body lumens

So I did some experiments earlier on in the year with lumen printing (aka printing with fogged photo paper). Its a really neat process and it's exciting because you never really know how it's going to turn out.

For my roomie's independent study class she decided to do some full body lumen prints. Our professor had some old rolls of really big photo paper that were no longer usable in the traditional way, therefore were perfect for lumen printing. Heres what she came up with . . .

we unrolled the paper in our dark hallway and carried it out covered in a blanket. then we secured the corners with some heavy books. When she was ready I whipped the blanket off and she threw herself down onto the paper. so dramatic.

the way the sun was slanted created a weird distorted ghost image

each print took about 15 minutes till they were ready to being in

for this one she lay face down (think yoga child pose ) and the humidity from her eyes, nose, and mouth left marks on the paper . it looks so creepy!

during our last print a dumpster pulled up next to us for moving day. they must have thought we were crazy


Overall her prints turned out pretty cool and it was interesting to see certain details show up. In one print her feet turned a completely different color and various details of her face and ears would show up in other prints. Some of them were downright eerie!! Anyways, definitely a fun experiment.

more leaf prints!

I was finally able to make some more of these once the sun came out again . . .


All my leaf prints are from the same type of leaves and even the same location, but they look so different!


To learn how to make these prints see my previous post

leaf print

Sunny days have finally come!! I've been waiting for some nice weather so that I could do some more experimenting with lumen prints as well as this crazy photosynthesis printing technique that I found at alternativephotography.com.

I had been taking some walks around campus and I found these huge cabbage-like leaves that I felt would be perfect to use for my leaf print. What you do is take a broad green leaf and place a photo positve on top of it and sandwhich them between a hard surface and some plexiglass/glass. Leave the leaf/positive sandwich out in the direct sun for at least a day (until the parts of the leaf you can see have turned a yellowish or brownish white.



I was a bit skeptical when I took my leaf inside to unveil it, it just looked like the leaf was dying or something, but when I pulled off my positive, the parts that were dark and blocked from the sun by my positive were still the dark green of the leaf and all the light areas had turned white with the bleaching of the sun. It worked!! Im not sure how the print will last, I've now sandwhich my delicate leaf inbetween some museum board, but I plan on scanning it soon.

This process is amazing yet so simple! Who would have thought you could print photographic images directly onto leaves using nothing but good ol mother nature? Anyways, this print was an experiment to see if these leaves were the proper canvas and to see if this process actually works, but I plan on doing a series of these leaf prints with some new images I've been planning. Just gotta keep praying for sunshine!

dont throw away that fogged paper!

Got fogged paper? Dont toss it, make some sweet prints!
These are some colorful prints I made with random objects I found in my kitchen . . .




My roomate showed me this really cool photographic process called lumen printing, and it's super easy to do! All you need is fogged photo paper (any kind, old works best) and some natural sunshine. (And if you wanna get fancy, a board and some plexiglas for sandwiching flat objects) You can lay or sandwich flat plants or any interesting objects you have lying around on top of your fogged paper and expose it to the sun from 30 minutes to 4 hours (iv really only done 30-60 minutes and they turned out great. Using the plexiglas to flatten your plants/flat objects on top of the paper ensures a little more detail and less blur from sun movement, but if you just lay them down you can get a softer, more abstract effect. This website has more detailed instructions as well as lots of other really cool alternative printing processes.

It really fun seeing what colors you get, all papers seem to be different. Also, it seems color changes based on the humidity and temperature of the object as well. Organic objects seem to produce a wider range of color.

have fun and waste not!

sewing projects!

Wow, it seems like I haven't posted in forever! Winter break went by pretty fast, but I did manage to fit a few fun projects in.

My sister and I went to visit our grandparents in Florida for about a week, and like always we filled our days with sewing, cooking, and of course our daily strolls on the beach:) My grandma is an amazing quilter (mom learned from the best!) and my sister and I love working on sewing projects with her. This year my sister made a quilt, and I made a few smaller projects . . .

I made this wallet from a pattern my grandma had stashed

now my roomates won't get annoyed with me everytime I have to find something in my wallet, no more ten minute digs, Im organized!

I got to use some really gorgeous vintage buttons my grandma had saved

when I got home from our trip I wanted to prove to myself that I wouldn't forget all my newly learned sewing skills, so I made myself a little sewing kit! complete with mini scissors, thread, pins, and needles . . . basically all the mini sewing tools I could find in my mom's old sewing studio.

So I really hope to continue sewing, (especially since now I've semi-mastered how to thread a bobbin), and use my skills in some of my other projects. I'd really like to use my fused plastic bags to make some simple wallets or even some small zippered bags like my sewing kit. Also, I've been cutting out blocks for a t-shirt quilt I've started. I'm collecting all my old t-shirts that I really don't wear anymore and I'm going to make them into a comfy cozy quilt. Sooo many sewing projects so little time!! Most of them will have to wait till the summer when I'm finished with classes. o well.

