Mixed Media in the Study of People

Working with Negative Sapce

These festive party balloons were so easy to create.    I laid down the base color(s), and let them dry.  Then I cut out three oval shapes and set them on top of the base color and used a mister with some acrylic paint to spritz the surface of the entire page, masking out all of the surrounding pages (remember, this set of pages is actually all one BIG sheet of paper where I added all of the images prior to folding and creating the book format.) 

Once the second layer of paint was dry, I pulled off the ovals to discover the balloons, in all of the base-bright colors, peaking through.  I used a marker to define their form, added a belly button where the air would have gone in, and attached a fluttery string.......VwaLaa! 

I created the heart on the back page of the book the same way that I created the balloons, however I think it has much less impact.  The combination of color and the fact that the image is just floating there just don't give it context or and anchor in the same way that the balloons do.  It serves as a good LAST page, however! 

Materials Conflict

In these pictures, you can really see the range of colors and color combinations in much of this book.  This is the first example of using a block printer to create text lines, as you can see on the right hand page below.

As you may have discovered, it takes a special kind of pen tip to be able to write on these surfaces.  A regular ball point or gel pen won't sustain an ink flow through a complete word.  It usually takes a pen like a Sharpie or Micron, with a fiber-based tip that floats the ink from the pen barrel to the porous material in the tip.  Even an old or aging fiber pen will often skip or fail to write on these acrylic surfaces. 

I also discovered the same challenges when using alcohol inks to create images.  I am not sure if it is the inks, the non-porous substrate that the alcohol inks are floating on....or both. Unlike the acrylic surfaces, a fibertip pen may NOT write on the alcohol/non-porous images at all.....this requires a different mixed-media approach OR a deliberate omission of text  space in the design!

What's in a Shape?

There is just a glimmer of a theme emerging on the right hand side of this page spread - it's Mary and her little lamb.  It would be fun to go back and push more of this story theme line with a lot of images - oh, when to find the time!

Of course another aspect of this early one-sheet book that is appealing to me is the rand of colors.  It is fun to look back on now, however I remember this being quite a production AND a MESS to create.

I think I would select a different tag shape than the "breast in a pocket" shape that each of these tags resemble.  I am not sure where I got the original idea for this shape, however.  I remember thinking it would be cupcake-like, but......without a food reference anywhere in the book, that is not a clear message.  Of course a breast is not a theme that is present in the book, either, so I guess the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

It's More Than Just the Colors......

By flipping the book upsidedown, it is easier to see both the tag in the top of this page and at the side. 

The stenciling and star shapes continue into page-spread#2, but I did not add images to the tags like I did in later minibooks. 

Notice page spread three has stars, as well on the left hand side, but a new image is visible on the right hand side.  Because there is SO much going on in these images, it is engaging to look at, but one clear theme does not carry through the pages from start to end.  This is one of the concepts that took me a while to narrow down for my own satisfaction.

Every time I pull this book out and take a look, I am re-energized by the colors and whimsy.  Whimsy is something I don't do very well and have always appreciated artists who capture the whimsical side of creation in their work.  Although I know in my rationale brain that all paintings do NOT need to resemble a photograph, part way through each canvas, I find myself veering that direction with reworking, reworking, reworking.  This little book serves as a good reminder for me that photographic precision is not essential to generate a positive response to artistic expression - mine own or anyone elses!!!  

Early Example

I started to look on a bookshelf that has collected some older books (OK, yes, and dust,) I created at the beginning of my minibook interest.  At the time, I spent a LOT of time on each, but thought each looked pretty primitive now.  I think the three below are the oldest of those that I still have.  You'll notice that all three have cloth covers and the largest of the three has "stuff" sticking out of the top like more recent minibooks.

The book below, the oldest, is made very differently than the new ones.  In addition to wearing a cloth cover and binding, all of the pages inside are made from one piece of very large paper that has been carefully measured, then folded.  This folding technique limits the number of pages constructed in this way to 16 pages.  I also think that over time, this type of binding, particularly internally, wears out with repeated use - it's just a matter of friction and folding, unfolding, folding, unfolding - just like the process you use to tear out a coupon, on the spot, in the checkout line, or the folding method you used as a kid to make that perfect square to make an origami bird or "catcher."  (yep, I am assuming everyone across the country did that kind of kid stuff when they were 10....)

