Bookish Mary

We  all have inner and outer worlds.  The outer world is the world we show every day to the world at large.  The inner world, on the other hand, is private.  It is the world that nurtures us.  It is the place we go to when we need to learn about ourselves, our habits, our mistakes, the lessons we learn from those mistakes and the action and accountability we need to take, when required.  It is the place where our personal wisdom grows and nourishes us in our times of need.  It is the place we go to when we need validation.  It is the place we go to when we need true, honest love.   This piece was inspired by these thoughts, while the shape of the outer world book was inspired by Carlos Cabo's ceramic figures.   Front cover of the outer world: foam, ribbon, ink drawing, photograph and applique.  Back cover of outer world: photographs, ink drawing,  applique and hand-written text on gampi paper.  Full view of the o...

  Have you ever worked with a piece of food and looked at it from an artistic point of view?  Recently I was making an avocado salad and when I emptied out the skin I asked myself, 'what does this feel like and how can I use it?'  It felt like a small water cup that fit perfectly in my palm, which made me think about cups, water and then the phrase, 'is your cup half-empty or half-full?  I then thought, well, it depends on whether I am filling up the cup or emptying the cup.  The intent of the original question was to help identify if one is a pessimist or optimist.  Again, I though, well it depends on what experience I am being faced with: sometimes an optimist and sometimes a pessimist.  This piece embodies both sides of the phrase.   I really liked the leathery texture of the avocado skin which I had cut perfectly in half.  I washed it out and let it dry and then gave it two coats of varnish to prevent it from deteriorating.  I t...

An artist bought one of my blank journals at a Christmas bazaar one year.  We started talking about our different practices and she told me she painted with oil paints and cold wax.  She suggested I try it out.  Not knowing anything about oil painting or cold wax, I stretched my brain and creative curiosity.  I watched a few videos on the technique and then gave it a whirl.  I had a palette knife, cold wax and a small selection of oil paints.  I find when I am not well-informed in a subject or technique, yet find myself trying it out, I just let it happen with no expectations or clear vision.  I just want to 'see what will happen' and see if I like the process and the outcome.  I could feel myself resisting as I laid down the wax-infused colours on a piece of masonite.  When in this zone of creating, there is always a feeling that it's time to stop; I looked; I was unsure; I set them up to dry; I re-visited them often trying to decide, deciph...

  I started thinking about love and why it is ascribed to the heart.  I wondered how much one knows about what's in her or his heart and what's in the heart of others who are loved and respected.  Do we really know what is in: our heart? or the heart of another?  Sometimes words expressed tell us exactly what is being felt, while at other times, behaviours inform us and others what a single word cannot.  These thoughts and questions inspired this piece.   I particularly like the sculptural element of the papier mache technique.  I like the layering and shaping and watching a piece becoming as it was imagined.   I created this heart in two pieces.  The interior is painted with gold acrylic paint and has six, red glass hearts attached to it.  The exterior is painted with red and gold acrylic paint.  The base is cardboard covered with chiyogami paper.  There are thirteen (13) scrolls with fourteen (14) hand-written poems...

  This piece was inspired by the1939 song, 'Puttin' On The Ritz' by Irving Berlin and a pair of cardboard shoe forms.  I created the top hat with three layers of papier mache and painted it with black acrylic paint.  Three layers of papier mache was used for the shoes and then covered with silk fabric.  The inside of the hat is lined with red, chiyogami paper with firework images.  I found the hand at a local shop and stained it with linseed oil and appliqued blue ginkgo leaves onto it.  On thin strips of Japanese gampi paper, I wrote the lyrics to the song. This was such a fun piece to make.   top hat and wooden hand with applique  top hat, shoes and Japanese gampi strips with hand-written song lyrics  Measurements:  Top hat, hand, text: 12.5 x 6.5 x 5.5 inches/31.2 x 16.5 x 14 cm Shoes: 7.75 x 4 x 3.75 inches/19.7 x 10.1 x 9.5 cm Materials: recycled paper, wood, silk, acrylic paint, synthetic gems, cardboard shoe forms, ink Techni...

Autumn is upon us and nature is spreading her seeds on the wind. The leaves on the trees are painting breathtaking scenes with their magnificent colours.  Soon they will be exposing their naked beauty until the spring rains bring forth their new buds.  The ginkgo trees on the street are dropping their silky, yellowed leaves.  Blue Ginkgo  Blue ginkgo is an accordion book I made with water coloured pages and the applique of blue ginkgo leaves from decorative paper.  It is whimsical and needs no text to express the story.  It allows the viewer to create a story that is drawn from lived experience or purely from imagination.  Cover with appliqued leaves  Measurements :  7 x 5 x .25 inches/17.8 x 12.7 x .6 cm  Materials :  water colour paper, water colour paints, blue ginkgo leaves from decorative paper  Techniques used: painting, applique, book binding Blue Ginkgo Boxed Book With Companion  I had an image of a book with a co...