tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-317236122024-03-18T10:41:06.600-05:00Sharon's CompendiumObservations about nature in the city, gardening, craft, and curiositiesSharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.comBlogger312125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-75320950118164846432024-03-18T08:00:00.001-05:002024-03-18T08:00:00.160-05:00Seeing Asemic Patterns, Some St. Patrick's Day Observations, and an Oops<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINqb8T04aKfEptcY_5Y3zilkcPh8jB8gxiUhzhUgr1ro1c6tkLAULluURzcnXlVznYDGj-sqS6lQXBwBufbZYYvZst7hG5z6Tff4GBJ7CRABaQB-gMWxptTtnd27jmyqx4O_xWwiyzHXGPAMdQfvOA9r6PJ_IY7Jo1bYw9qjbSsKkpDHIHYQinA/s400/Clover-birdvase-cropped-031716.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="359" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINqb8T04aKfEptcY_5Y3zilkcPh8jB8gxiUhzhUgr1ro1c6tkLAULluURzcnXlVznYDGj-sqS6lQXBwBufbZYYvZst7hG5z6Tff4GBJ7CRABaQB-gMWxptTtnd27jmyqx4O_xWwiyzHXGPAMdQfvOA9r6PJ_IY7Jo1bYw9qjbSsKkpDHIHYQinA/w359-h400/Clover-birdvase-cropped-031716.jpg" width="359" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Happy day after St. Patrick's </b></span>and day before the spring equinox! For many of the vegetables and flowers that gardeners like to start indoors here in Minnesota, now is the time to plant those seeds. Maybe that is the reason I tend to associate St. Patrick's Day with green growing things.<p></p><p>I have often started seeds of Dutch white clover indoors at the end of January in order to grow my own seasonal houseplant by March 17, since the plants sold in stores as "shamrocks" are really South American oxalis. It's one of my little pet peeves about how the day is marked, which I have written about in <a href="https://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2017/03/a-shamrock-by-any-other-name.html" target="_blank">this 2017 blog post.</a></p><p>The other thing that bugs me a little — but just a little — is how the emblematic greenery is often depicted as a four-leaf clover, when the whole reason for its association with the good saint is the folklore claiming that he used the plant to teach his followers about the Holy Trinity. Never mind that there's no evidence whatsoever that he ever did that, it's just that it's<i> so </i>missing the point about shamrocks and St. Patrick's Day.</p><p>Patrick is the subject of a lot of historical misinformation, including in his own telling of his story, says historian Roy Flechner in his 2019 book, <i>Saint Patrick Retold.</i> Flechner argues that Patrick was never captured and enslaved, that he made up that story as a cover for his flight from inherited onerous duties as an imperial officer in Roman Britain. You can read a good overview and summary of the book on the <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691184647/saint-patrick-retold" target="_blank">publisher's page here, </a>and an excellent <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/saint-patrick-retold-the-legend-and-history-of-ireland-s-patron-saint-review-1.3816632" target="_blank">review in the Irish Times here.</a></p><p>As to Patrick's own version of his story, known as <i>The Confession of St. Patrick, </i>you can read it for yourself on <a href="https://www.confessio.ie/#" target="_blank">this website</a>, and view facsimiles of the earliest versions known. The elegant Latin text makes me think of asemic writing: Both aesthetically pleasing and meaningless (to me). </p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">Seeing Asemic: Patterns Everywhere <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtz469gsizkAyr9z0UQ61469f145J7EwY5_1pG3SJSJZ740kWh47_QDAjE3BXA_ezgi6BXz2yWvF-MMBcn-fgycxbueQFNPj4Xx4QcoI65itGOfUEK7StArLSZN8DmPmhO8iPt6hVqzvcrx_Lt4miq14-QTSnDga4Rk1bw4KpgrrfDXLceXduC4g/s826/Mirtha_Dermisache._Diario_N%E2%94%AC%E2%95%911._An%E2%95%A0a%CC%82o_1_tapa__1972._Cortesi%E2%95%A0u%CC%88a_Archivo_Mirtha_Dermisache_AMD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="826" data-original-width="630" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtz469gsizkAyr9z0UQ61469f145J7EwY5_1pG3SJSJZ740kWh47_QDAjE3BXA_ezgi6BXz2yWvF-MMBcn-fgycxbueQFNPj4Xx4QcoI65itGOfUEK7StArLSZN8DmPmhO8iPt6hVqzvcrx_Lt4miq14-QTSnDga4Rk1bw4KpgrrfDXLceXduC4g/w308-h400/Mirtha_Dermisache._Diario_N%E2%94%AC%E2%95%911._An%E2%95%A0a%CC%82o_1_tapa__1972._Cortesi%E2%95%A0u%CC%88a_Archivo_Mirtha_Dermisache_AMD.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;"><a href=" https://post.moma.org/on-language-and-its-limits-the-illegible-writings-of-mirtha-dermisache/" target="_blank">Image from Post, a blog of the Museum of <br />Modern Art</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table></h4><p>Because the Latin text has no meaning for me, my attention is drawn to its decorative form, the patterns created by its marks. While all asemic writing mimics the form of regular writing, some artists copy the form of printed works almost exactly.</p><p>For example, Argentinian artist Mirtha Dermisache (1942–2012) created "asemic versions of the daily newspaper, maintaining the layout, but substituting illegible characters," hence highlighting the patterns formed by the headlines and columns of text, wrote Peter Schwenger in the book <a href="https://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2024/03/flowers-in-house-asemic-musings-and.html" target="_blank">I mentioned last week,</a> <i>Asemic: The Art of Writing.</i> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI93jo481ImGX9z6ZiRDosLVsFh1DrnG5CNE_VsJjsG50nq2Q5yng3aUEfvrePmkPE4-fErRN8YmJZlkDr6O5bgmsrsDYHTbHOzAGUIU-3XZL6oNa64yyjMhSIBfvh_oVPi4va1q3j15i6lStlTqGcj-swCnevBH1xO6DgMIazCxy-YcuH7CGKHQ/s2500/Asemic%20Scarf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI93jo481ImGX9z6ZiRDosLVsFh1DrnG5CNE_VsJjsG50nq2Q5yng3aUEfvrePmkPE4-fErRN8YmJZlkDr6O5bgmsrsDYHTbHOzAGUIU-3XZL6oNa64yyjMhSIBfvh_oVPi4va1q3j15i6lStlTqGcj-swCnevBH1xO6DgMIazCxy-YcuH7CGKHQ/s320/Asemic%20Scarf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />With that sort of thing on my mind this past week, I began noticing the text-like patterns in seemingly random things, like my scarf . . . <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnFrrUbqgj7lX4w1EJQ2CK_Rz31OcIMpKy2agsuN5FN4Y6z7TpyXQLEP2TyBdB4rRwqx8sw5sBBY7FEslWoAX4At5OUIxsU0st-BvBUA2QHqKKrgRZX6NTB0e4PDUttdymL0pJ-kVYKR378OPLcAjRUj-Q22CUPvutqE2AIQYv22Wii1-19BNv7A/s2000/BellPepperSeeds-031524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1791" data-original-width="2000" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnFrrUbqgj7lX4w1EJQ2CK_Rz31OcIMpKy2agsuN5FN4Y6z7TpyXQLEP2TyBdB4rRwqx8sw5sBBY7FEslWoAX4At5OUIxsU0st-BvBUA2QHqKKrgRZX6NTB0e4PDUttdymL0pJ-kVYKR378OPLcAjRUj-Q22CUPvutqE2AIQYv22Wii1-19BNv7A/s320/BellPepperSeeds-031524.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p>and the seeds in a bell pepper . . . </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9M5d2VF06bOrgHv0qp7Kc8CbTLgQno1RYmcrLJ-0EkpKAqlobDTt4nKm47It6b9D0N_fjQEkJBMwJf3FDKDvvQ5tXoeg-MQ1xxFUzl7xFdPKC1u_vcMb54AxrMx0zx3W4XAccOYk3-E57LSGw39Qkh5bxtmmvWV7jhodMsPjDRg4hIq_-8dF_Q/s2500/AsemicLatte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG9M5d2VF06bOrgHv0qp7Kc8CbTLgQno1RYmcrLJ-0EkpKAqlobDTt4nKm47It6b9D0N_fjQEkJBMwJf3FDKDvvQ5tXoeg-MQ1xxFUzl7xFdPKC1u_vcMb54AxrMx0zx3W4XAccOYk3-E57LSGw39Qkh5bxtmmvWV7jhodMsPjDRg4hIq_-8dF_Q/s320/AsemicLatte.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>and my half empty latte.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>My heightened awareness of patterns that resemble asemic writing got me to thinking about the tendency we humans have to not only see patterns, but to imbue them with meaning, as if they contain some message from the divine. You know, like, "Today I saw X and I believe that god/the universe was telling me something." An article I read some while back on the web journal<a href=" https://psyche.co/ideas/when-the-human-tendency-to-detect-patterns-goes-too-far" target="_blank"> Psyche</a> nicely describes this phenomena, called apophenia. </p><p><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cq2j5CYImY_wJj8YZPTtU4ABzX39hSV8XPvxKPuxqQ6H8zXC4HrHXNYwza5RZIKCkUjPAvgz5qem7Fm-oZPcCProbVNDFQem6xlfPLKsqdtxPUA6UKI_ffTsgmnZ9fGB8VApSJSpi1_h7TvTn3vU5yY26TTBhctsTtOFzBaIfZbuADjdX8Hfpw/s728/Princeton_amulet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="728" data-original-width="711" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1cq2j5CYImY_wJj8YZPTtU4ABzX39hSV8XPvxKPuxqQ6H8zXC4HrHXNYwza5RZIKCkUjPAvgz5qem7Fm-oZPcCProbVNDFQem6xlfPLKsqdtxPUA6UKI_ffTsgmnZ9fGB8VApSJSpi1_h7TvTn3vU5yY26TTBhctsTtOFzBaIfZbuADjdX8Hfpw/w320-h317/Princeton_amulet.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: x-small;">From Leiden Medievalist Blog</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">About that Latin Text</h4><p>There is something about Latin text and other hand-lettered archaic languages that carries an air of mystery, don't you think? It evokes a magic spell or incantation, mainly because we don't understand it, and because that ancient script looks so fanciful and mysterious, especially if you've read any historical fiction set in medieval times. </p><p>Both because I have read those kinds of historical mysteries, and because of all that asemic writing stuff echoing in my head, I pounced when I spotted a review of the book <i><a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/T/bo193302771.html" target="_blank">Textual Magic: Charms and Written Amulets in Medieval England, </a></i>by Katherine Storm Hindley (Chicago, 2023). </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>By "pounced" I mean I read the review, not that I bought the book. I'll wait for it to come out in paperback, or become available from my library. But the review by Tom Johnson<a href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n06/tom-johnson/i-adjure-you-egg" target="_blank"> in the London Review of Books </a>provides an excellent overview. </p><p>In medieval Christian Europe, the written word was highly venerated, from <a href="https://web.mit.edu/jywang/www/cef/Bible/NIV/NIV_Bible/JOHN+1.html#:~:text=In%20the%20beginning%20was%20the,and%20the%20Word%20was%20God.&text=He%20was%20with%20God%20in%20the%20beginning.&text=Through%20him%20all%20things%20were,made%20that%20has%20been%20made.&text=In%20him%20was%20life%2C%20and,was%20the%20light%20of%20men." target="_blank">the opening lines in the Gospel of John </a>to amulets made of text written on parchment believed to have the power to protect and otherwise benefit the one who holds it. Johnson describes these as a kind of "charm magic," that is, "words and rituals that invoked supernatural power, whether divine or arcane, in order to gain protection, medicine and secret knowledge." </p><p>The kinds of things people wrote down included "holy verses, sacred names, symbols, runes and pure nonsense." If that last part doesn't describe asemic writing, I don't know what does.</p><p>Apparently, the more undecipherable the writing, the better its magical properties; so while Latin was the primary language of these charms, they also incorporated lots of "Greek letters, Hebrew, runes and all kinds of luxuriant gibberish," plus "sham alphabets, pseudo-writing and non-signifying marks." </p><p>Fittingly, the author traces the decline in use of these written charms to the rise in literacy. "As more people came to be able to read, . . . it became harder to maintain the idea that writing contained occult power." </p><p>Now I am thinking about a new variation in my 100-Day Project: asemic amulets.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHE6Luen4pPDk4Ugj1sZLzop0aJAMqiJiudyKIsBGZzsv8PHM24qORlFRsp2Lf4QcpPzi7nMmKBQtPqBu5szeaSX3ygaq5y8fvMn9ee0zX3uiHbqAYouAMi1-_DGm4cVmcZaM23hdCDCqwDjlXXBRjdeachBytkzjJqXeFtbFJRnPkJbmxcCfgA/s2500/Planner-PiDayerror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1760" data-original-width="2500" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcHE6Luen4pPDk4Ugj1sZLzop0aJAMqiJiudyKIsBGZzsv8PHM24qORlFRsp2Lf4QcpPzi7nMmKBQtPqBu5szeaSX3ygaq5y8fvMn9ee0zX3uiHbqAYouAMi1-_DGm4cVmcZaM23hdCDCqwDjlXXBRjdeachBytkzjJqXeFtbFJRnPkJbmxcCfgA/w640-h452/Planner-PiDayerror.jpg" width="640" /></a></div></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;">Department of Oops: Pi Day on The Useful Calendar Planner </span></h4><p>My husband discovered a mistake in my planner this week. He wondered why I had put the pi symbol on March 12. I quickly checked all versions of the calendar, and the planner is the only one with the misplaced pi, which would have happened after I copied the calendar grid from the desk version and placed it into the planner document, then dragged it across because the planner calendar spans a two-page spread. I didn't notice that pi was left behind in that motion. I would actually be a little surprised if I managed to make all versions of my calendars without any mistakes! I tell myself that it will please the people who enjoy catching other people's mistakes.</p><p>It also reminded me of a custom I was told about when I took a quilting class many years ago, that of the "humility block." Traditionally, quilters were supposed to deliberately include one block in their quilts that contained a mistake, because only God is perfect. I thought at the time that it was a convenient "rule," and I was certain I wouldn't need to do it deliberately.</p><p>But apparently the "tradition" is nonsense, as related in this excellent blog called <a href="http://willywonkyquilts.blogspot.com/2017/09/the-stuff-of-legends-part-9-evolving.html" target="_blank">Willy Wonky Quilts. </a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcaXG-huwWqV9eozCRw6KzJPW7gu2L5iaFbQteKyI9LWxTJD0NerAX5t9CvFSLsaQltdHS9l6ev70JsGC-Jjspo3vWx8bIvrg_UayUnINFl7uZdi-AaLi7lN-i4Y_wf0jnxKv26rOlzQuD3fBqm-9limfGJ_yYBkrZBPX6zpzMa1tyXEn_IeWJg/s2500/EtsyOrder1-031424.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1770" data-original-width="2500" height="456" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqcaXG-huwWqV9eozCRw6KzJPW7gu2L5iaFbQteKyI9LWxTJD0NerAX5t9CvFSLsaQltdHS9l6ev70JsGC-Jjspo3vWx8bIvrg_UayUnINFl7uZdi-AaLi7lN-i4Y_wf0jnxKv26rOlzQuD3fBqm-9limfGJ_yYBkrZBPX6zpzMa1tyXEn_IeWJg/w640-h456/EtsyOrder1-031424.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h4><h4 style="text-align: left;">On My Work Table</h4><p>It's all quiet in Sharon's Compendium-Etsyland now, but the week started out with a mini flurry of orders over the weekend. Well, three orders, actually, but two of them had multiple items that I needed to make, so that kept me busy through Thursday. </p><p>While I welcome the business, I really do, I'm looking forward to getting back to playing at my asemic projects, both doing some painting and drawing of the patterns I photographed last week, and playing around with those amulet charms. I also have a meeting with my art exchange group on Friday, and I've been pondering how I might incorporate some asemic writing into my coffee-and-tea themed Artist Trading Cards for that. </p><p>I'll show you what I come up with next week, as well as whatever asemic marks I manage to put on paper.</p><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-15734032811525271052024-03-11T08:00:00.017-05:002024-03-13T20:41:41.235-05:00Flowers in the House, Asemic Musings, and Being Particular About Notebooks <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixDdXLmeJDHSnZycWjGFAeFYDcBoAQzsvq90c0y7OVga-avoK1cc5DnjNKQlajGYSIOCPvRQnp-yJU0OHK-r-7LGdCK7PP0MB_WUWP9pfwa1H3QOb5oHMlSLCR6xEFlJ1FNdk-zxaHWJgCkvtsAr8X0JHrN5Mdd0ZOIHwE_TuyaPDCxNREFBzuw/s2660/Flowers-kitchen-031024.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2660" data-original-width="2500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixDdXLmeJDHSnZycWjGFAeFYDcBoAQzsvq90c0y7OVga-avoK1cc5DnjNKQlajGYSIOCPvRQnp-yJU0OHK-r-7LGdCK7PP0MB_WUWP9pfwa1H3QOb5oHMlSLCR6xEFlJ1FNdk-zxaHWJgCkvtsAr8X0JHrN5Mdd0ZOIHwE_TuyaPDCxNREFBzuw/w602-h640/Flowers-kitchen-031024.jpg" width="602" /></a></div><br />I want to start this week with flowers in the house. <p></p><p>Years ago, a florist and blogger who went by the moniker Flower Jane would initiate a monthly blog chain called Flowers in the House, in which she posted several photos of flower arrangements she had placed in different rooms, and invited other bloggers to share links to their own pages showing their flowers. Even though her arrangements were quite impressive, she never made anyone feel that their simple bouquets were any less delightful, and would visit and comment on every blog that participated. As an occasional participant, I always enjoyed visiting blogs from all over, admiring their flowers, commenting and receiving comments, and reveling in the conviviality of the whole exchange. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCzd1jik1-gDPWQTleU7A5SgA2uFSMVlVsPxLwUUpRBRataIM_53BEYTw6NlzhDxQgDd32LXvDiaE3n9z_x2Lkn8qEA_69vOjPppJ7cKtNmvshmtjYOcgxn07iwVKPDDDZLWIHiBjKcXO2oma0zv8VtWJbHYNreQqFiLC_Mj34kGuWfqUMMbEpA/s2500/Flowers-Buffet-031024.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2500" data-original-width="2025" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbCzd1jik1-gDPWQTleU7A5SgA2uFSMVlVsPxLwUUpRBRataIM_53BEYTw6NlzhDxQgDd32LXvDiaE3n9z_x2Lkn8qEA_69vOjPppJ7cKtNmvshmtjYOcgxn07iwVKPDDDZLWIHiBjKcXO2oma0zv8VtWJbHYNreQqFiLC_Mj34kGuWfqUMMbEpA/w324-h400/Flowers-Buffet-031024.jpg" width="324" /></a></div><p>I don't know what became of Flower Jane, she hasn't posted on her blog since 2016. I know people get tired of blogging, or burnt out, and it really has become kind of a quaint way of sharing yourself online anymore. Everyone is on Instagram, it seems, or TikTok or whatever. I have an Instagram account, and Facebook, and Pinterest, and I find them all both inspirational and a little overwhelming.</p><p>If you care to share your own photos on Instagram or wherever about the flowers in your house this week, please comment and share a link. I'd love to see them.</p><h4 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My 100-Day Project this Week: More Asemic Doodles, with a Brush</span></h4><p>Last week I mentioned a book, <i><a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/asemic" target="_blank">Asemic: The Art of Writing, </a></i>by Peter Schwenger, which I said I would be picking up from the library, and indeed I did. I've only just begun reading it, but I did find the answer to my burning question: Where did this term come from?</p><p>It seems that the word was borrowed into English in the 1980s from French linguistics, in which it described an unintended absence of meaning or sense, such as occurs with a typo. The word is derived from the Greek root "sema," meaning "sign," which gives us words like semaphore, semiotics and semantics. "Sign" here relates to "signify"— to convey meaning. Adding the prefix "a-" changes it to not signifying anything, not having meaning.</p><p>Schwenger attributes this coinage to two men he describes as visual poets, Tim Gaze and Jim Leftwich. (<a href="https://www.litromagazine.com/interviews/without-words-an-interview-with-tim-gaze/" target="_blank">Here's an interesting interview with Gaze from 2009</a>).</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO45HhPOUq35-SrmHf0KJIY5R63LRb8BKB63VLWgbUwqQ7219x4vPCMIJBvEJTkwjTa4UlBVgxoGamVkzCXMu33XUo2WTHAlpCo-Y9LYAVCAEUm8FOM5YvEDvGZyRI2FvvO-QMJ1g82K3OmEnO7LXsEDMzASYsmX3lxQKiS5Ad0kxROCbjPsl6LQ/s2500/AsemicBrushMarks-1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO45HhPOUq35-SrmHf0KJIY5R63LRb8BKB63VLWgbUwqQ7219x4vPCMIJBvEJTkwjTa4UlBVgxoGamVkzCXMu33XUo2WTHAlpCo-Y9LYAVCAEUm8FOM5YvEDvGZyRI2FvvO-QMJ1g82K3OmEnO7LXsEDMzASYsmX3lxQKiS5Ad0kxROCbjPsl6LQ/w640-h480/AsemicBrushMarks-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>In my continued exploration of this art form, I decided to try working with a brush, in particular one called a liner brush, which is very thin and long and used for lettering as well as other things where a fine line is desired. I found a nice little <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGOny5mGE34" target="_blank">six minute tutorial by Andy Jones</a> that proved to be a fine introduction. (I used my watercolor paint instead of the acrylic paint thinned with water that he is promoting.) I combined practice and note-taking as I watched, and after. So I guess some of this is asemic, and some of it is semic.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHSNVHUuBnsXrvxj7dz6K6uctlRlGUCrXq3Q1x1O6zFtibctOI6hZMorIIbATE5rPdw_XsV8enGeC8WMNLhpHYN5x8ySWX0wuCOLm8chnTUhz6aDYABlPp2QoUwsTck3drA7zntRJO2dXNEPPQ7JMZlbNoEKcz53RYk5HYdC151YeEJ7J4b-3KA/s2500/AsemicBrushwork-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHSNVHUuBnsXrvxj7dz6K6uctlRlGUCrXq3Q1x1O6zFtibctOI6hZMorIIbATE5rPdw_XsV8enGeC8WMNLhpHYN5x8ySWX0wuCOLm8chnTUhz6aDYABlPp2QoUwsTck3drA7zntRJO2dXNEPPQ7JMZlbNoEKcz53RYk5HYdC151YeEJ7J4b-3KA/w640-h480/AsemicBrushwork-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>I realized that what I'm looking to develop are the same skills used in hand lettering and calligraphy, and that I have a couple of nice resources about that already. One is a book that was my grandfather's (I know because he wrote his name in it). Published in 1922, <i><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/02528061" target="_blank">Principles and Practice of Show-Card Writing</a> </i>is filled with elegant examples from that era.</p><p></p><p>The other is a relatively more recent paperback, the <i>Speedball Textbook for Pen and Brush Lettering. </i>Mine is the 20th edition, published in 1972. I may have bought it back then, or someone might have given it to me, I really don't remember, but I've hung on to it all these years and it was kind of fun taking another look at it this week. <a href=" https://www.speedballart.com/our-product-lines/speedball-calligraphy-illustration/speedball-drawing-lettering-instructional-products/the-speedball-textbook-25th-edition/" target="_blank">The current edition is the 25th.</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNSJ-40InVTnG2He_-trWS3j-qwG1hUP5H571oU_efDEznz19s1bcjns_T6wQWijx9zYXyrZLvT8viDd5yE3_wQbfAS3pldersKp0unwqbKV3lxK24TMW3zniU8HjJ1-3ffyaf1h0e6oGgfUk3JaLXR8nq13vzhbFO1PSBVxHNiKuICpPzC1Evw/s2500/LetteringBooks-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrNSJ-40InVTnG2He_-trWS3j-qwG1hUP5H571oU_efDEznz19s1bcjns_T6wQWijx9zYXyrZLvT8viDd5yE3_wQbfAS3pldersKp0unwqbKV3lxK24TMW3zniU8HjJ1-3ffyaf1h0e6oGgfUk3JaLXR8nq13vzhbFO1PSBVxHNiKuICpPzC1Evw/w640-h480/LetteringBooks-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Probably the most valuable thing I've learned from all of these is that you have to practice using a brush just as you would practice a musical instrument. The various brush strokes — asemic marks, really — are like playing scales and etudes. I don't know why I haven't thought about it that way before, but it's kind of freeing and revelatory to me. Who knew?</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">On My Work Table</span></h4><p>I like notebooks, but not just any notebooks. I like them to be small and easy to take places, have attractive covers, be reasonably sturdy, have a pocket in the back, with gridded lines that are pretty faint so they offer guidelines but don't dominate, and that are sewn rather than stapled.