I actually created all of the pages for this book while the sheet was one big piece, then folded it up into pages after all of the images were complete.  Before creating pages, I had to not only figure out how each page would land (i.e., which of the sides in THAT square would be the TOP,) and add little cues to remind myself during the image-creation process.

Many of the images were created with handmade stencils, so learning the process of "free-form" stenciling (or is that WAY TOO opposite terms/???) was new for me as well. 

As you begin to look through the page images, you'll notice a theme emerge.  Also, unlike later books, the tags I created fit in pockets created by two back-to-back pages.  In the big picture of durable and sturdy, this is a definite design flaw, but makes for a cute image....check it out!

Notice the line between the pages is actually just a fold in the paper....makes for frequent image carryover.....by choice!!!

OK Duplicate???

I think it is kind of fun to look at the pages of these books, side by side.  Although they were not created at the same time, they were created within a couple of months of one another, and, obviously, with the same stamps. 

These two page spreads have different text line placement, but the images follow the pattern of small on the left and medium on the right - fun to compare.

The same can be said for the comparisons of the two left hand pages  on the spreads below.

Looking at them now, it makes me wish I would have followed the pattern in the yellow with the blue - using the small capped cup image on the right hand side of the spread.  Since I made the blue minibook before the yello, ......that didn't happen.

In fact, I didn't reference the blue book prior to or during the construction of the yellow book.  I was working so hard not to make them look like one another that I missed an opportunity or two to capitalize on the best of the first! 

When using stamps, you might as well go for the duplicate........afterall, isn't that what a stamp iss.....hmmmmmmm......

Nearing the Last Hurrah for Mini Coffee

These images make me think of the old school report card envelopes, both in color and almost...size.  It looks like I kind of fizzled out at the bitter end of yellow coffee minibook #2.  I imagine I had planed to go back and spiff up the final "hurrah" and...well....just didn't.

This half round pages to signal the beginning and end of the body of the pages continues to appeal to me for some reason.  It is very "three-ring binder-ish," but there must be something before my three ring binder days that make this a satisfying look...

It is time, however, to bid a fond farewell to the hot pink background and move on to new explorations.  There is a little compare and contrast to come, then..........something new! 

Cheap Pseudo Thrills

Nope - still NOT a fan of this neon pink background, but....almost through all of the images in the citrus/coffee minibook.  ( I know....you are NOT disappointed!) 

I do continue to enjoy comparing the two different sizes of these images almost side-by-side.  I still keep an eye out for mini stamps of this series of Holtz stamps if I am in a location that markets any of the Holtz product line (whether it is stamps, clings, stamp pads, inks, spritzers, effemeria, scrapbook memorabelia, etc.,) just on the freak chance I might spot a treasure.......OK....it give me an easy "shopping might find...high" in a retirement lull, but....it doesn't cost anything and it is an easy, although fleeting, rush.....

Text Pages - Sorta......

Again, text-heavy page spreads using the same image in two locations.  As with the last post neither of the text lines on the pages with the images are really very user -friendly for adding hand-written text.

The lines on the page to the left below is more useful than the spaces on either side of the steaming mug in the right hand page above - but.....not by much.  a nice way to compare the placement of the same image in two styles (sorta...), however!

Page Composition

Once again, I have used both the small and medium size stamps of the same image on a page spread.  They look a little different from one another because I have hand colored them using different Inktense pencils.  With the two of these visible together, the smaller image seems to hold it's own because of the darker band in the middle - the dark provides the anchor. 

There is also something about being able to include the entire image on the page that is anchoring.  The largest of the two images doesn't fit within the page borders, so seems off balanced.  I have actually grown to like images at the edge or even partially off a page (see the image to the right - notice that the Monarch is fully on the page, but the flower is emerging from off the page on the bottom.)  I think it does a lot to not only engage the view, but bring them into the image and make them a part of the context. 

These two pages are about balance, to me.  If I were really going to amass a volume of text-notes, I think I would have a very different view of the lines I created for writing.  On both pages, the spaces next to the image are functionally impractical for "flow of thought:" perhaps acceptable for lists, but also questionable. 

