Trick or Treat!! Happy, and Safe Celebrating!!!

In a nutshell - OK, a "mason jar" the message for the day is Happy Halloween!!!   As this little spider has worked so hard to communicate, hope it's a fabulous day!!!!!!!!

Once again , Dave has been planning his Halloween barbecue to treat the parent and guardians accompanying their Trick or Treaters.  In addition to grilling meats, he check dipping and grilling sauces, plates, skewers, forks and napkins! While the giant beetles might make a crispy, and high protein snack, he has planned something much tamer for visiting snackers! 

Hopefully the evening will stay dry so that his annual Halloween grilling give-away can be successful.  Although the temperature isn't supposed to be above 50, staying dry is usually the difference between a pleasant and less-than-pleasant evening in the great outdoors. 

There are several other pages yet unrevealed in this minibook edition, but I am ready to move on to the next version, that is 60 - 75% purchased materials.....a new pathway for me, but I do really like some of the paper stack options currently on the market.  With a good coupon, it's a fun area to explore!

Something to think about with the holidays ahead!!!

Bring On the Spiders!

Just had to include the spider series in the Halloween minibook! The first one is very simple, but actually my favorite!  It is a combination of a stencil and a stamp. 

I like the background on the next image, - it is silver.  It is difficult to see the metallic quality in this picture, but in person, this is a very striking addition to the book.

Mixed media spider image #3 is the most complex of the group and took, by far, the longest amount of time to create.  The foundation acrylic paint is a monoprint.  The next acrylic layer was created using acrylic paint and a stencil, and the third layer was created using ink and a stamp.  Although each layer of the image was not difficult, each took planning AND drying time!!!

You may remember the poster-like image below.  It is a combination of monoprint, stamping (3 different stamps, and washi tape. 

Washi tape has also been added to the layer, mixed media image below.......it's kinda "cute" and uses materials that are not original....

I do have to admit that there are times when purchased is certainly easier...well....at least faster!

Tick Tock - More Halloween Minibook Pages Before Halloween

The next set of pages include the hand-colored relief prints on scrap, printed paper.  I decided to include these in this book because they are so seasonal AND the idea of using recycled paper in a creative way is appealing to me. 

Last year when I flew to Florida, I sat next to a man that worked for a paper company.  He shared that his main job was to fly all over the United States and sell paper products to large businesses.  The volume of paper he talked about was amazing to me - he was talking in the thousands of tons of paper annually.   He talked about ongoing reforestation work and the constant need to increase the tree harvest to keep up with  paper demands.   When I asked him if there was a noticeable impact of technology use and development of electronic storage, he responded that there has never been a decrease in paper production during the span of his career - he was about my age Or a little bit older.....HMMMMMM.

All of these prints have been created using hand-carved relief block but not all of them have been carved using the same materials.  The pumpkin was created using Speedball softcut, the scarecrow and skeleton were made using a new material sold by Blick (the gray and white, layered material,)   the text lines and the crow (a.k.a. raven,) were created carving an older version of the Speedball softcut.......

.....and the vulture was created using the newest softcut material - it was very pliable AND seemed fresh.....

I am just finishing up another minibook now - it is much more static, being created almost completely from purchased materials with a limited number of monoprints.......a new type of creation for me.  It is a good example of what almost anyone could do using purchased materials and spending some time; with some written text or journaling, it could be a wonderful project for a new minibook creator! 

Happy Birthday!

EEK! should probably be reserved for rats and not a black cat, however I suppose it depends on the setting.  Driving around the back side of Costco the other day made me very aware of the multiple rat traps that appear to be strategically placed all around the building.  If I were to see a rat roaming around the building, I probably would say something other than "Eek!" spontaneously.  The next time I enter the front of Costco, I am going to look for the traps, as well.  As a side note, the traps in Minnesota are forest green, so really stand out as a contrast to the red brick of the building. I also observed  the same kind of rat traps around the Costco in Florida - the  main difference being the color - in Florida the traps were concrete gray. I think my response in Florida, in the event that I see a rat, would still not be "Eek," but something else.

Seeing a black cat in a dark, foggy alley at midnight might result in a response similar to seeing a rat at Costco, however.  The solution seems to me to be moving in the black ferrill cats to the back side of each Costco building, near each of the rat traps......