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhivBm3HGsx6yyUum5FaooKgRarqVMGYTFd6qr_QoBL-TKLPL2IyhMvK1YSd-kvjVHxp5PPqr7u1QTfScmnXt4Xt4GgurTXbu56pRdME7uM9BFO_jY4q4VfkKcLnKg7R5xqFc0G50g6PwoXgu57QylU3LB69t2qLlGMJef7SRrJSiYv0C0UP0kA/s2500/WorkTable-miniNotebooks-030624.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOhivBm3HGsx6yyUum5FaooKgRarqVMGYTFd6qr_QoBL-TKLPL2IyhMvK1YSd-kvjVHxp5PPqr7u1QTfScmnXt4Xt4GgurTXbu56pRdME7uM9BFO_jY4q4VfkKcLnKg7R5xqFc0G50g6PwoXgu57QylU3LB69t2qLlGMJef7SRrJSiYv0C0UP0kA/w640-h480/WorkTable-miniNotebooks-030624.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>You can probably see how this would lead me to making my own notebooks, and being an artist with an Etsy shop, how I might decide to make a few extras and offer them for sale, in case there are others who like those same things and don't mind paying for handmade. I actually only make two of a given design in order to create a listing on Etsy, then offer them as made-to-order items, so I don't invest a lot of time and resources in multiples of something that I don't know if anybody will buy. If nobody does buy them, I'll use them eventually. Having said that, I will note that I have sold a few of these, from time to time.</p><p>Shown here are two of my mini notebooks (about 2.75" wide by 4.25" high), I also have some that are half letter size (5.5" wide by 8.5" high), which have numbered pages and a different style of pocket.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOSCIc2JdV9XT4leco2AGtTG-IusPbeFkzKRdA48WbK3yOfNXSuoZCPbVQyNTVU4WIlTEyop6dud8SWq6AzLJc_uVuG37xBiKdQDT-RsxdO57ut1-MK6V_LWYuvNUbARerWP_VTDLI2ccH1HzIMtur3usxFDgviZc0y7LcMSHFwabH2QPREcDIQ/s2500/WorkTable-miniNotebooks2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzOSCIc2JdV9XT4leco2AGtTG-IusPbeFkzKRdA48WbK3yOfNXSuoZCPbVQyNTVU4WIlTEyop6dud8SWq6AzLJc_uVuG37xBiKdQDT-RsxdO57ut1-MK6V_LWYuvNUbARerWP_VTDLI2ccH1HzIMtur3usxFDgviZc0y7LcMSHFwabH2QPREcDIQ/w640-h480/WorkTable-miniNotebooks2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>I make the notebooks and most of my zines with a pamphlet stitch, which is quite easy and gives a satisfying result, in my opinion. I then run a glue stick up and down the spine and smooth it with my finger to reinforce the stitching. </p><p>In case you're interested, here's where to find <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/SharonsCompendium?ref=&section_id=35469366" target="_blank">the notebooks</a> and<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/SharonsCompendium?ref=seller-platform-mcnav&section_id=16839306" target="_blank"> zines </a>in my Etsy shop.</p><p>Thanks for looking. Show me your flowers! (If you want to.)</p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-76186491291125458902024-03-04T09:00:00.001-06:002024-03-04T09:00:00.135-06:00Playing at asemic writing, and a little detour <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iu93tB7uuJUA9-Fcj4L2AV5vUze5Sv4DjZ9F75w_yLvSfeUYdWM7fQkPLe-APnRO9sOpZkuXd9jwHQp7sKe8Sn95i9Q-kLeT9I9UiMF8vXH_WroPZ86BKPwjLYshoWJHWru47vcvJLa3P8qzXZLrP1ILllCW3qSEJ8MwwFEIRzAYMqzRtiPyFw/s2000/AsemicJournalPage-detail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1406" data-original-width="2000" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iu93tB7uuJUA9-Fcj4L2AV5vUze5Sv4DjZ9F75w_yLvSfeUYdWM7fQkPLe-APnRO9sOpZkuXd9jwHQp7sKe8Sn95i9Q-kLeT9I9UiMF8vXH_WroPZ86BKPwjLYshoWJHWru47vcvJLa3P8qzXZLrP1ILllCW3qSEJ8MwwFEIRzAYMqzRtiPyFw/w400-h281/AsemicJournalPage-detail.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Asemic writing is mark-making that looks like writing but isn't. The practice as an art form has been around for centuries, but the term seems to be a more recent coinage, or else it's just obscure. When I searched for it in a couple of dictionaries, they either asked me if I meant "anemic" or said it isn't in the dictionary. But it does have <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asemic_writing" target="_blank">a Wikipedia page, </a>and a few books have been written about it, including <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/asemic" target="_blank">Asemic: The Art of Writing, by Peter Schwenger,</a> published in 2019 by the Univ. of Minnesota Press, which I'll be fetching from my local public library this week.<p></p><p>I first encountered the term on Pinterest a year or so ago, when some mixed media art that incorporated the technique came across my feed (sandwiched among cute animal videos—I have got to stop clicking on those), and it's been on my radar ever since. More recently, I stumbled upon a Facebook group, Asemic Writing: The New Post-Literate, which has fed me a steady stream of inspiration and examples. </p><p>So I thought, what better occasion to try my hand at this intriguing art form than as part of my<a href="https://www.the100dayproject.org" target="_blank"> 100-Day Project?</a> I decided to once again use a journal page for this week's work: I would fill the page with a single composition, rather than a collection of mini works, and I would limit how much I would work on it each day to ensure that there would be something more to add the next day. I started by writing my start date in the upper left corner of the page. I then decided that I wanted to include some collage elements to make the page more interesting.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJx9W3538vsjMRQJbnaA8SbmTB24ruXkdvhN2_iJMQk6LqtAE484zALFbqoTRxg2xkIvPIOE3zFwFPpwDf7lyqHYP-NQgwylGF4qUWLFSFI6jXsHoCUh79UskeCm7fKmfO-flTvNsbWAMXLgjN69gopZ6srFHYn99wXceBrPTn2053RUgmiMQqg/s2175/AsemicJournalPage2-022624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2175" data-original-width="2000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJx9W3538vsjMRQJbnaA8SbmTB24ruXkdvhN2_iJMQk6LqtAE484zALFbqoTRxg2xkIvPIOE3zFwFPpwDf7lyqHYP-NQgwylGF4qUWLFSFI6jXsHoCUh79UskeCm7fKmfO-flTvNsbWAMXLgjN69gopZ6srFHYn99wXceBrPTn2053RUgmiMQqg/w588-h640/AsemicJournalPage2-022624.jpg" width="588" /></a></div><p>Two things I noticed early on with this one. First, it actually took some restraint to not try to "finish" it each time I sat down to work on it, which allowed ideas to percolate in my mind and be influenced by works that people were posting in the asemic artists' Facebook group. </p><p>The second thing I noticed was how, as I was making my various squiggles, I recalled doing something like this as a kid, before I learned cursive, when wavy lines filled with loops looked just like handwriting to me. It gave me a warm feeling of nostalgia as I remembered spending hours with my childhood friend and frequent drawing companion, Vicki, doodling and drawing together with no particular purpose in mind.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNcu_QCqWQ4KHRhyphenhyphenXokGzVZB_KslZavNJI86Rz8nvexM5Xc2pDBOPcrFtMA8wFL8ZRyrl571StaIl7crYAIzxbr_Q29icaGd4wjrNSoxtPQ3Uqn_7ElgNFSvmlSnpvxL55Vzp5HZJnQYFWYx4FYcZ3O9R5APxJ6TXECYKcapYY6xs814voS8mnw/s3783/AsemicJournalPage3-022724.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2918" data-original-width="3783" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNcu_QCqWQ4KHRhyphenhyphenXokGzVZB_KslZavNJI86Rz8nvexM5Xc2pDBOPcrFtMA8wFL8ZRyrl571StaIl7crYAIzxbr_Q29icaGd4wjrNSoxtPQ3Uqn_7ElgNFSvmlSnpvxL55Vzp5HZJnQYFWYx4FYcZ3O9R5APxJ6TXECYKcapYY6xs814voS8mnw/w640-h494/AsemicJournalPage3-022724.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>I had a couple of days midweek (days 4 & 5) when I didn't work on it because of other demands on my time and attention. Interestingly, the project emails that I got this week were about being flexible with yourself regarding what it means to "show up" for your project each day. And, indeed, I did feel that I was still working on it because it was on my mind and I was pondering what I wanted to do next.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUjjFqTXF4G1aYoHB4xvraT-odQFV9lYxiuqL7MmIQ5nG9pWVPuKUzSjqHceYriI0kqSQ4pF6onzpKNxdnuImF_ye-djAQnMOB0sSdyf49-zC5QX-V1hxbahCxTeDfjc2_y_9CAAXRhq-pHNRLBE_keRRBLNLW5dvp7-bTuczlgcH3KJDwhykfQ/s3004/AsemicJournalPage4-030124.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3004" data-original-width="2500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUjjFqTXF4G1aYoHB4xvraT-odQFV9lYxiuqL7MmIQ5nG9pWVPuKUzSjqHceYriI0kqSQ4pF6onzpKNxdnuImF_ye-djAQnMOB0sSdyf49-zC5QX-V1hxbahCxTeDfjc2_y_9CAAXRhq-pHNRLBE_keRRBLNLW5dvp7-bTuczlgcH3KJDwhykfQ/w532-h640/AsemicJournalPage4-030124.jpg" width="532" /></a></div><p>On Saturday morning, I took what I thought was my final photo of this week's work, and noted the date at the top right of the page. I wasn't sure whether it was actually done, but I was pretty sure I was done <i>with</i> it. Except I had a slightly nagging feeling that it still needed just a little something more. So instead of noting that it was finished, I just noted that I had stopped.</p><p>When I showed it to my husband, who is a writer, editor, and an avid reader, he insisted on looking for words among the squiggles. He pointed them out to me, saying this part looks like the word "anything" (later, he said it looked like "everything"). Then he pointed to the word "Zen," which was a little more plausible (see it in the upper right, by the blue dot?). Perhaps the whole thing is some sort of<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/koan" target="_blank"> koan. </a></p><p>I still wanted to find that "something more" to complete the work, so I picked up a small vintage paperback about photography to look for an image, and there was a black-and-white photo of a man looking at a script, which made me think of the way my husband looked at my squiggles, trying to make sense of something indecipherable. It felt like just the finishing touch it needed, to put that quandary right in the middle of all the asemic nonsense.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-qerCEKDTdgud7qCkB3JVIzR769OEvWyeoOoNxqMUSwRPxFDezsIghe6RfqKOgdafrnef6jrZLKcym0HSnR0qiUT_27DQb6c7QY2kTvaYObNEkCf5cdfPPdFmQrx6LSi_WdJhV6HQA4issK9QXFj_9PafQ7NynX5ZSZcahrQws64TjSOcIZAcA/s2965/AsemicJournalPage5-030224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2965" data-original-width="2500" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-qerCEKDTdgud7qCkB3JVIzR769OEvWyeoOoNxqMUSwRPxFDezsIghe6RfqKOgdafrnef6jrZLKcym0HSnR0qiUT_27DQb6c7QY2kTvaYObNEkCf5cdfPPdFmQrx6LSi_WdJhV6HQA4issK9QXFj_9PafQ7NynX5ZSZcahrQws64TjSOcIZAcA/w540-h640/AsemicJournalPage5-030224.jpg" width="540" /></a></div><br /><p>I like having this one in my sketch journal, because it feels and looks like a kind of sampler to me. I plan to continue working with asemic writing and collage, but move on to a different substrate now and quit using the journal (probably white watercolor paper). Enough with the brown pages! Plus I want to reclaim it as my visual/junk journal/scrapbook again, in which I paste various things relevant to recent activities, or put stuff in makeshift pockets, with (legible) commentary and observations. I'll show you some of the pages in a separate blog post another day.</p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>A Little Detour, or Other Mini Projects</b></span></p><p>I was clearing some of the clutter on my desk this week when I came across a clipping I had saved earlier in the year. It was from my local newspaper, reprinted from the <i>Washington Post,</i> titled <a href="https://wapo.st/4bTCZrT" target="_blank">"Seven easy steps to a more fit 2024," by Gretchen Reynolds</a>.</p><p>Keeping the clipping on my desk only to get buried by other detritus didn't seem to be doing me any good, so I thought I would paste each of the tips on separate cards, repurposing some playing cards from incomplete decks in the process. Because if they are in the form of a set of cards, with some splashes of color and a picture, then I'm sure to actually get out there and do the things. Right?</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibs0D0ix7i98BUIT863i3rhU9gkQWLpplaJ11O7FO9jik7RhwbxNXcVOWCowvflkfQzQG3OkkOPF3evYXEVE0GnJouci9U5yD6QGdh5TEyEtDZRZUeR2R8ofcueZqsOEvQZxzyivcgW0OdJ7IQ0xXQZjZ3XBOnbSYivL_TXmJLFka5CUb3mrxJLg/s2500/Walking%20inspo%20cards%202-28-24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1989" data-original-width="2500" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibs0D0ix7i98BUIT863i3rhU9gkQWLpplaJ11O7FO9jik7RhwbxNXcVOWCowvflkfQzQG3OkkOPF3evYXEVE0GnJouci9U5yD6QGdh5TEyEtDZRZUeR2R8ofcueZqsOEvQZxzyivcgW0OdJ7IQ0xXQZjZ3XBOnbSYivL_TXmJLFka5CUb3mrxJLg/w640-h510/Walking%20inspo%20cards%202-28-24.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><b>Meanwhile on Etsy . . .</b></span></p><p>I added my newest zine to my Etsy shop, titled <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1673684828/green-a-zine-for-nerds-of-all-kinds-its" target="_blank"><i>Green: A zine about a color.</i> </a>You can read more about it and see pictures on the listing page. I'll be mailing that and the also-recent<i> <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1660283504/a-zine-of-days-and-dragons-with-folklore" target="_blank">Zine of Days and Dragons</a> </i>to two of my returning customers today (Monday), with a couple of other things. I always include a few stickers with orders, and some other little freebies just for fun. Packing up orders and shipping them off is one of my favorite parts of having an Etsy shop, and I'm quite content with my slow pace of business, which allows me to take my time preparing orders—and to do other things, like the 100-Day Project. I used to try harder to promote my shop and follow Etsy's tips and suggestions, but it wasn't any fun and I never really had my heart in it, so I stopped doing it. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bi-9may0amZ9Af-XzDcy3nV9HCDeG3IJ05nueOxUtrrP4vG3nzyLrFvYWdjUZmtrLSVkK7eJMdt9B7a-r_uQz9j0OwS5frHnSwTt3aGkmjSkHCN5P8FD6OOqyektC19a4z04JOnDErHXI_BCUhqdOoHavpLvET-M5IDvCV59YFrwNEc__R4yqw/s2500/Etsy%20order-030324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bi-9may0amZ9Af-XzDcy3nV9HCDeG3IJ05nueOxUtrrP4vG3nzyLrFvYWdjUZmtrLSVkK7eJMdt9B7a-r_uQz9j0OwS5frHnSwTt3aGkmjSkHCN5P8FD6OOqyektC19a4z04JOnDErHXI_BCUhqdOoHavpLvET-M5IDvCV59YFrwNEc__R4yqw/w640-h480/Etsy%20order-030324.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>That's all for now. I'll be back next Monday.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-18644897394107732642024-02-26T07:53:00.004-06:002024-02-26T07:53:00.134-06:00My First Week of the 100-Day Project, and a New Zine<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOIKcrln9OiTwm-LIGjAqqn_asjqDlbZ_v0_cDWyCjqZ2ZXlnwVb-otM5ZTpqVNG1sPxDR9l9skftCi9cCMMIuMXuqMnOQoB-fRl0c9zEcQWgo53KwCHGk8c0dpXobe9CXGITKdx9hEDAXZ-tjTilhRz9QsoJa1v_PZOJ-4Q8IRpuIVirOQNW5A/s2000/Journal%20page%20and%20greens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOIKcrln9OiTwm-LIGjAqqn_asjqDlbZ_v0_cDWyCjqZ2ZXlnwVb-otM5ZTpqVNG1sPxDR9l9skftCi9cCMMIuMXuqMnOQoB-fRl0c9zEcQWgo53KwCHGk8c0dpXobe9CXGITKdx9hEDAXZ-tjTilhRz9QsoJa1v_PZOJ-4Q8IRpuIVirOQNW5A/w640-h480/Journal%20page%20and%20greens.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I started the 100-Day Project on an impulse last week,<a href="https://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2024/02/having-go-at-100-day-project.html" target="_blank"> having learned about it just one day before its official start date of February 18,</a> so I didn't spend any time planning a project or even deciding what type of project I would do. Because I had just done a couple of mini collages in my scrap journal, I figured I would keep doing that, with the idea that I would go about it as a kind of study, experimenting with materials and composition, intending to incorporate some drawing and other mark-making into my collages. Which I did, more or less.<p></p><p>But I was also in the midst of finishing up a zine that I had started about a year ago and then set aside because of timeliness. The zine is about the color green (possibly the first in a scattered series of color-themed zines), and when I started it last year, March was upon me already and I could see that it wasn't going to be done in time to peg it to St. Patrick's Day, so I quit working on it with the intention of picking it up again this year. </p><p>About two or three weeks ago, I had a vague recollection about it and was pleased to discover that I had already done several illustrations and written a fair amount of text. I got right back into it and was enjoying some momentum when I stumbled upon the 100-Day Project. So after a couple of days of mini collages, I decided that finishing something I had started before was exactly the sort of thing that this project was made for.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DU8sD0_rQWlj4HX21heV9zX3pmkeuwDRstpzTlk85JI6Y3LFX_LXXIkq0NbxBmcmx1yCyM6oInTgfSEn3waUTIqiXJ9QmMf1UBdAiF_0yjtYRyJO6JZv_q9zivTpJwK4f9AHO5_u7SOBjHPvfBwGhHgfe76aDP_PKr9EgsnjK6ksfNPTCPZ77g/s2000/Green%20zine%20in%20progress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DU8sD0_rQWlj4HX21heV9zX3pmkeuwDRstpzTlk85JI6Y3LFX_LXXIkq0NbxBmcmx1yCyM6oInTgfSEn3waUTIqiXJ9QmMf1UBdAiF_0yjtYRyJO6JZv_q9zivTpJwK4f9AHO5_u7SOBjHPvfBwGhHgfe76aDP_PKr9EgsnjK6ksfNPTCPZ77g/w640-h480/Green%20zine%20in%20progress.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Well, now the Green zine is done and I asked myself, what next? I have other unfinished zines and was considering which one to take up this week, and then remembered that I really needed to focus on a very mundane but essential task: gathering all the relevant financial information for our tax preparer. Unfortunately, that includes a lot of catching up on my bookkeeping. The longer I let that go the more the stress builds up and becomes a real creativity killer. As a kindness to myself, I need to devote some time to it each day before it comes down to crunch time, so that it doesn't become the only thing I can let myself do for however long it takes.</p><p>But I feel that such dull necessary tasks can fit nicely with a daily art practice. In fact, it's probably the best way to get such things done.</p><p>The organizers of the 100-Day Project encourage participants to spend a small amount of time each day on their projects, like 10 minutes or so, in order to make it sustainable. If it takes too much time, a person is more likely to drop out. So this week, I am going to heed that advice and work on something for just a little bit of time each day, and not try to complete a thing daily. In fact, I am intentionally going to take the whole week to work on one mixed-media composition, filling a page in the same scrap journal where I made my mini collages (four on a page, each completed in one sitting). Or longer, if needed. There is no deadline, after all, there is only doing.</p><p>Since I still like the idea of blending collage-making with drawing, and since I have been intrigued by a type of aesthetic scribbling called<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asemic_writing" target="_blank"> asemic writing </a>(it looks like writing, but it isn't), I am going to use this week to explore combining that with collage and just see where it leads. I began it this afternoon. Next week, I'll show you how it's coming along.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmDgehbfmtZ-O9RFLUNRkELmKV8WLrHvGd88UH-C2IVsxOLIt6hvzaQDqbHeH2MaaR5iEPtptTqK1jm3MM_4Rl3MG-SHT-Pb73toIFI7UeWFvddDGxdnCMu0dZGWQDhd5fzYWvGGf0EKGmkULeLeCjYb0OExnzKaS0ppPQT6iG0Zwff2ExMQodg/s2000/Asemic%20beginning%20022524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1951" data-original-width="2000" height="624" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwmDgehbfmtZ-O9RFLUNRkELmKV8WLrHvGd88UH-C2IVsxOLIt6hvzaQDqbHeH2MaaR5iEPtptTqK1jm3MM_4Rl3MG-SHT-Pb73toIFI7UeWFvddDGxdnCMu0dZGWQDhd5fzYWvGGf0EKGmkULeLeCjYb0OExnzKaS0ppPQT6iG0Zwff2ExMQodg/w640-h624/Asemic%20beginning%20022524.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-37209845004414933092024-02-18T20:37:00.003-06:002024-02-18T20:37:43.171-06:00Having a go at the 100-Day Project <p> I have seen various artists I follow on Instagram and elsewhere reference the 100-Day Project as a kind of daily art-making practice and have wondered about what that is, exactly, and whether it's something I might like to do. So, yesterday, when I saw that it starts today, Feb. 18, 2024, I looked over<a href="https://www.the100dayproject.org" target="_blank"> the project's website </a>to get a better understanding of what it's about. I really liked how loose and open-ended it is and decided to just jump in. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoS9DiERAwF7ZdpZu_o10pQADLCiRj7Dl1cSsE-ngRFa8ysFuNpKb9K5kvw9DUHCO-ULrsE7JUHrsG8qa27EXiwaUAbwHx_mDCr_A0u5iXMYQ8fsmrUNo537NHPncV3-2odgUoIX6bFCW67VjZ1rL2OBlo5CAwwKmDt58XGmFuazqG2ew347QibQ/s2000/100DayProj2024-1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoS9DiERAwF7ZdpZu_o10pQADLCiRj7Dl1cSsE-ngRFa8ysFuNpKb9K5kvw9DUHCO-ULrsE7JUHrsG8qa27EXiwaUAbwHx_mDCr_A0u5iXMYQ8fsmrUNo537NHPncV3-2odgUoIX6bFCW67VjZ1rL2OBlo5CAwwKmDt58XGmFuazqG2ew347QibQ/w640-h480/100DayProj2024-1b.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>For example, I expected the daily prompts to be themes and motifs to include in your artwork, but they're more like messages of inspiration, and guidelines for developing a daily creative practice. In fact, the whole idea is to work on any project you want, not just visual art, as I had originally assumed. And it doesn't matter when you start or stop or whether you actually do it for 100 days. The timeline is just the duration for their newsletter about the project. There's a free version with limited information, and a paid version with more, plus access to the archives. I opted to pay $50 for a one-year subscription because I realize that a lot of time and effort and expense goes into what they're doing, so as long as I can afford it, why not support the project with my dough.</p><p>As it happens, I had just been playing around with my scraps left over from making ATCs (artist trading cards) for a group that I exchange them with, and had decided to make mini collages from these tiny bits and scraps in a sketchbook that I had turned into a scrap-collage journal. I penciled a couple of 2-and-a-half-inch squares and decided I would fill in just one of them each day until I used them up or got tired of it or for however long I felt like doing it. It's like I had a two-day head start on the project already.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi225IC57h22RnxdWdBLX5oxt29sQmCkwjOiJ8Lpilw0qD66ISrIN2dei0SPFkfL4UorRxq_2zcUl0LFFa4qBUUr_zaQ4L5Yc0-DVmGP-SFGxrNL1cqZoo_EpQpXMRaCFcVq1MNWoue0o1zOytNZBtiPECSJe-e7F6eyl0ijorjqu_YA-d9yzc5eA/s2000/100DayProj2024-scraps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi225IC57h22RnxdWdBLX5oxt29sQmCkwjOiJ8Lpilw0qD66ISrIN2dei0SPFkfL4UorRxq_2zcUl0LFFa4qBUUr_zaQ4L5Yc0-DVmGP-SFGxrNL1cqZoo_EpQpXMRaCFcVq1MNWoue0o1zOytNZBtiPECSJe-e7F6eyl0ijorjqu_YA-d9yzc5eA/w640-h480/100DayProj2024-scraps.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>I usually have a small pile of scraps after making ATCs for our monthly exchanges, which is what led me to start the scrap-collage journal in the first place. I like the bits and pieces of leftover papers and didn't want to just discard them (plus there's figuring out what's recyclable and what isn't), and I really liked the idea of pasting them into a journal for my own amusement with no other end purpose in mind. I've also used junk mail and other found ephemera to fill a page, with lots of text jotted on and around the things, because I'm really a words-and-images person, I just am. Perhaps you noticed?