Let it Shine

Earlier this month I posted an update regarding my collaboration with Bridgette Guerzon Mills and Jen Wordon. Our project began in early 2009 and is in the process of winding down. We each created a book structure that we would all work in, with the main idea of the collaboration being to challenge ourselves creatively. 

My recent post showed the pages I made for Book of Trees, Bridgette's book of plaster pages. I continue to work on the last sets of pages in Contexture, my own book of paper pages, and I will highlight these on my blog in the near future. Today's post is all about Shine, Jen's metal pages. The three pages, back and front, that I contributed to her project follow...

All three projects from the collaboration will be exhibited at the end of July as part of the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival in Chicago. Specific details about the exhibition will be posted soon.

Collaborative Completion

Anybody who has followed this blog will know that I am usually involved in many collaborative art projects, all at the same time. Well, all good things come to an end and that is about to be the case for my collaboration with artists and friends Bridgette Guerzon Mills and Jen Worden.

Back in 2009 we began this project, where the main idea was to challenge and experiment with our creative skills. I created a handbound, vintage paper book with the theme Contexture. Jen created a series of loose metal pages with the theme Shine. Bridgette created a book with plaster pages with the theme Book of Trees.

We each now have our own projects back and are in the process of finishing them up. I plan to share each of the final projects on the blog and first up is Bridgette's Book of Trees.

Photograph by Bridgette Guerzon Mills

Bridgette's gorgeous cover was an enticing start and a great inspiration for my first attempt at working on plaster pages.

Reflection - Page published in Plaster Studio

Branch

Grow

Head on over to this post on Bridgette's blog, Contemplating the Moon, to see images from every page in her book and to read about her own personal experience with the collaboration.

_____________

I thank Bridgette and Jen for their talent, friendship, patience, and inspiration throughout these 2 1/2 years. And the icing on an already very sweet cake:  we are all very excited that all three projects will be part of an exhibition curated by Jane Michalski in July called Come Together as part of the Milwaukee Avenue Arts Festival in Chicago. Details to be posted soon.

Plaster Studio

Plaster Studio: Mixed-Media Techniques for Painting, Casting and Carving by artists Judy Wise and Stephanie Lee has just been released by North Light Books and is now available for purchase.

This is a wonderful book that has opened my eyes to a whole new way to create textured art. The book includes a series of well-explained projects on painting, sculpting, casting, carving, and making books -- all using plaster and related materials. Also included throughout the book are gallery pieces created by other artists. I am happy to share that one of my artworks is in the book as well.

Stephanie and Judy have generously shared their personal thoughts for the readers of The Altered Page about the creation of their book and the process of working together as a team. 

Judy Wise...

"We started on this journey over a year ago and it seems like from the very beginning it was inevitable. Back then it was Stephanie the Plaster of Paris queen meets Judy the Joint Compound fanatic. The more we compared notes, the more we realized that we had a lot of experience between the two of us. More than that though was the friendship and desire to work together on a common goal. Whenever artists combine their vision, things get done. It has been nothing short of thrilling for me to team up with someone as talented and rewarding to be with as Stephanie. She could have easily written a plaster book on her own but I can't believe it would have been as much fun as holding the hand of a friend and riding this roller coaster together. Who knew that collaboration could be this much fun? It has been one of the best things that has ever happened to me; a real "bucket list" experience and I am savoring every sweet moment."

Stephanie Lee...

"This book has been a long time coming. More than a couple of years ago, I spoke with Tonia, my editor, about featuring the medium of plaster in a book. She was more than game for the idea knowing that there were few, if any, books that specialized in the medium. When I was exploring the medium myself, I spent countless hours in search of books that would inform me more about how I could use  plaster in my artwork. While I was having no luck finding such a book, I experimented on my own to see what I could figure out in the meantime. At one point I was whining to my husband about not being able to find ANY books on working with plaster. His [typical] response was, 'I guess you need to write it.'

Right away, I knew he was right. I had done so much research and trail with the medium that I had learned a lot about how it worked and how I could work it. I wanted the book I would write about plaster to be the very book I would have wanted to find on the shelves and so it wasn't something I rushed into. Getting the book going was a stop-start process for a long time. I didn't know what was missing until I had the idea to ask Judy if she would consider co-authoring the book with me. I admired her passion for understanding materials and her experience and wisdom with the creative process is second to none. Once she was on board, we hit the ground running and haven't looked back and I'm so glad. With a year or so behind us and the entire process of writing this book to be very recent history, I can honestly say that it has been the most rewarding creative collaboration for me to date.


