Swap goodness

I've been having such a good time swapping mail art with Jessica Gowling! Last time we traded one of my postcards for her wonderful first zine. This time, I received her envelope full of original art and delightful ephemera!

In turn, I sent her a mini print, an original drawing, and some paper goodness of my own.

There really is something magical about getting a little bit of art magic in the mailbox. Anyone else want to swap? :)

Another moleskin complete

So I finally finished my moleskin for the The Exquisite Corpse exchange. I'll need to get it in the mail in the next few days, while I await for the onslaught of other moleskins that are headed my way!


The front and back cover. Feathers just don't scan well! It really looks lovely in person.


This was the first spread I finished, and I love how the layers worked together.


She was a TON of fun to do, and my family really loves her boldness.


This is the only bird I did that isn't made up. I thought the crossbill was such an unusual bird, though, that it would fit in well with my other fantasy fowl.


This is my signature page. I cut out enough eggs (that sit in the pocket at the back of the book) for everyone to write their info on! I think its a fun play on the pocket use.


Here's the template on each of the pages for the other artists to use. They have complete liberty to work outside of the lines - its just important to know how the head will line up with the body and the body with the legs, so that when its cut you can flip the pages and it will all fit together well. :)

My other moleskin, the moon book is nearing completion, and I will have it in my hands soon! I'm so so so excited. These swaps have been amazing fun!

Another moleskin exchange

Some of my favorite moleskin artists were participating in this Exquisite Corpse moleskin project, so when I was invited, I couldn't turn it down. I have so many other deadlines coming up, but this was so exciting!

 

Here's what I've finished so far. The idea is that the moleskins will be those flip books where you can interchange the heads, bodies, and feet. Each book owner will cut the book into thirds when they are completed and returned. I've decided that my theme will be birds, because I'm bird-crazy like that.

I'm about halfway done with all I need to do before I pass it along to the next artist, and I'll post the finished product when I get there.

The other moleskin group I'm working with has uploaded the next spread in my Moon book! You can see it here. I love it and can hardly wait to see it in person.

I'm also headlong in a swap with a friend. I'd love to share my progress, but she reads here! ;)

More swappage

I participated in a photo swap with another group I mingle with online. This called for us to send out a photo and a letter to our partners.



I decided to print out 2 photos I had taken with generous borders, so that I could embellish the overall images. I had a lot of fun with the project and look forward to future swaps with this group.

My first moleskin spread

can be seen bigger here

I'm really pleased with the way that this turned out, and it went in some directions that I hadn't expected! As usual, there were some mishaps - the paint stuck to the other pages, bits got torn, and so forth - but I think I corrected those problems pretty well.

Its on its way to Jen, who will work on the next few pages, and I'm eagerly awaiting the Anne's book which is themed a medieval bestiary. I've decided to do a cockatrice, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Swap loot

I got my swap dolls today! Im so thrilled with the set I received and Im super glad I participated.

I'm swapping mushroom art this month with a friend of mine and looking forward to that as well. I've been bitten by the art swap bug - and I hope I can find other creative swaps to take part in!

You can see the rest of the nesting doll artists in this Flickr set put together by Abbey. Do go look, there are some amazing dolls there!



Here are some of the other sets people received:
Silent Dreamer
Bricolagelife
My Cosmopolitan Diary
Vert Pistache
Bowdenisms

Dolls

Whoo - I've been busy! Art Chicago was a blast and I have a gazillion photos to process and post in the near future. I've also been catching up on yardwork during this beautiful patch of weather, and its taking up a good chunk of my time.

I got the dolls in just under the wire! They were a whole lot more labor intensive than I had expected, but I think they came out well. There are some pearlescent powders mixed in with the paints so they have a glowy sheen to them - and the bottom halves all use real feathers.

I mailed them off today and can hardly wait to see what all the other participants have come up with. I'm hoping that the organizer will put together a Flickr group for the whole swap.


 

 

 

 

 

Doll swap

I'm so excited about this, I can hardly tell you. Abbey Hendrickson of Aesthetic Outburst is hosting a nested doll swap!



I love these dolls, and picked up this set in 1994, when I lived in Wurzburg Germany. I have an attraction to teeny things, and the smallest of this set of 9 is no bigger than a pea. They are definitely one of my favorite keepsakes from my time living abroad.

I was tickled when I heard about this swap - oh to have a set of uniquely made artist dolls! Immediately my mind jumped to the many many possibilities, and already I know that I'll have a hard time parting with the ones I make.

I purchased the set of 5 blank dolls from Golden Cockrel, as suggested, and cannot wait to get started. I'll be sure to post my progress as I go - the swap deadline is May 1, so I need to get cracking.