</p><p>The 100-Day Project does not have to have an end purpose in mind either, unless you want it to. They offer some suggestions for thinking through your intentions. Why do I want to do this?</p><p>• To nurture a daily art practice;</p><p>• To improve my skills, especially in combining collage, drawing, and painting. I want to nudge myself a little to combine these techniques more, rather than treating them as separate things, as I have tended to do;</p><p>• To play! Not just making art when I need an illustration for something else I'm working on (like a zine or the Useful Calendar), but with no end purpose in mind.</p><p>I had also originally included: To get in the habit of sharing my art on Instagram and Facebook more regularly, but then was immediately confronted with my own ambivalence about social media. I prefer sharing things by way of this blog because it feels more expansive and leisurely, and because of what I said already: I'm more of a words-and-images person.</p><p>So while I do intend to work on my 100-Day Project as consistently as I can, I plan to only "share" about it occasionally, when I feel like it. To begin with, I'm doing the 2-1/2-inch collages, like those I made on the two days prior to the start of this project, but I'm sure I'll want to change it up as I go along. </p><p>Here's day one, showing one in-progress photo and one of the completed composition.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU2b6xdSIWCbLaceQxQ1Qvtae2lizdEsPBmcBxHYBbgGZqy-4I-1Uvt2pWjhKWwKKR_Xr-n8JJsl8f2Cp3cO0IUVNd6tPL-jK_6qxKB6la13z03yc6sG5J01LeJ5ZLoOOVKY9r__XvC9W9jieV8jMvwy0wGX7KM36_09S-HUk5x-nghmOan20cw/s2000/100DayProj2024-1a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuU2b6xdSIWCbLaceQxQ1Qvtae2lizdEsPBmcBxHYBbgGZqy-4I-1Uvt2pWjhKWwKKR_Xr-n8JJsl8f2Cp3cO0IUVNd6tPL-jK_6qxKB6la13z03yc6sG5J01LeJ5ZLoOOVKY9r__XvC9W9jieV8jMvwy0wGX7KM36_09S-HUk5x-nghmOan20cw/w640-h480/100DayProj2024-1a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1MD04WeoOuER7zJ_JjZqQAgqUAW0l2eKinuHmMY0GdFeOT969voIffLLdSQ4QKSGFkOyHJQqOYLCofZiakKNxS-gSvUqOyiEHa6fLfV1RXEIdpprOBr1jZZUZtuE8U6g4Mi_uUxYRVZS3n59p_GalQjNE4BoziVh-xa22tkLXYiCu3y-wjHFJA/s2000/100DayProj2024-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1853" data-original-width="2000" height="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh1MD04WeoOuER7zJ_JjZqQAgqUAW0l2eKinuHmMY0GdFeOT969voIffLLdSQ4QKSGFkOyHJQqOYLCofZiakKNxS-gSvUqOyiEHa6fLfV1RXEIdpprOBr1jZZUZtuE8U6g4Mi_uUxYRVZS3n59p_GalQjNE4BoziVh-xa22tkLXYiCu3y-wjHFJA/w640-h592/100DayProj2024-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-20697614309179089622023-11-22T08:30:00.006-06:002023-11-22T16:12:13.892-06:00Etsy Musings<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoYNUJXPGN6pUh7fpPSPPp1zLGwb9XCvyF2iRnAawuYqV8rnp6AEiMt0W6ywf9JwydNqPlZ2_LTYORl0SEWaJy1pZ-IGXIourTcv57ZTUnJlEbpv-aRGSvmfLiMcb7t_Jeur6yaT8owW9tCpIMro9T3BwE31wMwU7KHvqkvzMrdJurCesJGtnVg/s2500/ListenZine-6.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhoYNUJXPGN6pUh7fpPSPPp1zLGwb9XCvyF2iRnAawuYqV8rnp6AEiMt0W6ywf9JwydNqPlZ2_LTYORl0SEWaJy1pZ-IGXIourTcv57ZTUnJlEbpv-aRGSvmfLiMcb7t_Jeur6yaT8owW9tCpIMro9T3BwE31wMwU7KHvqkvzMrdJurCesJGtnVg/w640-h480/ListenZine-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large;">I opened my Etsy shop in 2009 after learning about it from a friend. I know it's an understatement to say that it's changed a lot since then — and each change has elicited a robust round of complaints from many Etsy sellers and some shoppers. A lot of other selling platforms have emerged over the years, and many erstwhile Etsy sellers have jumped ship for these alternatives. While I've looked into each of these as I've learned about them, I've so far not been persuaded to seriously consider moving my business elsewhere.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">After investigating a recent tip from a friend about yet another marketplace for makers, calling itself a "better online handmade marketplace" in a pointed reference to Etsy's failings in that regard (the handmade part, that is), I found myself remembering my early experiences with Etsy, and in the process reinforcing my decision to stay with this imperfect platform.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">When I started out on Etsy, I had no idea how to promote my shop and it took maybe a year before I had my first sale. I gradually learned how to navigate the site and access the resources and guidance available, which still include tips on managing and marketing your shop, how to use keywords to help potential customers find your things, and ways to connect with other sellers. It felt like a real community of makers then, and there were many ways in which Etsy encouraged and facilitated connections between us. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">One of these was the forming of "teams" — interest groups of sellers who joined together to encourage, advise, and promote one another. One of the more creative and fun ways we could promote one another on the site was by making a virtual gallery wall of 16 items, called a "treasury," for which Etsy provided a user-friendly template. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: center;">(Here's</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"> </span><a href="https://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2011/03/window-shopping-on-etsy.html" style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;" target="_blank">a blog post I wrote in 2011 about Etsy treasuries.</a></span><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: center;">)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfanhuTTWzbMcPFWjcT95eqFl4_U5sIcy30s5LDe-9-Cf-tkg2w5vHWgh9MXjv8IUOMUgxhRvBXDVoTyRQRSHamZZgiiL6ZQ12T5OZYbELcfQiOimzT5T_W3OU9GWchbqyHp2-yrMUQ5ZKL-fkPrtMiEOnAvBTHwEdiYnvDt2vUSyE9F6e61asw/s1496/Screenshot%202023-11-21%20at%2011.56.41%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1496" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjfanhuTTWzbMcPFWjcT95eqFl4_U5sIcy30s5LDe-9-Cf-tkg2w5vHWgh9MXjv8IUOMUgxhRvBXDVoTyRQRSHamZZgiiL6ZQ12T5OZYbELcfQiOimzT5T_W3OU9GWchbqyHp2-yrMUQ5ZKL-fkPrtMiEOnAvBTHwEdiYnvDt2vUSyE9F6e61asw/w640-h382/Screenshot%202023-11-21%20at%2011.56.41%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">A remnant of a treasury I made in 2014</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Back then, Etsy had a common home page, so anyone who visited the website saw the same things, and one of those things was a featured treasury, which changed throughout the day (hourly, I think). In order for your treasury to have a chance at being featured on the home page, you had to include items from 16 different shops, and none of them could be your own. It was a common courtesy to return the favor if someone included your item in their treasury.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">It gave everyone who participated a lot of exposure, and if your item was in a treasury that had been showcased on the home page, you could pretty much guess when it happened because you suddenly had a spike in views and maybe even sales. Even if you had something in a treasury that never made it to the home page, you still got a boost in exposure. </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;">My very first sale on Etsy happened after somebody had featured something of mine in their treasury. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">Etsy also used to foster a more direct relationship between its own personnel and the sellers. For example, at the end of the year they had "home for the holidays" events where employees who traveled from Etsy headquarters in Brooklyn, NY, to their home towns to visit family hosted in-person gatherings that were like intimate town halls.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"> They even gave away some very lovely and practical schwag at these meetings, such as a spiral-bound planner-calendar for 2013, which I not only used for a couple of years to keep track of my shop's progress, but which inspired me to design my own version when I couldn't find another like it. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnXbaDg78WbxLPkAV-wh8XogGkO8i8vH7bYnwziLErBFV9LoPRxAhhx-88qL16Wez5s69yPNWrbiNOdM79F2yq4rs05r5QLzRN1bnS8KaZ75g4UOhYyh728kTJcHi6CWDp-QcyE4CHsFijWMZ7NiCDHIa00r60RisLobj3VE2Ax_zkgvL39-DZw/s4032/IMG_7817.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBnXbaDg78WbxLPkAV-wh8XogGkO8i8vH7bYnwziLErBFV9LoPRxAhhx-88qL16Wez5s69yPNWrbiNOdM79F2yq4rs05r5QLzRN1bnS8KaZ75g4UOhYyh728kTJcHi6CWDp-QcyE4CHsFijWMZ7NiCDHIa00r60RisLobj3VE2Ax_zkgvL39-DZw/w640-h480/IMG_7817.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2013 Etsy planner (my shop was called Arty Didact then), and my own 2024 one.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">Lest you think that everything was light and lovely in those days, or that I was blind to the dark side of Etsy, I assure you that I was well aware of the many issues and conflicts. People gamed the platform from the get-go, disregarding the rules about what was permitted, much to the chagrin of many makers, who often got quite testy about somebody else's "handmade" thing being nothing of the sort. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">But I also knew of at least one person who was accused by another seller of passing off factory-made items as handmade, who then had to produce some kind of proof that he really made what he made, which became such a hassle that he gave up on Etsy altogether, saying it wasn't worth the bother. I learned about this and other complaints through a private Facebook group of Minnesota Etsy sellers. I recalled that person's experience recently when I read about how the "better" handmade marketplace would enforce their rules with the help of their sellers. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;">Many people on Etsy</span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;"> could be quite nasty to others in a variety of other ways, too, with all the pettiness that social media and middle school playgrounds seem to bring out in some people. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">But my own experience was quite convivial and fun. Being part of a few teams that joined together to make treasuries that would catch the eye of those who chose what to feature on the homepage was kind of a game, and a thrill when it succeeded. And it definitely helped buyers discover your shop.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;">I don't recall when Etsy stopped the treasuries, but it went along with changing the user experience so there was no longer a common home page. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;">Now we are all siloed in our own landing pages, with algorithms to show us more of whatever we've already indicated we are likely to buy. </span><span style="font-family: georgia; text-align: center;">It was around that time that they also introduced onsite advertising, so a seller could pay to have their items boosted in search results. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">The treasury teams went extinct, and most of the connections I had made with other sellers faded away, although there are a few with whom I have maintained virtual friendships via Facebook. But for many sellers, Etsy became a much colder place.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">Maybe it was bound to happen as the number of sellers grew by leaps and bounds and Etsy gave up all pretense of policing so many shops to ensure that the items they are selling were truly handmade (or vintage, or a craft supply). Ownership of the platform has changed hands, too, and it has grown more sophisticated in its use of algorithms, marketing strategies, and so on.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsJQ8aL-YUz6q6nrfbCxm_A2fkEC9qRHZLKEOn-4z5ylt0HxbLvgCGOsFBZ_g5cW4vnj1SxVOYELcxa-HbDmB0ary8CljJLQ2chQt6jP0IPMvmRmLBMmNro5dpPabixbANdSy3x1X0ECUvzK1KrdDT-3VZZKlSIsxM5nbInfxt9J0tfqg6YC7Kg/s2000/LittleReminders-cropped.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2000" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsJQ8aL-YUz6q6nrfbCxm_A2fkEC9qRHZLKEOn-4z5ylt0HxbLvgCGOsFBZ_g5cW4vnj1SxVOYELcxa-HbDmB0ary8CljJLQ2chQt6jP0IPMvmRmLBMmNro5dpPabixbANdSy3x1X0ECUvzK1KrdDT-3VZZKlSIsxM5nbInfxt9J0tfqg6YC7Kg/w640-h436/LittleReminders-cropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I call these cards<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1068511297/little-reminders-6-mindfulness-cards-to" target="_blank"> "Little Reminders"</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><b>So Why Am I Still There?</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Here's the thing, and why I continue to use Etsy despite all those changes and a significant decline in my sales since the halcyon days of treasuries. For me, it's still better than the alternatives, and over the years I have collected a nice cadre of repeat customers whom I genuinely like. It certainly helps that I sell ephemeral things — cards, bookplates, zines, and the Useful Calendar, which keeps people who like the way I make those things coming back for more. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">Many of these repeat customers send me chatty messages when they're about to buy another thing. One buys custom bookplates for each of her grandchildren, for the books that she gives them. I hear from her when she needs to replenish her supply (she must give those kids a lot of books!), and with cheerful announcements about the birth of another grandchild.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">It's because of those customers that Etsy never became a cold place to me. But there are also plain practical reasons for staying with Etsy.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">First, Etsy has so many sellers because Etsy has so many customers, and they have so many customers because they have so many sellers. When I am investigating another selling platform, one of the first things I will do is search for items like those I sell. I want to know if my items will fit in, and if the site offers enough of those types of things to attract customers.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">That new handmade site had no calendars. Not one. Calendars are my biggest selling items at this time of year, followed by cards and bookplates.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">Second, Etsy offers a lot of services that make selling on their site convenient: They collect and pay all applicable state sales taxes; I can buy USPS shipping labels through them for a lower cost than buying directly from the Post Office, and it's much more convenient; the listing platform is user friendly and allows for up to 12 photos per item; and my customers are already there. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">Finally, it's just plain easier to stay with what you know than learn to navigate something new. I would rather put my time and effort into my creative endeavors, making my customers happy, and my other interests than getting the hang of a new way of managing my online sales, creating new listings and uploading photos all over again, and doing the necessary marketing to get found in a different spot. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; text-align: center;">Changing platforms would also mean either abandoning my most loyal customers or asking them to follow me to a new and unfamiliar site, one they may not have heard of before and don't know whether to trust. I just don't see that as providing a good experience for my customers — or myself. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfD_KKJkcfzYuw24lmv9a59l3IkJRmpskoN5tjPnP3wXTXb1o5ovyBjfRqo-c6QcL5PLdzOgnJIUC6drVPqJDYO4CTASZc2v_3mgLC4KTbQGBHplL_uW04QmWAL-0hcVMde5bc-Z1ATkDDmY4d-u2HtTieDYKtJhSQlf9EC3mAe6nVZpCyh_BBA/s937/TeaBookWithCup.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="747" data-original-width="937" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfD_KKJkcfzYuw24lmv9a59l3IkJRmpskoN5tjPnP3wXTXb1o5ovyBjfRqo-c6QcL5PLdzOgnJIUC6drVPqJDYO4CTASZc2v_3mgLC4KTbQGBHplL_uW04QmWAL-0hcVMde5bc-Z1ATkDDmY4d-u2HtTieDYKtJhSQlf9EC3mAe6nVZpCyh_BBA/w640-h510/TeaBookWithCup.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just another zine available <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/87891592/a-mini-chapbook-with-a-zen-story-about" target="_blank">in my Etsy shop.</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-31875828620258606432023-01-20T16:22:00.001-06:002023-01-20T16:22:27.826-06:00Making a Collaged Paper Rabbit Puppet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSKyysAWpKu88YcYhgdINyFATzMcLGAlNAECgiL2k4P5PNIJBcNLiMibtS4J1bp1AV1nUvv0SuYQ07ec2r4chXHK6lKsbMn8u-CL6PsCDQZ0ubcgtNyCLal9aYnzKvnlZDmEyHk_rZPxOaer_YcsLaQMyNON4P6czgd9rtGy8n1hUxi4ulJ0/s2000/RabbitPuppet1-yellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1548" data-original-width="2000" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgSKyysAWpKu88YcYhgdINyFATzMcLGAlNAECgiL2k4P5PNIJBcNLiMibtS4J1bp1AV1nUvv0SuYQ07ec2r4chXHK6lKsbMn8u-CL6PsCDQZ0ubcgtNyCLal9aYnzKvnlZDmEyHk_rZPxOaer_YcsLaQMyNON4P6czgd9rtGy8n1hUxi4ulJ0/w640-h496/RabbitPuppet1-yellow.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>A group of friends and I get together once a month to exchange small handmade art tokens, usually <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards" target="_blank">artist trading cards (ATCs)</a>. We have a theme, or prompt, for each month, which anyone may use or not as suits them. We hadn't yet come up with our list of prompts for 2023 when we scheduled our January meeting, so we left it as "artist's choice," both regarding theme and form, so long as we keep to a small format similar to ATCs, which are 2.5" x 3.5". </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO68dUlcCHBmVvj58ZrTSjQ6jUghqPCPegcioSZoWXUgssHikAj9gOhX6-Vx80UxXJgS31YqCBxIibh5g9f86h42jWrNC0CvSrcosiUuLCnTLrxhGb1g6C2sYuclIEtkBWL3uTmC82Ls_Tw5pCcJaxBdG8OWWqbDtFfdK6eCgrqbzqt416nVI/s2000/RabbitPuppets-2-pink&blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1372" data-original-width="2000" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO68dUlcCHBmVvj58ZrTSjQ6jUghqPCPegcioSZoWXUgssHikAj9gOhX6-Vx80UxXJgS31YqCBxIibh5g9f86h42jWrNC0CvSrcosiUuLCnTLrxhGb1g6C2sYuclIEtkBWL3uTmC82Ls_Tw5pCcJaxBdG8OWWqbDtFfdK6eCgrqbzqt416nVI/w640-h440/RabbitPuppets-2-pink&blue.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Our meeting this month is on the day before the Lunar New Year (January 22, 2023), so I wanted to make something related to Year of the Rabbit, and I decided to make a paper doll or puppet that could be placed on the end of a coffee stir stick (because I have a lot of those), thinking it could be displayed as an ornament of some sort. I'm envisioning pushing the stick into a houseplant, but I didn't want to constrain the others that I give them to, so I wanted the stick to be removable.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpvDhXdBDGMfAq7jfQvFuQOcKXN1b8bCQfmWikFkOqVGKWgHCCYnMIS8L_NaxbJxaJNuHe-pedN_6-9YbKl2hL8Vp-qsgRvzmdnmIi0HdK7csI-yANdB8evvuLlDdn40xIgcUtOs9cMmuBI-57urJ6Y53y7LD5mD1vArSMBq59Uv5RI_sAn8/s2500/RabbitSketches-2images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1438" data-original-width="2500" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpvDhXdBDGMfAq7jfQvFuQOcKXN1b8bCQfmWikFkOqVGKWgHCCYnMIS8L_NaxbJxaJNuHe-pedN_6-9YbKl2hL8Vp-qsgRvzmdnmIi0HdK7csI-yANdB8evvuLlDdn40xIgcUtOs9cMmuBI-57urJ6Y53y7LD5mD1vArSMBq59Uv5RI_sAn8/w640-h368/RabbitSketches-2images.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>With that in mind, I did a few sketches of running/leaping rabbits, then traced over one of the sketches, tracing the parts separately, to make a set of templates. Since I used a rather flimsy translucent paper for tracing, I scanned the sheet of rabbit parts, reduced it slightly in size, and then printed it on heavy card stock so I could cut out the individual shapes and then trace around them onto decorative paper/light card stock and assemble them into colorful puppets. You could use a sheet of vellum instead, to trace the parts without needing to scan and print them after.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcjVBfEiqBiaI6ofgianAXTNh-oP4Zv9tnDwZwG5mPBwCLh-yhnGClwToNnz3wrOMB_feUdQiCZ301Uo6ItrkPc7qBWuOh2Qsh-QuwEgfYE6NLqRH3m1T6gId_0pDiHyYHyjUnnI-RwZkGXov6-9tGksWkETdbiylpCTupyIPWlGlcf47f90/s2000/First%20completed%20rabbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcjVBfEiqBiaI6ofgianAXTNh-oP4Zv9tnDwZwG5mPBwCLh-yhnGClwToNnz3wrOMB_feUdQiCZ301Uo6ItrkPc7qBWuOh2Qsh-QuwEgfYE6NLqRH3m1T6gId_0pDiHyYHyjUnnI-RwZkGXov6-9tGksWkETdbiylpCTupyIPWlGlcf47f90/w640-h480/First%20completed%20rabbit.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>The most time-consuming and challenging part for me was selecting among my various decorative papers for colors and patterns that I thought go together. Once I made my selections, the cutting and assembling went pretty quickly and was rather fun.</p><p>I chose fairly plain parts of the deco papers for the heads and then drew the faces on. The yellow one at top is from an image of a sun face, and the proportions were just right to use that for my rabbit face, adding just a few marks to complete it. The torsos are also cut with a plain enough center so I could write "Year of the Rabbit 2023" on them. </p><p></p>First I glued the heads to the torsos, then attached the ears, then put another piece at the back of the head to cover and secure the glued parts. After that, the legs are attached with tiny brads so they can be moved into different positions. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvvg-bXFtYVDWaA-BLXxQLBtDHixNPfnnqGfKo8YGqFNDIq4hfFUaAGkQNKQtEvUZd2SQJbvHZOSNxORvue_nIhlc1BOsZZJPgKxM8KW1-c82RPr07bJcU5QUsm5ObEB1e8zs3lELBIewU9w8Oecmz-Vlih04T7xW_lnUw8HrpeNj8YwzTLk/s1500/Patch%20for%20stick%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="1500" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfvvg-bXFtYVDWaA-BLXxQLBtDHixNPfnnqGfKo8YGqFNDIq4hfFUaAGkQNKQtEvUZd2SQJbvHZOSNxORvue_nIhlc1BOsZZJPgKxM8KW1-c82RPr07bJcU5QUsm5ObEB1e8zs3lELBIewU9w8Oecmz-Vlih04T7xW_lnUw8HrpeNj8YwzTLk/w640-h478/Patch%20for%20stick%202.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div>To make a slot for the stick, I cut a small piece that fit between the legs on back, placed it over the tip of the stick and creased around it with my fingernails, then glued it to the back of the torso and clamped it while the glue set. I use Uhu glue sticks for this and a lot of other things.</div><div><br /></div><div>These were rather time-consuming but a lot of fun to make. I don't always make something this elaborate for my art swapping group, but once in a while it's nice to try something new, which is one of the reasons I enjoy being a part of it. And I made enough of them to have one extra for myself. <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrt-uMQFkv0CYFG6BDyKbm3CZ-2RRi_vI4hK37UKHtG5ycHrtu7DoXM5cZEGocRV-sk1_QKf0_R1Kt_zy48FRDGNwYgUKT0H2purgc031m3utY18_riRa8T5vovmZOzl3-4k2tAPkIRTwJBPsmdxX4DAVmvthHMDChfoSP59WncULD9Wasr94/s2000/RabbitPuppets-all.