Materials – Page 5 – Everything is Not Black and White

Old Stories, Old Friends

George R R Martin quote-Old Stories are like old friends. You have to visit them from time to time.

Old Stories is the rolled and oxidized piece. The piece next to it is one of my See a Penny pieces.
The rust on the piece did get away from me a bit. Less rust would make for an easier read of the code.

Old Stories

Oxidized clip to hold rolled piece.

Old Stories

Removed clip is tucked into one of the oxidized cotter pins at top of piece.

Old Stories

Piece unrolls to 125″. The piece over the lamp is from the *Eroded Contours series. It is bronze and ceramic.

Old Stories

Used the same fixed up paper to make a matchbook like envelope for the notes on the project.

Old Stories

The note paper had to be folded above tuck for the cover. Made an accordion fold with a tab at the top to easily open the accordion.

Old Stories

When the note paper is unfolded, it tucks into the cotter pin at the top for an easy read.

Old Stories

Materials–Paper, Rust, Sheetrock Tape, Fiber, PVA, Metal, Bamboo

Scale–Rolled 27″ x 3″x 4.5″; Unrolled 125″ x 3″ x .25″

Clip was oxidized in a solution of peroxide, white vinegar, and salt.

Oxidation

*Eroded Contours started with the idea, can fired clay embedded in wax survive the bronze casting process and how would bronze with embedded clay function during the glaze process.

Posted on March 9, 2023Author NLSCategories Art, Bronze, Code, Fiber, Materials, Needlework, Processes, QuotesLeave a comment on Old Stories, Old Friends

Corruption Book

I used a George Orwell quote for the interior of the book. There is no swifter route to the corruption of thought than the corruption of language.

Cover Code–Harmful Thoughts Dangerous Words

Code Left Side–the; Right Side–Corruption

Materials–Tree Wrap, Roofing Felt, Cardstock, Plaster Tape, Cotton Fiber, Waxed Linen, Stainless Washers, PVA, CMC.

Scale–4.25″ x 3.25″ x 2.25″.

Posted on March 3, 2023May 23, 2023Author NLSCategories Art, Books Handmade, Code, Fiber, Materials, Needlework, QuotesLeave a comment on Corruption Book

Texture Plates to Use with a Gel Press

I recently ordered a Gel Press. While waiting for it to arrive, I made some texture plates to use with it. I also made wax stick rubbings of letters and numbers.

Tomorrow, the plan is to make china marker code pieces. I think that will be the most promising to use in place of embroidery.

Texture Plates
The materials are mounted on either cardboard or a thin square of wood.

Packing Material

Cardboard

Cardboard with Cotton Twine

Rug Mesh

Tile Mesh

Variety of Cardboard

Posted on March 3, 2023March 3, 2023Author NLSCategories MaterialsLeave a comment on Texture Plates to Use with a Gel Press

Simon Hurley Stamping Foam Tests

I recently purchased a package of Simon Hurley Stamping Foam. I like the idea that the foam can be reused. Heat the foam, make an impression, heat the foam, impression vanishes, make a new impression.

This is my first attempt using the stamps. It took a couple of goes to figure out hot much heat to use and how much pressure to apply to the objects used for impressions.

Curious if I could make an impression on the flipside. Would the original impression would be altered? Seems to work fine.

This is the only ink pad I could find in my supplies.

I think that the stamping foam may have potential for making code. If I could make stamp code components, it would be quite a change from needlework.

Note–the stamps appear slightly damp because I just washed them. Actually, I ran water over them and they basically self-cleaned.

Posted on March 3, 2023Author NLSCategories Materials, Needlework, StampsLeave a comment on Simon Hurley Stamping Foam Tests

Deceit Images

The code inside the book is–The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe. For the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because its handle was wood it was one of them.

The code on the front cover is the word Deceit. The band closure is secured with magnets.

Closure band has pocket for notes on code and materials.

The front cover of the book with a book plate made of roofing felt and tree wrap, and attached with fiber.

The book is an accordion with content on both sides.

The book is arranged with three pages of tree wrap followed by three pages of roofing felt, then repeated. The code is embroidered in basically three colors–dark green used for forest. Cream was used for important words pertaining to the axe and its action. Light green and tan was used for words like, the, and, was.

Materials–Paste paper, rust paper, painters’ paper, roofing felt, tree wrap, magnets, fiber, CMC, PVA.
Scale–5″ x 4.25″ x 1.5″

Posted on March 2, 2023March 2, 2023Author NLSCategories Art, Book Folding, Books Handmade, Code, Fiber, Materials, Needlework, QuotesLeave a comment on Deceit Images

Bamboozled Piece

Carl Sagan Quote

One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.

The last line is Carl Sagan’s name in code.

Code Used

Materials–paper, tree wrap, fiber, wood, canvas, paint, PVA.
14.5″ x 12.75″ x .75″

I made the frame for a different piece. When it came time to assemble, the frame wasn’t quite right. Nice that it found a new home.

Posted on February 27, 2023Author NLSCategories Art, Code, Fiber, Materials, Needlework, QuotesLeave a comment on Bamboozled Piece

Regret Book

Regret quote from the movie, Shadow Recruit.