Booksale

Every year the UMBC library has at least one book sale where they sell some of their really old books for dirt cheap. My roomate and I always look forward to this sale because some of the books they sell are really beautiful and are great for altered book and collage projects. Heres my book sale booty. . .

this year i only bought 3 books, my roomie went a little crazy and bought 6

i thought this one had really cool illustrations. its written in a different language too

this book has my sister's initials, I love the gold

I think 2 of the books I bought will be really good for collages and chine colle, but I have a special project in mind for the one with my sister's initials. I want to take out the pages and insert new blank pages too make it into a sketch/notebook for my sister. I plan on using some of the existing pages and text to make some interesting dividers and collages within the new pages. I found this really great website that shows you how to convert old books into sketchbooks so I'm pretty excited to get started.

A lot of places sell old books and there are tons of projects you can do with them! Some of my favorite places to snoop around for old books are antique stores and yard sales. Old books are really just too beautiful to go to waste, so don't let them get thrown away! Give them new life through your creativity:)

Circular Painting

I thought this piece was really cool. It's a time lapse, stop motion video filmed on a circular wall in South Africa. The various artists who put this together expressed their interpretations, concerns, and hopes about today's environmental situation on this unusual canvas.

Circular Painting from Fly on the Wall on Vimeo.

Here are the artists who were involved

Bryan Devlin
Luis Tolosana
Warren Lewis
Ree Treweek
Daniel Ting Chong
Mike Morocco
Toyah Moon Humphreys
Paul Ressel
Josh Ginsburg

Dia de los muertos

Last weekend my family had our annual Dia de los Muertos fiesta. "Day of the Dead" is one of our favorite traditions because its a very meaningful and happy way to honor and celebrate the lives of passed loved ones. My family also has a lot of artistic energy and this tradition really is about celebrating life as well as creativity. We don't come from a Mexican heritage, but we have kind of adopted the tradition and we celebrate it every year with friends and family in our own way.

We celebrated this year at my aunt and uncles new house. Everything was really colorful and warm and the alter that they arranged was incredibly beautiful. We all added photos and mementos to the alter as well some sugar skulls we decorated that night.

our beautiful alter

everyones makin sugar skulls!

I made these to bring back home with me

the great halloween lantern parade!

Each year around Halloween, Patterson Park is host to a colorful procession of homemade lanterns. Tons of dressed up Baltimorians show up for the event to witness the parade, or to proudly carry their own lantern. This event is truly a homage to creativity, and imagination during such a corporate holiday. I had never even heard of this event until this year when a friend mentioned it to me. My roomie and I decided to go, and although we missed the beginning of the parade, the festivities afterward were well worth the trip.

beware the jabberwock!

everyone dancing and havin a good ol fashion time

I really want to be in the parade next year. Apparently there is no sign ups or obligations, you just show up and your in!

Here is some info about Patterson Park, where the parade took place and where there are many more fun bmore events.

cuz rives bfk is the best!

Rives bfk is good for me!
(one of my most recent prints on my favorite eco-friendly paper:)

So I'm a print media major and I do a lot of screen printing. I've been screen printing for a few years now and I've found that I really like using a nice sturdy, smooth paper. Rives BFK is my favorite, but I got to wondering, is it eco-friendly? I had never really thought about it before and since I use so much of it, I decided to do a little research. If my search yielded bad results I felt I would have to find a new favorite :( . . .

Luckily for me and the environment Rives BFK as well as the slightly cheaper alternative Arches, are fairly eco-friendly! yeah!

Rives BFK and Arches paper companies proudly bear these three symbols

This symbol means that the paper mill does not use chlorine bleaching when producing their papers.
This symbol means the mill is ISO 14001 certified. I had to look it up to what that means, but basically it means that they comply to high qulaity environmental standards . This certification is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
This symbol means that no trees are used to create the paper, the pulp is made from 100% cotton.

Here are my research sources if you wanna check em out.
Legion Papers
Master Control

i want this!

Crafty Chica has a new awesome book coming out!




So Crafty Chica is kind of a hero of mine. I have one of her books, "Art de la Soul" and it's amazing!! All her crafts are so creative and colorful:) She has a few good recycling crafts (my favorite shows how to make an old book into a purse) and she really shows you how to utilize the materials around you and include some fun found objects. Also, her antecdotes are completely hilarious!

I love mexican culture and my family has recently begun celebrating Dia de los Muertos. We love the idea of getting together with family and celebrating our loved ones lives, not only to honor them since they have passed, but also remembering the happy times and making new happy memories because of our celebration. Her crafts reflect this celebration of life as well as her colorful and sparkly mexican flare. I love it!

Anyways, she has a new book coming out called "Crafty Chica's Artful Guide to Sewing". I cannot wait to buy it!!! I love sewing (even though im not so good with technical aspects such as threading a machine . . .) and I love working with colorful threads and fabrics. I think I'm more of an embellishment sewer and I love stitching by hand. I think the book will be really inspiring and already has got me thinking bout some altered book projects I'd been working on a while ago where I did a lot of decorative stitching and such. Anyways, Feb 17th is it's release date. Thats not too far away right?!?

all settled in

So I'm finally all settled in at good ol UMBC. It's wierd to be back here on campus after being away at another school. It really is like coming home:) And now that I'm back and fully equipted with my craft supplies maybe I can start creating again (u know . . . when i dont have homework . . . ;)

this is my room. can u spot ollie?

haha trick question, he was under the pillow. here he comes!

so i also started working at this bakery in ellicott city. heres some of my bakery booty
mmmmmm

I'm also really happy to be home with my roomies. I missed them lots!
yep this is a normal activity

So hopefully, between classes, homework and my new weekend job, I'll be able to squeeze out some crafts. Of course I will be doing a lot of art in my studio classes, I'm looking forward to incorporating that into some of my upcoming projects.

recycled or recycleable?