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="2000" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrt-uMQFkv0CYFG6BDyKbm3CZ-2RRi_vI4hK37UKHtG5ycHrtu7DoXM5cZEGocRV-sk1_QKf0_R1Kt_zy48FRDGNwYgUKT0H2purgc031m3utY18_riRa8T5vovmZOzl3-4k2tAPkIRTwJBPsmdxX4DAVmvthHMDChfoSP59WncULD9Wasr94/w640-h444/RabbitPuppets-all.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SPS5zcK2QRyNZ1JOc6s8rA-jXtGiX1u9NzMQxWAQ2RSdLDqRdg9EJfInXBa4UQt-WZIMFzxn5i3uy31Sx-IaZ-d67v9e8E1tca90Ld9nhKYZwNpVRu43pK0VxXGtuL_lFP1rJf97jhEK5KlL29Nhyqo1GZ_jTHe47Lhw1kQ6VOJUUuhKmuA/s2000/Rabbits%20on%20sticks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1168" data-original-width="2000" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8SPS5zcK2QRyNZ1JOc6s8rA-jXtGiX1u9NzMQxWAQ2RSdLDqRdg9EJfInXBa4UQt-WZIMFzxn5i3uy31Sx-IaZ-d67v9e8E1tca90Ld9nhKYZwNpVRu43pK0VxXGtuL_lFP1rJf97jhEK5KlL29Nhyqo1GZ_jTHe47Lhw1kQ6VOJUUuhKmuA/w640-h374/Rabbits%20on%20sticks.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /></div></div>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-26307420462677601122022-12-26T16:32:00.000-06:002022-12-26T16:32:33.093-06:00A few things I've learned about rabbits and hares<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcSDGAmVcPwb52DytVeyrloMBL0hiGNE21Fcu6ayoRWo5oCX56R2sVv-QvaEZLMvlnIdjhCBwMssfUnTJx42S8Z0XYFHpmzcq_17aWN8e9jtulX91eXyiZzfZrE187rzUbDr1Vqsj055OD3so_dhhFs4D3Rb5XG6WxFCxFiBGNPzjQVQUJvA/s2000/ChineseHare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="2000" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcSDGAmVcPwb52DytVeyrloMBL0hiGNE21Fcu6ayoRWo5oCX56R2sVv-QvaEZLMvlnIdjhCBwMssfUnTJx42S8Z0XYFHpmzcq_17aWN8e9jtulX91eXyiZzfZrE187rzUbDr1Vqsj055OD3so_dhhFs4D3Rb5XG6WxFCxFiBGNPzjQVQUJvA/w400-h185/ChineseHare.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="text-align: left;">While working on<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/sharonscompendium/?etsrc=sdt&section_id=40533354" target="_blank"> the Useful Calendar,</a> I try to learn as much as I can about the featured animal, which I choose based on the Chinese luni-solar calendar and zodiac. The Year of the Rabbit begins on Jan. 22, 2023, and so I have been immersed in many things rabbit for the last several months.</span></div><p>Naturally, I began by trying to find out what species of rabbits are native to China so I could choose a proper representative for the year. Instead, I learned that there are no rabbits native to China, only hares. That's why the leaping leporid* that graces January in my Year of the Rabbit calendar card is really a hare: <a href="https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/43142-Lepus-sinensis" target="_blank"><i>Lepus sinensis,</i> </a>the Chinese hare, to be exact. (*<i>Leporid</i> means any rabbit or hare.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj37ECcP3rdpJTQoOFVd5VqnleR2kdUfwnqTma9bHrZ3PaAncsWTJXUXSSIOLfizzjjZNdf2jpxOaMfPR0RbaaTcegqNi4EcYGUIbvUEtW8eZ5P1ghSdJClUWIBBGXto4d-XxYaIMf0J0my2rMa0V2ZmQokfJBZnN0--fUqjnia8V9yXTjfrlM/s2000/ChineseHare-drawings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj37ECcP3rdpJTQoOFVd5VqnleR2kdUfwnqTma9bHrZ3PaAncsWTJXUXSSIOLfizzjjZNdf2jpxOaMfPR0RbaaTcegqNi4EcYGUIbvUEtW8eZ5P1ghSdJClUWIBBGXto4d-XxYaIMf0J0my2rMa0V2ZmQokfJBZnN0--fUqjnia8V9yXTjfrlM/w400-h300/ChineseHare-drawings.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>Even though we casually use the words <i>rabbit, hare,</i> and <i>bunny</i> interchangeably, rabbits and hares are distinctly different animals—and <i>bunny</i> is just a nickname often used for rabbits. Both belong to the family <i>Lagomorph</i>, which also includes <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pika" target="_blank">the pika, </a>an adorable small mammal that is native both to China and North America, and resembles a rabbit in some ways, but has short rounded ears and other distinctions. I did not include any pikas in the 2023 Useful Calendar, but I do plan to include them in the upcoming <i>2023 Annual: The Rabbit Zine.</i> (And, no, if you're wondering, the pika is not the model for the <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/now/pikachu-actually-based-squirrels-pikas-224225989.html" target="_blank">Pokemon character Pikachu, </a>despite the name, which is apparently coincidental.)</p><p>The Chinese zodiac was developed more than 2,000 years ago, in the 5th century BCE, as a way for an illiterate population to keep track of days, months and years. there were definitely no actual rabbits in China at that time. All rabbits in China today are<a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12648090/" target="_blank"> fairly recent descendants of the European rabbit (<i>Oryctolagus cuniculus</i>).</a> </p><p>The European rabbit is the species of all domesticated rabbits, whether for pets, food, fur, or talismans. I remember one time when I was a kid and brought home a lucky rabbit's foot that I had bought with my allowance, thinking it to be the coolest thing, and so soft! My mother eyed it with barely disguised horror at the grotesquery that my little relic really was, and my father said, "It wasn't very lucky for the rabbit, was it?" That certainly gave me something to think about.</p><p>In the wild, this is the rabbit species known for its burrowing habit, creating a network of underground tunnels that are extended over generations—a literal rabbit warren. Other species of rabbits, such as the cottontails native to the Americas, will dig shallow depressions for nests, called forms, but are not known for tunneling like the European rabbit.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBu-rvgO15nzAT7UV57h549tuapU29-LDh3FRdNxRI_vEnNEYzcjm6BewtYBEjYCZLLD0I5zjWCvkduE4N873CGFNLKnajoacwQTvhiLriN1oy3y9U0Q1zAVPz_YJBmFue3J8txTY3B04os8qp-GXKz0S9rfF0MnG8Z52zt0B9038meokon0/s1500/eastern%20cottontail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1076" data-original-width="1500" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBu-rvgO15nzAT7UV57h549tuapU29-LDh3FRdNxRI_vEnNEYzcjm6BewtYBEjYCZLLD0I5zjWCvkduE4N873CGFNLKnajoacwQTvhiLriN1oy3y9U0Q1zAVPz_YJBmFue3J8txTY3B04os8qp-GXKz0S9rfF0MnG8Z52zt0B9038meokon0/s320/eastern%20cottontail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Rabbits and hares are really fast runners and capable of zig-zagging as they run to evade capture by predators. Depending on which sources you check (and which species of hare), hares can run from 35 mph to 45 mph. Even the eastern cottontail rabbit, which is a lot smaller than a hare, can run 18 mph, and make hairpin turns while doing it. I remember my father describing how, when he was a boy, his dog would be chasing a rabbit at full speed, and suddenly the rabbit would change directions and the dog would wipe out trying to make the same turn. <p></p><p>The main distinctions between rabbits and hares are that hares are generally bigger, lankier and have longer legs and ears than rabbits; baby hares are called leverets and are born fully furred, eyes open, and ready to run, whereas baby rabbits, called kits, are born naked and blind. </p><p>Jackrabbits are really American hares, so-called because their long ears resemble those of a mule, or jackass. Belgian hares are really a breed of domesticated European rabbit developed to resemble a hare.</p><p>Now that the calendar is done and the holiday bustle largely behind me, I look forward to going through my notes, finishing the book about rabbits that I started to read, and returning to the websites and online articles I've bookmarked for "later," to write about the most interesting bits for my rabbit zine.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8e1pfh5UbbRu364PWWkZef4GkJ0Fb64RCqGpwXowtoQeJL6282eHl4vfaECzr4TzritdjYmgWj-JaMGWX7VAlFjtxQOpFMkyUILDgBq213KH1X68UMrx8f7fRIZ4wMdOnr2OqU6fM4f3VCce01-RSNzbJjgIrnayXnWDEvNIwgO1kqeoGwo/s2500/Black-tailedjackrabbit-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX8e1pfh5UbbRu364PWWkZef4GkJ0Fb64RCqGpwXowtoQeJL6282eHl4vfaECzr4TzritdjYmgWj-JaMGWX7VAlFjtxQOpFMkyUILDgBq213KH1X68UMrx8f7fRIZ4wMdOnr2OqU6fM4f3VCce01-RSNzbJjgIrnayXnWDEvNIwgO1kqeoGwo/w400-h300/Black-tailedjackrabbit-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-37535882524997803732022-09-15T18:05:00.002-05:002022-09-15T18:05:29.620-05:00A tiny Free Little Art Gallery inside my Little Free Library<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDynTWeJhjfvdj2KFDDlbpU7EBwH96JOHaScd50ANU8x3Y3ilfI3nEoajZ-zlfhYfqZ7j6N05GfRMpw5AiJ1cidOT4tizM9hvW5lAUjP3pSl6RqirEoRrg1Z3C5fTdrAa2bV4v3rY0sgSZ5nbdGTsEXPfxCrv2uAsMHvVj813DPQgwZwGqzo/s4032/MyFLAG-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDynTWeJhjfvdj2KFDDlbpU7EBwH96JOHaScd50ANU8x3Y3ilfI3nEoajZ-zlfhYfqZ7j6N05GfRMpw5AiJ1cidOT4tizM9hvW5lAUjP3pSl6RqirEoRrg1Z3C5fTdrAa2bV4v3rY0sgSZ5nbdGTsEXPfxCrv2uAsMHvVj813DPQgwZwGqzo/w300-h400/MyFLAG-1.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />I first heard of a free little art gallery as a place to exchange art locally when an artist in my area (South Minneapolis) installed a box on a post — the sort of thing that would usually be used as a <a href="https://littlefreelibrary.org" target="_blank">Little Free Library</a> — and called it a free little art gallery. She announced its arrival to our artist network, the <a href="https://lolaart.org" target="_blank">League of Longfellow Artists (LoLa), </a>and I remember paying it a visit and contributing some tiny art of my own. I don't remember if I took anything or, if so, what it was. This was nearly 10 years ago and I am relating this strictly from memory, which, as I'm sure you know, is never reliable. <p></p><p>I have seen more things written about Free Little Art Galleries in the last couple of years; they seem to have become <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-free-miniature-art-galleries-are-popping-street-corners-across-us-180977967/" target="_blank">rather a big deal after the pandemic shut-downs began.</a> It appears that the credit for starting the whole movement goes to <a href="http://littlefreeartgallery.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Doug Millison and a group of artists</a> in the San Francisco Bay area in 2013, to foster community and connections through the exchange of art. "By making and sharing free art, we seek to liberate our thinking and open more fully to the world and to each other," they write in the mission statement on their blog (linked above).</p><p>I have had this idea in the back of my mind ever since we installed our Little Free Library last year, but I didn't want to give up on the book exchange that is its original purpose, so I envisioned it as a subsection integrated amongst the books. Finally, a few weeks ago, I took some measurements and designed a kind of display box that wouldn't displace too many books but could still hold very small artworks for exchange, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards" target="_blank">ATCs (artist trading cards)</a>. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RldsjMfej1NLtdd4rme-Led5gV-ZScG6QAUyhGeoTaKnnriY1VdlGdTQLPU5IGDIN0My2D9Vgf_1XKkP2-NiP97a7pCt1VtjHZD4M-0wvtL7S5gk-iuEKOT8kKSpdwFECniqDAXYYY38y9ae7cVnk2U7TxwLcFnpoZiMJxTUyKmLsF2zLDI/s4032/GalleryBoxUnfinished.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3RldsjMfej1NLtdd4rme-Led5gV-ZScG6QAUyhGeoTaKnnriY1VdlGdTQLPU5IGDIN0My2D9Vgf_1XKkP2-NiP97a7pCt1VtjHZD4M-0wvtL7S5gk-iuEKOT8kKSpdwFECniqDAXYYY38y9ae7cVnk2U7TxwLcFnpoZiMJxTUyKmLsF2zLDI/w400-h300/GalleryBoxUnfinished.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My art exchange display box in progress; it measures 7 inches long by 4.5 inches wide and deep.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_hDYE1wihTfxtOFi8pXJfzndatB3gOxTY1Hgvj9IXn_076Z4usfYvnys3zI5-kwTnHk_NLW6RQ-LEnl--nX4zUlWyItCRZ1Qim1fjsEGJ8c8VzigaNwYG_4Hpot4xqKCKMP7S8MkocflauqHlod1_LhYXMHrrByPj2KBDHXUAfUdUZOa_d8/s4032/MyFLAG-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5_hDYE1wihTfxtOFi8pXJfzndatB3gOxTY1Hgvj9IXn_076Z4usfYvnys3zI5-kwTnHk_NLW6RQ-LEnl--nX4zUlWyItCRZ1Qim1fjsEGJ8c8VzigaNwYG_4Hpot4xqKCKMP7S8MkocflauqHlod1_LhYXMHrrByPj2KBDHXUAfUdUZOa_d8/w400-h300/MyFLAG-3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The finished tiny gallery box installed in my Little Free Library</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7b45hjXMCUwvACS3FgnEMi3XtnwBu21elqBxX8UukAT9QwNJGRGp0JcnRkUBMVBNO5svUDiRrA4YofAK6EffaPpNeJXCHpegHDnwDaWgZuFbZkx76cHM_n6VdnF5yJTJkiv_I9Dx2Gjb46UO1m5Z_Ey5rvbtgn7lzEIksxo0OFAl6QzJZGU/s4032/MyFLAG-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7b45hjXMCUwvACS3FgnEMi3XtnwBu21elqBxX8UukAT9QwNJGRGp0JcnRkUBMVBNO5svUDiRrA4YofAK6EffaPpNeJXCHpegHDnwDaWgZuFbZkx76cHM_n6VdnF5yJTJkiv_I9Dx2Gjb46UO1m5Z_Ey5rvbtgn7lzEIksxo0OFAl6QzJZGU/w400-h300/MyFLAG-4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">The box can be taken out to examine the contents.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I wanted to get it in place in time for the LoLa Art Crawl, which happens this weekend, Sept. 17–18 (2022), and I managed to do that just this morning (Sept. 15). It will remain in place hereafter, of course, and I look forward to seeing what happens with it. I even made a tiny zine about it — to give away, of course, and which you will find in my tiny Free Little Art Gallery. </p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLTp6BdMouCX4H-ifPAEpBRZV_RUERIfN0DE1wRWoJcI1zbZ2RB4k_ebbsu5Ild3Dcfwapg58s7wLdGcFLty8Vma9hkjRofm-jORA8aSvnLMD7uymBplvww0c-7095yMqug2osXRc8Nh7ZCYiJDp9ATWtVXj-qEHCFU98QhhUjibJLWpG0ug/s4032/MyFLAG-zine2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaLTp6BdMouCX4H-ifPAEpBRZV_RUERIfN0DE1wRWoJcI1zbZ2RB4k_ebbsu5Ild3Dcfwapg58s7wLdGcFLty8Vma9hkjRofm-jORA8aSvnLMD7uymBplvww0c-7095yMqug2osXRc8Nh7ZCYiJDp9ATWtVXj-qEHCFU98QhhUjibJLWpG0ug/w400-h300/MyFLAG-zine2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1T_WO9igkPnTSnDYNuszQDN2loL71MMKCNRIFBiMQJSk0zbHgNfwAnXS01o7YlGMIJQ7B6HKy0mfM-ZPK1ljRTK4ap_3bjHR7AuLKl0iq6CggtGuqnef8-XZYfiQEwm-F9YczX0HRwH-U0iDbpVE4A_EQK-uvCFyb8Ycp0RcG5kWYLKqHygY/s4032/MyFLAG-zine3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1T_WO9igkPnTSnDYNuszQDN2loL71MMKCNRIFBiMQJSk0zbHgNfwAnXS01o7YlGMIJQ7B6HKy0mfM-ZPK1ljRTK4ap_3bjHR7AuLKl0iq6CggtGuqnef8-XZYfiQEwm-F9YczX0HRwH-U0iDbpVE4A_EQK-uvCFyb8Ycp0RcG5kWYLKqHygY/w400-h300/MyFLAG-zine3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>Tiny original art in the form of drawings, collages, paint-by-numbers, misc. paper crafting, etc., as well as literary art like short poems and stories are all welcome as long as they are no bigger than 3x5 inches and appropriate for all ages. Art by kids especially welcome and encouraged. </p><p>You can find it, and me this weekend, at site no. 4 of the LoLa Art Crawl. I will have notecards featuring my artwork and several zines besides this free one (although some are this tiny), plus a few handmade journals and lidded boxes. </p><p>To find a Free Little Art Gallery near you, try <a href="https://findafreelittleartgallery.com" target="_blank">Find a Free Little Art Gallery.</a></p>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-34837301721996266372022-09-02T17:32:00.005-05:002022-09-03T13:44:30.262-05:00Finishing up the Tiger Zine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDjuUdvAO6aeX6R30zBNl-Lmi8pxS03LSzMat39VFyK4o8y6ePUy4Ljr4X7SPFlrG4wxgu7XX4tAmGrC8rNx26urUGHKKMt0ci2Iu9y1ZGMcnsi1nm-ajxs3hmEIoimYOW0MnyKMQMkI9iCPGtrFeyn-YITioJ4qEFOJJlPaNmkKAbo--RQ4/s2000/Rusty-spotted%20cat.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1322" data-original-width="2000" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDjuUdvAO6aeX6R30zBNl-Lmi8pxS03LSzMat39VFyK4o8y6ePUy4Ljr4X7SPFlrG4wxgu7XX4tAmGrC8rNx26urUGHKKMt0ci2Iu9y1ZGMcnsi1nm-ajxs3hmEIoimYOW0MnyKMQMkI9iCPGtrFeyn-YITioJ4qEFOJJlPaNmkKAbo--RQ4/w400-h265/Rusty-spotted%20cat.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>It's not so much that I procrastinate. It's more like I get distracted and side-tracked, like a cat that hears a faint rustle in the bushes and must go investigate, forgetting about its intended destination. </p><p>So although I started gathering information and writing articles many months ago for what I have chosen to call my annual zine, meant to be a compendium of informative tidbits I have collected in the process of researching and making the Useful Calendar each year; and even though by April I had completed a few longish articles about research-heavy topics like worldwide efforts to save wild tigers from extinction — because 2022 is the year of the tiger — sometime in May, it just stalled. </p><p>This happens in part because I often sabotage my own efforts by gathering too much information and then feeling overwhelmed by it all. A case of TLDR only for the one doing the writing — too long, didn't finish! When mid-August came around, I was seriously considering abandoning the project, but then I thought about how much time and effort I had already put into it, including creating new artwork just for this zine, and I asked myself, What will it take for me to finish this? </p><p>Well, I decided that I would not write those few articles that I had originally intended to include but had not yet written, even though I had gathered the information and found the subjects worthy and fascinating. I told myself there will always be another zine, I can always find a place for that topic if it's really important to me to write it. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0XxX0vzNeR6wan_MVp0vQpLDHzrD5Z-zU77C_z2Ah7XCOy8nw3rUpIYGW_sFa0_A7QQwOvONIvuUJuFibu3nbD3oTuoz6EPZ0K5jAVZDHUkCjDpRTcl373HbjCw1hPrq_JFEbcBFWy3xO64hYlYTthucGbDb-FpLqaXOx-Q4546L42asfGk/s2500/Smilodon-and-catandmouse.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1921" data-original-width="2500" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu0XxX0vzNeR6wan_MVp0vQpLDHzrD5Z-zU77C_z2Ah7XCOy8nw3rUpIYGW_sFa0_A7QQwOvONIvuUJuFibu3nbD3oTuoz6EPZ0K5jAVZDHUkCjDpRTcl373HbjCw1hPrq_JFEbcBFWy3xO64hYlYTthucGbDb-FpLqaXOx-Q4546L42asfGk/w400-h308/Smilodon-and-catandmouse.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Then I looked at the draft document and realized that it was exactly 24 pages with just a few small gaps that needed filling either with new artwork or a short snippet of text. Well, any multiple of 4 pages can be made into a booklet, so suddenly the completion of my tiger zine was within reach. I was finally energized to finish it. I did two illustrations for the section on the evolution of cats (above) and a third of catnip (which I have growing in my yard), wrote a very short piece about tigers and catnip (yes, they like it), and selected a poetry excerpt for the last page, which goes nicely with an illustration I already had. Done, and done! </p><p>I'll debut it during the <a href="https://lolaart.org" target="_blank">LoLa Art Crawl, </a>September 17–18, and then make it available in <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/sharonscompendium" target="_blank">my Etsy shop</a> and possibly at the <a href="https://www.mnbookarts.org" target="_blank">Minnesota Center for Book Arts,</a> if they want it (they usually do want my zines, but last year's annual zine didn't sell very well, so I have no expectations regarding this one). </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnT6lx6fbueNrrjEt9Wx2CwQ6IY2p-TqquIo8aj2bG6IAY6r2eNaSWucAClf_hJ2d7cgH9iXRiuZl6ufwAYQey7FE9ADT9n3RRBkDUDmzWzrmvz-yntOK2gt22s1uqD4217pdsOzhAZI0Tfk0u0BAf9G-asqc8nIzDu1gJFnJjN8TkCx59S4/s2500/Catnip-painting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnT6lx6fbueNrrjEt9Wx2CwQ6IY2p-TqquIo8aj2bG6IAY6r2eNaSWucAClf_hJ2d7cgH9iXRiuZl6ufwAYQey7FE9ADT9n3RRBkDUDmzWzrmvz-yntOK2gt22s1uqD4217pdsOzhAZI0Tfk0u0BAf9G-asqc8nIzDu1gJFnJjN8TkCx59S4/w640-h480/Catnip-painting.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>It's kind of funny, too, how I can't seem to motivate myself to adopt a daily drawing practice, but when I need an illustration (or two or three) in order to finish a zine, I can sit down and really focus on getting them done without being led astray by distractions. I do enjoy it when I'm in the midst of creating the illustration, and I often say to myself, I should do this more often. </p><p>I guess I just need to make more zines.</p>Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-6172093221846309442022-05-05T16:51:00.000-05:002022-05-05T16:51:24.844-05:00A Little Guide to Getting a Thing Done in a fun mini zine format<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZK5axTlw0gCDR0IDnGm78185o6PkRkVr_SmxeuKj0JUbynMyUwHsaO8Pznxljk3a6vfDNzkTsOU4BYdGe5t65d5-fonF-ykd9NeJmPdXrW__i3IgirofgKjxDcxqmEGPsviJ5WT_t5-pnS4UGTTq_sFuIf2EBqTNp-MSB_Q1GmC0B8bSZzE/s2300/DoneZine-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1763" data-original-width="2300" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-ZK5axTlw0gCDR0IDnGm78185o6PkRkVr_SmxeuKj0JUbynMyUwHsaO8Pznxljk3a6vfDNzkTsOU4BYdGe5t65d5-fonF-ykd9NeJmPdXrW__i3IgirofgKjxDcxqmEGPsviJ5WT_t5-pnS4UGTTq_sFuIf2EBqTNp-MSB_Q1GmC0B8bSZzE/w640-h490/DoneZine-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 43, 51); color: #1c2b33; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've been playing around with a variation on a clever book form known as a meander, a kind of accordion-fold book made from one sheet of paper or, in this case, cardstock. If you do a Google search on the term "meander book," you'll find a lot of examples, instructions, and tutorials. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6APaeaBp7flgkqzBLn4_8xCh1UXG4-y6eyfWm_lXEc5GLXsWZYXFJdsB7ODDzZfVl-oi5Gz0RqWZE4bVSvNG6-6p4emfEUh5eNFWyQzYeT1eToML8L7bZvsNltwaOvZV4X-FK688VV7WPKaV0n9bqh3tD7WksfkYVmWNC8NO8_UadVay1plU/s2500/DoneZine-4a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1619" data-original-width="2500" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6APaeaBp7flgkqzBLn4_8xCh1UXG4-y6eyfWm_lXEc5GLXsWZYXFJdsB7ODDzZfVl-oi5Gz0RqWZE4bVSvNG6-6p4emfEUh5eNFWyQzYeT1eToML8L7bZvsNltwaOvZV4X-FK688VV7WPKaV0n9bqh3tD7WksfkYVmWNC8NO8_UadVay1plU/w640-h414/DoneZine-4a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 43, 51); color: #1c2b33; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The variation involves making pockets at three points where the folding of the book turns a corner. I made a template in InDesign that allows me to put content on both sides of the paper and have everything be right side up once it's assembled (no small feat!), then I blended some ideas, illustrations and content from some of my previous projects with new material I've been wanting to use that all go together thematically. I named it "A Little Guide to Getting a Thing Done," and so, of course, it's a very practical little zine in a fun package. </span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtFsy6L7RKwEXNTArFXOusKOSljeMJeO7x_33qR5yaz_1m6E85GKM7mAxE3usLEaQOf9dwN-F5NUp0-dHZA5teu8Z9eW6jKoHnMNFo0_BSr_FRN4gbOHhURJEWHaeXVk6OqkpB3HEEFBHbm8DTB8bzjORt2Fgtp0IaIxrOigU2OwMCN53qi4/s2500/DoneZine-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQtFsy6L7RKwEXNTArFXOusKOSljeMJeO7x_33qR5yaz_1m6E85GKM7mAxE3usLEaQOf9dwN-F5NUp0-dHZA5teu8Z9eW6jKoHnMNFo0_BSr_FRN4gbOHhURJEWHaeXVk6OqkpB3HEEFBHbm8DTB8bzjORt2Fgtp0IaIxrOigU2OwMCN53qi4/w640-h480/DoneZine-5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="color: #1c2b33; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 43, 51); font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I then realized that the advice applies equally to overcoming procrastination (what the title refers to), changing a habit (noted in in the subtitle) or solving a problem (not stated, because there's only so long a title can be, especially on something as small as this!)