THEY'RE HERE!!

Yes, I've finally finished the long-awaited 3rd issues of Manual Dexterity! Just this minute, in fact. If you want to get a sneak peek at what's inside or to purchase a limited edition copy for your very own, please visit the Tattered Edge Mercantile.

This jam-packed issue celebrates my favourite season, Autumn and has a touch of Hallowe'en for good measure. There are tutorials, articles, inclusions, (which means goodies for you!) art, photography and a whole lot more!

And in case you missed it last week, there's also a brand new Rue du Maison mini house zine (the second in the series) in my shop.

No rest for the wicked-today is our Thanksgiving celebration, so now I have to go put a bird in the oven. Nothing like multitasking!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Pulse: Edition #5

It's that time again! Time for another fabulous and informative edition of Seth Apter's The Pulse! The first posts will go up on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to kick off the project. After that, new posts will go up every Sunday. Seth says that given the number of responses he received, (125 artists!) he expects that postings will go on until spring 2012! Isn't that incredible? Eyecandy and brainfood for the next NINE months! Woohoo!! This weekend, he will also be giving away of a copy of The Pulse: The Zine, which is now out of print and no longer available. I have a copy (I was in it) and it's chock full of good stuff!

I've lost track of how many times I've participated at this point, but I submitted my answers to this latest addition, so at some point you'll see my answers pop up.

 For those of you who don't know, Seth is also in the process of writing a book which comes out in early 2012. He's a busy, busy man! How he finds time to work, make art, write and keep his finger on the pulse of so many artists is beyond me! Amazing!

I'll be posting an icon link on my sidebar for The Pulse later this morning, so if you forget to bookmark it, just pop back here and click to be linked. How's that for a great way to celebrate the Canada Day and Forth of July long weekend?!

And Then There Were Three...

Awhile back I began making zines. These were 1/4 fold, 20 page, half colour, half B&W hand bound editions. I love making them, but they are VERY labour intensive. Then I got the wild hair to make a mini house zine. "78 Rue du Maison" is teeny and made up entirely of images. I figured out a way to make it not only easy to produce, but also to assemble. I was pretty pleased with myself. Occasionally, I have flashes of brilliance. *grins*

 

 About a week and a half ago and I did a private swap of my first mini zine, entitled "Typography: Art By The Letters". So far I've received two mini zines in return and they've been great fun. I am beginning to grow a mini zine library!

 Another one I just made is called "Collage & Composition" and is essentually a mini tutorial on the fundamentals of putting together a collage that works. I've had lots of people over the years ask me how I do what I do. Now you can learn some of the secrets! 

 There are 8 pages of information, plus two ATC sized cards in the inner pocket with visual examples of common composition mistakes and how to fix them.

It's very addictive making these wee zines! I have plenty of ideas for future issues. I've put copies of this zine, along with the other two minis in my Etsy, should you wish to have one or two or three (!) for your very own.

 Get 'em while you can!

Zines for Sale!!

Just before the holidays, I designed this wee zine, 78, Rue du Maison as my swap for our ATC groups birthday exchange. It was fun to make and I decided to create a few more and put them in my Etsy shop, Tattered Edge Mercantile.

Also available in the shop are the last issues of Manual Dexterity issues #1 & 2. If you want to have the complete set (I've had alot of positive feedback on the first two!) then now's the time to snap them up-once they're gone, they're gone! Future issues are in the works, so keep watching here for info on their release.

EDIT: Issues #1 and #2 of Manual Dexterity have sold out. Thank you!
You may still purchase 78 Rue du Maison!

In the meantime, I am busy packing up to have a weekend away with friends dedicated to art-making. It will be nice to get out of the studio and commune with "my people". More on that when I return. In the meantime, I will leave you with this image of the winter sky, dawn breaking over Mount Baker on Monday.