Geographical Marketing

As with the blue-book pages, I like the opportunity to contrast the middle-sized image next to the smallest image.  If these were hand drawn, you could include many, many different sizes and not think much of it, but by using stamps, you are very limited to what has been produced by the manufacturer. 

Although I do very, very little with these types of products, I have never noticed other product lines that market or distribute multiple sizes of one image.  The last time I explored down the stamping aisle at Michaels, I actually noticed an even smaller version of some of the stamps they released several years ago - a popcorn box, bottle of soda, party hat......and I think there was a gumball dispenser.  There were actually several more images in the same clear bag, so I am assuming those were in the same category of "released several years earlier, and re-released in micro-mini size" for more money.......only guessing, however.

Every now and then I get an email from the company that produces this product line advertising a "big event show" to feature the new, new, new release of products.  Since none have been within 1000 miles of Minneapolis, I have not considered exploring any of them.  Most are in California, Florida along the eastern coastline.  Since the demise of retail fronts for stores line Archievers in the midwest, I guess no one whose state does not touch a salty body of water is interested in these products.......interesting marketing strategy, ah? 

Have you grown fond of this pink background yet?     Me neither!  I would retake the pictures if this minibook was still with me!

Distracting Background

Both of these page spreads include the smallest of the images with lines for notetaking. 

I think these would be much more appealing if I had not chosen the hot pink background.

So, will I learn my lesson when considering future image displays?  Time will tell!

Another Compare and Contrast - for Color!

Using the same stamps, I decided to make a more coffee-ish image making brown-ish color beams and an ochre gold burlap bag.  After the fact, I did realize that photographing these pages on a hot pink background is a tremendous distraction, but if you can focus on the image, itself, that will help!

One of the advantages of using a pre-made stamp is the opportunity to do a quick compare and contrast and make decisions about colors.  The first set of pages below includes a purple burlap bag (in both the large and the small images, ) but the beans are a pale green.....or unroasted.  I am not sure that was my intent at the time I was adding color, but let's go with that notion.

Although the burlap below is now blue, to better coordinate with the background color on these two pages, the beans are just a more intense tone of green - with some blue in it.....not as suggestive of unroasted beans, but ....in the ballpark.  

It's fun to go back and forth between these three page spreads and look at the colors of each of the bean bag images.  Since each image is exactly the same, that is not a variable to contribute to the decision-making process! 

Of course the disadvantage of using any pre-made stamp like this is that it is not original work - well, at least not MY original work.  I just can't seem myself doing much of this particular type of image work, but it is an entertaining diversion occasionally. 

Does Color Influence Preference

Using stamps instead of original sketches allows for pretty quick creation of the images for these minibooks.  I cut so many image pages (I was kinda on a roll,) that I had enough to use for two books, sooooooo.... the blue-tones cover is below, followed by.....

.....the blue book and the tropical-colors book posing side by side.  Both minibooks include the same images, but the foundation pages, ribbons, and Inktense inks used to enhance the images are thematic.

I considered running parallel images page by page, but quickly realized that these two books would seldom, if ever, be viewed side by side.  The benefit of running the parallel colors would be strictly for my benefit to do a series of 'compare and contrast' studies.....probably would have done that in some kind of academic or cognitive endeavor several years ago.....but doesn't sound like the fun activity I am currently looking for....

Based on the little glimpses of the side by side minibooks, you can think about your preferences.  Notice that the color they are displayed in front of influences the visual impact.....hmmmmmmmmm!

Learning to Drink Coffee

I can remember going into a grocery store in south St. Paul between 1996 and 2003 and seeing green coffee beans available for sale.  Only once were they sitting in stacks of massive burlap bags.  The rest of the time they were in a clear enclosure (plexiglass, I suspect by the bends to fit a circular base,) in heaping piles, much like movie theater popcorn machines filled with freshly popped corn.

Of course the beans in the enclosure were a pale grayish green with some mottled shades of light mocha brown.  People would engage the dispenser at the front of the enclosure and out would flow the green beans through a dispensing shoot.  Most people caught the flowing beans in a bag designed just for this purpose, but a few curious children would lift the dispensing lever and the green beans would flood the terazzo flour in an 8 to 12 foot radius. 

