karen Campbell was the last one with my book and I was last with hers. We decided to take a little break and not worry about the last mailing deadline since we knew who had each other's book. Well, that "little break" turned into almost 2 years! Yes, those deadlines are a good thing, I'm thinkin'. They are highly motivating! Anyway, Karen had the opportunity to sign up for a mini-RR using an existing RR book. She wanted to use this one that has been in my possession for an ungodly amount of time. The first mailing for the book is July 1. Well, there's a deadline for me! I knew that there was no way I wanted to send this book off without having worked in it only to have it sent back to me in a few months to stare at me again! So I got a firecracker under my butt and spend all day yesterday and this morning getting my work done in this book! It had now been mailed to the first participant of the new mini-RR! YIPPEE!! I'm done! So, ya' wanna' see what I did?

First, let me give a little background... the book has an underlying theme of Opera with the main character being Saddie, who creates costumes for the Opera's and the man she is in love with, Emil, who produces the productions. The book Karen started with is about Opera's and I decided to stick my part of the work in just before the chapter on 'Madame Butterfly'. I took the main characters to Japan on a buying trip for fabric and for Saddie to consult with a seamstress there about the construction of the kimono, etc.. I love doing oriental stuff. Maybe it's just the simplicity of things in the culture or maybe it's the memories I have of living on Okinawa. Either way, I love working with oriental things.

I decided to insert a pocket in the center of my spread using a sheer Japanese handkerchief I found in a thrift store. I added some bits of vintage kimono in with it as well. Before adhering the fabric, I painted the pages a base white and then stamped them with Japanese text. Then, using fusible web, I adhered the handkerchief to the pages. The pocket was added in by cutting down existing pages leaving tabs which the edge of the pocket was inserted between. Then, the tabs are glued shut. I stitched them using french knots which I also added to the pages. My initial writing for the story was put on a transparency and sewn to the left page with french knots. On the right page of the spread, I added sewn charms. Inside the pocket is a small booklet which I collaged having the very center of the booklet be a swatch sampler of vintage kimono fabrics sewn in! I purchase vintage kimono fabric remnants from artist Katie Kendrick. http://katiesvintagekimono.com/ In the pocket, I also included a Japanese postcard. The sign-in tags that Karen provided are slide mounts with a selection of small transparencies. I covered mine in Japanese text. I selected a transparency of a car and the put a map behind it of Japan.

Here are photos of the spread as well as the booklet.

This page featuring "Midori Ichiro" has a fold out page of vintage handwritten Japanese text. It is written on handmade paper and I've been hoarding it for a very long time. It's beautiful!

Here you can see the text page folded open.

The sign-in tags that Karen provided are slide mounts with a selection of small transparencies. I covered mine in Japanese text. I selected a transparency of a car and the put a map behind it of Japan.