More Writerly News

I am happy to share that I have an article in the latest edition of ATC Quarterly. It's about the two TV interviews I've given on Artist Trading Cards and what it's like to do both live television and a taped interview. (Which are incredible different experiences. Personally, I prefer to go live!) If you're interested in ordering the Fall 2010 issue, you can find it here. Thanks to Ronna for the invitation!

I have more exciting news to share, but I'm waiting till I have all the details before I post about it. As soon as I get them, I'll tell you what's next. (Never a dull moment around here.)

Oh and for those of you who've asked, yes, my cast/brace is finally off. The tendons are still a bit sore and I am being cautious about lifting anything heavy with my right hand, but I *think* it's healing. It was definitely a painful and disabling injury and one I hope never to repeat. I guess I need to curb my wild side just a bit. (Yeah right! I'm saying this as I am about to embark on another adventure. *smirks* What's that saying? "It's not fun till somebody loses an eye"? Um..yeah...)

Hello Again!

Hello dear Readers! After three weeks of feeling simply awful, I am on the mend, with the help of some heavy duty antibiotics. Let's hear it for modern medicine!

The little bit of eye candy above is a page I did for a collaborative book for my friend Penn's 50th birthday. She got a good laugh out of it, which was the whole point. It was the first thing that popped into my head (thanks to my warped sense of humour) and I was pleased with how it came out. I'm glad she liked it.

Now for a bit of catch up:

Creating: Well, seeing as I've been so sick, I haven't been in the studio for almost a month now. (!!!) I've begun the next issue of Manual Dexterity Zine, which no one guessed was a Hallowe'en edition. Thing is, having fallen unintentionally behind, I am unsure whether I will be able to complete it before this Hallowe'en. I may put it on the back burner and work on it for Hallowe'en 2011. I hate the thought of not completing it now, but I just don't think I will be able to pull that off. Sometimes, you have to know when to let things go. It's in the hard drive and will keep, if need be.

Reading: The Last Man on the Mountain: The Death of an American Adventurer on K2 by Jennifer Jordan. Yes, another mountaineering book. They're my favourite! Once I finish that one, The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha which looks like it will be very happy-making.

Watching: Rubicon, which is intriguing and so well written. God bless AMC for their stellar story telling. If you're not watching it, you're missing out. Glee, which is amusing on a whole different level. House, which I am loving and hating in turns right now, the same goes for Rescue Me. Lastly, I'm still watching The Amazing Race, which I will never get tired of.

Listening: Zaac Pick, a local artist whom I'm really enjoying. If you haven't checked him out, get thee to iTunes!!

Anticipating: Canadian Thanksgiving, which is this weekend. It's one of my two favourite holidays. (The other is Hallowe'en.) It's also the annual Cranberryfest, which I enjoy. YAY!

Dreaming: About all the upcoming projects I'm involved in and celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary soon!

***

If you're looking for copies of Manual Dexterity Zine, you'll find them in my Etsy shop. The link to the shop is on the sidebar.

Thanks to everyone who has purchased copies so far!

Manual Dexterity Issue #2

After much hard work, issue #2 of Manual Dexterity is finally finished and available for purchase! The zine is 20 pages, handbound and measures 4 1/2 inches wide x 5 3/4 inches tall.


Here's a sneek peek but just in case the writing's too small, even when you click the photo, I'll tell you that it's chock full of good stuff-five full coloured art pages, four (count'em four!) articles, along with lots of other fun details and inclusions. (Which means goodies for you!)


If you missed issue #1 of Manual Dexterity, and want to collect the complete set (thus far) you are in luck! I still have a few copies left. If you want one though, you'll need to snap it up now because once they're gone, they're gone! Both issues of the zine are available for purchase through my Etsy store, Tattered Edge Mercantile.

For those of you who have already purchased copies of issue #2, (Thank you for your enthusiasm!) your copies are on their way and should be in your eager hands shortly. Hooray!