</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #1c2b33; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 43, 51); font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm acutely aware of the irony that I started working on this, and finished it, as a detour from finishing my 2022 annual zine inspired by the Useful Calendar theme, the Year of the Tiger. That's still in progress, while this is done!</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 43, 51); color: #1c2b33; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book is about 2 inches wide by 2-3/4 inches high and a quarter inch thick. The pockets each hold a little card with an image on one side and a quote on the other, with one of the quotes coming from a dictionary. They relate to the theme of the book, of course, in slightly surprising and possibly amusing ways!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiEZzMF8PJhCSw4-J3YXT50Y9yhYj2YX9gY6V-SS7rgUJsU0zMr6vtvNc50KmR7MyR1vAXTXWT69tFSn10QK339uvo4ciniazCvRI-m-vkjKuCI5Vur9xdf_gE1KYUVT_9yvESLJrzUJlu4TdpW5VA7V7F_HwwpQnWa2QOBmfbvCLAVgN45n4/s2500/DoneZine-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiEZzMF8PJhCSw4-J3YXT50Y9yhYj2YX9gY6V-SS7rgUJsU0zMr6vtvNc50KmR7MyR1vAXTXWT69tFSn10QK339uvo4ciniazCvRI-m-vkjKuCI5Vur9xdf_gE1KYUVT_9yvESLJrzUJlu4TdpW5VA7V7F_HwwpQnWa2QOBmfbvCLAVgN45n4/w640-h480/DoneZine-6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 43, 51); color: #1c2b33; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMHct0airp70A6kY2cmbMEGJMWELWCUfw4iodVLg9Xcv1cxgVqYJBhhrioPELPfTbcaTXp8vXv5sGgQPysohRWiLD8BMkCSEzfVgR5NZxC3CcsCIMj8dY2y-9FjATn2qI1c4oWdbGQc4UXQ6CBpj5JG2ef7TLWzXk2CJK6R-1ZLIr4yZBrdw/s2500/DoneZine-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMHct0airp70A6kY2cmbMEGJMWELWCUfw4iodVLg9Xcv1cxgVqYJBhhrioPELPfTbcaTXp8vXv5sGgQPysohRWiLD8BMkCSEzfVgR5NZxC3CcsCIMj8dY2y-9FjATn2qI1c4oWdbGQc4UXQ6CBpj5JG2ef7TLWzXk2CJK6R-1ZLIr4yZBrdw/w640-h480/DoneZine-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 43, 51); color: #1c2b33; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today I brought 10 of these down to the <a href="https://www.shopmnbookarts.org" target="_blank">Minnesota Center for Book Arts</a> to sell in their shop. That includes one display copy, because people need to open it up and examine it, of course. The other nine are enclosed in little cellophane sleeves so they don't all get handled. </span><p></p><p><span style="color: #1c2b33; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, Segoe UI, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, Apple Color Emoji, Segoe UI Emoji, Segoe UI Symbol;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(28, 43, 51); font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's also available in <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1213995782/a-little-guide-to-getting-a-thing-done" target="_blank">my Etsy shop, here</a>, with more photos, because you can't pick it up and examine it there!</span></span></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-37269633812804694552022-03-17T08:37:00.002-05:002022-03-17T13:27:43.613-05:00Magical collage ATCs with security envelopes and a hat trick<p> The theme for my little swap group this month was magic and/or secrets. We make artist trading cards (ATCs) based on the theme (or prompts, you could say), and everyone is free to not only interpret it however they like, but to disregard the theme altogether if it's just not working for them or they are jazzed about something else.</p><p>I decided to do two different kinds of magic — stage magic and the mystical stuff usually spelled "magick." But I started with a nod to the idea of secrets by using security envelopes for my background.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhdexyDtBKnf-0AqVSqrn6nDDAL2fwYNNvcpA1rReIq6o3sUKQ63ruhFSDoa-wL4g53XEnPoc7NnDMkCP5znzKMZluJRs2Eps6cdQ_EXPpKWqSso5OkACnuV9jniK8UWE7Pt4wjtjWYjjEmWg2yZBXr8mbUvHO14rgxVARNRVv9B2PsK6XKLM=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhdexyDtBKnf-0AqVSqrn6nDDAL2fwYNNvcpA1rReIq6o3sUKQ63ruhFSDoa-wL4g53XEnPoc7NnDMkCP5znzKMZluJRs2Eps6cdQ_EXPpKWqSso5OkACnuV9jniK8UWE7Pt4wjtjWYjjEmWg2yZBXr8mbUvHO14rgxVARNRVv9B2PsK6XKLM=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p>I often save security envelopes for their interesting patterns — not my original idea, but inspired by other artists who have used them. I included with that collection part of a paper bread bag that had a nice pattern that just kind of went with the envelopes. That's the light brown with blue dots above on the left.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgexCCRTU9TURcyulpaRw2ZS2g2I7ARc6OirawjiswTouPHmwK0d6x-_885ObUly18D9T67MTAx0TSQvfgivX9Vq_kThvTZksveJXkl0MGFXWFMBeLfVvn6efzT_hYHNi6QJ2sjtT3sPW0OfsiTw5uOInRMuiSAQq5ZxOg0IyLAD91UEznQEww=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgexCCRTU9TURcyulpaRw2ZS2g2I7ARc6OirawjiswTouPHmwK0d6x-_885ObUly18D9T67MTAx0TSQvfgivX9Vq_kThvTZksveJXkl0MGFXWFMBeLfVvn6efzT_hYHNi6QJ2sjtT3sPW0OfsiTw5uOInRMuiSAQq5ZxOg0IyLAD91UEznQEww=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I pasted the strips onto a piece of 100 lb card stock I had cut to 7-1/2" wide by 7" high to make six ATCs. I had drawn the cut lines on the card stock before glueing the strips so I could place them with that in mind.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSBGHh4ZGXg2ZGH36_VpWLHZmEZC50qGJJgK2jUE1UnvRJJsr1MDBVXne7f9uS6pc34_u7ftOjvIVpQVtWzgkF48O799Lvpht-ZaxhEQqFotqZ3LGdJZAUi0OSqf1nbUW5rfMXx2TgPPk5p1mcIiyPDdrti_pS0fKahpPJobIyynUqKlqStQ0=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSBGHh4ZGXg2ZGH36_VpWLHZmEZC50qGJJgK2jUE1UnvRJJsr1MDBVXne7f9uS6pc34_u7ftOjvIVpQVtWzgkF48O799Lvpht-ZaxhEQqFotqZ3LGdJZAUi0OSqf1nbUW5rfMXx2TgPPk5p1mcIiyPDdrti_pS0fKahpPJobIyynUqKlqStQ0=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">So here they are all cut and ready for the next step. I wanted to feature a magician with a rabbit that could be pulled out of a hat. I drew the rabbit, then scanned it and shrunk it down (the original drawing was about 6 inches high) and printed seven of them on some white card stock (in case one got damaged when I was cutting them out). </span></div><div><br /></div><div>I searched online for an image of a magician, found a free one that was quite low resolution, so enlarged him to about 600–700% in Photoshop and traced some of the lines to make them sharper before making him the size I wanted, then printed seven of him too, on fairly thin paper that had something else printed on the back. I printed the rabbit on previously printed material as well.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYFiDB13jkogAMpdjc1ViwaexhwSsAWWdZ_31rvlq3L3XbJPIDFKraa3dhWP-Xc6sTvIBRGzMDgW9ZxoSALRnXHB_eFdaetQuGGFx72DKDT6JLFThEObVA3rIkEsJ6gXUvrwxNMrlp3kWOdKJkwUR9Sv1ORxzR8ajB4CEtt_l00csWvSEIX3k=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiYFiDB13jkogAMpdjc1ViwaexhwSsAWWdZ_31rvlq3L3XbJPIDFKraa3dhWP-Xc6sTvIBRGzMDgW9ZxoSALRnXHB_eFdaetQuGGFx72DKDT6JLFThEObVA3rIkEsJ6gXUvrwxNMrlp3kWOdKJkwUR9Sv1ORxzR8ajB4CEtt_l00csWvSEIX3k=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><br /> I sketched a top hat on a scrap of card stock and cut it out to use as a pattern, and traced it onto the back of some decorative paper with a black background and spattered gold and silver metallic splotches on it. I had some shiny gold paper I may have salvaged from an envelope lining (I don't really remember), so used that to make a hat band.<div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcDH6btb5c4z_PPuegTnqnnsdINchM1BOaBt52PCyS4F8ucYdtr-1X4TE5qB5ETwYXSELyWrjvcJT-6a8XQKtzfgHIaVWj36sUO76my9jN7UdeB2tCD3fHbvfeiylfdgCrUAs92pLuvdhMA-7dFWOYV69IYVmKHEO2w2913t3A4Iu7rrryfRQ=s1200" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="1200" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcDH6btb5c4z_PPuegTnqnnsdINchM1BOaBt52PCyS4F8ucYdtr-1X4TE5qB5ETwYXSELyWrjvcJT-6a8XQKtzfgHIaVWj36sUO76my9jN7UdeB2tCD3fHbvfeiylfdgCrUAs92pLuvdhMA-7dFWOYV69IYVmKHEO2w2913t3A4Iu7rrryfRQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br />I cut the slit for the rabbit after glueing the hat in place, making two cuts so the slot was about a millimeter wide. Hopefully, you can see that in this detail. (Maybe if you click to enlarge it you will see the black strip by the ears, which is the pocket on the back of the ATC that holds the rabbit.)</div><div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbm0qFZ30w-dQVGFEXMKy19cV85Ns5fdLpSFHGAeDMnTIhciIkGlhQxNChd6O04jeVlr7WwKMGM-jQCe12M6rQEpbjYIGLH-rfve8KGVe7ezXuQiqMfz56AyEfwWfC9u-JpPM95pPCTnKTgKZqvvWLmiXJIKgCOCONSAs0_JC6pDEa52IB46M=s2500" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjbm0qFZ30w-dQVGFEXMKy19cV85Ns5fdLpSFHGAeDMnTIhciIkGlhQxNChd6O04jeVlr7WwKMGM-jQCe12M6rQEpbjYIGLH-rfve8KGVe7ezXuQiqMfz56AyEfwWfC9u-JpPM95pPCTnKTgKZqvvWLmiXJIKgCOCONSAs0_JC6pDEa52IB46M=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />The righthand card is the back, as you may have guessed. The vertical rectangle on the right side is the pocket that holds the rabbit, attached along the edge on all sides. On the left, a band of the same paper holds an accordion fold booklet, which you can see more of below.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0n9QsYqf2s-rBQNwn8VaDI-5mo415k1tRcyLVtPvE8qFbaL91TCxT7ijnx7T_YxyXtOUOh_1rFyyyd1x-5KN-puAK4uVV16beRPjYZA7Tb7h6UFJWEOqsCIgnP2s6IQocsBrVmUoWUJWUvQIK7KJvX9B8KSyHReUIs8Dw1Bwk3WdrkCiF0cA=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0n9QsYqf2s-rBQNwn8VaDI-5mo415k1tRcyLVtPvE8qFbaL91TCxT7ijnx7T_YxyXtOUOh_1rFyyyd1x-5KN-puAK4uVV16beRPjYZA7Tb7h6UFJWEOqsCIgnP2s6IQocsBrVmUoWUJWUvQIK7KJvX9B8KSyHReUIs8Dw1Bwk3WdrkCiF0cA=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p>To represent the other kind of Magick, I did a little searching on Etsy and bought a PDF called "13 Witch's Runes" from a shop called <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1090538341/13-witches-runes-grimoire-page" target="_blank">Like It All. </a> Although she had it nicely set up in narrow columns and two rows on a single page, I tinkered with the format first in Photoshop and then in InDesign so that I could print them at about 3-1/4" high, back to back. To make all the columns the same width, I added one and made a "cover" using assorted glyphs available in my font collection.</p><p>I am very aware of how lucky I am to have all of these tools at my disposal!</p><p>Here's the skinny booklet opened up: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkPRmDQwOoOHV9V9WoTtHzJB9RMq5-qlSKZwIT6Eqcg0hXi8rUu3KxackXzcci7wwtGZQsCwJLVmj2Gg1cub_OK954tinho-9yzSovZlgXi_hEN-bXzM2ypt4lMT4oWdfAUht7gSOOXTHLLBDigIFTd1XuHBx05TgYvTZhiC0kRwo1ox6N1Q4=s2500" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1875" data-original-width="2500" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkPRmDQwOoOHV9V9WoTtHzJB9RMq5-qlSKZwIT6Eqcg0hXi8rUu3KxackXzcci7wwtGZQsCwJLVmj2Gg1cub_OK954tinho-9yzSovZlgXi_hEN-bXzM2ypt4lMT4oWdfAUht7gSOOXTHLLBDigIFTd1XuHBx05TgYvTZhiC0kRwo1ox6N1Q4=w640-h480" width="640" /></a></div><p>I really have no idea how one is supposed to use these symbols and the information about them; perhaps with some sort of oracle deck? I just like the symbolism and the mystique and thought it would be a fun addition to the cards.</p><p>By the way, I had to look up "grimoire" — it's a book of magic spells.</p><p>It was fun to start with a vision of what I wanted to create — a rabbit that could be pulled out of a hat, with the extra trickery of the creature being bigger than the hat — and then go about making it happen. The six doing the swap this month included myself, so I did make one to keep. I've actually picked it up and pulled my little rabbit out a few times, just because. Maybe I'll do a little research to learn what one is supposed to do with those runes, too. It might even inspire some additional art projects.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p></div></div>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-501127992267063592022-03-08T17:32:00.002-06:002022-03-08T17:32:31.025-06:00Making Collage ATCs With a Masterboard a la Margarete Miller<p> I swap <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artist_trading_cards" target="_blank">Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) </a>with a group of friends, and on several occasions some of them have mentioned making their cards by starting with a collage masterboard, which means you collage a larger sheet, then cut it into individual ATCs (2.5" by 3.5"), and add some details to each one.</p><p>For some reason, I have long been skeptical of doing that, but finally decided to give it a try when the number of participants grew slightly — from typically 5 or 6 each month to potentially 8 to 10. Not exactly an overwhelming number, you might think, but I actually kind of panicked, because the way I make the cards, one at a time from start to finish, is pretty time-consuming. So I decided to give it a try to see if it would streamline my process.</p><p>The technique is championed by <a href="https://www.margaretemiller.com" target="_blank">Margarete Miller, </a>who is kind of a collage art influencer, in that she sponsors collage art challenges and makes tutorial videos, and her own artwork is very appealing. So I watched her video demonstrating how she goes about <a href="https://www.margaretemiller.com/collage-art-from-a-masterboard/" target="_blank">making a masterboard,</a> in this case for a set of postcards.</p><p>I had initially resisted watching a how-to video on making a collage. I mean, I do know how to cut and paste, duh! But I decided to watch it anyway, just to see if I could pick up any helpful tips, and of course I did. The first thing, which had never occurred to me, was to place the elements without glueing them down yet, then take a photo for reference before beginning to glue. That was kind of a forehead slap for me, and very helpful.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUU4tAkgGD2leAYUS6eZH9UDTAY_2iIp8yuFlFNx_HyKpm9KErZxEfWjgxt0OI0KEAA4g36fIlpNVeyikkaiz1v_MVEZ9WAoEmbIM1_PbWqsIZZriVLzIc_i9L3b5JLYJpcRvwLI-6iv0yXvYSXKR-61iZ0WM-4KIFkgpQ6pX8wSa3pS1yS00=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgUU4tAkgGD2leAYUS6eZH9UDTAY_2iIp8yuFlFNx_HyKpm9KErZxEfWjgxt0OI0KEAA4g36fIlpNVeyikkaiz1v_MVEZ9WAoEmbIM1_PbWqsIZZriVLzIc_i9L3b5JLYJpcRvwLI-6iv0yXvYSXKR-61iZ0WM-4KIFkgpQ6pX8wSa3pS1yS00=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>The second thing, which she actually did first, but I didn't appreciate until I had begun to glue things down, is to draw where your cut lines are going to be. This became especially important to me, as I was using a letter-size base (8.5" x 11"), which meant I'd be trimming some away when I cut my ATCs. To avoid placing something I really liked in a spot where maybe I would end up having to trim, I added my cut lines after I had glued a couple of things down.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrGXBSr_BwBPxzkshfDcOlx3xLh6rYIExdPGbedWfxkkW86sPZ4ceBiY24a9NkTV4poh5i4L9_b_Ftk0svFNO_Yr10wtJRCSQ2XOLxlGfa6sbiCGXO3Sc-F0qppbiChsPWVP_EDbQeSP8KI3YuVMm75nqqhJRq8tbWbr8eOz5nig3-g1BSePo=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrGXBSr_BwBPxzkshfDcOlx3xLh6rYIExdPGbedWfxkkW86sPZ4ceBiY24a9NkTV4poh5i4L9_b_Ftk0svFNO_Yr10wtJRCSQ2XOLxlGfa6sbiCGXO3Sc-F0qppbiChsPWVP_EDbQeSP8KI3YuVMm75nqqhJRq8tbWbr8eOz5nig3-g1BSePo=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><p>Our theme for this swap was botanicals, but I wasn't really focused on that as I made my masterboard. I kind of thought of it as a generic background, figuring I would add the botanical part after cutting them. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0mNeE-yhLTvXT_HeE2MwSGi9KZyBsi1-EO8bYc6k0Sggbvb56k4Gib6HQ3MwVQoOHwiXjqWqnwFaVhqR5jZTwWzI7uTMhG71r3x70UPX51825zpTZOPJG1wWWiVrf0GKcE7kJwLCx_rOSw5YbUj8g6Fc5B5CS8D921rElmf3CzzLNnO7YHQM=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0mNeE-yhLTvXT_HeE2MwSGi9KZyBsi1-EO8bYc6k0Sggbvb56k4Gib6HQ3MwVQoOHwiXjqWqnwFaVhqR5jZTwWzI7uTMhG71r3x70UPX51825zpTZOPJG1wWWiVrf0GKcE7kJwLCx_rOSw5YbUj8g6Fc5B5CS8D921rElmf3CzzLNnO7YHQM=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I decided to leave off the paper tape measure in the end. It just didn't really work for me.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg20UpXi9QQMSZDLg-N7tC__Nd4x9sqDZ9Hqs2Zj6TcX874JmXFxuozNcGIaXGJzr1K63O6PjS34nRBmbAwfUETcegupBR0kbSvIoQA-Mdz1W6Ou7-QtX--6bxR2Cq3xSjCLj-fyADuCmhIT4pxlPnKSea-wnytrL-QB8oeF-aIX2w3PyoJYdk=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg20UpXi9QQMSZDLg-N7tC__Nd4x9sqDZ9Hqs2Zj6TcX874JmXFxuozNcGIaXGJzr1K63O6PjS34nRBmbAwfUETcegupBR0kbSvIoQA-Mdz1W6Ou7-QtX--6bxR2Cq3xSjCLj-fyADuCmhIT4pxlPnKSea-wnytrL-QB8oeF-aIX2w3PyoJYdk=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Cut into ATCs, but not "botanical" yet.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's hard to say whether making my cards this way actually saved me any time, since I spent a lot of time on each card anyway. But I enjoyed the whole process, and felt that having the common background elements helped the individual cards relate to each other more than sometimes happens when I do them individually from the start. And there's a lot to be said for not starting with a blank "canvas" for each card!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiERzbAb5hZvIUStR_GOK-IO35LKGF2b2gOwktcV5OT89feqkedO1VqBL2wUUqOOuf-opdjmelGeFLIDNQJY-BvQ7uxpOsxf0LWfwBpgquSocav8kMBp3qEeTmsyaQjMA40cvowpSydU9Vd7BtHD_J-eiP3D7OIoOB9dbCXTyLmvaICsv1lx1M=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiERzbAb5hZvIUStR_GOK-IO35LKGF2b2gOwktcV5OT89feqkedO1VqBL2wUUqOOuf-opdjmelGeFLIDNQJY-BvQ7uxpOsxf0LWfwBpgquSocav8kMBp3qEeTmsyaQjMA40cvowpSydU9Vd7BtHD_J-eiP3D7OIoOB9dbCXTyLmvaICsv1lx1M=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p>I'm definitely going to use this technique again; in fact, I'm working on a smaller set (6 ATCs) for our March swap, which I'll show you after I finish them. </p><p> </p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-80122209670208148292021-11-29T07:55:00.001-06:002021-11-29T07:55:00.186-06:00My Calendar Cat<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRd4NTKgEENlZOahg4wTBpLuRmvzQi_ypUFdNwVO8VZrmASg3FzrEBVfEy8xNvsBultCaq0gnftZPg5aE37FOvbwhyphenhyphenc5YmT8uc64JWEsXQkPJgthGFA9cLuXlt8m6ALI3QVjXH_w/s2000/MollyChatNoir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1928" data-original-width="2000" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRd4NTKgEENlZOahg4wTBpLuRmvzQi_ypUFdNwVO8VZrmASg3FzrEBVfEy8xNvsBultCaq0gnftZPg5aE37FOvbwhyphenhyphenc5YmT8uc64JWEsXQkPJgthGFA9cLuXlt8m6ALI3QVjXH_w/w400-h385/MollyChatNoir.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I was so focused on finishing my 2022 calendar in November that I didn't stop to write any more blog posts about the work in progress as I had intended, so this is more of an afterword to the calendar process.</span><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">Although the theme of the 2022 calendar is the Year of the Tiger, as per the Chinese zodiac, I broadened it a bit to include other wild felines, and a few domestic cats, too, specifically my own. Since I went from doing just one calendar illustration a few years ago to doing 12 of them now, I have taken some liberties with the zodiac animal theme to give me a broader range of models. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I thought I would feature a black cat for October, but I don't have a black cat. However, shortly after our tortoiseshell, Molly, joined our household in 2013, I took a photo of her posing like the cat in those arty "Le Chat Noir" posters, so I decided to use that as my reference and paint her all black. That's the sort of thing one has an artistic license for, after all!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">I like to use watercolors, a medium that poses its own unique challenges but appeals to me for a variety of reasons, including that I like working on paper rather than canvas or other surfaces, and because I find the process of learning how to address those very challenges enjoyable.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlwvmHo2ijSaggElyGdwavnye9bpyY9s4jdbEiEgUs1qOah842kK0FVaFlEFftI2VKRz5kdawAlyEOrc7kIKbMLjRmhYuMz21oh0iSXvsuUGpLyPeFUFAUakHB-51oRxOde1CKw/s2000/BlackCatPainting-raw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlwvmHo2ijSaggElyGdwavnye9bpyY9s4jdbEiEgUs1qOah842kK0FVaFlEFftI2VKRz5kdawAlyEOrc7kIKbMLjRmhYuMz21oh0iSXvsuUGpLyPeFUFAUakHB-51oRxOde1CKw/w400-h300/BlackCatPainting-raw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">I decided I needed to work wet-on-wet, that is, painting on wet paper, to evoke the furriness of my subject. There is a trick to it that involves learning to spot when the paper has partially dried just the right amount for the desired effect. If it's too wet, the paint will bleed too much. This is a learning curve for me, as you can see!</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the beauties of doing paintings to be scanned and placed into a document is that I can tinker with them in Photoshop to fix or change things that aren't working for me. In fact, when I am feeling intimidated about painting the next picture, I tell myself, "It's not Art, it's illustration," and then I relax and get it done. The point is not to disparage my own work, but to remind myself that the raw painting doesn't have to be perfect.</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvmWgvS-yXSjZYX3s_plxctXSM9FNiIMaG029W7YViqD2cFbE98CXGExqrleG_vpMI_qae7uBrJxK0sykqRMrtDJ-T2YFme0pKpWx4kCoryduq1XpndLHNxxcZ2iWi2LZKJvMgA/s2000/Molly-in-box-staring-083121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimvmWgvS-yXSjZYX3s_plxctXSM9FNiIMaG029W7YViqD2cFbE98CXGExqrleG_vpMI_qae7uBrJxK0sykqRMrtDJ-T2YFme0pKpWx4kCoryduq1XpndLHNxxcZ2iWi2LZKJvMgA/w400-h300/Molly-in-box-staring-083121.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;">More recently, when Molly was doing that stereotypic cat thing and squeezing herself into a box from a recent delivery, I took a couple of photos, thinking that a cat in a box would make a good December illustration, especially if I added some ribbon and made the box look like a Christmas package (more or less). At first she just stared at me like, "What are you doing?"</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegmWuspryAj_TYP-2-HbnXxS300sJNUjSSnQT-gE-YYJj3Q-T5cH4kAJ4EaJuQaFSarQgAcRZcX_2yvaWac92ciEemBWb-azS_kD0g2N-w_nqgbV6iEf38O8Py52D_VaPrQrSEw/s2000/Molly-in-box-reaching-083121.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegmWuspryAj_TYP-2-HbnXxS300sJNUjSSnQT-gE-YYJj3Q-T5cH4kAJ4EaJuQaFSarQgAcRZcX_2yvaWac92ciEemBWb-azS_kD0g2N-w_nqgbV6iEf38O8Py52D_VaPrQrSEw/w400-h300/Molly-in-box-reaching-083121.