LAW 112: December Update

Good morning, yes the first thing i must say is it is oh so cold here on the river. We woke up to a thin scrim of ice on the water. Brrrrrrrr!!!!! Ah, but that was not meant to be my topic of the day. Rather i thought i would talk about making art and progress.

With the weather turned cold most of the boats are out of the water. We rarely see anyone other than the or neighbors, there are about five full time live aboard boats here, and of course the Marina owners and workers. For everyone here it is a time of turning in, of introspection. A time to light the candles early and finish all those projects that summer playtime interfered with.

I have finished the letters of my NorthWindsABCdarium. I am still contemplating just exactly what i am going to do with the covers. Specifically how the book title is going to be applied, the covers themselves are done. I'm torn between a clean looking collaged text and illustrating them after the fashion of the individual letters. Still thinking there.

The last letter!

I finally pulled out my UpTown/DownTown book project, determined to finish it of. I had been very close to finishing it when i put it away(longer ago than i care to admit). After a couple of days of work i have finished the last collage elements and, once more only have to do the covers and some tidying up.

Black and White side of UpTown/DownTown

I have to admit that i really like working with the accordion format, although as you can see it can pose a problem for documentation. UpTown/DownTown is the first shaped accordion book i've done. The individual panels can measure as much as 6" tall and are 3" wide, with one panel extended to 8". I do not remember what the original paper size was, but i cut at least three accordions to give the impression of a sky line. There are 19 individual two sided panels, so the extended length would be 57". I'll have to figure out how to create a panorama shot so you can see the entire thing.

Color side of UpTown/DownTown

I've been spending as much time as my fingers will take working on my firebird embroidery piece. I just finished the 6th feather in the tail this morning, which means, yea! i am half done with that part.

Firebird progress shot

Soon the longest night will be past and we will be experiencing the return of the light, and warmth. The wheel always turns. Sometimes it feels more slowly than others.

detail of the tail feathers

Enjoy the season of celebration. Be good to each other.

More later,
Morgainne, aka gail