Regret. It piles up around us like books we never read.

Paste paper with knit closure and stainless washer.

Page 1, Regret

Page 1, Regret detail

Page 2, .

Page 3, It

Page 4, Piles

Page 5, Up

Page 6, Around

Page 7, Us

Page 8, Like

Page 9, Books

Page 10, We

Page 11, Never

Page 12, Read

Page 13,.

Pocket for List

Materials List

Regret Book, back. Paste Paper.

Materials–paste paper, rust paper, school paper, fiber, metal.
Scale–5″ x 3.25″ x .75″.

Posted on February 14, 2023Author NLSCategories Art, Books Handmade, Fiber, Materials, Needlework, QuotesLeave a comment on Regret Book

Forest/Axe Work in Progress

I recently ran across a quote that definitely seems relavent today.

The quote is–The forest was shrinking but the trees kept voting for the axe. For the axe was clever and convinced the trees that because its handle was wood it was one of them.

I first thought about making a wallpiece using code with oak leaves and twigs. Just the code portion would have been 45″ x 16″, the addition of a border and frame would have made it more of a commitment of materials and time. Instead, I decided to use a book format.

The layout for the code in book format resulted in 21 pages. Each page is a folded sheet of drawing paper with a core support of a paper-covered piece of cardstock. Felt that the addition of twigs needed some extra support.

The first sentence I used tree wrap for the code with a green paper covered piece of cardstock. The second sentence I used roofing felt for the code and brown packing paper covered cardstock.

We have Coastal Live Oaks in our garden, but I dislike their leaves. They not only prick your skin, they embed and attach to it. I chose to use oak leaves that I purchased from Natures Pressed, an Etsy shop. I used the leaves in several projects; still have a good number left.

Currently the pages are roughly 7″ x 5″ and vary in thickness depending on whether there are twigs attached.

I unfolded the pages and applied CMC. The pages were left to dry overnight.

First Sentence

The Forest

Was

Shrinking

But

The Trees

Kept

Voting

For The Axe

.

Second Sentence

For The Axe

Was Clever

And

Convinced

The Trees

That

Because

Its Handle

Was Wood

It Was One

Of Them

.

Today I used double sided tape, a mix of CMC and PVA to attached the paper covered cardstock inside the pages. The damp of the glue was not a good choice. The last nine pages I switched to using UHU glue. I wrapped each page in wax paper, placed in stacks of three, and placed inside a padded packing envelope. Then weighted with a heavy book.

I am leaning toward an accordion binding with each fold have three pages.

Pages Weighted

Posted on February 13, 2023February 14, 2023Author NLSCategories Art, Book Folding, Books Handmade, Code, Fiber, Gardens, Materials, Nature, Needlework, Quotes, TreesLeave a comment on Forest/Axe Work in Progress

Book–No Regrets

Cover Code–”No” on the left side, “Regrets” on the right side.

Stitched a small magnet into each corner for the wrap around closure.

Code on Interior Pages–Don’t let the past take your future.
The quote is from the Joe Coomer book, Beachcombing for a Shipwrecked God. It is one of my favorite books. He also wrote Pocketful of Names, and One Vacant Chair. All have an interesting female character who also happens to be an artist.

A single letter is embroidered on each page.
The code for each letter and punctuation is embroidered in grey on cream packing paper with a rust patina and mounted on brown packing paper.

Code is the Letter F

Code is a Period

The spacers are embroidered in cream on brown packing paper with a rust patina and mounted on cream packing paper.

Green painters’ paper separates each word and lines the book.

The pocket near the last page contains a note about the work.

The scale is roughly 3.25″ x 4″ x 3.25″.
Materials–Paper, fiber, tree wrap, metal, CMC, PVA, magnets.

The paper used had metal bits placed on and or pierced through the surface. A sodium solution was applied to encourage rust and salt crystals on the surface. A solution of CMC was applied to each page to protect the surfaces.

A few Details–

Posted on February 2, 2023February 3, 2023Author NLSCategories Art, Books, Books Handmade, Code, Fiber, Materials, Needlework, PatinaLeave a comment on Book–No Regrets

Always Test New Materials

Or something unexpected could happening.

I have been rusting paper, mostly newsprint packing paper with nice results.

This is a detail of a piece of rusted paper with embroidered code.

The result of a piece of newsprint laid on top of wet rusty nails and weighted with a brick.

A wallpiece in progress that is in the process of rusting.

Brown packing paper, safety pins, embroidery cotton, and a strip of drop cloth.
Solution of peroxide and sodium was used to rust the safety pins.

Newsprint with a solution of peroxide and sodium.

The unexpected result–I was planning to make a couple of pieces similar to the Indelible Mark detail.

I cut and folded paper from a drawing pad that I picked up at Five Below.

I was expecting lovely rust and this is what happened–

White paper wrapped around newsprint–

Immediately thought the sizing in the paper was the reason for the peculiar rust color.

When I applied peroxide and sodium to a scrap of the white paper, this is what happened–

Lesson Learned–Always, always test new materials.

Posted on January 12, 2023Author NLSCategories Art, Code, Fiber, Materials, Needlework, PatinaLeave a comment on Always Test New Materials

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