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>Then she obligingly reached a paw out to push something around (she can go crazy over very tiny things, like a dropped coffee bean) and I thought I would try to make it look like she was playing with some scattered ribbon. Although I initially imagined a scene with scattered wrapping paper and ribbons all around, I quickly realized that I would have an easier time completing the illustration if I kept the composition a bit simpler. And it was the last one I needed to finish the calendar, so I didn't want to drag out the process!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRDRCLCtPdOow9eHl-qDgP82yLvIoOuoDU8D9GVgibO-qTS7jUnw7l6HqjLrpGwPSSXLQut6SMA4re0urVE2HkwqMNjFnXDSBeNPd2gNNiO7HAGdHicK7XyCYznSNhHEl_8_XWQ/s2000/Molly-in-box-painting-raw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuRDRCLCtPdOow9eHl-qDgP82yLvIoOuoDU8D9GVgibO-qTS7jUnw7l6HqjLrpGwPSSXLQut6SMA4re0urVE2HkwqMNjFnXDSBeNPd2gNNiO7HAGdHicK7XyCYznSNhHEl_8_XWQ/w400-h300/Molly-in-box-painting-raw.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You can see how these, and my other illustrations, ended up looking once placed in the calendar <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1116321477/2022-calendar-with-tigers-and-cats-year" target="_blank">here on Etsy.</a></span></div><p></p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-83443287445319064582021-10-06T16:51:00.001-05:002021-10-09T22:14:29.490-05:00Sketching Tigers for the 2022 Useful Calendar<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnGmttDjaDTO8DsCnHVFh3nzaIkArT0oXr8nMX4y29kVfA3qs_IO7J824K-2qDYRXbagRUwT0Kzprm-PbSUDW_OO3NljmKNkDZJSjfK0frVYDOwAWHmXjd-rC-TJRlkS_PPYk0Q/s2048/TigerSketches-BrushPen.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnGmttDjaDTO8DsCnHVFh3nzaIkArT0oXr8nMX4y29kVfA3qs_IO7J824K-2qDYRXbagRUwT0Kzprm-PbSUDW_OO3NljmKNkDZJSjfK0frVYDOwAWHmXjd-rC-TJRlkS_PPYk0Q/w240-h320/TigerSketches-BrushPen.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Quick sketches with a brush pen help me<br />loosen up and get a feel for drawing<br />tigers without overthinking it.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Ever since the LoLa art crawl ended (Sep. 18–19), I have mainly been focused on finishing my 2022 Useful Calendar. It's the Year of the Tiger — beginning Feb. 1, 2022 — and so that is the animal that I will feature on this calendar. Tigers and cats, that is, because I did a whole year of dog illustrations a few years back for the year of the dog, so it only seems right for the upcoming calendar to be all about the cats.<p></p><p>A lot of the work I do in preparation for making my calendar is research, which I commence in the spring and pick away at through the summer — updating all the floating holidays from various faith traditions, and the US holidays that land on a weekend, and new holidays, like Juneteenth in the US, which I've always included, but now that it's an official US holiday, the Monday rule applies, and so the federal observance will be on June 20 next year, because June 19 is a Sunday. </p><p>For many religions, the ones I didn't grow up observing — Baha'i, Buddhism, Hindu, Islam, Judaism, Orthodox Christian — I feel that I need to check a few different sources, because any one source could be wrong. So it actually takes a bit of time, even though I only include the major holidays of these religions; there are many I leave out because only followers of those religions need to know, and they're not counting on me to tell them. But the impetus behind the Useful Calendar is to help people be considerate of one another's cultural and religious traditions when planning events that might affect them.</p><p>It's the same reason I always include the date of the Super Bowl — not for football fans, but for the rest of us, who may need to plan around it. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtn-9VPKG3YMo5K1kKT1mZKFiubOXoosOZPybhlAZJnykbbg8uYrH0gJG-mDs4oDADjjwDg-SXyrpl-sYyOklKSoy5Epu7NGaJSjlbxFaPR1OuIZjOBpympGKyAbQuzhTlA3XHA/s2048/TigerSketches.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtn-9VPKG3YMo5K1kKT1mZKFiubOXoosOZPybhlAZJnykbbg8uYrH0gJG-mDs4oDADjjwDg-SXyrpl-sYyOklKSoy5Epu7NGaJSjlbxFaPR1OuIZjOBpympGKyAbQuzhTlA3XHA/w400-h300/TigerSketches.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">My sketchbook page is in the middle of the two sources I was<br />copying and studying, including one with text I can't translate!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />But the part I always leave for last are the illustrations. I have been collecting images of tigers and cats on a Pinterest board, and doing light research about these magnificent animals, and a wee bit of sketching, and examining studies of tiger anatomy and interesting facts about them, and really appreciating all the artists on <a href="https://www.deviantart.com/search?q=tigers" target="_blank">Deviant Art</a> who share their studies, instruction, and photographs on any subject you could want to draw!<p></p><p>But here it is early October and I don't have one finished illustration yet! So it's time to shift from sketching mode to get-serious mode. That includes finding images that photographers give permission to use, such as this German photographer (featured below) who goes by the business name Fotostyle Schindler and asks only that people credit him and provide a link to<a href="https://www.facebook.com/FotostyleSchindler" target="_blank"> his Facebook page.</a></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLiTUMImCxQf1TBaJ6_Zm5tITVlL8wdw0lUbdMMSNowjHoKmBEPP729g5JwO_T4mx3Jo94udsmp7RP9YEOa_ERIhS5Spjli6kPzbC3tnBz4XIAzIkWyvDCMD7Mvq_YHEQZ5UoWQ/s2048/TigerSketch-Schindler.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTLiTUMImCxQf1TBaJ6_Zm5tITVlL8wdw0lUbdMMSNowjHoKmBEPP729g5JwO_T4mx3Jo94udsmp7RP9YEOa_ERIhS5Spjli6kPzbC3tnBz4XIAzIkWyvDCMD7Mvq_YHEQZ5UoWQ/w640-h480/TigerSketch-Schindler.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the next few weeks, tigers and cats are going to be the focus of my attention, at least when I'm at home in my studio. I may even pay a visit to the Minnesota Zoo to see a real live tiger.</div><br /><p><br /></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-41192006271276999422021-09-12T09:48:00.021-05:002021-09-12T09:48:00.207-05:00Two Soft Cover Journals with a Cross-Stitch Binding<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqDZULnGoHU55WmYWod_PWMHdnRRmf1KrLMmZuEHTCPcXpKoys3EhlCnXvN88v0OodG69uXClcaFSxjJ1uf_i0OKeR2BB2XjRDUFOxhvTiUtpji-M35SFFtiT_F5g_kCm0tsiZg/s2000/GraySoftJournals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1506" data-original-width="2000" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitqDZULnGoHU55WmYWod_PWMHdnRRmf1KrLMmZuEHTCPcXpKoys3EhlCnXvN88v0OodG69uXClcaFSxjJ1uf_i0OKeR2BB2XjRDUFOxhvTiUtpji-M35SFFtiT_F5g_kCm0tsiZg/s320/GraySoftJournals.jpg" width="320" /></a></div> <a href="http://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2021/09/crisscross-binding-and-not-so-secret.html" target="_blank">In my last post, </a>in which I wrote about the crisscross aka secret Belgian book binding, my first photo included two soft-cover journals with exposed stitches on the spine that cross over each other to form overlapping X's. It occurred to me that a person might think that would be called a crisscross binding, too, so I mentioned simply that those are different, but didn't want to say more about them in a post about the other journals. So now I am going to tell you a little about those.<p></p><p>It's called a cross-stitch binding, though I've also seen it called by other names, including a "corset" binding. In order to get the stitches to cross on the outside, you have to double back some on the inside of the signatures, so the fancier the X-pattern on the spine, the more stepping back and doubling up on the stitches you need to do on the inside, which can get a little tricky and may make the middles of those signatures a little bulky. Find a good demonstration and examples of this on <a href="https://www.margaretemiller.com/cross-stitch-for-book-binding/" target="_blank">Margarete Miller's website here.</a> I agree with her conclusion that, while it's an attractive binding and kind of enjoyable to figure out, it's not something I want to do very often, because it's pretty fussy and the enjoyment diminishes after you've done a few of them.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRUmz8eoTWkYgfrIixZOkNtG3WGI6ct1Bk5SWB_Mh4xygJxq5Lvt3ktw3o3WPVgemJq7tuMBdgC-0_Exe61YTvOualLPu7fJzlnE-lLCeh0VAZwau6_DOiUwW3WFrRByxS8sIQuA/s2000/GraySoftJournals-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1482" data-original-width="2000" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRUmz8eoTWkYgfrIixZOkNtG3WGI6ct1Bk5SWB_Mh4xygJxq5Lvt3ktw3o3WPVgemJq7tuMBdgC-0_Exe61YTvOualLPu7fJzlnE-lLCeh0VAZwau6_DOiUwW3WFrRByxS8sIQuA/w640-h474/GraySoftJournals-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>These two small journals are made with a flexible cover-weight paper that has attractive striations on one side. I made them with a wrap-around cover and pockets in the back with the idea that they would make nice travel journals. They're about 4–5" high and wide, with moderately heavy paper that will take light use of wet media. The pockets are made from some large security envelopes I saved because I liked the pattern on the inside, and the paper was fairly heavy and durable.</p><p>The back cover wraps around and tucks into the front cover, where I put a circle of decorative paper and a white label so you can give your journal a title — or at least to make it clear which side is the front! But, seriously, I label my travel journals with the year and some reference to the contents, such as "2021 Road Trips," so I wanted to facilitate labeling them like that.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1HDMUdMqBaIRmHFUr2Kd55_sasn9ZKGw6QTbXAEsEW1qzeFfrf9FisWoX2P7IXOXBl4CXO1a-PZmCEsjr3KSqvSgJJsUdjost4-5z8tVQXX_R_8K1_Gi2L57WY_fiQIUbZ-JEA/s2000/GraySoftJournals-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1526" data-original-width="2000" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm1HDMUdMqBaIRmHFUr2Kd55_sasn9ZKGw6QTbXAEsEW1qzeFfrf9FisWoX2P7IXOXBl4CXO1a-PZmCEsjr3KSqvSgJJsUdjost4-5z8tVQXX_R_8K1_Gi2L57WY_fiQIUbZ-JEA/w640-h488/GraySoftJournals-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Come to think of it, I should do a post about my travel journals sometime. They're kind of a cross between a journal, a sketchbook, and a scrapbook. I guess that would make them visual journals. Anyway, I'll show you some examples of those next time.</p><p>Thanks for reading. These two journals will be available at my site during LoLa, which is coming up very soon! September 18–19 (2021), from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I'll be in my front yard with the journals and some other things on a table out there, and more items in the front porch for socially distanced browsing inside and out. My site is number 23, which you'll find on <a href="https://lolaart.org" target="_blank">the LoLa website here.</a> Or click on "Artists Directory" and enter my name (Sharon) into the search bar at the top (blue background). </p><p>Stop by and say hello if you're in town (Minneapolis, Minn., that is).</p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com0Minneapolis, MN, USA44.977753 -93.265010816.667519163821154 -128.4212608 73.287986836178845 -58.1087608tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-84194894987794805102021-09-05T09:14:00.002-05:002021-09-05T13:25:40.861-05:00Crisscross binding and a not-so-secret Belgian book artist<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KMAdkMPrDy-SXXP2iHRpT8fCKXFZO4GakUaK7JIB4F5syxTiLUnRodW8PviJtgSb_cAAi4RwbTTHB3wPGMYYOw0DZzdb2mKFJh7dcRql-SZCtrTVqLUyFdJASo89IB7A55n3QQ/s2000/Journals-stack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2KMAdkMPrDy-SXXP2iHRpT8fCKXFZO4GakUaK7JIB4F5syxTiLUnRodW8PviJtgSb_cAAi4RwbTTHB3wPGMYYOw0DZzdb2mKFJh7dcRql-SZCtrTVqLUyFdJASo89IB7A55n3QQ/w640-h480/Journals-stack.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Here are a few more of the handmade journals I'll have available during<a href="https://lolaart.org/2021-lola-artists-weekend/" target="_blank"> LoLa, </a>Sep. 18–19. Last week I showed you my <a href="http://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2021/08/journal-making-season.html" target="_blank">casebound journals, </a>now here's a different type of binding.<p></p><p>One of my favorite forms of book binding for journals is the secret Belgian binding, or, more properly, the crisscross binding (shown above at left; the X-binding at right is a different matter). I learned this one a few years ago at <a href="https://articulture.org" target="_blank">Articulture,</a> a local art education center. I like it because it offers the convenience and decorative stitching of a Coptic or chainstitch binding <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/107670851/burst-journal-orange" target="_blank">(here's an example of that</a>)—that is, it will lay flat when open, making it user-friendly for left-handers as well as right-handers, and it has a decorative exposed stitch across the spine and on the covers. </p><p>At the same time, unlike Coptic binding, it has a board covering the spine, which protects the pages and interior stitching, and gives you a place to write the date range or other information where you can easily see it when it's on the bookshelf. I find it to be a good choice when I want to repurpose an old book cover into a journal, especially if I want to use the spine from the original book—which I trim and then glue onto a strip of cardboard to make the new spine.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAHpb-kZ21en7rpnk_6bgJYOWOBvXT9zFLE5Hs36oVk6qqUZ6rtVGTm3Kzia6K6_1vBwhW8MnJSRZbBYnLv0i4__TLbx2PNTpvT1AshB2dM7qIvS-aNTnc338DgHCgLqTLy1m9A/s2000/MicrobesJournal-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1565" data-original-width="2000" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcAHpb-kZ21en7rpnk_6bgJYOWOBvXT9zFLE5Hs36oVk6qqUZ6rtVGTm3Kzia6K6_1vBwhW8MnJSRZbBYnLv0i4__TLbx2PNTpvT1AshB2dM7qIvS-aNTnc338DgHCgLqTLy1m9A/w640-h500/MicrobesJournal-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>You make the cover and spine boards first, then stitch them together, which is kind of fun and reminds me of the sewing cards I played with as a kid. Then you sew the signatures to the ladder of crisscrossing threads on the inside of the spine. I made a slight adaptation of the way the signatures are sewn in because it felt a little more stable to me than the method I was taught. But this is not a technical blog, so I'm not going to go into that here. </p><p>I was kind of attracted to the name, too: My sister was living in Belgium at the time, and my paternal grandparents had a fondness for the country because that was where Grandpa Parker served in WWI; after WWII, they signed up to send CARE packages to a Belgian family and maintained a lifelong correspondence. </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6U3O4b7T_X4XauFS9AMvTlaGYkL9yVyaQ78Xt_bAVzYqtj_aHBRmXYfDxWmVu5NpJ6In0Tl9dMCSpo3lsUbkk5tnN7lG2_B-qDL4S1SpTi4MjoCTXoY3CiAFUADcpWAglheNwPQ/s2000/MicrobesJournal-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1528" data-original-width="2000" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6U3O4b7T_X4XauFS9AMvTlaGYkL9yVyaQ78Xt_bAVzYqtj_aHBRmXYfDxWmVu5NpJ6In0Tl9dMCSpo3lsUbkk5tnN7lG2_B-qDL4S1SpTi4MjoCTXoY3CiAFUADcpWAglheNwPQ/w640-h488/MicrobesJournal-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">Inside the back cover of the "Microbes" journal</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />And who can resist the allure of something that's secret? I wondered about the name, though, and my teacher didn't know why it was called that, so I did a little research just now. It's not so secretive, after all, but its origin was a mystery to the American book artist who learned the technique in Europe and introduced it here.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqv7OSl7QEf4JGuB5xuIRUePioPkS32QvEwo1WGgjFC6B39QB-2ehtGqincqD5BNrc8Se1VbFUqFCy1X4Y8z0kISisbmp_0HU8E_bcv-RQ_SOLyDHkosW67fonMnOh5ewzgZlP6A/s2000/GreatPictures-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1555" data-original-width="2000" height="498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqv7OSl7QEf4JGuB5xuIRUePioPkS32QvEwo1WGgjFC6B39QB-2ehtGqincqD5BNrc8Se1VbFUqFCy1X4Y8z0kISisbmp_0HU8E_bcv-RQ_SOLyDHkosW67fonMnOh5ewzgZlP6A/w640-h498/GreatPictures-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The book arts underwent something of a revival in the late 20th century, and in the 1980s, a Belgian book binder named Anne Goy wanted to make a book with the decorative appearance of Japanese stab binding, but that would open flat, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Belgian_binding" target="_blank">so she invented this technique,</a> which <a href="https://bookbindingoutofthebox.com/products/book-crisscross-binding-anne-goy" target="_blank">she called crisscross binding. </a>Later, American book artist Hedi Kyle learned it without knowing who invented it, only that it came from Belgium; hence, she called it the secret Belgian binding—because, to her, the origin was a secret! Sounds much more poetic than the IDK Belgian binding, doesn't it?<p></p><p>So, the secret isn't in the binding itself, but the seeming mystery of its origins. It's so easy to find these things out via the Internet nowadays, but when Hedi Kyle in the 1990s wanted to know about this mysterious new bookbinding method, she couldn't just google it. (Google was <a href="https://about.google/our-story/" target="_blank">founded in 1998.</a>)</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZOwsEwJ-AvP7h0dHoOFt3c9cChR6_Gi5gXoTChni774B6IO59zG03lRH66T8oFlr01bAhkCEA7sMl8E_BmQgJ2iAdFGvtSxLiyJ2pbcnIvtsJ7biw5OJSRbmr2w0suGLzfZOpRw/s2000/ProverbsJournal-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1476" data-original-width="2000" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZOwsEwJ-AvP7h0dHoOFt3c9cChR6_Gi5gXoTChni774B6IO59zG03lRH66T8oFlr01bAhkCEA7sMl8E_BmQgJ2iAdFGvtSxLiyJ2pbcnIvtsJ7biw5OJSRbmr2w0suGLzfZOpRw/w640-h472/ProverbsJournal-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />(The "secret" to finding accurate information on the Internet is to examine multiple sources and check them against one another. Although I link to just two sources about secret Belgian binding, I consulted several more to confirm the accuracy of the information in those two. Never trust a single source! And be very suspicious if they use identical phrases—that's a clue that they probably all just copied and pasted from Wikipedia. Not that Wikipedia is bad, as long as you check<i> its</i> sources and look to independently verify its factual statements.) <p></p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-66957680284203895732021-08-29T16:41:00.000-05:002021-08-29T16:41:16.101-05:00Journal-making Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHu7GaZwmem8CvWe9P4xM7DCw4PUImC1Zw8xVHoBF2SJ4fpft-JfNgX5Gq5akshJSsH36MpIxf1MJXKPSw6xHwm8qmYp_FEpVOhxY81eg6l39sPRffK6kKB3msWE93pARUvLAug/s2000/RedTanPostal-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyHu7GaZwmem8CvWe9P4xM7DCw4PUImC1Zw8xVHoBF2SJ4fpft-JfNgX5Gq5akshJSsH36MpIxf1MJXKPSw6xHwm8qmYp_FEpVOhxY81eg6l39sPRffK6kKB3msWE93pARUvLAug/w640-h480/RedTanPostal-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>My art-making tends to have its seasons, influencing what I work on at various times of the year based on external circumstances. I mean, I have my internal inspirations, which are both constant and constantly changing, but it's those immutable events throughout the year that cause me to set aside some things for the sake of completing others.</p><p>It's one of the reasons I sign up for my <a href="https://lolaart.org/2021-lola-artists-weekend/" target="_blank">neighborhood art crawl,</a> which takes place on the third weekend of September (except last year, because COVID, of course). It's organized by the League of Longfellow Artists (LoLa) for creative folks in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis to showcase their artistic output. </p><p>LoLa gives me a deadline that motivates me to finish things I've been dragging out, and make new things to show and, hopefully, sell. I also enjoy the face-to-face interaction with neighbors and strangers and people I know and others I only kind of know—although two days of that is quite enough for this introverted artist. After that, I'm quite happy to retreat to my studio and focus on completing <a href="https://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-beginnings-of-useful-calendar.html" target="_blank">the Useful Calendar</a>— my next art-making season.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLRpFtLnqrAKkOa6bSSStZd03ljcnAh5fXxSeSg92dBgyxeU04EqHyA5pMvenW0hqWSA4UYjtAWJGGe_juethVGKstsE2OfFzeGS0jeBJp1zvH9_3g8BmUJHCB7gaKzYDQZxs9g/s2000/DotsJournal-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1488" data-original-width="2000" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcLRpFtLnqrAKkOa6bSSStZd03ljcnAh5fXxSeSg92dBgyxeU04EqHyA5pMvenW0hqWSA4UYjtAWJGGe_juethVGKstsE2OfFzeGS0jeBJp1zvH9_3g8BmUJHCB7gaKzYDQZxs9g/w640-h476/DotsJournal-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>I really just wanted to show you some of the journals I've been making lately, but I felt the need to put them in some kind of context, and then the whole art-making seasons idea came to me. </p><p>So. I make journals for the LoLa art crawl and then after the weekend I consign the ones that are left over with the <a href="https://www.mnbookarts.org" target="_blank">Minnesota Center for Book Arts </a>in plenty of time for holiday shopping. In 2020, we cancelled LoLa, the MCBA was closed, and I didn't make any journals, so I was a little concerned that I may have forgotten how to make them. I did have to consult my notes for the first ones, but I soon got in the groove again. Like riding a bicycle, I suppose.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRHenySxSV1THExvj0kqaVBVCgUzIQAu7kcKNsGesJUEITvWSrw80l6XZf8EvZ7SVZ9EcsIkBEnyqvfH1ssjfvafaYSUx2OnWrbWEZvakLvxbHCNBFfGnwUEaVwEJ8a7d_QTehA/s2000/DotsJournal-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="2000" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNRHenySxSV1THExvj0kqaVBVCgUzIQAu7kcKNsGesJUEITvWSrw80l6XZf8EvZ7SVZ9EcsIkBEnyqvfH1ssjfvafaYSUx2OnWrbWEZvakLvxbHCNBFfGnwUEaVwEJ8a7d_QTehA/w640-h460/DotsJournal-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: helvetica;">I always put a pocket inside the back covers, which holds a "library card" with information about the journal, and my bookmark-style business card</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>The ones I'm showing you in this post are all casebound, with a flat spine rather than a curved one because they're a bit more user-friendly that way: you can make them lie flat when opened fairly easily. </p><p>Casebound journals are a bit more involved than other types I also make, such as Coptic and secret Belgian, which I'll show you in my next post. For casebound journals, the spine is stitched, then glued, then reinforced with a fabric called mull and a strip of paper glued the almost-length of the spine. Optional but desirable is the addition of headbands at the top and bottom of the spine to protect the inner edges of the pages, and, one of my favorites, a ribbon page marker; because if I'm gluing all that stuff to the spine anyway, why not add that nifty little touch? </p><p>You can buy headband material that looks like the old-style handstitched headbands, but when I read that binderies used to make them using leftover shirt fabric, I thought that was a really cool way to make my own. I wrap strips of cotton fabric around a hemp cord and glue it with the same PVA glue I use in the other stages of making the book. Then I select a color that goes with the cover and cut off a piece the width of the spine. <a href="https://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2016/09/making-new-journals-from-old-books.html" target="_blank">(I wrote about making headbands in this post a few years ago, should you want to read more about it.)