I included several of the images of candy corn in this book.  As stated  in my earlier post, I am still perplexed by the appeal of candy corn.  Even the freshest of candy corn strikes me as being will crafted wax.  It is not reminiscent of taffy that we received as an individually wrapped candy on Halloween night.  A wonderful candy company, named Saunders, was a mainstay in Detroit fifty plus years ago, and their taffy was creamy, chewy, and delightful.....I am not seeing the connection to candy corn. 

Candy corn is a great symbol for the season, however. 

Of course, I had to include the crow relief print in this minibook....also a great seasonal character! 

On to the Mini-Book!

All of those monoprints, relief prints and mixed media experiments can be compiled into another fun, little mini-book.  Below is the cover to the first of two fo these collections.

Unlike most of the mini-books created recently, this one does NOT have a paper binding.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  This first is that the book is too think to be help by the pre-determined binding template.  The one I have is a "one side fits all" template, and it WON'T fit this book uniess I remove some pages. 

Initially I thought that removing pages would be the easiest solution, but then realized the second challenge - I do not have the resources to cut the template size needed for this particular minibook.  So much for both planA and plan B....on to plan C - add some book rings and be done.

What follows are some of the images you have seen before, but now in gook format.  You'll notice some trimming and addition of background, anchor pages......

......but basically the same, Halloween-focused images all in one place for future reference.

A also am a big fan of the background material, which contains a line image of a golden series of spider webs on a white background.

.....so, have you been shopping for your trick-or-treaters yet?  I saw a news headline yesterday that said Americans will spend more than $7,000,000 on Halloween....think of what that would do to help schools.....Hmmmmmm!

Historical Relevance???

Was it Edgar Allen Poe that gave ravens a sinister name "....quoth the raven, nevermore",by having this talking bird visit the forelorn lover as he goes mad,  or were ravens maligned long before Poe for their dastardly deeds in autumn corn fields? 

Shakespeare must have contributed to the ravens demise in a graveyard soliloquy during Romeo and Juliet or a particularly despondent scene in Macbeth. 

When we lived in Iowa, the weathervane crow was much more prominent than either Michigan or Minnesota.  Of course, we were in the middle of agri-America where the only thing you could see from our rooftop were rows and rows of corn or soy beans no matter which way you looked.......that's the making for a well sustained crow flock!  

Doesn't the line for the image below begin, "Ah, poor Iago, I knew him well......"?  ....Othello, I believe......Any Shakespeare buffs out there???

I still enjoy the more trendy version of the raven in thew relief print below.  I wasn't sure this one would print too well on the black paper because it is so porous.  Combined with the somewhat low-opaque ink, and the image is a little lackluster.  As I think I said in an earlier post, the purple background helps 'pop' the contrast. 

It's in the Jar!

Mason jars continue to hold treasures and unknown dangers - everything from gurgling liquids to captive insects - all contained for relatively safe investigation. 

The jar above is clearly in the dangerous liquid category - well, at least the labelling on the container implies danger.  The Jolly Roger emblem is a "dead" give-away!  (yep, I really did that pun..)

The cute spider in the jar above looks pretty perky, however his jar needs some holes in the lid to remain perky for very long....perhaps this jar also needs the warning logo as in the first jar!

The bug jar above also needs some air holes and probably some protective petitions if these specimens are going to last for any length of time, however since no webs have been cast, this is either very early in the capture, all of the insects are already dead OR this provides a macabre opportunity to watch spiders be aggressive.

OK, this jar is a tribute to Charlotte of Charlotte's Web fame.  I don't imagine E.B. White had cornered the market on text-generating web-spinners.  In fact, this could actually be considered a testimony to the shelf-life of the children's novel. 

And finally, a jar of swirling, gurgling goo that has already had a negative effect on J. Roger's left eye.....perhaps this is where the eye patch originated and not the most current theory about being dark-vision ready in the height of pillaging and marauding events. 

Pretty sad that there is not one jar holding tomatoes, peaches, or delicious beets, ah?  Did you can some of those this year? 

A Nostalgic Jar

Canning treasured garden good was very popular when I was a child.  We always took a day or two in the late summer to can tomatoes so that we would have enough for the winter ahead.  Canned tomatoes were added to stews, soups, and sauces. 