I have learned so much about observing Judy's process, her approach, and her ways of being that have planted a deep and sincere trust that I can be totally and fully authentic in life. Of course in relation to my artwork, but also (and more importantly) in relation to me as a human being. She has been the best example of art-is-life for me and has reassured my belief that one can be totally and completely immersed in creative exploration and still be a well rounded human being. No one dispels the "troubled artist" persona myth like Judy. I want to be just like her when I grow up. :)


If you find yourself struggling to know how the urge to satiate your creative inklings fits into the day to day routine of life, I only have to say this: You cultivating your creativity in a way that enhances your life and your ability to be your most authentic self is a big deal. I mean that. When you listen to that little nudge that tells you to honor your creativity, even if you're not quite sure what that all means for you, you are giving a message to everyone around you that they can do the same. When we all honor our creative inklings, we honor our essence and therefore are able to be our highest, truest selves to the world and to those around us. And when we are our highest, truest selves, we vibrate with authenticity and THAT is the kind of energy that creatively finds ways to feed the hungry, clothes the naked, comfort the lonely, uplift the weary, and shine light in all the dark corners where dust is gathering. Just remember that if you get frustrated along the way of your creative journey."

Thanks Judy and Stephanie for sharing your thoughts with all of us!

In Context

Way back in January 2009, I started a collaborative project with Bridgette Guerzon Mills and Jen Worden. We each created our own handmade structures, in any style we wanted, and began exchanging pieces so that we would all would work in all the structures multiple times. Jen created a set of loose metal pages. Bridgette made a plaster book. And I created a handmade book from vintage dictionary pages. Here is the cover of Contexture...

We have now all worked in each others projects two or three times. This is the first spread I created in my own book (click to enlarge)...

And I have just completed my second spread...

My book is now on its way to Bridgette so she can work her magic next.

Branch Out

Collaborations continue. Bridgette, Jen, and I continue to create.


This project, along with my other collaborations, challenges me, pushes me, and inspires me.


Working with others and seeing their creations up close and personal provides an energy that acts as high octane fuel.


My most recent page in Bridgette's book:

Contexture Continued

I continue to work on my collaboration with Bridgette Guerzon Mills and Jen Worden. Each of us created a unique structure to pass back and forth. Bridgette's Trees is a handbound book of plaster pages. Jen's Shine is a series of metal sheets that will become flags. And my piece is a handmade book called Contexture. Think context, texture, and text.



Here is how my book is looking now...



And here are some photographs of the most recent pages I made in my own book...

Glimpses into my Self

One more. Just one more. My first posting on just one more collaboration that I have been involved in. Think raw. Think grunge. Think personal. Think real. Think self...contained. Viv and Steph and I have created our own structures and each of us has completed one go round, working on another artist's project.

Glimpse of my work in Steph's piece - click to see the detail:



Glimpse of my piece -- before the first mailing & waiting to be worked on:



I am now waiting to receive Viv's piece for my first go round.

Click here to see the beginning of Steph's piece and here to see a glimpse of her work in Viv's project. And click here for a peek into Viv's work in my project. And stay tuned for more...

I am also thoroughly enjoying my ongoing collaboration with Bridgette and Jen. I am currently working on a spread in my own book Contexture. Here is a glimpse of my pages in progress...which is symbolic of how I think of myself...a work in progress.



Thanks to everybody who has commented on my previous post thereby signing up for a chance to be one of the two winners of my giveaway. Your feedback and generous thoughts truly mean so much to me. If you haven't commented on the previous post, you can still do so until the end of the day on Sunday May 24 to have a chance to win.



And don't forget to visit my Inspiration Station. Click on the icon on my sidebar to be instantly transported to what is inspiring me in the moment.

Plaster Blaster

One of the best things about working with Bridgette and Jen on our collaboration is the fact that their incredible talent and creativity is pushing me in new and exciting directions. My last post highlighted my first contribution to Jen's metal pages. First time using metal as a substrate. In this post you can see my first page in Bridgette's book. First time working on plaster pages.

Bridgette's book pages are fantastic to work with. Strong but pliable. Textured and absorbent. Her theme is trees. And here is my page:



The plaster pages lend themselves to layers and texture:





And of course...there has to be some trees:

Heavy Metal

Working on my collaborative project with Bridgette and Jen has been such a pleasure. And a challenge. Click on the links above to see the beginnings of their books. And click here to go to a previous post with photographs of the start of my book.

Each of our three structures is so different. Bridgette's plaster pages. Jen's metal plates. And my vintage-page book. And each of our themes are different too. Bridgette's Book of Trees. Jen's Shine. And my Contexture.

The images below show my first go round on Jen's metal pages. Never worked on metal before and this project has got me hooked. Thanks Jen! Click the images to enlarge.

FRONTSIDE





BACKSIDE

Contexture

2009 is turning into the year of the collaboration. In addition to several collabs that I began in 2008, I have started quite a few more in the first three months of this new year. One project that has recently begun is a collaboration with Bridgette Guerzon Mills and Jen Worden. We each created our own individual handmade book structure and chose our own theme. My chosen theme is Contexture. We will each be working in all three books multiple times over the course of the next year. Here are images of my cover and the pages that I have completed in my own book to start this project off. Click pictures to enlarge.

CONTEXTURE:
1. The act of weaving or assembling parts into a whole.
2. An arrangement of interconnected parts; a structure.
3. Interconnecting text and texture.

Book Cover
Details


Inside Front Cover
Detail
Sign In Page
Detail - and no...that is not me!
Back Cover
Detail
Book Pages - not yet altered