The Land of Lost Luggage

Getting Arboreal: A Nature Collection

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.

~Henry David Thoreau

 

In follow up to last years photography collaboration, "From Sea to Shining Sea", JeriAnn and I invite you to our second annual virtual photo excursion. Getting Arboreal: A Nature Collection, will document a single trees journey from Summer to Fall/Winter to Spring.

Grab your camera, find your tree and upload a picture to your blog this week. After you upload your post for the collaboration, please come back to my post here and leave a link to your post so that I can add your link to my sidebar.

"There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs."

-Ansel Adams

We will photograph our trees three times.

 

Mark your calendars, and join us for photographs near the following dates:

Week of August 23

Week of November 8

Week of April 4, 2010

I am interested to see the changes to the trees over time as well as the environment that the trees live in. After all, there is no snow in San Diego! (Southern hemisphere, northern hemisphere- the virtual tour is open to everyone! Camera phone, point and shoot, big daddy cameras...it's all good!)

Feel free to post a close up picture of a leaf from your tree and JeriAnn will make every attempt to identify your tree.

Sound interesting? Meet my tree:

 

Standing in a local park, my tree is actually a memorial dedicated to a woman named "Phyllis" who passed away in 2003. I do not know her, but I am sure she would be happy to know people from around the world will be able to see her beautiful tree. This first picture of my tree was taken in San Diego on August 19, 2009.

So- seen any good trees lately?

Disintegration Collaboration: Final

On May 1, I took this bundle of papers down from a palm tree in my back yard where it had been hanging for a little more than 2 months. Thanks to the Mediterranean Climate we have in the countryside over here, all I got was a few sheets of faded papers...the contents in the middle of the bundle remained virtually unscathed.  When Seth announced that the next phase of the collaboration would call for finished artwork featuring materials from our bundles, I decided to bury my bundle in my back yard....right in between two rose bushes.

And the story continues....

 

Last Monday I sent my three year old out to dig up the bundle... yah... I'm no dummy...I leave the heavy labor to my child. She dug for several minutes. (I told her there was "treasure"in there..)

Ahoy! The first sign of the bundle...the yarn that was used to hang it from the palm tree.. She gently pulled it up. There were only a few little bits of paper attached to it now... we kept digging.

 

Success? Total disintegration...this is all that was left of my bundle. The large piece is part of a security envelope.. thankfully it was partially plastic.. I couldn't believe this was all that was left..so I did what any artist would do..

I waited for my husband to come home and had him continue with the rocker box....cut me some slack..it was hot that day and my camera is very heavy. We went through every dirt clog and pile only to come up with a few more tiny bits. This was it...amazing!

 

I got my "CSI" on and carefully went through each piece with a brush, removing all of the loose dirt..

 

I realized the project while gingerly dusting each piece of paper... I must preserve the fragility and the simplicity of each piece. I had to highlight it... accentuate it.

 

I took apart and reassembled a shadow box to suit, added matte board and attached each piece to the composition...

 

 

I am in love with the dimension of this artwork...as well as the hints of blue and red that survived..my favorite!

 

Three cheers to my friend, Seth for  hosting such an amazing collaboration ... head over to see what the other (over 100!) artists have made!

When I'm in the groove...I don't want to come out.

I am an art journaling fool...all in preparation for the launch of my next online class, "Art Journaling Super Nova" which starts September 1(details and registration on August 15th). It's been so long since I worked in my journals...it feels really good! It feels awesome....

I do have a special project to show you on August 1st! Stop back in to see my final answer to Seth Apter's "Disintegration Collaboration"....I think you'll dig it.

Dude- I lost my video!

Buried treasure: I have lots of favorites on my blog... some go over with readers better than others.. but to me, they are all my babies. Bloglandia celebrations, collaborations... big fat journal pages, it's hard to highlight only one.. But I have to say, posts on the Land of Lost Luggage which contain video clips are my favorites by far.

When I bought my latest video camera, I started concentrating on capturing myself making art...those simple videos are some of my most  favorites. I need to get back into making vlog posts... I miss it.