And lastly, for those of you who are enjoying my zines, I just wanted to let you know that despite having my right hand in a hateful cast, I decided I really wanted to work on a 3rd edition right away.
Can you guess what it's about?!?

Sneak Peek!

WOOHOO! I am *so* excited! After a ton of work, I've finally completed issue #2 of Manual Dexterity! The first dozen copies are for the zine exchange I am participating in. I still have to work on binding the copies I will offer for purchase, so if you want one, they will be available here on my blog soon!! (Hopefully late next week.)

I learned alot from creating issue #1. I learned that it's not particularly fun to have to physically cut out and glue down all the colour pages by hand, especially if you have no feeling in your hands and you've got several colour pages per copy. It took forever and I went through an entire econo pack of Uhu glue sticks in the process!


For this issue, I learned my lesson and did a far better job of formatting, which meant no gluing, save for the cover. YAY! I use Publisher and there's a 1/4 fold template, which in theory works, but if you are doing five 1/4 folds for a total of 20 pages, you actually have to do some complicated math to get it to all work out. It took some brain bending, but I finally figured it out (which in itself was a small victory, because dammit Jim, I'm an artist, not a mathematician!) and it made the entire process of assembling the zine go much smoother.



Of course there's all the small details that I agonize over, so it took a solid month to write and format the second issue. I printed it last weekend and for the last two days, I've been folding, detailing and hand binding 12 copies so I could mail them off on Monday and meet the deadline. I am really pleased with the end result. I think it's even nicer than the first, aesthetically speaking.



Funnily enough, my brain is already churning out ideas for a third issue! It's amazing how once the season is beginning to morph into Autumn, my creative energy kicks into overdrive. I expect to get alot accomplished in the next few months!

Altered File Folders

One great thing about using Google Reader is that it keeps me stocked up on eyecandy all day long. I have my browser set with the Google Reader as the dashboard, so whenever I open the browser, I have a pile of updated art blog links waiting for me.

One of those blogs belongs to Roben-Marie, whom I met via MaryAnn Moss' ROD class. Roben is always busy creating something new and lately, I've been watching as she keeps posting altered file folders to her blog. It looked like fun, so I emailed her and asked if she'd be up to swapping. She said yes.

So all these little photos are of small sections of the file folder I made yesterday. I love taking the camera and using the macro feature to zoom in on small sections of a larger piece. It gives you a different perspective of your work.

Remember that Tim Holtz tissue tape I mentioned in my last post? Well I tried it out on the file folder and as you can see, it blends seamlessly. The adhesion is excellent, even over Caren D'Arche water soluble pastels, gesso, matte medium and acrylics.


I also added a colour copy of an ATC I made some time ago and another on the front of a cone flower that I took in our garden. I like to colour copy my art so I can use the images over and over again in different ways.


I also plunked the folder down and randomly stitched all over it with my sewing machine, which was fun.

I added some white pen as well. Thing is, I am STILL on a quest for a good white pen that will WORK over top of a variety of mediums. I've tried all kinds of white gel pens and two types of Sakura pens-a gelly type one and then a permapaque. ALL of them are a dismal failure. They will write for about 2 seconds and then give up the ghost. (As evidenced by what you see above.) Either the tip gets gummed up (even when the piece I am writing on is dry) or they just refuse to work. I store them correctly and everything. They'll write on paper, but never on my work, no matter how new they are *sigh*

If anyone knows of a foolproof white pen, please let know! I would love to get my hands on a Sharpie white poster paint marker too, but so far haven't seen them for sale here in Canada.

I love the colour of this section.

Aren't the shapes of these numbers great? That was a $2 stamp from Daiso!

So here's the back of the whole thing...

And the front. (The yellow Post-it notes are covering up our addresses.)
I've filled it with all kinds of ephemera and stapled it shut so when Roben gets it, she can just remove the staples and reuse the folder. I stitched around the outside, which I think finishes it nicely.