</a> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dulr66VgBzUHQJ_5qeHZ4LIlJf5YI9v2bzY-87JB1UBwgNejep8HWlcjWxrLhIDMZdKK8AYWSFXNU2XlCEWe8X31RFAeETnVMx0pKvw5ANeaHVE23z_lVgutppkX1vTka6dBgA/s2000/WmMorrisJournal-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1505" data-original-width="2000" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dulr66VgBzUHQJ_5qeHZ4LIlJf5YI9v2bzY-87JB1UBwgNejep8HWlcjWxrLhIDMZdKK8AYWSFXNU2XlCEWe8X31RFAeETnVMx0pKvw5ANeaHVE23z_lVgutppkX1vTka6dBgA/w640-h482/WmMorrisJournal-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>I've been using only supplies I already have on hand, and I make the journals in a range of sizes, largely determined by available materials. The red/postal journal shown at top and below is a full 5-1/2 by 8-1/2 inches, the next one is about half that size, and this last one, above, with William Morris's "Strawberry Thief" on the cover, is about 4 inches high. I'll have a few in each size available for LoLa. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-bhaEN6xg8nWEAgbIvIwhKJHh1UPJ9rrKnqnpPdCCn97T1ywl1xnVhUOFXRU98pfLs-i5Srp2py8dmSAhfz-3wKA9Hk_9j8FJPxK-kV4IxQkDtBeSzjXG6UaJDojh0SM1Hayaw/s2000/RedTanPostal-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1707" data-original-width="2000" height="546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi-bhaEN6xg8nWEAgbIvIwhKJHh1UPJ9rrKnqnpPdCCn97T1ywl1xnVhUOFXRU98pfLs-i5Srp2py8dmSAhfz-3wKA9Hk_9j8FJPxK-kV4IxQkDtBeSzjXG6UaJDojh0SM1Hayaw/w640-h546/RedTanPostal-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>To find me during LoLa, see <a href="https://lolaart.org/listings/sharon-parker/" target="_blank">my artist page </a>on the LoLa website.</p><p>Here's a photo of my ribbons, mull fabric, and prepared headband strips, just for a little postscript. Some of the headbands really are made with fabric cut from my husband's worn-out shirts, others are just from scraps too small to use for anything else.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZW-Y55N7ZdobIoxsvCPZAejSa1hKryDPPi4egc-2xgCRWGp1jmPjPY4f2l_Xs28iKgExhYT9UvPuP-b2OnAH05ByuZSQsfpQfMB63Upk7gYQvgOIVnX4wVeIHfh6h3wNqBVTOg/s2000/BookmakingSupplies-082821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUZW-Y55N7ZdobIoxsvCPZAejSa1hKryDPPi4egc-2xgCRWGp1jmPjPY4f2l_Xs28iKgExhYT9UvPuP-b2OnAH05ByuZSQsfpQfMB63Upk7gYQvgOIVnX4wVeIHfh6h3wNqBVTOg/w640-h480/BookmakingSupplies-082821.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-22088643891650412021-08-18T18:30:00.000-05:002021-08-18T18:30:57.379-05:00Little Boxes<p>I've been making little boxes this summer and it occurred to me that there's no need to keep that as my little secret, so let me tell you — and show you — a little bit about them. The boxes shown here (and more boxes yet to be made) will all be available at my site during the<a href="https://lolaart.org/2021-lola-artists-weekend/" target="_blank"> LoLa art crawl </a>in September. (My page on the LoLa website is <a href="https://lolaart.org/listings/sharon-parker/" target="_blank">here</a>.)</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ad0eVtNSGtfpJfnJ6P2G_jaC_wIPMXyCfygdi93HSX9AKYlC9sbj3pIEucf8jxkvEZY7X6BhGhpEADtozpWbdDUm5gyQYINWqGcwsWdlZSlUTNkGhg60f7JcQivYlRv-u5tQ1g/s2000/LittleBoxes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Ad0eVtNSGtfpJfnJ6P2G_jaC_wIPMXyCfygdi93HSX9AKYlC9sbj3pIEucf8jxkvEZY7X6BhGhpEADtozpWbdDUm5gyQYINWqGcwsWdlZSlUTNkGhg60f7JcQivYlRv-u5tQ1g/w640-h480/LittleBoxes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>A couple of years ago I had taken an in-person class (remember those?) at the <a href="https://www.mnbookarts.org" target="_blank">Minnesota Center for Book Arts</a> on how to make a specific type of box called a clamshell, which are mainly made to protect old books. That's a worthwhile thing and I do intend to make them for the old Bibles that my husband and I each inherited from our mothers. But the real reason I took the class on making clamshell boxes was because it was the only box-making class being offered at the time.</p><p>So when they offered an introduction to box making via Zoom this June, I was happy to jump in. What I really want to make are small lidded boxes and that's what this class was about. The boxes we made for the class were about 4" by 6". After finishing those, I started making smaller ones, both because I really like small things and also because I like using up scraps and bits that are too small to make much, but that I like too much to discard. </p><p>For example, in the photo above, the small neutral-colored box in the back to the left has a decorative square on the lid covered with a piece cut from a metallic gold envelope somebody used to send us a greeting card. And I'm really tickled by the blue-and-white one at the front, which is covered entirely in security envelopes, then topped with a vintage shanked button. That box is about 2" by 3" and is constructed with scrap chipboard left over from other projects.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VLTHAFzF228Fo3-698qgr2QHWJ08RW7F7K6vEKICW3GeBKUgJCjHyqpqsa20eU_svdVu7defvLy8Qn2GCgHgESyIXt_7qeD9jbSnqcsVDb4o6_55_VUznlZ5bb-lBXa_pt7w-w/s2000/LittleGreenBox-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1517" data-original-width="2000" height="486" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8VLTHAFzF228Fo3-698qgr2QHWJ08RW7F7K6vEKICW3GeBKUgJCjHyqpqsa20eU_svdVu7defvLy8Qn2GCgHgESyIXt_7qeD9jbSnqcsVDb4o6_55_VUznlZ5bb-lBXa_pt7w-w/w640-h486/LittleGreenBox-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>This green box is a good example of using up leftover supplies. I bought the green book cloth this summer, but the rest of the materials I found by rummaging in my scraps. I've had the green paisley paper for a very long time and I don't know when or where I first acquired it. The lining of both the lid and the box (the bottom part of the box is called the tray) is the last of some scrapbooking paper I bought when I used to use that type of paper to make sleeves for my calendar cards. I love the distressed look and the pastel colors, especially pale pink! With subtle green polka dots! So I made a box small enough to use the available scraps I had.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4QygE3GzFHOX-a8zajRg0puKuTkFeE1KumaGLF4r1JtmAjprjR1-KWa9aVj1EPgyDmLvqkHlSepaSXW1F9kBNa84HheZkhKA0YVTGeboxsAjzYfw1bV_3JsP1SkiUL_UtOTJmA/s2000/LittleGreenBox-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1576" data-original-width="2000" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4QygE3GzFHOX-a8zajRg0puKuTkFeE1KumaGLF4r1JtmAjprjR1-KWa9aVj1EPgyDmLvqkHlSepaSXW1F9kBNa84HheZkhKA0YVTGeboxsAjzYfw1bV_3JsP1SkiUL_UtOTJmA/w640-h504/LittleGreenBox-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>The handle at the top, as you have no doubt guessed, is a vintage wooden game piece, like from Sorry or something. It has a lovely aged patina and is the perfect shade of green to go with the other materials, don't you think?</p><p>I'm also making journals for LoLa, and some of those are also small, to use up leftover materials. But that's a topic for a different blog post.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZZHt-cxR42r21tLNYEreU4c-dhC7l88DBBnCTKx7YpdafGKX2Lj9VJIWlvprfj-JxBmJ3w1Z6vxkQEg8uY9cOuDWs09VTUHZfX1VdShsYUC6w9bn4c5XWFHLPsRbLtcY042a0g/s2000/LittleGreenBox-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1578" data-original-width="2000" height="504" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ZZHt-cxR42r21tLNYEreU4c-dhC7l88DBBnCTKx7YpdafGKX2Lj9VJIWlvprfj-JxBmJ3w1Z6vxkQEg8uY9cOuDWs09VTUHZfX1VdShsYUC6w9bn4c5XWFHLPsRbLtcY042a0g/w640-h504/LittleGreenBox-2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-19229162789267506782021-05-12T17:11:00.000-05:002021-05-12T17:11:13.108-05:00As Everything Keeps Changing, Afternoon Coffee Abides <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJ8WkJ4_5et-ov4Ken_iRxmSTWyzCjeMlq0ihkdpD3sKBu59-eutJ_KtB9JYJqlSPZrMzMrwvqdDmomV7mo2y7wiy3oQxr4fbcBQ68qlCbKMfD1R0qnWCp1dzGN4sbxwiSdA9SA/s2000/TableSetting-Mug%2526Pourover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHJ8WkJ4_5et-ov4Ken_iRxmSTWyzCjeMlq0ihkdpD3sKBu59-eutJ_KtB9JYJqlSPZrMzMrwvqdDmomV7mo2y7wiy3oQxr4fbcBQ68qlCbKMfD1R0qnWCp1dzGN4sbxwiSdA9SA/w640-h480/TableSetting-Mug%2526Pourover.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I'm a bit of a late riser and a slow mover in the morning. Even when I get up at 8 or, very rarely, earlier, I still don't get dressed til after I do a little yoga and sometimes my <a href="https://juliacameronlive.com/basic-tools/morning-pages/" target="_blank">morning pages,</a> and I don't eat breakfast until about 10. For that reason, I avoid making morning appointments or commitments of any kind. And please don't ask me to morning coffee. I drink tea after breakfast (always at home), coffee in the afternoon.<p></p><p>Before the pandemic, when the early afternoon sun slanted in through the skylight and reached my desk in the corner, I would gather up my computer and whatever I'm working on, get on my bike and pedal to a neighborhood coffee shop to do a bit of work with a lovely latte at my side. Sometimes Craig, my husband, would bike over from his office to join me, if he didn't have an afternoon meeting.</p><p>As with everyone else, the covid shut-down completely upended my schedule. </p><p>First, I no longer had the cue of hearing the back door close as hubby went off to work to signal that it was time to get out of bed. Second, well, he's just always home now, so instead of a silent house, I frequently hear the voices of his coworkers virtually gathered in his home office for the occasional meeting—on a schedule that's completely random to me. </p><p>Formerly, the only sounds I would hear at home were those that wafted through the open windows when the weather is fine: the chattering and chirping of birds, the harmonizing of my wind chimes with those of my neighbor, and the assorted human-made sounds of a relatively quiet urban neighborhood. Oh, and the cabinet maker in his garage workshop just up the alley using his power tools. But other than that, it's been pretty quiet on weekdays around here. I rarely play music or the radio during the day.</p><p>I find it easy to focus with that kind of background noise, but not so much when there's a meeting going on in the room across the hall. I confess I am too easily distracted, so it doesn't take much. And there's been no picking up and heading off to the coffee shop for a change of scene to spur my mindset into a more productive mode.</p><p>So now you know my excuse for writing so few blog posts in the last 12 months, and for the various zines-in-progress that haven't come to fruition yet.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoMieMS3AcRqlvDDIiAXXgi7RG6K6PShXSlLAMi4wBnU44m6HCM85UJPwunzhOR5wCxPUoXFG3MGaotnlZ8f2o-tgiBJrM7tSX5jKD30T66XmuKwDNALO7N5HfBP_7N6zpiCHaw/s2048/EspressoPot-021721.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGoMieMS3AcRqlvDDIiAXXgi7RG6K6PShXSlLAMi4wBnU44m6HCM85UJPwunzhOR5wCxPUoXFG3MGaotnlZ8f2o-tgiBJrM7tSX5jKD30T66XmuKwDNALO7N5HfBP_7N6zpiCHaw/w240-h320/EspressoPot-021721.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div>But what I really wanted to tell you about is how we started our own afternoon coffee-break-at-home tradition a year ago, and how we've come to enjoy it so much that we are not likely to abandon it entirely even as all our favorite spots are gradually opening up again. Besides, some of them still close too early in the afternoon for my schedule, and another has a 90-minute time limit on sitting, which is perfectly reasonable, but does cramp my style a little if I'm just getting into the groove of something I'm working on. <p></p><p></p><p>Our first few weeks of this new at-home coffee practice involved a bit of trial-and-error. We mail-ordered coffee beans from Dogwood Coffee, got out the Hario hand grinder and Moka stove-top espresso pot I bought a few years ago, and started playing barista. I tried to get in touch with my Swedish heritage by calling our coffee break<a href="https://sweden.se/culture-traditions/fika/" target="_blank"><i> fika, </i></a>but it felt a little forced and I kinda forgot about it anyway.</p><p>I soon discovered that I preferred a pour-over; bought a ceramic pot and cone by Melitta; found that to be too big, and subsequently hunted down a pint-size vintage pitcher on Etsy that's exactly the right size and has a flat top that perfectly fits the Melitta cone (pictured at top). Yay.</p><p>I offered hubby some tips on warming milk without scalding it for his latte, using a whisk to stir it while heating, and he proceeded to whisk it into a froth that he was quite proud of.</p><p>We continue to support our nearest neighborhood coffee shop, the Riverview Cafe, by purchasing their excellent banana bread to go with our coffee. Occasionally I've made muffins or scones, but we really like their banana bread and so far haven't tired of it, so that continues to be our favorite.</p><p>I also found a little serendipitous side benefit of purchasing those bags of coffee beans at a time when I was making pandemic face masks — the wire-and-plastic closure band across the top of the coffee bag made a very nice little topper on the masks to fit them over our noses snugly (which I later figured out how to put in between the layers of cotton). Each coffee bag was good for two face masks. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxB_xxgZnXt4f5HojRjC0GCX0189NOAltCggVr3OUDI0fuZPJDOvrg-0mfFXg0bwXo0X9gCv7AYOcQky0_ZL06D1tVnLPRwsus2wQ5F7Bc7OhTFEYKhYeDQdW0V9iGCcLE8ARMkA/s2000/CoffeeBag%2526Mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxB_xxgZnXt4f5HojRjC0GCX0189NOAltCggVr3OUDI0fuZPJDOvrg-0mfFXg0bwXo0X9gCv7AYOcQky0_ZL06D1tVnLPRwsus2wQ5F7Bc7OhTFEYKhYeDQdW0V9iGCcLE8ARMkA/w640-h480/CoffeeBag%2526Mask.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Dogwood has since changed the design of their coffee bags and so no more bands for mask making, but I still have a few of them left from all those months of buying beans, which I will hang on to in case we have need of more masks in the future (*sigh*).</p><p>I recently overheard one of hubby's meetings in which they were discussing plans for when to return to the office, probably in September, most likely in the form of a hybrid schedule incorporating working at home but going in on certain days for meetings (yay). Perhaps on those days I'll bike to the coffee shop when the weather invites it, and make my pour-over at home when it's not so nice out. </p><p>Like everyone else, we'll keep adapting to changing schedules, and we'll find ways to continue our afternoon coffee breaks one way or another.</p><p>Incidentally, I'm writing this at the coffee shop. And my time is almost up. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-42573298035546184032021-01-14T08:00:00.007-06:002021-01-14T12:53:03.970-06:00And Now for Something Yellow <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CY3GgHSGlH4eNIC-cnE4XJMWRrU_wTqfPAcjV0dxVZQPUl1gOErIGp3b95z04WwHVjYveIBTI0SEX2YMyTHsKJhYBLChM1xR7YTrrm1ReGo7vk-JveL7ZbPczQGFwDC4ReJi4A/s2000/Buffet-Julia-011321.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-CY3GgHSGlH4eNIC-cnE4XJMWRrU_wTqfPAcjV0dxVZQPUl1gOErIGp3b95z04WwHVjYveIBTI0SEX2YMyTHsKJhYBLChM1xR7YTrrm1ReGo7vk-JveL7ZbPczQGFwDC4ReJi4A/w640-h480/Buffet-Julia-011321.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>We put away the Christmas items the weekend following Epiphany, by which time I'm in the mood for something with a completely different feel. Something light, and yellow, and uncluttered. At the center of the new buffet vignette stands Julia, resplendent as always in her yellow dress.</p><p>Yellow is one of Pantone's new colors of the year for 2021; the other is gray. (Or, that is, <a href="https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2021" target="_blank">"Illuminating," and "Ultimate Gray."</a>) But for me, yellow is always the color of the month for January.</p><p>Yellow was my mother's favorite color, and her birthday was January 29. I would search for a yellow primula to give her, but often had to settle for a kalanchoe instead. I gave her a couple of yellow mugs over the years, too, which came into my possession after she died in 2015. One holds pens on my desk and serves as a pleasant functional memento. Mom would have turned 92 this month.</p><p>Julia, the yellow clad figurine and the human she represents, dwelt in this house before us. Julia was the owner of the house and died a year or so before we bought it in 2010, having reached the age of 90-something. According to our neighbors, she was active right up until the day of her death, which occurred quietly at home, here in this house. </p><p>She lived independently for many years after her husband, Harry, died. She had a lush flower garden and a gentleman companion. She enjoyed a warm and friendly relationship with our neighbor Bonnie, who tended Julia's garden the summer after her death, and later helped me identify some of the flowers Julia had bequeathed to us. </p><p>We first looked at the house (the exterior, that is) in spring when an abundance of yellow daffodils were blooming all around the backyard. We took a tour inside on Mother's Day—our Realtor, who was young enough to be my son, and whose father had been our Realtor when we bought our first house, gave me a hug and wished me a happy Mother's Day. </p><p>The 1920s bungalow is so characteristic of the Longfellow neighborhood of South Minneapolis that the term Longfellow bungalow is quite common around here. We have long been attracted to this style of house, and this one is a fine example of the style, without being too precious or elaborate. </p><p>And it has a built-in buffet! A buffet offers such a perfect display area, a sort of playground for creating seasonal vignettes. I had wanted one since we bought our first house in 1987, but hadn't managed it until now.</p><p>A couple of weeks before we were set to close on the house, Julia's heirs had an estate sale to clear out the myriad possessions that they had crammed into the garage for ease of showing the place. We went and introduced ourselves, and selected a few small items to buy as a kind of bridge connecting us to the house's previous inhabitants. </p><p>Porcelain figurines of ladies in fancy dresses are not usually my sort of thing, but I thought one of them would be a fitting avatar of the previous owner and her taste in decor. I chose the one with a yellow dress, perhaps thinking of the daffodils I had admired a month earlier, or of my mother's favorite color. The family said that this one did indeed look like Julia. Of course she does. And here she stays.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com1Minneapolis, MN, USA44.977753 -93.265010816.667519163821154 -128.4212608 73.287986836178845 -58.1087608tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-43921774263273667632020-12-26T08:00:00.004-06:002020-12-26T08:00:04.238-06:00Tiny Christmas: Who needs a tree?<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQtaKHQVbgqLd8YYP7ZRG6sN9v-lftQhSnfP2mgJ-8BLEfCeHZX5hyl9W7SmbL0-lhK41TEbI17tBM7tcWJX05pjMYf4L3vkLaOrH4taQ2E14CxNto9Ey-1CVNV3W0G_GQBNbDA/s2000/Creche%2526DalaHorse-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJQtaKHQVbgqLd8YYP7ZRG6sN9v-lftQhSnfP2mgJ-8BLEfCeHZX5hyl9W7SmbL0-lhK41TEbI17tBM7tcWJX05pjMYf4L3vkLaOrH4taQ2E14CxNto9Ey-1CVNV3W0G_GQBNbDA/w640-h446/Creche%2526DalaHorse-2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">We used to always get our Christmas tree about a week before and keep it up until Epiphany (aka Twelfth Day), but the last few years our local spots have run out of trees before we got to them. The first time it happened, we made the trek to a nearby suburb and found a plentiful selection to choose from. I made a mental note to be sure to get a tree a bit earlier next time so we could buy either from </span><a href="http://lighthouseinternet.com/nokomis/mobile/index.html" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Nokomis Beach Coffee shop,</a><span style="text-align: left;"> which offered free delivery in the neighborhood, or </span><a href="https://www.motherearthgarden.com" style="text-align: left;" target="_blank">Mother Earth Gardens, </a><span style="text-align: left;">which is even closer and has a full complement of wreaths, greens, and more. </span></div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2v9s3ztUdB4DPX5PF9dWiw11IFrhssBeVqnttB_u5fm91PpcHpaaW26aJmIoEi9cf5yvx1JGS1djWz82pDZdYL59mXjTiXS7PjK4XwJalOWrZa_TC6lPlgC0rEJtxQIz6Yf9F-A/s2000/SnowmanRosemary-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1527" data-original-width="2000" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2v9s3ztUdB4DPX5PF9dWiw11IFrhssBeVqnttB_u5fm91PpcHpaaW26aJmIoEi9cf5yvx1JGS1djWz82pDZdYL59mXjTiXS7PjK4XwJalOWrZa_TC6lPlgC0rEJtxQIz6Yf9F-A/w640-h490/SnowmanRosemary-2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">We missed the last tree by a day (or so) again last year, so this time I made myself a calendar reminder to get the tree in early December, figuring we could keep it outside in the snow until it was the right time to bring it in.</span></div><p></p><p>Right after Thanksgiving, I bought a wreath and a small swag at the garden center, and some branches of berries to add to the arrangement of greens I had gathered from my own garden for the front step. There were plenty of trees to chose from then, but I figured I would get a tree from the coffee shop, since I was buying a lot of other things from the garden center already. Spread the business around a little, you know? I was going to be sure to get over to Nokomis Beach in the next week or so—still early, in my mind.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaCIAGWlZbA6jQWBau-WJfthAJd95U3p3NWkgsIyZGN28MkSKRZi8KYEh_6XqbWUUZz_a12hmsIqMbAHfzSueTIiy_4B9kkjPLA5whRriFmrbiCWSwAsvrhbUb0cGUlERJOYbhA/s2000/Gnome%2526Deer-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaCIAGWlZbA6jQWBau-WJfthAJd95U3p3NWkgsIyZGN28MkSKRZi8KYEh_6XqbWUUZz_a12hmsIqMbAHfzSueTIiy_4B9kkjPLA5whRriFmrbiCWSwAsvrhbUb0cGUlERJOYbhA/w640-h480/Gnome%2526Deer-2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Well, they both sold out by December 8th this year! The report from Mother Earth Gardens was that demand was unusually high, and they were hearing from a lot of people who hadn't even had a real tree before. People weren't traveling for Christmas, and they were feeling some nostalgia besides. Pandemic comfort decor, I suppose.