As I was shopping around for cardstock at JoAnne's and inspecting the labels, I found myself asking does the little recycle symbol mean the cardstock is made from recycled materials or does it merely mean it's recyclable? And if it is recycled doesn't it have to tell you what percentage of it is recylced? The labels offered me no information and I took this ambiguity as a bad sign. I always feel wary of labels if they seem a bit open ended.

I wasn't sure if I was the only one missing out on this info, or if other eco concious crafters were confused as well. So I decided to do a little research. I found a website that completely cleared everything up.



This symbol means the object has been made from recycled materials. If it has no percentage inside then the object is made from 100% recycled materials. If there is a percentage, then that is the percentage of recycled materials that was used to make the product.



This symbol means the object is recycleable.





I was happy to learn that the cardstock I purchased was indeed 100% recycled as well as recycleable. Thank you internet and thank you JoAnne's for carrying recycled products!

peas&carrots at bel air festival for the arts

I go to Bel Air Festival for the Arts every year. My mom used to be really involved with the planning and she always had a booth to sell her jewelry and then later her beautiful art quilts. She usually let me sell some of my crafts in her booth, or sometimes my sister and I would sell jewelry in the youth section. This year was the first year I had a full booth all to myself and it was pretty exciting!

Here's my booth! I really enjoy organizing displays and personalizing a space:)

some beautious fused plastic bag flower clips

I made some cards from a cute hedgie stamp I carved

bottle cap necklaces galore!

I realy like using antique and every day item displays. My dad found me these old washboards and an old lunch box in our barn. The coffe cans were a last minute find in our basement haha

my grandma Joann modeling her new bottle cap earrings:)

At my booth I sold my new bottle cap jewelry, some recycled art nick nacks, handmade cards, and my new fused plastic flowers. People seemed very interested in my display and most would smile and remark how funny and clever it was to make bottle caps into jewelry. Most people really got a kick out of it and many husbands remarked that this was a craft that they would gladly support and participate in lol.

Overall I really had a great time hanging out in my booth and talking to people. Unfortunately I didn't really get a chance to look around at the other booths, but I did get a chance to peak into the youth section for a bit since my little cousin had a table there. She was selling her homemade dog treats and toys. She called her products Double Doggie Treats and she donated 10% of her sales to the humane society. I think its amazing that she not only found a way to have fun making crafts for the animals she loves so much, but she also found a way to help make a difference. And man was she a hit!! She sold out before 1 o clock, a record I believe.

Long live Bel Air festival!

Bel Air Festival for the Arts

So this sunday (sept 21st) is the annual Bel Air Festival for the Arts and I'm pretty excited! There will be tons of vendors, food, music and fun so definitely come by!

I've definitely got some last minute stuff to finish up, but I will have a lot of new stuff at my booth this year. I've got tons of bottle cap necklaces, earrings, some magnets, and some new fused plastic creations. Stop by and see me:)

Need Directions? Here yah go!

Carnival of Green Crafts

So the Carnival of Green Crafts is basically a twice a month "traveling" event that takes place in various host blogs. Its a collection of links to other blog posts having to do with green crafts (eco friendly materials, tutorials . . .). Its pretty neato and it has tons of great ideas about crafty recycling and cool eco friendly materials. Its really a great resource for new and creative ideas.

I had two posts featured in the 3rd Carnival of Green Crafts hosted by Crafting a Green World:)
Just scroll down and look under "Bags, Bags, Bags!"

Carnival of Green Crafts #3: Trash Into Treasure

check it!

Also submit your own! The next one is September 4th

Baltimore by Hand

poe earrings at etsy

My poe bottle cap earrings were featured in the blog Baltimore by Hand as one of "a few favorite finds"! This blog is connected to the Baltimore Sun and features various artists, highlights upcoming art and craft events, and even has a few crafty tutorials. Pretty exciting:)

Baltimore by Hand

mom's garden:)

a few days ago I went with my family to visit my mom's garden. My step dad and other family members and friends planted the garden so that we could all visit it and remember her by the bright colors and flowers she loved so much and used so often in her art. It's really blooming quite beautifully and it's a nice spot to visit on a warm sunny day:)

beautiful black eyed susans

sunflowers were my mom's favorite flowers. I know shes laughing because the 4 ft sunflowers that were planted turned out to be 8 ft giants!

my aunt deibbie and the rest of my family admiring the garden

zinnias are my favorite flower

the garden forms a round shape like a sun and crescent moon

I'm going back again soon to do some weeding. I think one great thing about having a garden is that we can all be a part of it. By giving the garden our love, my mom's legacy of spreading and sharing beauty continues:)