It was alot of fun and a great exercise if you're not feeling particularly creative. You can just slap some paper down and go for it-there's really no wrong way of doing it and you can add whatever you want-paints, stamps, ephemera. It's a good way to use up scraps left from other projects.

I still have a couple more issues of Manual Dexterity Issue #1 left. I plan to list the remaining copies on my Etsy over the weekend, so if you want a copy, please email me soon! Purchasing info is here.

Faye, a Tattered Edge reader had this to say:

"I received my copy of the Manual Dexterity Zine today and it is to love! I've been on the run and just had time to look quickly at each page. I'll go back later and enjoy it all. Thanks so much for making it available and I hope you do the same with #2."

and then later emailed back with:

"I've had time now to read every word and enjoy your beautiful art and am looking forward to the next one."

Thanks Faye! I am so pleased you're enjoying it! Issue #2 is in the works and should be available for purchase in late August/early September. I'll be announcing it here, so keep your eyes peeled!

Zine Update & Art Supply Finds

(Random graffiti downtown.)

First of all, a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has ordered a copy of Manual Dexterity issue #1 so far. Your response has been heartwarming. I am busy working on issue #2 now, with plans to make it available for purchase as well. There are still a few copies of #1 left (very few!) so if you'd like to order one, now would be the time! Info about ordering is here.

Last week I came across Tim Holtz tissue tapes locally and decided to try them. I am hooked! The tapes are thin and have a bit of translucentcy about them. I really like the way they look once you lay them on a page and they are relatively inexpensive. (Always a plus!) They're a great accent for mixed media journals, which is where I tried mine out.

I'm becoming a tape junkie-I've got washi tapes, printed packing tapes and now this tissue tape. If you want to try some out, Ginny of Small Studio has them. She is on vacation till late August, but do bookmark her website-she has a great selection and excellent service. Incidentally, the set I purchased was Marketplace-I have a thing for numbers and as the tape rolls out, the print keeps changing.

Now I am on a quest to find poster tape, which I think is made by the good folks at 3M. I don't know if it's available in Canada or not-I'll have to have a look-see. I have some ideas I want to try out and I need that tape!

Also in my travels, I purchased this adroable little camera rubber stamp. I've never seen anything quite like it and it will come in handy for a number of projects. It's wood and though you can't really tell by this photo, the lense is the handle you hold when you're stamping. Apparently, this stamp comes in a variety of designs, each one depicting different styles of cameras. I will have to keep an eye out-I've love to add a few more to my collection.

Speaking of stamps, I scored a whole pile of wooden handles off old stamps at Urban Source. I found them in the window of the balk section and snapped them up-I have a "thing" for old wooden handled stamps, though all the ones I own actually have the rubber attached. I have plenty of unmounted rubber, so I will go through it all and see what would be useful and attach it to the handles. I really need a big carousel to house the handled ones. The one I have now only holds 9 or 10. I'll have to nose around and see if I can find one locally-the shipping on something like that would probably be more than the item itself.

Okay, time for me to run off-Indy has his yearly vaccination appointment with our vet early this morning and seeing as I am the designated chief medical officer of both humans and fur kids alike, I'd better get a move on!

Zines for Sale!!

Okay, you've been patient (for which I thank you!) and now I have a limited run of 10 copies of the first issue of Manual Dexterity available for purchase for $14.00/each which includes shipping to Canada or the US. (International buyers, please email me for a postage estimate.) I accept Paypal.

Manual Dexterity is a 1/4 fold style zine of 20 pages. Each zine is bound by hand, using a simple stab binding to hold it all together. I used the most gorgeous sparkly, copper penny coloured paper for the cover. This issue contains a few articles, one of which is a tutorial and 8 pages of art, printed in full colour as well as a packet of collage goodies!

And once again, because I think presentation is everything, I've sewn the zines into these paper bag pieces and added a "Subversive Material" sticker I created, because I think anything that comes in a plan brown wrapper is suspect. *grins*

So...if you want some of this artsy goodness (which makes for great summer reading and inspiration) for your very own, you can email me to purchase. Hurry though, because once they're gone, they're gone!

