a little waxy cardboard journal

I don't mind being snowed in (yes, still - walter used the tractor and chained up the car and still we can't make it out the drive to the county road) nearly as much as some people might. More time to play in the studio all the live long day, and that i have. I'm working on several projects simultaneously, all of them different media, and I thought I'd give you a peek at my latest cardboard journal.

It's the smallest one I've made to so far, measuring 3" x 4" and a whopping 3" thick.

 

I've tried out new materials and new ways of assembling the book, and am pleased with the directions I can go. The binding is made from tiny scraps of silk and silk threads I've accumlated when I wash vintage kimono and obi fabrics. I sewed a silk ribbon into the spine so that I can tie it shut if I want.

 

This is the front cover. All the cardboard pieces are textured and painted with water or oil based media, no acrylic paints, some have collage elements, and then all are painted with encaustic pigments or clear wax medium. The edges are still finished with cheesecloth and are also painted with wax.

This is the back cover. Although the journal is finished as far as assembly, it is no where near finished, as I'll be adding writing and visual journaling to the pages as it comes to me.

 

The extra pages I've added are made of scraps of fabric, fibers, and paper. I've picked out a few of my favorites to share...

There is a leaf skeleton embedded in the wax here.

 

  

A Rumi quote...

 

 

Well that's all I have to show you for now; it's getting dark and time to trudge through the snow over to the neighbors while it's still light to feed their cats and cockatiel - I saved the bird, Chief, some left-over spaghetti - he loves people food.

Comments

[Judy Wilkenfeld]

Katie, the wax journal is magnificent, the colours, the size, the textures - well everything - you are truly inspiring and I am not such a colour girl. I know i sound over-effusive but I want to feel it and see it irl - and I dont often say that.
Happy New Year to you and your family - hopefully you will be able to get out and about whilst we are boiling away down here.
Thanks for being so wonderful to me this past year.
xoxoo

[kelly]

Katie,
I LOVE your beautiful book!!!
Also, thank you for sharing your studio yesterday. Trust me, yours is wonderful and full of life-which is what it should be!!!! :) Signs that an artist lives there!! :)

[maigirlz]

Seriously cool journal!

[judy wise]

I love it when you talk waxy. I think my favorite part is that spine with it's embodiment of foreign places, the gathering together of many individual skeins of history and the glorious texture. A feast of stories and imagination. Sometimes snowed in is good indeed. xo

[kelly snelling]

i would like to squeeze this book until all the magic drips out so i could drink it. it is perfection.

[Judy Merrill-Smith]

Oh, I so love this book of yours. And thanks for sharing messy studio pics -- I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who works in that much chaos (lol)! Is your traveling sewing machine a Bernina, and do you like it? (I'm in the market for a traveling machine, too.)

[alex s]

The little book of mysteries! It is gorgeous! Makes me want to touch it, of course.

xo

ps: you are so lucky to be snowed in with studio time. I'm so frazzled that I've actually lost my box of paints. I'm not kidding. They have simply vanished...maybe they ran away because they feel neglected.

[Susan Tuttle]

Oh Katie! This book is sheer delight! I love how small and chunky it is.

What treasures you have within it! -- I especially love the page with the tree on it.

Happy New Year my friend!

Susan
xo

[robruhn]

What a beautiful piece of art Katie, I can almost smell the wax. The colour and texture are fabulous, there's so much to see hidden in those stunning pages and you haven't even finished yet. Happy new year to you and your family, I hope you're not snowed in for too much longer, I can't imagine what that would be like, while we bask in sunshine.

[Jennifer White]

Absolutely beautiful Katie... I can't wait to meet you and am signed up for your class at Valley Ridge in '09. I saw the journal that Kathy M. created in your class this past summer and absolutely fell in love with all the textures....

[stephanie]

How beautiful this is!! I would LOVE to handle it!! Your work never ceases to amaze me. :)

Two weeks!!....

oxoxox!!

[kateri]

I didn't know you could give cockatiels spaghetti! I'll have to try!

I love your tiny book. Encaustic techniques have a really special quality to me. And your use of colour always has a wonderful sparkle. Something very elemental about this wee treasure. Tactile, yet affects you beyond that, too. I love it. xoxo

[Diana Frey]

What a delightful treasure your new creation is! All of the fabric, wax and embedded objects speak to my creative soul. Love your idea of saving silk threads! Thank you for sharing, Katie. Wishing you and your family a joy-filled new year!
Tootles

[Lorri]

Katie,

It seems being snowed in has been inspirational for you. This book is lovely and definitely "waxes aesthetic" on its own!

I'm sorry you didn't get to come to CA. but you obviously didn't waste time fretting about it!

xxox

[Michala (kayla coo)]

Beautiful work, I have enjoyed visiting your blog.x

[Laura Miller]

oooooooo, these journals make me crazy in love. I just want to touch it and stroke it and I want to make one!!! Soon, mistress, soon.

[Carol Wiebe]

Utopia is a state of mind
And it can be a place you find
Release the clutter of your thoughts
And step outside that noisy box
Into a vista clear and calm
Where silence is a healing balm
Joy is a bell that tolls for thee
But it is hearkened

inwardly.