Bookmarks for the Bahamas

I made these 3 bookmarks in response to a request posted in another group for bookmarks. Each person was asked to make 3 bookmarks which will be sent to a school in the Bahamas which was destroyed by a recent hurricane. Apparently the children love books and these bookmarks may bring a spot of happiness to their lives. If anyone wants more details of this project please contact me privately.

The base supports are ordinary luggage labels covered with handmade paper on which I have glued postage stamps. The tags are old Pokemon gaming counters which have been given a new lease of life.

Twisted Tuesday - fish out of water

A new challenge blog started up this week, called Fluffy Flatbottom’s Twisted Tuesday and the first challenge was to make a postcard sized piece of art on the theme of Fish out of Water.

In the second half of the eighteenth century the hair of the fashionable world in England soared to new heights and some truly preposterous hair-do’s were seen out and about. This is my tongue-in-cheek version of an aquarian-themed hairdo.

Carol’s magic garden ATCs

Raven ATC swap

Here are all the raven ATCs

They have now been posted to the participants and should arrive within 7-10 days. Thank you to everyone who partipated - they are all wonderful

Traveller’s raven ATCs

Here are my raven themed ATCs

and a close-up

Raven ATCs

For the challenge, I wanted to combine words with images. Words are an important part of my life, and an integral part of my collage work. Because I’m not an illustrator, I wanted to include the idea of a raven more than a literal interpretation or illustration. Below are the front of the four cards. The backs will be covered with writing, lines from Wallace Stevens “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird.” The bottom, left one reads, “the memory of a raven.”

(c) Quinn McDonald, 2007. All rights reserved.

door to the serpentine road

 Come on, use the key, step through the heavy wooden doors.

Enter into my Serpentine journey.

 “the beckoning counts and not the clicking latch behind you”  Dame Freya Stark

“Door to the Serpentine Landscape” july 2007

“The Door” is constructed of handmade paper which I made during a fabulous workshop at the Papermakers of Victoria.  Detail is stitched with Gutterman machine embroidery cotton thread and drawn with a Zig marker.  The key is from my personal collection of found vintage objects and is attached with craft wire through eyelets.  The background is a collage of paper torn from the book that this piece is attached into.

 

Peek through the keyhole.  The Serpentine landscape stretches far beyond these heavy doors.  With all its twists and turns the journey promises to be long and fulfilling.  All the colours of the rainbow are sure to inspire, the artists amongst us.

“From whatever place I write, you will expect that part of my “travels” will consist of excursions in my own mind” Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1809

“Serpentine Landscape” July 2007

The Landscape is a hand woven piece that utilises scraps of yarn, thread, paper and fabric from my personal collection.  The woven piece was sandwiched in Romeo soluable stabiliser and free machine embroidered using Mettler machine embroidery metallic thread.

 

The landscape as seen through the key hole of the doors.

 

Landscape detail.

For further detail about my Serpentine journey you can read my entry’s in the Creative Catalogue blog.

Sammiam  www.sammiam.wordpress.com

Up and running, or drawing, painting, sewing….

Oh, I’m so excited!! This blog is going to be some much fun and a good addition to all the amazing writing blogs attached to the Soul Food Cafe.

I am hoping that you’ll be dying to create visual arts in addition to your writing and using the great creative visualisation prompts from the Bumper Catalogue we’ll have a very colourful blog on our hands.

So, as this journey along the Serpentine Road slowly begins, I have been altering a book to use as my “photo album”. With each new chapter, I’ll be adding something to it and posting the images here. I’d love it if you’d do the same.

In addition to this, we plan to co-ordinate some snail mail art. Imagine, Raven art all over the place!

So, hang onto your feathers girls. Stay tuned for the next installment!

Samm