Books & Zines

Hi Gang! I didn't manage to get here to post an update on the reprint of Manual Dexterity Zine issue #1 yesterday. I had a horrific migraine yesterday, so my computer time was limited.

Anyhoo, this limited edition run will be posted for sale on Thursday, August 5th, right here on my blog, if you have been wanting a copy for your very own.

I am now in the process of writing and creating issue #2 and it's going like gangbusters. One of the great things about doing a project like a zine is that each time you do it, you learn something new about the process that helps make work on subsequent issues easier. I like that part! It means in some small way, I've grown as an artist.

In the meantime, I have also been juggling several projects because August seems to be the month o'deadlines. I've had a burst of creative energy over the long weekend. Saturday night, I was plugging away in the studio when my husband started wandering through the house turning lights off. I looked up from what I was doing and saw that it was after midnight. Yikes! I'd completely lost track of time!

In my spare time (and I use that term lightly) I've been gobbling up books again. Here's what's on my bedside table, waiting in the queue:

I just happened to spot this one a couple weeks ago and I've started reading it. It's good-it made me want to jump up and organize things. (Although I need little prompting to want to do that-it's an Aries thing!)
I am only a few chapters in, but it's going well.


I think everyone and their dog has read this one. I am probably dead last in line, but I finally got a copy through my library. (It's absolutely dog-eared.) I'd like to read it before I go see the movie...or not...sometimes that only leads to horrible disappointment. I can't think of a single time where I've said "Hey that movie was even better than the book!" So we'll see if I do or not-let the chips fall where they may. Maybe it would be a good idea to read the book after, for a change.

Carol Burnett's memoires. YAY! I love Carol. Truly, I do. When I was growing up, I never missed an episode of her show and she was just so sweet and funny. She was one of the best memories of my childhood.

There's just so many good books on the shelves right now! Okay, gotta run, but I'll be back on Thursday to post details about purchasing the zine!

Zine Timeline

I've been asked by several readers for an ETA on the reprints of issue #1 of Manual Dexterity.

It's a holiday weekend here in British Columbia (BC Day on Monday) so I am sneaking in studio time, in between quality time with the family. As I mentioned in my last post, I am a one-woman operation, but I promise you, I'm working as quickly as my fingers will allow!

I am aiming to have the reprints completed and ready to make their way to postboxes far and wide by Wednesday at the very latest. If you're interested in purchasing a copy for your very own, please check back. I'll give you an update on my progress again on Monday.

Thanks for your enthusiasm and encouragement!

What's Up?

Hello again! I haven't updated "the list" in awhile, so here's what's going on lately:

Creating: I'm working on a number of projects at the moment, one of which is the second edition of Manual Dexterity Zine for the annual zine exchange. Here's the very beginnings of that project:

Pages for my zine, in progress.

Yes, I am sewing them ROD style because who doesn't love sewing paper? Obsessed? Yesiree!


I particularly like this one. Simple but the clean lines gives it punch.




Reading: Right now I'm 3/4's of the way through Psychovertical by Andy Kirkpatrick. Yet another mountaineering book. (Another obsession!) Next in line is Dancing on Ice: A Stirring Adventure, Risk and Reckless Folly. How's that for a title? According to the write up this is what it's about:





"In 1930 the dashing Gino Watkins led a group of fourteen intrepid and largely inexperienced young men (including the author's father) to pioneer the first commercial air route between Europe and America. Alongside high adventure, triumph and tragedy, Scott paints a stunning portrait of two lost worlds: the Inuit hunters of the polar regions and the Brideshead generation of English men addicted to adventure.





One member of the expedition was stranded alone on the ice cap for five months, for much of the time in total darkness. Blizzards raged continuously and temperatures dropped to -41°C. For six weeks he was utterly trapped in an ice cave, unable to get out as his companions mounted a desperate, last-ditch rescue attempt."





