{ Bookmaking Bonanza! } : Book Arts Workshop // April 2022

On Saturday, April 23, I will be teaching Bookmaking Bonanza! at the Floyd Center for the Arts in beautiful Floyd, Virginia.

I LOVE teaching Book and Paper Arts but the Bonanza is one of my favorites. We will be making 5 mini books in 5 hours. I am learning all new folds so that even if you have taken this class in the past, there will be new folds and binds to learn.

This is a GREAT class for friends, parent/child and couples to take together. In addition to being a fun, low key way to learn the basics of bookmaking, being in Floyd is an ideal way to spend a Saturday. Visit the Floyd Country Store, hike the Buffalo, grab pizza and a drink at Dogtown…there is lots to do in this funky, little town. Come. make books with me and enjoy a full day in Floyd!

{ PROSPERITY : Word of the Year } : Winter 2022

I have been making Vision Boards, setting goals (both personal and professional) and crafting a Word of the Year on the first of the year for over a decade now. I usually go through a plethora of words before founding the word that fits my feeling perfectly.

This year was no different. I vacillated back and forth with several other words that were not landing quite right. I kept cycling back to ‘Prosperity’ and felt that was exactly what I wanted 2022 to be for me.

While most of us our struggling with on ongoing pandemic, many of us our trying to reclaim some semblance of life before 2019. I know I am. I have not been feeling very creative or motivated to work on my art business. I took a break during 2019-2020. The rest was necessary but I started getting antsy. I wanted to get back to the studio and back to teaching.

Prosperity to means more than money. Prosperity to me comes in the form of creating unique, one-of-a-kind wall art and handmade artist books as well as developing dynamic and compelling art class for people of all ages. Prosperity means creating interesting content for this blog that brings people to living a more creative life. Prosperity means enhancing my amazing relationships with my partner, my daughter and my friends.

As the year goes on and I loose the motivation to keep creating, I always look back on my Word of the Year and revisit why I choose that word to guide my year.

How about you? Do you choose a Word of the Year? How do you stay connected and focus when you stray for your vision?

{ Bookmaking Bonanza! at the Earthshine Lodge } : Lake Toxaway, NC // Saturday, March 7th

On Saturday, March 7th, my sweet daughter (River, 9) and I will be traveling to beautiful Lake Toxaway, NC to teach the Bookmaking Bonanza! at the Earthshine Lodge.

In this workshop, we will make 5 mini books in 5 hours. Can we do it? Children ages 6 years and up are welcome to join us with an adult. This is a great workshop for mother/daughters, besties, couples and makers of all types. Please join us!

(Click the image below for more details and to register).

{ Designing Artist Books : Workshop in Review } : Floyd, VA //

This past weekend, seven women gathered at the Floyd Center for the Arts for the Designing Artist Books workshop.

Group photo! All the amazing ladies that designed Artist Books with me this weekend!

Group photo! All the amazing ladies that designed Artist Books with me this weekend!

Plus Grace, who had to leave early for the opera!

Plus Grace, who had to leave early for the opera!

We explored many background paper techniques using wet-on-wet and dry processes. The end product was less important than the process. We learned to not judge what was made since the paper would be used as a piece and not as a whole. This can be a challenging concept for many people!

Using watercolors and rubbing alcohol to create unexpected results on paper

Using watercolors and rubbing alcohol to create unexpected results on paper

We made as many papers in 4 hours as we could. The participants could use any technique that they learned that day to make their cover paper.

MaryJo exploring art and science while creating her background papers

MaryJo exploring art and science while creating her background papers

Spray inks are always a huge success! Being highly pigmented make them very attractive to students of all ages.

Anne LOVES her ghost prints!

Anne LOVES her ghost prints!

Penny and Suzanne exploring spray inks…the possibilities are endless!

Penny and Suzanne exploring spray inks…the possibilities are endless!

Using everyday items found easily, on the cheap or around the home make pattern easy to create.

MaryJo using handmade stamps on black and Kraft cardstock paper

MaryJo using handmade stamps on black and Kraft cardstock paper

Our books are 6 x 6” while our papers are much larger. Participants cut down their papers to he desired size. This leaves them with loads of handprinted scrap paper to use as collage within their books.

Pat using scraps of her handprinted papers to collage her pages

Pat using scraps of her handprinted papers to collage her pages

We had an AMAZING time creating in community. The great thing about these books are that you can add, takeaway, make pages in any size, put int ages, envelopes, pockets and fold out pages. This is a book that is never done…making it organic and endless.