Here is a video clip that originally aired on March, 7, 2009...enjoy!

Old Worn, Tattered and Torn

  9x12" journal page; click to enlarge

Someone should do a study...maybe I spend so much time creating these old, beat up pages so that I myself do not feel old and beat up.

This is an unusually busy weekend for me...Considering I have not left the house in months...I'm having some "fun time" this weekend. I'll share photos with you next week.

So in the meantime...here's one more speed painting video for you to enjoy.. it is the beginning process of the page above, before it hit the spray paint station in the garage. I hope you enjoy it!

PS- look at all of the artists participating in today's treasure hunt! Click here.

Looking for buried treasure?

Mastermind behind inspiring blog, "The Altered Page", Seth is sponsoring a little event tomorrow.. See details about it here, and check back with me tomorrow if you are a fan of vintage Luggage.

There were 39 artists who answered our call...

 

JeriAnn approached me last winter and asked if I wanted "in" on a very special collaboration. When I heard the plan, I knew what had to be done. Shortly thereafter, we enlisted Agent Lisa to help with the planning.

We sent out secret emails, arranged drop off dates and locations, and made art with one intended purpose: To help our friend through the difficult one year anniversary of her sister's passing... I think we did what anyone would do.... I really do.

So we collected pages, sent secret spy communication and stitched up one heck of a special book. "Portable hugs"...

The quote I used for one side of my page stuck with me.. I think it speaks for itself..


Of course, hugs to Michelle, and huge thank yous to all of the secret agents who made this book possible! To see all of the pages click here.

edit: Thank you, Jenny and Johanna!

Dia de Bloglandia: From the Dirt to the Stars

  Because I remember the way this dirt felt under my feet..and I remember the air and plants...

  Because I remember your things, which now hang in my home...

  Because your writing is here...and present in my art work...I think you would be proud...

  The objects that were long forgotten....around me every day...

  Because I can remember your voice...and your laugh...it is like you are here with us today..

  But I know where you are..every day...

 

...in my heart.

I don't miss a day thinking about you..

editor's note: 3 tier ofrenda in honor of my grandfather's passing, 6 years ago; hangs in my studio, for everyone to see..native plants in my new home remind me of visiting his place as a child...such a big part of my life...can only imagine that the ghost like images of the green light in the final photo have something to do with his spirit... Dia de los Muertos...the day to honor the dead...click here and here.

Bloglandia Polar Festival!

Celebrate the Snow Queen and things wintery during the Polar Festival happening at one of my new favorite blogs, "Be...Dream...Play..."! Elizabeth is celebrating the bloglandia community by hosting this event! Get out your flocking spray and head on over!

For the party, I made a double page spread in the Color Binge. Pages are getting more challenging as I head towards the end of the book... I am happy that Elizabeth gave us this motivation! The top picture is what the spread looked like when I was finished the "first time"... but of course, not happy with my results, I had to cover and repaint. Burried in there is a menu from a fish restaurant and some of my beloved vintage ledger paper...my beginners spray painting efforts were a little too heavy. I wish you could make out more of the papers. That's me on my wedding day too.... oh, alight. You're not as easy as I thought...

Here is a small clip of the pages side by side. This journaling adventure has really helped me through a lot of recent hardship. I highly recommend the process.. you don't need a load of supplies to get started either. What are you waiting for? Visit this link to add your project!

Some of the steps I took in making the pages (in the order I took them): Light color wash on both pages (blue and pink); Dry brush white and buff paint here and there; add ephemera (doesn't have to be fancy...remember, I used a fish restaurant menu); add a touch of script stamp (I never ink the entire stamp..only a small part of the center); spray paint a little punchinella; all colored pencil scribbles; add artist crayon scribbles; stamp large text; add more scribbles with graphite (didn't want dark charcoal on this project); smudge evrything; add journal lines; journal.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Luggage Land today! I am so excited to head back to Elizabeth's blog and read about all of the participants! Hope to see you there!