Greetings from Michigan

Hope your celebration of Jesus' birth this Christmas was 

a memory-making time.

Wishing you many blessings in the New Year!

HAPPY 2020

ARTISAN MARKET in Rochester, MI

My friend Sue Stingu (with her necklaces, book gems, etc.) and I will have a space at this Fall Market so be sure to stop by and see us. It's a busy Market!Art

Eco-Printing at the OPC

Six women joined me for an Introduction to Eco-Printing in the beautiful little cottage next to the OPC Senior Center garden in Rochester. A good definition of this process is on a guest blog post at the link below:

Eco printing, also known as eco bundling, is the discovery of India Flint, an Australian textile artist who works with natural dyes. In her popular book, Eco Colour, she explains the process of eco printing. The name I like to give this technique is “nature printing with steam”.   It just seems to more easily explain the process.

It was an ideal location and a beautiful day for setting up the steamers/roaster outside while we worked inside. We did have one snafu when the circuits went out, but as soon as they were fixed we were off and running with packets of papers, flowers, stems and leaves in the pots.

We gathered some materials from the nearby garden but mostly used the colorful box of materials donated by Utica Florist. What a treat to have those beautiful colors sitting in the middle of the table. 'Each sheet of paper was quickly doused in a vinegar/water solution.....many of the plants had had a bath in alum (pickling spice) and water the night before.....then plants or plant parts were arranged on the paper so that each side of the paper would be touch the plants. We folded our papers in half before laying the plants out. 

When we got everything arranged, I wrapped them in a cloth that had had a bath in rusty water (iron sulfate). A ceramic tile was placed on either side of the stack of papers/plants, then bound with a large rubber band. They were then placed in the steamer. We also wrapped a few 1/2" copper pipes with flowers and a heavier water color paper and placed them in the steamer. The heavier paper needed more steaming time than we had, but we did get some good results. 

While we waited for the 2-hour steaming time to end, we made small booklets with accordian-folded centers  for storing our papers when they dried.  We made covers from old text paper, and eco printings that I had done previously. Some of the students included small sticks as a frame around the cover collage.

Someone mentioned that this would be a good two-day project - one day of printing, overnight drying then processing the next day. This would be a good event for next Fall.

I enjoyed the day and even as a teacher, you learn a lot each time you eco print!!

Blessings......

Candice

VISUAL FAITH - Metro Detroit - September 2019

Our Visual Faith - Metro Detroit group  joined me as we began our 2019-2020 year of study September 21st. Those who were able to attend this time included:  (front row)Marie (and dog Angel), Lynn, Charlene, (back row) Heidi, Maureen, Marjorie. We usually meet at St. John Lutheran Church and School in Rochester, MI but our group is from many churches and areas of Metro Detroit.

Some of us will continue working in our Altered Book, and some will begin a new book. We are using old books to learn and test various techniques that we might bring to our Bible as we spend more time with our Lord. Anyone is welcome to join us at any time. I just need RSVPs so I'm sure to have enough materials for everyone. Our normal Bible Journaling "kit" might include pencil, good eraser, small ruler, fine tip permanent pen, wipes, notebookm glue stick and Bible.

We have a theme this year based on the 23rd Psalm.....looking at Our Shepherd and his relationship to us. We are also referring to the book by Phillip Keller "A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm." Keller's insights as a former real-life shepherd into the study of this Psalm create visual references for us as we understand our Shepherd's care for us. 

This book was recommended to me by Julie, a participant in our group. In looking for the book, I discovered that there is a Shepherd Trilogy in one book by this author. I also recommend it!

In October we will look at the verses:  "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul." I like to include a hymn or poem in our devotion time.

In the church of my youth, the weekly church bulletin had a phrase written at the top that I've never forgotten. I don't remember ever asking who wrote it, but I recite it to myself often when I'm seeking stillness. 

So, as is my style, I went online last week searching.  I found out that it was written in 1935 by Helen Taylor and Wilfred Sanderson as part of a song. A 78rpm record (scratches included) has been reproduced online and this song called Green Pastures is sung by (Irish?)tenor John McCormack. You should be able to hear it at the link. The images with the song at this link are  beautiful.

The phrase from it that I love is: 

"This quiet and calm my spirit restore until I go forth on my journey once more."

Click here for the songsheet.

May you find quiet and calm in the weeks ahead....

Blessings...

Candice

PROJECT; Added to the cover or back of an altered book after painting it. 

We applied Gesso and when that dried, we applied Matte Medium, and placed 

the Shepherd image facedown, smoothing out any bubbles, waited until it dried, 

then wet the back with water, and carefully rubbed off the wet paper to reveal the image. 

The original mage was printed on a toner copier. 

We also practiced with a small sheep image on an inside page of the book, just using Matte Medium.

Cover from last year using  Dreamweaver gold embossing paste
and a Dreamweaver stencil (no longer available).
We painted our book covers first with acrylic paints.

Some of the projects completed on the pages of

 our altered books last year.

OPC Students meet Acrylic Pouring

Rochester's OPC Senior Center's  enthusiastic students, Pam, Linda and Joyce learned a few acrylic pour techniques this week.

The small class size enabled all of us to do a little more "playing" than the class description.

They jumped right in and experimented, picking 2 colors and adding white and black. Sounds like they might continue acrylic pours at home!

They all signed up for my EcoPrinting class in the OPC cottage September 30th. We'll be using clippings from the garden outside the cottage and in addition to the leaves, etc.  I've been collecting.

  Limited class size so sign up if you want to join us.

Enjoy the week......

Candice