Canning jars seem to have made a reappearance in the past decade, but not necessarily for canning food.  They are painted white on the inside and used for vases and shelf arrangements.  They hold mini collections of anything seasonal and are placed in a prominent display location in offices or homes.  There has even been a resurgence of the aqua Ball jars that were a mainstay in my grandmother's root cellar fifty years ago.  As with many treasures from the past......if only we had known......  That probably explains the continued popularity of "The Antiques Road Show!" 

Although I carved the jar relief print several years ago, it continues to be, just like the old canning jars, a go-to for displaying bits and pieces of images that are meant to convey a captured thought, concept or thing.  For example, the first one has captured the Jolly Roger to suggest that the essence inside the jar is pure poison.  The one above has captured a spider, however, it is one of the descendants of Charlotte becuase it can weave words in the structure of the web. 

I love the beetles above scurrying about on the textured, burlap surface, but find them to be much more appealing when contained inside the jar below. 

Perhaps this use of the jar goes back to catching fireflies on a warm summer night....get a dozen in the jar and it was like holding a fairy captive.  Of course it wouldn't be long before we would release them all.  With the increase in pesticides and massive spraying of fields, roadsides, ponds, swamps and forests, it is very unusual to see fireflies now.  The community that my mother used to live in had a ban on all spraying.  It continues to be one of the rare places where fireflies cruise the dusky skies of summer and signal to a potential mate.  I just have to drive through that neighborhood if I am in the area in summer in the hopes of catching a glimpse of these endangered glowbugs! 

The Artistic Webs with Their Spiders

Although this looks like multiple layers of monoprinting, there is actually only one monoprint below a plopped, inky stencil....topped with a spider stamp.  This is one of the simplest images in the spider series, however I think I have to claim luck.  I wasn't sure how the messy, inky stencil would transfer the image.  Because the ink was so wet and I moved quickly, it worked!!!!  The part that took the most time was waiting for each layer to dry before adding the next.

I like the addition of the washi tape below.  In limited quantities, it can add some visual interest and a little variety.  It does make the print truly "mixed media," although I am not sure that matters.  I do like the busy-ness of this image.

The image below is like the "full-meal-mixed-media-deal!"  There is a two layer monoprint with three different stamps (yep, purchased and nothing carved,) plus washi tape.  You won't see me doing this type of image very often, however.  I am just not a big fan of purchased stamps....not the originality I prefer. 

There is something very interesting about washi tape and from time to time it seems like manufacturers shoot out a whole new set of themed tape prints.  I would love to find a broader variety of insets that go beyond spiders, but I don't image they are in high demand!

Pushing the Edge Spiders

All of the images that include webs and spiders on this post are "on the edge" in some way.  The web below is blobby and splotchy, but when the spider was added, I really liked the effect!  a spider would probably be embarassed to say this was her web, but....it's got that flare of artistic license, right? 

The colors in the image below are what make it so appealing.  The block that the web is printed on actually contains two layers of monoprinting before the third, web layer.  The spider adds that sense of reality.  The part that helps the image be strong is the addition of the purple as the backdrop - it provides a good anchor for the web to "pop!" 

In included the image below because, if you have been following the October posts, you have seen this image before and are familiar with the structure and stability of this web and spider....it's the traditional barn doorway web with proud and hungry spider looming.  Although the background for this printing is metallic silver, it is difficult to tell with is photograph.  The image is actually much strong "in person."

There is something so appealing about the image below....it is certainly that minimalist look, but the dangling spider and the whisps of web are that delightful mix of autumn and Halloween! 

Is it the Web and the Spider or....the Spider and theWeb?

These detailed webs were all made with a fragile-appearing stencil.  Fortunately the stencil material is plastic and tremendously more durable than it appears to be.  I have never been very patient when it comes to using stencils, although have the right kind of flat, cylindrical brush seems to help.  Absolutely nothing could match the precision of the real web, but it is fun to pay tribute to the beauty and the precision of each creation. 

The addition of the spider, below, is a nice visual effect.  This particular spider is a purchased stamp that seems to be based on the real deal.  The bulbous body and the nice, long legs are perfect for the fragile appearance of this web.....there is nothing fuzzy or whimsical about THIS arachnid!  

The two images below are actually the same page, rotated.  I was surprised by how different the image looks by simply rotating it 180 degrees. 

I  particularly like the spider at the top of the web, waiting for some innocent insect to get caught.  I feel like the spider at the bottom of the web is much more forlorn as if hopeful that something is stuck!  Below is the POWER SPIDER!!!!

Well, that's my impression, anyway.....thoughts?