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With Each Passing Day, Memories Fade Book

Sunday, September 25th, 2022

I am using the quote on a wallpiece in progress. Bought heavy cardstock for book covers. This little book was my first attempt. The cardstock is 110 lb. Really too thin for when I start making larger books. My plan is to use my favorite old studio shirts, rips and all, as book cloth.

With Each Passing Day Book

Spacer
With Each Passing Day Book

Left page–With; Right page–Each
With Each Passing Day Book

Left page–Passing; Right page–Day
With Each Passing Day Book

Left page–Comma; Right page–Memories
With Each Passing Day Book

Left page–Fade; Right page–Period

With Each Passing Day Book

Left page–Spacer; Right page–Pocket for Note About Work

With Each Passing Day Book

Pretty sure the next code I use, will be based on dots and dashes of Morse Code. I would like to fill the pages with text.

This code is nice because it has one symbol for each letter. In Morse there are dots, dashes, and combinations of one to four for each letter. Numbers contain five, and punctuation six.

Update
Didn’t like that the inside strips were glued. Stitching is a better idea.

Text
Text

Materials–Paper, Rust, CMC, Archival Glue, Cotton Fiber
Scale–9.7cm x 13cm (19cm with tie closure) x 1.5 cm

Post on Rusted Paper Process

Posted in Art, Book Folding, Books Handmade, Code, Fiber, Loom Knit, Materials, Needlework, Patina, Quotes | No Comments »

Hope, Final Moment

Monday, September 12th, 2022

Cover–Hope
Text–Death is always a surprise. Because before the final moment, there is always hope.

Final Moment

Loom knitted cotton I-cord for closure

Final Moment

Code–Death
The pocket holds a piece of paper with title and description.

Final Moment

Code–A (left page), Surprise (right page)

Final Moment

Code–Symbol for a period (left side), Because (right side)

The crystalline speckled paper surface on the right page is from a salt solution.
Final Moment

Code–Is (left side), Always (right side)
Final Moment

Materials–paper, cotton and bamboo fiber, rust

Made most of the rusty paper by cutting a long strip of cream packing paper and binding with 3/4″ safety pins. Applied a solution of white vinegar, peroxide and salt. The paper does become fragile and a challenge to embroider.

The quote is from Mirrored Time (A Time Archivist Novel Book ) by J.D. Faulkner.

I realized how true the quote was as I sat next to my mother’s bed after an ischemic stroke and my sister’s hospital bed post surgery. I knew neither would survive, but a bit of me hoped everyone was wrong. That my family would be whole again.

Posted in Art, Books Handmade, Fiber, Loom Knit, Needlework | No Comments »

Another Nearly Completed Piece–A Gift From My Mother

Sunday, May 15th, 2022

This morning I applied liquid starch to the vessel. It is not yet dry.

Today is the anniversary of my mother’s death. The plant that she gave me is still doing well. It is a joy when a plant gift thrives.

Mother’s Gift

Code-a gift from my mother

Materials–knitted linen, dried succulent flowers, wood, metal, beads, starch.

The succulent was a gift from my mother. The metal plate was amongst my father’s things in his workshop.

Dimensions–13.5cm x 16.5cm x 8cm

The plant is the Red Velvet Echeveria.

2020 July

Succulent

2022 May
Succulent

Posted in Art, Code, Fiber, Gardens, Loom Knit, Nature, Plants | No Comments »

Memory Bowl Tests

Friday, March 26th, 2021

Gone back to working on my knitted Memory Bowls. Ran into a problem with the bowls not being sturdy enough. Put them on hold.

The bowls are fiber with some negative spaces within the patterns, a stiffener is in order. In the past I used sugar, shellac, corn starch, liquid starch, floor wax, microcrystalline wax, salt, and miscellaneous other stuff in the past. Wanted to spend some time thinking about how to finish the bowls.

Serendipity?

I have been following Maria Amélia Mendes’ YouTube channel. Her concrete tutorials are easy to follow, with loads of good tips. I really want to make some concrete pieces. Recently she posted a video–How to make baskets with wood sawdust. Thought I would test out her glue formula on a couple of knitted pieces.

The glue was combined with wood shavings and pressed into a form. After the pieces dried and hardened she added an application of her Finishing Glue. It is the same formula as her glue, with the addition of 100 ml of PVA.

Maria Amélia Mendes’ Homemade glue recipe:
1 liter of water
1 cup of cornstarch
50 ml of white vinegar

I made the Finishing Glue for my test pieces. I had forgotten that heated corn starch and water solution can suddenly become thick. Applied the glue to the test pieces. The thickness made it a tad challenging. If the pieces had been fragile, wouldn’t have been able to apply the glue. I refrigerated the left over glue. May try diluting it a bit if/when I use it in the future.

The first bowl is linen with a little plant fiber.

Test Bowl 1

Because the glue was a bit thick, after I applied the glue I gave it a rinse with the kitchen faucet spray function. The bowl was placed over a form to dry.

The second bowl is cotton with plant fiber.

Test Bowl 2

The bowls were placed over forms and left in the sun to dry.

Test Bowls Drying

Both bowls are firm and the appearance of fiber hasn’t been altered too much.

Bowls China Cabinet

My next test will be with wool. Wool can be tricky. My first test using molten wax on wool changed its appearance to a plastic-like surface. Definitely ugly.

Check out Maria Amélia Mendes’ Youtube channel and her excellent concrete videos.

Posted in Art, Artists, Fiber, Loom Knit, Materials, Plants, Processes, Techniques | No Comments »