</p><p>We didn't feel like traveling, either, not even outside the neighborhood in search of a tree. Perhaps it's the pandemic effect for us, too, but we realized we were more in the mood for a scaled-down holiday anyway, and a tree seemed kind of, well, opulent. Especially a tree we would have to go out of our way to get. </p><p>I bought some extra greenery from Mother Earth, including a bundle of small fir boughs that I put in a sturdy crock and set on the buffet, in order to bring the essence of Christmas tree into the house. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHtlHadcuR2t7RDYCt8pXiUm4G_F88PwL6QvW-djtg3E7vE2vP1XFviDYIQGwi9Ip6pPvL6MBe768k2AIdbHN5oZ6sNXgNvlKZwkPnMX7T9cTFKVVngd3_jWGVupM574ucTAAjg/s2000/TinyIcon-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1472" data-original-width="2000" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjHtlHadcuR2t7RDYCt8pXiUm4G_F88PwL6QvW-djtg3E7vE2vP1XFviDYIQGwi9Ip6pPvL6MBe768k2AIdbHN5oZ6sNXgNvlKZwkPnMX7T9cTFKVVngd3_jWGVupM574ucTAAjg/w640-h472/TinyIcon-2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ9rida45kJnj942l-PnSuNHECRKUFbDiXGO_prmt2CI58hYn_unG10N9t2tVjI9C0_65kK8T5r8C1yF5ZWaOONRbOoOEEVOKD87BYCHOK7lv3fRx46NMDlJ-CK_4aOzxxZhVbw/s2000/TinyUrnFlowers-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1696" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQ9rida45kJnj942l-PnSuNHECRKUFbDiXGO_prmt2CI58hYn_unG10N9t2tVjI9C0_65kK8T5r8C1yF5ZWaOONRbOoOEEVOKD87BYCHOK7lv3fRx46NMDlJ-CK_4aOzxxZhVbw/w340-h400/TinyUrnFlowers-2020.jpg" width="340" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>The folks at Mother Earth also had some tiny arrangements of flowers and greens in pots that were a mere 2" in diameter. I bought one to put in an equally tiny cast-iron urn I bought years ago, which had been too small to use for actual plants because the roots outgrow it in about two weeks. But an arrangement in florist foam was perfect.</p><p></p><p>It gradually dawned on me that without a tree to requisition all of our ornaments, I could place some of them around the house on various shelves, in cozy little spots, or hanging from other things. I really enjoyed spreading tiny Christmas all around the house and now am thinking about how I could do even more of that in future.</p><p>We might forego a tree next year too, only this time intentionally, now that we've discovered how Christmassy the house can feel without it. Not needing to rearrange furniture or sweep up needles is an added bonus.</p><p>I hope you are enjoying this Christmastide (which isn't over until January 6, you know) in your own small way.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSncD-lyyLAdfdPeFqIdsCllkKiEaRZGNECkF2ofuESilefcCga9sI4ZyjuQKxEWWZDmEsitnfEZR4EKRXOkbuGq-f1QTCHkN039oAYWF4v3SIYTG0uLVKRYVwUXhdcRXs2vCWg/s2000/TinyDoll-Den-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrSncD-lyyLAdfdPeFqIdsCllkKiEaRZGNECkF2ofuESilefcCga9sI4ZyjuQKxEWWZDmEsitnfEZR4EKRXOkbuGq-f1QTCHkN039oAYWF4v3SIYTG0uLVKRYVwUXhdcRXs2vCWg/s320/TinyDoll-Den-2020.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hanging from a lamp in the den.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyXBZLMEWR3Icyd4-1zXPHt8OzfNwH_34tUwoEBqPiDC3lwt7hI3J1Y0FXm63LUXLhjMNCcq4L7ArqHm3OG2IYMGDqFTa32wd3IoWs4IyD5RY0zGPcW_2vfpefYrcK4SlfDSxXw/s1712/BathroomOrnament-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1291" data-original-width="1712" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyXBZLMEWR3Icyd4-1zXPHt8OzfNwH_34tUwoEBqPiDC3lwt7hI3J1Y0FXm63LUXLhjMNCcq4L7ArqHm3OG2IYMGDqFTa32wd3IoWs4IyD5RY0zGPcW_2vfpefYrcK4SlfDSxXw/w400-h301/BathroomOrnament-2020.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Atop the wainscot in the bathroom.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvj-7zg2fR4UruclSYg-hLspOODFVWKBrCi_GjkpALKHzNaFnL79di3hPEYJDY4SLdaY3CaYILF1m_A9dEJe6VKXNov55hrvOwMvB1beXQNFjmQjLfJktAM1odd7R_Zr8ZgZ8kgA/s2000/Cat%2526XmasBuffet-2020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="2000" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvj-7zg2fR4UruclSYg-hLspOODFVWKBrCi_GjkpALKHzNaFnL79di3hPEYJDY4SLdaY3CaYILF1m_A9dEJe6VKXNov55hrvOwMvB1beXQNFjmQjLfJktAM1odd7R_Zr8ZgZ8kgA/w640-h480/Cat%2526XmasBuffet-2020.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A broad view of the buffet, with unhelpful cat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />Sharon Parker Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08175568017201398968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-27441887763887978492020-12-06T08:00:00.002-06:002020-12-06T08:00:08.915-06:00The Calendar Cards Get a New Sleeve<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mXJF6hYAWuByyp1JrES2IuQX8LmY23VbMNti-BT8e_BC0oBao7EGOL7NW2r8GmOGdVcT-DIv7hca4lfRc4DK8H_bsgwKXY-Uovg4_6Q89PHu2o-CXKxJpqVwgab3M3jw345spA/s1050/Calendar%2526Sleeve.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="725" data-original-width="1050" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9mXJF6hYAWuByyp1JrES2IuQX8LmY23VbMNti-BT8e_BC0oBao7EGOL7NW2r8GmOGdVcT-DIv7hca4lfRc4DK8H_bsgwKXY-Uovg4_6Q89PHu2o-CXKxJpqVwgab3M3jw345spA/w640-h442/Calendar%2526Sleeve.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />When I first made the Useful Calendar (<a href="https://sharonscompendium.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-beginnings-of-useful-calendar.html" target="_blank">more on that here</a>) into a set of cards, from its original format on a single sheet of letter size cardstock, I fashioned a sleeve to hold them by adapting a template designed for artist trading cards (ATCs). The calendar cards at that time were ATC-size (2.5" x 3.5").<p></p><p>Because it was a flat sleeve with the seam on the side, and I was putting 16 cards in them, I made it a little bigger and gave it some reinforcement by laminating the whole thing with packing tape. It was rather fussy and time-consuming to make each one that way, but it made a very durable, long-lasting sleeve that could be refilled each year for several years.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FFmZPAi-7_w1oo-oLw0F9XEhToi0-Vd_MNMnA3J-FBbttuXw2xjNINvPsOOQWxHp4XgC3cwafkATznTIbWvsMq3lP8RyuhIcV1_WR6l7tJuqb2spY-Tl_XwLaGtTXZbsGuQ6pw/s2000/CardSleeves-old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1357" data-original-width="2000" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FFmZPAi-7_w1oo-oLw0F9XEhToi0-Vd_MNMnA3J-FBbttuXw2xjNINvPsOOQWxHp4XgC3cwafkATznTIbWvsMq3lP8RyuhIcV1_WR6l7tJuqb2spY-Tl_XwLaGtTXZbsGuQ6pw/w640-h436/CardSleeves-old.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Then I made the cards slightly larger to make better use of the paper I printed them on. Instead of trading card size (2.5" x 3.5"), I made them 1/8-letter size (2.75" x 4.25"). Now I don't need to trim anything away, I just cut the printed cardstock into 8 cards.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX3j5n3AjCAgHp21zw9_9T9kkPBEaWKYKX36PngYOMcimgnkQL8HUQ3iR7fD9-evpjqh0SVxLyW2-qpDqe9vsWxPPXuVk5gV2imm1WFZ1b7C-pJ318S-eiBnzIHm8wkx6D5vRFg/s2000/CardSleeve-oldpattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1154" data-original-width="2000" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX3j5n3AjCAgHp21zw9_9T9kkPBEaWKYKX36PngYOMcimgnkQL8HUQ3iR7fD9-evpjqh0SVxLyW2-qpDqe9vsWxPPXuVk5gV2imm1WFZ1b7C-pJ318S-eiBnzIHm8wkx6D5vRFg/w369-h233/CardSleeve-oldpattern.jpg" width="369" /></a></div>But these no longer fit the old sleeves, so I adapted the sleeve I was using to accommodate the new size. I made a pattern out of stiff plastic upcycled from a pocket folder, so I could just trace around it.<p></p><p>That worked fine for a few years, mostly because I don't do a high volume of business, especially of the pocket version of the calendar (<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/912791661/2021-desk-calendar-with-stand-all-major" target="_blank">I sell more of the ones with a wood stand aka a desk calendar</a>). But then I had an inquiry last January from a person who wanted to buy a large quantity for their employees, with the sleeves, and I couldn't accommodate them. They settled for 15 of them and let me know at that time that they would like a much larger quantity for Year of the Ox (2021).</p><p>So I started looking for a ready-made sleeve that I could use, but could not find anything the right size. Then tinkered with creating a better design that would still be durable while also being easier to make. I noticed that the card sleeves I found online had the seam in the center of the back instead of at the side. I thought that looked nice and would be stronger because there isn't the stress that a seam on the side has to contend with. </p><p>I also realized that I needed to accommodate the thickness of the 16 cards in a more precise way than just making the sleeve a bit bigger. I used a technique similar to the draping method of designing clothing (I used to be a seamstress/tailor), wrapping scrap paper around a rectangle of corrugated cardboard representing a stack of cards, creasing it at each edge, front and back. From this I took measurements and notes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-qMaM3kLnRHPrEcPJ5S7JawrIRBBbDo29EuT53kSZ-1m1De4KEchusvHIIO-Zvhk5hN-J9Ty94a8Fo6rSOh3aTa8V6JvjogpirFaxaLlk7etKquqvZQVVAzzUk3P-TMNrwxFqg/s2000/CardSleevePrototypes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1303" data-original-width="2000" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd-qMaM3kLnRHPrEcPJ5S7JawrIRBBbDo29EuT53kSZ-1m1De4KEchusvHIIO-Zvhk5hN-J9Ty94a8Fo6rSOh3aTa8V6JvjogpirFaxaLlk7etKquqvZQVVAzzUk3P-TMNrwxFqg/w400-h260/CardSleevePrototypes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>I then tested some paper samples I had, making a miniature prototype because my samples were so small. I carried the test sleeve in my wallet for several weeks, taking it out and handling it and putting it back to test its durability. It became apparent that the new design would hold up very well.</p><p>I made a new template in InDesign so that I could print them with my own artwork on the front (and brand them with my shop name on the back). Then tested the printed one on some nice gray cardstock I already had in letter size (it's set up to print 2 on a letter-size sheet), by handling it a lot and rubbing the printed side with my fingers. As I had feared, the toner started to rub off and look worn, so I coated it, and the others I had made so far, with Gel Medium, a clear acrylic that can be used as a sealant. Because the sleeves were already assembled when I brushed it on, they resisted warping from the moisture in the medium, and it dried pretty quickly. It results in a sheen on one side of the sleeves, and visible brush strokes, but I think of that as just the handmade touch.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7nyIv6YGbQABriVRfFZ03AEyuAW0IDY__yWY5na36QPZAW19BrToL7HXMC3l2oDoYI2AMEabYf-O9N4lWLIQcm463Q2Mei8-APOdUnKYraPMxWJvvYwzGMUBvSOiarKUGXrMyQ/s1930/CardSleeves-pileofnew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1930" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7nyIv6YGbQABriVRfFZ03AEyuAW0IDY__yWY5na36QPZAW19BrToL7HXMC3l2oDoYI2AMEabYf-O9N4lWLIQcm463Q2Mei8-APOdUnKYraPMxWJvvYwzGMUBvSOiarKUGXrMyQ/w640-h428/CardSleeves-pileofnew.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p>Now I need to get in touch with that customer from last January to see if she still wants the Year of the Ox calendars! Even if she doesn't, I appreciate that her inquiry prompted me to design a better card sleeve.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com0Minneapolis, MN, USA44.977753 -93.265010816.667519163821154 -128.4212608 73.287986836178845 -58.1087608tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-4517695055320396142020-10-10T09:00:00.001-05:002020-10-10T09:00:00.857-05:00On World Homeless Day, Let's Remember, and Help, and Be Grateful<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JqCT60GAqz4GZMC5CpGMbn_NXVfcUByuWjAyHbvmWx1E_hJBArOFLVZyIElYIWdbmwINHUJsRCNMskzexkcJEPSHUGntNaNdFkTRJ6gn_yIZ9e1CBroMg0Ekz6rXmE4ngjYnJw/s1600/World+Homeless+Day+collage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1600" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-JqCT60GAqz4GZMC5CpGMbn_NXVfcUByuWjAyHbvmWx1E_hJBArOFLVZyIElYIWdbmwINHUJsRCNMskzexkcJEPSHUGntNaNdFkTRJ6gn_yIZ9e1CBroMg0Ekz6rXmE4ngjYnJw/w640-h430/World+Homeless+Day+collage.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">In Greg Brown's song, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-xWWFNJFJQ" target="_blank">"Just a Bum,"</a> he reminds us that but for chance and fortune, any of us could end up down and out and possibly homeless:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: helvetica;"><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">"Some people live to work, work to live</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Any little tremble and the earth might give</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Ya can't hide it in a Volvo or a London Fog</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">Can't hide it in a mansion with an imported dog</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);" /><span jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34);">No matter how we plan and rehearse, we're at pink slip's mercy in a paper universe ..."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Today, October 10, is <a href="http://www.worldhomelessday.org" target="_blank">World Homeless Day, </a>according to the United Nations. Since its founding in 2010, the purpose of the day is to call attention to homelessness and urge people to work on solutions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here in Minneapolis, homelessness was made more visible this summer when the park board decided to allow encampments in our public parks, even in "nice" neighborhoods like mine, near Minnehaha Falls.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The <a href="https://www.minneapolisparks.org/encampments/" target="_blank">Minneapolis Park Board</a> has adopted what I would call a policy of rational compassion, designating certain areas and parks for encampments, limiting the number of tents that are allowed in any given spot, and issuing permits to people and organizations who take responsibility for managing the encampments and helping the temporary residents find indoor shelter before winter. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">They don't pretend that this is any sort of solution to the problem of homelessness, acknowledging that it is a stopgap measure, as superintendent Al Bangoura <a href="https://www.minneapolisparks.org/encampments/10-7-2020-superintendent-bangoura-encampment-remarks/" target="_blank">recently stated:</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"<span face="Cabin, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">We know that sheltering homeless people in Minneapolis parks is not a safe, proper or dignified form of housing and is, at best, a temporary solution for encampment individuals before cold weather arrives."</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">One such encampment, at Logan Park in northeast Minneapolis, was recently profiled<a href="https://www.startribune.com/after-summer-in-minneapolis-parks-homeless-seek-other-spaces-for-winter/572683522/" target="_blank"> in the Star Tribune. </a>There, a local church, Strong Tower Parish, is hoping to open a 24-hour shelter in November to serve homeless people such as those who have been staying in the park. This will be the second winter that the church has sheltered homeless people, but this time they are seeking funds from the CARES Act to make their building a more suitable shelter, with lockers and showers, along with a new ventilation system and other improvements to make it safer from COVID-19.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Such encampments on public land are not new in Minneapolis. A couple of years ago, a large encampment of homeless people, mostly Native Americans, formed in South Minneapolis alongside a walled area next to Highway 55, also known as Hiawatha Avenue. It came to be known as The Wall of Forgotten Natives, and, later, the Franklin Hiawatha Encampment. The people staying there were eventually moved to what was called a navigation center, and from there into shelters and, in some cases, longer term housing. You can read the story of that experience on the</span><a href="https://www.franklinhiawathacamp.org" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank"> Franklin Hiawatha Encampment website.</a></p><p><span face="arial, sans-serif" jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://ststephensmpls.org/latest/street-outreach-pivoting-amid-pandemic" target="_blank">The outreach team at St. Stephen's Human Services </a>is also working in cooperation with city and park board officials to help people who are currently camping in the parks to find better shelter.</span></p><p><span face="arial, sans-serif" jsname="YS01Ge" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: georgia;">Another local organization that has been working since 1972 to get people into affordable, safe housing is <a href="https://www.ppl-inc.org" target="_blank">Project for Pride in Living.</a> They also offer job assistance, career training and coaching, and even clothing to help their clients dress for job interviews.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><a href="https://closeknit.us" target="_blank">CloseKnit </a>focuses on facilitating connections between youth experiencing homelessness and caring adults; their emphasis is on supporting those relationships, and connecting host homes with resources to meet their needs. They started out specifically helping LGBTQ+ youth who were estranged from their parents, but have since expanded their mission to help all youth. </span><span style="font-family: georgia;">The reality, though, is that it is most often queer kids who get kicked out of their homes, as documented</span><a href="https://www.startribune.com/new-report-shows-minnesota-lgbtq-teens-and-adults-overrepresented-in-homeless-population/572695732/" style="font-family: georgia;" target="_blank"> in a recent report from the Wilder Foundation.</a></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">We used to publish a small print journal we called Minneapolis Observer Quarterly (MOQ), and in one of our last issues, the spring 2010 edition, writer Mary Jane LaVigne wrote an essay about volunteer work she did for Project Homeless Connect, which provided services to homeless people in a biannual event at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Her role was with an oral history project, nudging people to tell their stories. She wrote about several of the people she interviewed and how the experience challenged assumptions one might be tempted to make about homeless individuals as "other."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">She ended with a quotation from one of her subjects.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">"When you get home tonight," he said to her, "run your hands along your walls; be grateful to your walls and the roof over your head. Then go outside and touch the sides of your house. Be grateful that you don't have to sleep outside. You never know. You never do."</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span face="Cabin, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(102, 102, 102); color: #666666; font-size: 17px;"><br /></span></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31723612.post-4648537163302784092020-10-05T12:24:00.000-05:002020-10-05T12:24:13.664-05:00The Supreme Court and English Quarter Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAEhFQMLIi7DBJbKrxiYzzeldDs_rYcTO3Nw2bAMiFJculmDRy-WVzuvN_fY2URUETdpMoZFqaRXQ24Z4yP798sNHi4cnlOg0QZTtA9P56WYlLhbuq6aDyk34ii6EyJTOZtqsVA/s1600/RoseHips-on-arch-100420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1180" data-original-width="1600" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGAEhFQMLIi7DBJbKrxiYzzeldDs_rYcTO3Nw2bAMiFJculmDRy-WVzuvN_fY2URUETdpMoZFqaRXQ24Z4yP798sNHi4cnlOg0QZTtA9P56WYlLhbuq6aDyk34ii6EyJTOZtqsVA/w640-h472/RoseHips-on-arch-100420.jpg" title="Rose hips turning orange in early October, on my rusted metal arch." width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Today, the US Supreme Court starts its new term, meeting (remotely this year) on the first Monday in October. Although <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/traditions.aspx" target="_blank">not explicitly stated on its official website</a>, I can't help but think the tradition has its roots in the English quarter day customs.</p><p>From the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, the first day of each quarter of the year on the English calendar was the time for magistrates to hold court, debts to be settled, rents paid, and other financial and legal matters resolved and noted in the record books. The idea was to set a limit on how long such things were allowed to go unresolved.</p><p>The days roughly corresponded to the seasonal events of solstices and equinoxes, with the year beginning on Lady Day (March 25), followed by Midsummer (June 24), Michaelmas (Sept. 29) and Christmas (Dec. 25).</p><p>In 1752, England and its dominions (including the American colonies) adopted the Gregorian calendar reforms, along with the Scottish practice of starting the year on January 1. The traditional quarter days continued to be observed, however, and even today, the fall term at English colleges is called Michaelmas term. </p><p>Today, the English financial year is divided into standardized quarters that are the same as the US system: Jan. 1, April 1, July 1, and Oct. 1.</p><p>Michaelmas (pronounced <i>mick-ul-muss</i>) is still the name for the first of the four quarters of the legal year in England, when certain courts begin sitting in October, after an elaborate ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The US Supreme Court session used to begin with a ceremonial visit to the White House, but now they get right to business hearing oral arguments on the first day.</p><p>The Supreme Court didn't always begin meeting on the first Monday in October, however. When it was founded in 1790, it was scheduled to meet on the first Monday in February and again in August. It was changed to October in 1917, <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/why-the-supreme-court-starts-on-the-first-monday-in-october" target="_blank">according to the National Constitution Center.</a></p><p>By the way, this cheerful fall-bloomer, the aster, is known as the Michaelmas daisy in England.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SALTHne4MZXQ7vBklKXag9-i8iH3XgHedSQ6QlXB180tPRuQyVwr-5rjLZ7brWfEFhBxA2ym1_T14T6Za115RkyjoeJ293T0orCFJpPqLFpH16HvDCiGgDUNGNHu4uzEVGawuA/s1600/Asters-100420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9SALTHne4MZXQ7vBklKXag9-i8iH3XgHedSQ6QlXB180tPRuQyVwr-5rjLZ7brWfEFhBxA2ym1_T14T6Za115RkyjoeJ293T0orCFJpPqLFpH16HvDCiGgDUNGNHu4uzEVGawuA/w640-h478/Asters-100420.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p>Sharon Parkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09093606285505207973noreply@blogger.com0