Handmade Book

Since the topic for IF is "book" I decided to post this handmade book on the history of the fan that I designed and illustrated. The history of the fan is briefly outlined in this book that mimics the structure of an actual fan. I've always been intrigued by items that are functional yet decorative and tell a story about the time and place in which they were created. Each of the twelve pages features an illustration and text describing a particular type of fan beginning with the Egyptians through the time of the suffragette movement.

 

Available here.

Do's and Don'ts for an Outdoor Art Show

I'm hardly an authority on this topic since I just had my first outdoor show, but there were some realizations I made about showing work outdoors and some choices that I made that seemed to work and some that didn't. The first thing that I had not taken into proper consideration was how distracting the light can be outside and how the visual distractions of the outdoors draws focus away from the art. Maybe white backdrops next time? I don't know.

Some good choices were having a bright bouquet of flowers to welcome people as they entered the booth and an interesting little perch for business cards so that they weren't overlooked. At the last minute I had folded some sleeves from a heavy maroon paper and glued my business card to the front, so that people would have a bag to carry away their prints, handmade cards etc. This seemed to be popular. All in all, I had a lot of fun planning for the day, talking to people, and selling my work!

the fox and the owl

The IF prompt is "Imagination". What better way to let your imagination run free than to don a mask. Print available here.

Illustrator Linda Hensley passed along this award and I thank her kindly! Linda writes insightful posts about the creative process that are accompanied by delightful examples of her own work. I am passing this award along to several bloggers that encourage creativity and imagination in children or captivate the child within each of us through their own imagery. Mushroom Tender, Art for Small Hands, Touch the Music, and arte a scuola. One illustrator, two amazing art educators and one musician/educator!

Peapack-Gladstone Outdoor Art Show

I'm trying to beat the rain today and get some things organized, out on the patio, for the Peapack-Gladstone Outdoor Art Show that is in less than two weeks. There are only so many things you can leave until the last minute!