I tend to read alot of mountaineering, polar exploration and iditarod books. Anything about ice and snow adventure engages me.



Watching: Hmm..let's see...Breaking Bad, Glee, Ice Pilots NWT and HOUSE just wrapped up. Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers are still on. I am also watching So You Think You Can Dance and a brand new mini series that started last week called Persons Unknown. It kind of reminds me a bit of The Lost Room. (Which I loved.) I think they are shot in a similar manner.





Listening: The last couple of days I've been going through my mixed CD collection (which is extensive) and ripping tracks I want to keep and culling the herd. I added a whopping 270 new tracks to my iTunes library. *boggles* My friend Penn offered to take all my cast-offs off my hands, which is great because I'd always rather re-home something rather than turf it if I can. (Being a Tree Huggin' Granola and all.)



Dreaming: I'm in the process of planning a trip we'll be taking later this year to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I am really excited about it and I think it's going to be a really good time. Can't wait!



Doing: I've been changing out the art on my inspiration board. The one above my desk is completely empty and I changed out the art on one wall completely. I also reorganized my bookshelves so they have less clutter. Less clutter in the studio means less clutter for the mind, I think!





Anticipating: Going out for lunch with friends and hanging out with my artsy peeps on the weekend. Simple pleasures are the best.



In other news, I was asked to do an interview for Shared Voices which is the MS Society's Lower Mainland Chapter newsletter. The interview was about my Olympic and Paralympic Torchbearer experience.
Here's a peek:



I've been busy the last few days tending to Indy, who developed an eye infection on Monday. Poor little guy was pawing madly at his eye. I got him in right away to see our lovely vet (he's the nicest man and sadly, he's about to retire) and after being so good about sitting still for an eye exam that looked horribly uncomfortable to me, he got some medicine. I have to put ointment on his eye three times a day and while it's not his favourite thing, he's good about letting me work on him. It's starting to look like the medicine is working, which is a relief because it breaks my heart to see him suffer. He should be healed up by Sunday, hopefully.



So...that's what's going on in my little corner of the world.

I *Heart* Zines Exchange

The Zines have landed!! I finally have the returns from the exchange I was in, in hand, thanks to Rose who accepted our mail in Pt. Roberts to speed things up and to Penn who made the trip across the border to Rose's house yesterday afternoon. YAY! This is the mother load of artsy goodness!

Of course you will want to see each one up close, so let's go through them, shall we?

Odd Ball Charm by Alma Stoller, our hostess.

Art Journals: The Zine by Kara Klein.

Greetings by Emily Pruitt.

Stationary & Envelopes Note Conversations by Lisa Schrameki & Shalene McCollum.

Aging Artiste by Samantha Blythe.

Fig. by Michelle Takacs.

The Inner Eye by K. Grace Howes.

50 Ways by Pam Crawford.

Z is for Zine by Sarah Davis.

Mother Rubber Art Zine, Issue #1: Strawberry by Dawn Nguyen (Whom some of you might know by her maiden name, Shepherd.)

So there were 10 zines in the exchange and then Penn, Rose, Misti and I also exchange privately because you can never have too many zines! Here are the ones they traded with me:

Time Management for Creative People by Rose Momsen.

What Art Mail? by Misti Ko.

From This to That by Penelope Harris.

I think I am going to have to get a basket to keep all my zines in because it really is quite a collection. I haven't read any of them yet. I am trying to decide when to do that-whether I should save them for Xmas day or the week between Xmas and New Year's or...??? I want to savour them one by one.

I really enjoyed making my zine, Manual Dexterity, which looked like this:

Penn told me to open my Xmas card that was in with my zines, so I did and these 1 inch buttons she made at a class last Monday were inside.


Aren't they cool? I collect 1 inch buttons. We're going to have a button making party in the new year. I am already scouting out images to use. Penn always makes me the coolest things. Thanks Penn!