exploring possibilities

I continue my love in making accordian books.

I made this one a few weeks ago for my daughter.  I used some paper that received some colour from steaming it with plants. (you can read more about that here)

I added some plants and tea bag paper and a few doodles with pen and ink.

And I sent it to my daughter.

My daughter is presently attending her first year of university about 4000 miles away from home. 

She is exploring possibilities, as was I in the creation of this little book.

Warm September Day

 After an inital cold snap in early September, we have had unseasonably warm temperatures.

So warm that I could sit outside for the whole afternoon and draw.  It was a beautiful day!

I drew some butterflies in pencil, and then got brave and drew some in pen.  Just after that I visited Stephanie's blog, and saw her lovely little book (with no pages) and felt the urge to make one.

And this is what came about.  - Inside view

And outside view.

 

And the next day, I had the urge to make another.  This one decorated with a little original collage.

 

With leaves and bits of paper on the outiside.

 

 

Here they are wrapped up with a piece of fabric that is attached to the covers.

 

 

As I was out for a walk on that beautiful September day, I stopped and collected a few leaves that had blackened sections from the earlier frosty nights.  I added some to the cover of the butterfly book, and the words say.... seasons change

beautifully

From This to That

It always amazes me where inspiration comes from.  This photograph is a picture of

this accordian book I made, and then changed on my computer.

 

This photograph happened the same way from the same little book.

These images then showed up on my journal pages....

as well as on the front

and the back cover of this book I just finished binding.

When you open the book it has a flower image transfered to a tea bag wrapped around the blank pages. 

I had no plan on making a book, and then this one happened.

Creative Struggle

Sometimes being creative is a struggle, and right now I am in the resistance stage of a piece I am working on....

But instead of showing you the piece that is in the works, I thought I would show you the struggle I had with a piece that I finished some time ago.  It is a collage made with a number of tea bags that I had dyed and some botanical bits.   I then struggled with the focal bit.   Should it be a copy of a picture I took of a tree.....

Or perhaps just some more of some leaves I bleached,

Or a drawing of a bird I did.  

I wasn't happy with any of these things, and I um'd and ah'd for quite some time.  And then I turned the whole piece around.....

and went with the bird. 

Some pieces are such a struggle, while others come together so easily. 

Fall Photo Shoot

Today was a perfect day for a fall photo shoot.

These flowers are no longer blooming as  the frost took them away last week, and the snow came far down the mountainside. 

But the snow receeded, and it was a beautiful fall day today.  Some of the leaves have already blown off the trees,

but the ones that are hanging on

add amazing bits 

of beauty.

The grass 

 

and the leaves of the Fireweed

are showing off with their finest colours.

 

And yet I know with a few more big winds, the leaves will dance away,

and the snow will change this landscape

from the beauty of a fall day, and cover it with the beauty of winter.

 

(All photos were taken within 100 steps of my house)

Perhaps....

Perhaps it is because the snow is quickly moving down the mountainsides, and will soon be covering all of the rocks. Perhaps it is because the plants are finishing their season of growth and will soon be resting under that layer of snow. Perhaps this is why I have been so busy collecting rocks and  botanical bits - knowing it will be many months before I see them again. Perhaps this is why I have so many bowls of rocks around the house right now, and numerous trays of pressed botanical bits.

Perhaps this is why I felt the urge to make a few more rocks layered with botanical bits,

and layers of paste wax buffed to a smooth finish. 

Seeing and feeling them increases my happiness and helps me relax.

I also collected some small pieces of drift wood from my favourite stretch of lake beach, to decorate in this way.

And I find the back of it as beautiful as the front.

And now this small collection,

 makes me smile.