In My Garden...

I sent off pages for another swap I participated in - these were tip-in pages. Tip-ins are a way for people to collaborate on an altered art book without the possibility of losing an entire sketchbook in the mail. Participants complete a certain number of pages in a predetermined layout (frontand back or facing). Everyone sends them to the hostess who redistributes and mails out.

Our theme was 'a different way of seeing.' Here is my page and the info I included:

A New Way of Seeing

Summer 2010

Outside of my kitchen window is a huge butterfly bush… so close to the house you have to duck when you go through the door. And it fills up the entire window. Our butterfly bush is a ‘fountain’ bush, where the loaded branches bend down like a waterfall effect. It reminds me of fireworks, especially with the glittering splash of Tiger Swallowtails, Black Swallowtails, Zebra Swallowtails, Spicebush, Common buckeye, Great Spangled Fritillary and a few Monarchs. Sometimes if I am patient I catch a couple of hummingbirds fighting over the blossoms. But mostly it is the golden highlights of the Tiger Swallowtail I see dancing through my window.

I started by putting a thick layer of gesso on white drawing paper. I pressed a leaf stamp into the wet gesso and set the paper aside to dry. Using diluted acrylics (blues and greens) as washes, I went over the dried gesso... I let the page dry a little and used a damp paper towel to wipe some of the acrylics off. This highlighted theimpressions made by the stamp.

I diluted a pearl pink acrylic and used compressed air to ‘splatter’ it across the page, I added gold pen for the twinkle of the Tiger Swallowtail... this was my way to recreate the fireworks.

I spent a little time watching through the window and taking photos of the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. I picked a Tiger Swallowtail, intensified the colors a bit, printed and trimmed to add to the page.

I added a strip of hummingbirds to the back of the page - a stop motion movie that catches the movement.

For last element, I edited a photo in Picnik. I used the special effect called ‘hexagonal tiling.’ I thought that must be what the blossoms looked like to the butterflies! That is my new way of seeing.

I inked up the edges of the pages - just to add a finishing touch.