For those who caught the beans they were seeking, the next step was to dump the contents of the bag into a machine with the giant word "ROASTER" stenciled across the front.  There was a dial just below the giant word with three raised words arranged in an arch over the dial - "light - medium - dark." 

Now that I am more interested in coffee than I was then, I wish I would have taken the time to observe the entire process, start to finish, to learn about the "on site" roasting opportunity.  I do recall the beans emerging from the "ROASTER" a dark brown, with no signs of green, but have no idea how long it took, which word the dial identified, or if the end result was worth the hand crafting.  There wasn't a grinder in sight, so I assumed that hot beans, re-bagged, and headed for the checkout, had to be ground on the home brewing turn.

I think this was a missed opportunity in my formative coffee years.  While I have friends who are very particular about the roast and the grind of their morning java, I am able to distinguish demitasse from decaf....but that's about it.  I attribute that to my first coffee drinking experiences, which were in the dormatory in Spain.  Each meal the women who were serving meals emerged from the kitchen with massive kettles of steaming sludge that thy poured into giant handleless "cups" at each place setting.   The brew was so thick and so dark, that only the most knowledgeable coffee drinkers in the group truly appreciated the beverage.

After much pleading and challenging discussions, we were able to have the sludge fill only half of the cup, and the woman with the sludge kettle was flanked by a second woman with scalding hot milk.  These half and half mixtures were still a very dark color, and extremely strong flavor, but thinner and easier to drink.  During our entire semester, the only beverage offered at any meal in the dorm was coffee.......

Since no stores were nearby, buying bottled water, Fanta, or Coka-Cola....or any other beverage, was not possible.  We soon discovered that you either drank sludge and milk........or.......nothing!  Yes, they did have sugar!

I have wondered since if the kitchen in the dorm roasted their own beans, or if massive burlap bags were delivered along with the fish, fish, and more fish we ate daily.  Another missed learning opportunity!

Multiple Applications

Tags and pocket liners are too small in these mini books to use the middle size Holtz products, but do work pretty well with the smallest products.  As I recently shared, some of the blueprint text is lost, but the main image can fit...it creates a visually appealing image.

BTW - There is nothing like a little coffee on your birthday!  Happy Birthday, Ellen!

There's nothing like a hot cup of coffee in the A.M. once you are retired......

It's like a celebratory morning toast to the day!!!

Using the Smallest Holtz Stamps

At first I thought these were the same images, too, but then I looked more carefully.  Although the smallest of the stamps used was the same, there are a couple of noticable differences. 

The size of the pages on the left hand side of the page spread are different.  The second image is only a partial page while the page in the top example is on a full page.  Secondly, although the lines printed on the right hand side are from the same hand carved relief block, they are printed on different background colors and with different color ink. 

One of the other things that the smallest stamps can be useful for in these types of minibooks is printing of each tag.  Although these tags are small enough that the entire image does not fit, the main body of the image does.  At first I was concerned that the blueprint text was not fitting either, but......it really doesn't matter.....it's all just for fun!!!

Pushing the Limits of a Minibook.....

Here, again, the images are the same, including the size.  The variation on these pages are the colors AND the pattern on the text pages. 

I would encourage everyone to try making these minibooks if you like having a small, carryable set of notetaking pages to tuck in a purse or pocket.  The biggest challenge of putting these books in a pocket is the use of the bookrings, but it would not be difficult to substitute plastic zip ties, or perhaps even ribbon.....it would take some experimentation to see what would allow for page turning AND be sturdy enough to sustain packing and multiple openings.

Another characteristic that I find particularly helpful is for the pages to lie flat when opened.  Even when using the book rings, if I try to stuffy too many pages into a templated binding, it takes a lot of gentle repetition to get the registers to open flat from beginning to end.  It is TOO easy to tear the binding when it is packed tight....a word of caution to the ambitious page maker.  If you need LOTS of pages to complete a single task, I suggest one of two things:  omit the binding template and simply use a another page for the front and for the back.  You could make it thicker and more rigid by gluing together three or even four pages.  Instead of the 20 or so pages/tags/envelopes you could include with the pre-templated binding, you could create a book with as many pages as you wish to carry.  I suggest a ribbon closure, a ziplock or muslin drawstring pouch, or some way to confine the thicker book in a purse or pocket......at some point a minbook is no longer a minibook, however........