dear diary: part 7

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15/01/20
I took part in a Swapbot swap on the theme of “Doodle Bombed”, I sent this one..

and I received this one from Inge in Belgium.

I posted my card on Instagram and added the hashtag #doodlebomb , then I clicked on it and found lots of interesting stuff, including this site
https://doodle-bomb.tumblr.com/
where you can submit a doodle bomb
https://doodle-bomb.tumblr.com/submit-doodle-bomb
Got Posca Pens, will doodle, might give it a go.
Actually it’s just occured to me that I’ve signed up for a year of monthly swaps on the theme of “portraits” which all have to feature a face. I might try the doodle bomb technique on them.

16/01/20
In a previous blogpost I talked about using real photos of real strangers in my artwork, and how it felt a bit strange. However 2 artists I admire do use them in a respectful manner , so I am feeling less ambivalent about it now.
I sent some of my vintage photos to Jane Chipp who runs Willow Blue Vintage and she showed me one she had used on the page of a journal she made.

Well, the journal was bought by Margarete Miller who runs a fun and inspiring Facebook group I belong to. Margarete creates weekly collage assignments for members to follow, and then post their results in the group. You can see an archive of previous consignments here She also has a clever Assignment Generator if you want to generate your own.
Margarete has a great blog about creating art from vintage sources. She also has a Facebook page about her own creations. She is a very talented, very busy and very generous!
Anyroada, Margarete bought the journal that Jane made that contained a photo that I sent Jane, you still with me? She made this video of herself looking through her delighful new purchase.


The second artist is Susan Lenz who used real photos in this impressive project.

Susan wrote a blogpost about it, it’s well worth a read. She discusses using old photos and whether it is respectful or not. There are also lots of close up photos of the piece so you see it in all it’s glory. Susan said to me
” I believe there is at least one of the lovely buttons you sent on this piece! Thank you! “
but I haven’t been able to find it. If any of you do find it, the first person to correctly identify it and show me where it is will win a set of 6 of my small handmade buttons, I’ll post them to anywhere in the world. Good luck!

Susan also has a website where you can see more of her work, be sure not to miss her Stained Glass and Inbox Series which I love.

Getting back to Margarete and her Vintage Glue Book Facebook group , when I first joined I started doing one of her assignments which involved following prompts to make a collage.
Here are my attempts, in this upcycled book that I got as a gift.

#1
-something round – a stamp that arrived on a postcard from USA , I’d never seen a round one before
-a paint chip – nope, didn’t have one
-a postage stamp – a round one, see above
-a piece of map – an old map of Glasgow
-anything from the grocery store – herbal teabag box
bonus: – form or part of a form – from an old handicrafts magazine.
I commented at the time ” Can’t say I’m very happy with my first page, I feel it doesn’t make sense, narratively speaking , but maybe that’s not the point? “

#2
– a person – bodybuilder
– an image from a magazine – the wooden arm
– something that came in the mail – the “thank you”
– a piece of washi tape – came attached to the “thank you”
– a tea bag cover – yup
bonus: – an illustration – the boy in shorts

#3
– a barcode – long and thin on the left
– a photo or portion of a photo – a photo of a painting done by a friend, the man in green
– a thing – a button
– a clothing tag – from a t-shirt by “The Doodle Man”
– text in a different alphabet – Japanese for “washi tape” (I think)
bonus: – handwriting – from a music notation book

And that, dear reader, is as far as I got because I had to tidy my collage material away to use the table for something else, and I haven’t got round to spreading them out again. I realised that finding specific pieces that match the prompts requires a lot of space, and some organisational skills, neither of which I have. Well, I could have the space if I tidied up, but that would require me having the organisational skills and I don’t have them!.
Maybe this is the encouragement I need to tidy up, so I can create a dedicated collage area. Hmmmm, previous attempts at tidying up have not gone smoothly, as you can read here

20/01/20
Another of my handmade postcards has reached it’s destination, this one on the theme of “Collaged Hearts”

This is what I received on the same theme..

Monday again, another Made on Monday 5×5 incher, this is 49 of 52.

I made it late last night out of paper from a clothing pattern (thanks Jane) that I had previously painted with a stencil. I then drew on it with some of my new black Posca Paint Pens, and then some handstitching to finish it off.

Speaking of Jane, she’s my pal with a penchant and a good eye for vintage goodies, she nevers buys new, only 2nd hand, including pressies for her mates. She got me this for my birthday, could not be more appropriate!

You can see her finds here : on Instagram and Facebook
One of her very special vintage finds was this rug made with the Amish Stumpwork technique that I mentioned here

One last thing for now, a wee while ago I received a Happy Mail from Marina in Greece

I finally got round to reciprocating and here’s what I sent..

Right, I’m off, got 5 new handmade postcard swaps to get in the post, and a dog to walk 🙂