All posts filed under: ‘I like’ Friday

I like Friday. Art Witch Academy review.

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Art Witch Academy is a fairly new membership art website exploring the concept of ‘art as ritual and ritual as art’, which I like the sound of, so I asked the founding witches if I could have a preview of the Academy to review for Brush magazine. Brush is no longer in print, but the website still has lots of inspiration. The  A.W.A. website provides tutorials, inspiration and information with projects on a variety of art topics, all art witch and magic related. The witches run the academy in semesters and they are full of original projects and ideas. The Academy is the vision and work of three art witches, Vanessa (@dansmoncrane), Caroline (@freya.fennec) and Emily (@fern.and.oak.art).  Each has a unique take on their contribution to the Academy.  Their passion, knowledge and generosity is apparent in every part of AWA as you browse around the site looking at book recommendations via detailed seminars and tutorials. The website is clear and easy to navigate and revisit to carry on with a class or to follow an …

I like Friday – trip to see the Ai WeiWei Bare Life exhibit

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I liked the bikes! I went with a friend to see the Bare Life exhibit by Ai Weiwei at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum here in St Louis and it was  well worth a visit. There is so much to see and learn here, and all for free!  If you are in the St Louis area, be sure to see this exhibit. Of course the other galleries of the art museum are worth a look too, I loved this mini hall of mirrors in it’s own tower. Happy Friday x  

‘I like Friday’ some new art books.

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I love books and I love books I can learn from and be inspired by!  For this Friday post I thought I would share some of the latest books to my collection.  I always borrow fiction from the library as I know once I have read it, I won’t read it again and I don’t have space to store a load of read books.  However, non fiction/reference/learning/inspiring (yes some novels are inspiring but I am usually after pictures!) books I will often buy. These three all have valuable information and lessons both practical and mindful. Find your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon A Field Guide to Color by Lisa Solomon A Big Important Artist: A Womanual by Danielle Krysa Happy Friday x

‘I like’ Friday

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These are some things that I am liking this fine Friday- Trader Joe’s lemon cake mix is the very best box cake!  I usually avoid cake mixes but this one is delicious. The immortalists by Chloe Benjamin is so far an excellent read.  I am two thirds into it and really enjoying it.  It is about 4 kids who go to a fortune teller and find out the dates of their deaths.  From there we follow each character into adulthood and see how the predictions (genuine or not) affect their lives. Making sketchbooks from old books is my latest love.  I am always on the lookout for old books with a beautiful cover in good shape so that I can use the cover to make myself a sketchbook. Finding recipes I want to make in In the Small Kitchen by Cara Eisenpress and Phoebe Lapine is a joy, so far I want to make banana chocolate chip bread and vanilla cake with chocolate frosting.  Yes, I like cake!! Flow and Breathe magazines are at the top …

‘I like’ Friday – Books I Read in 2017.

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I never go for a record breaker in the amount of books I read in a year.  I have no loyalty to a book just because I have started it, if I don’t like it 50 pages in, it goes back to the library and I start on the next title on my list.  All of the books I have read are from the library unless I am on holiday and I never never take library books on holiday, so those I buy! This is all the books I finished over the year, I started many which I didn’t finish but these are the ones I made it from beginning to end. Britt Marie was Here by Fredrik Backman Another great read from the author of ‘A Man Called Ove’.  Britt Marie is an equally good character in my opinion. We are Unprepared by Meg Little Reilly A fast, dramatic read. The Girl with the Glass Feet by Ali Shaw Not at all the usual book I would pick up but it is a magical …

‘I Like’ Friday – Treasures from 1930’s and 1940’s National Geographic Magazines.

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I recently had the good fortune to come across a pile of National Geographic from the 1930’s to the 1950’s and as I rifled through them,  I came across some wonderful images along with some equally wonderful captions. They are totally of their time and I love the fashions, the optimism, the language of the time. The man carrying the giraffe and the policeman about to go headfirst into the Thames are my favorites!   Old magazines are so interesting to look through as well as wonderful images.  These National Geographics swept me back in time. Happy Friday x

‘I like’ Friday. The book making edition.

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I have been making my own books for a relatively short time, but now I have started I consider a book I can make for any occasion be it a journal or a watercolor project. I have sewn books on the sewing machine and I have hand sewn pamphlet books as well as adapting vintage book covers to make a new journal or sketchbook. I love to add all kinds of paper from heavy watercolor paper to atlas paper pulled from old books.  I have even used brown paper bags from the grocery store to make a book which I love!  See that one here . Here are some of the ways I have learnt and continue to learn about making books. Book making books I like are: How to Make Books by Esther K Smith Journal Your Way, Designing and Using Handmade Books by Gwen Diehn Make your own idea book by Arne and Carlos I mentioned that I like to make books using old book covers and I find those old books at the …

‘I like’ Friday. Top Tips from vintage books.

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I recently picked up some excellent books from the library sale cart and the local antiques mall. Old books are among my favorite things, the covers, the advice and the illustrations.  I love the books which were obviously very fashionable and cutting edge in their information at the time of publication.  Of course some of the writing is out of date and sometimes hilarious but a lot of it is still relevant and timeless. ‘New Bodies for Old (Why, Where and How to Exercise for Figure, Beauty and Health)’ by Dorothy Nye  was written as a guide to exercise written in 1936 and it has some sage advice for would be exercising ladies. On the first page, second paragraph we are treated to the following wisdom about the ideal body shape. “It is, primarily, a figure of bone and muscle over which a silken skin stretches in taut perfection. ” No pressure then…. They use the Rockette dancing chorus from Radio City as an ideal, citing measurements to aim for –   Top tips from …

‘I Like’ Friday

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Lots of things to like this fine Friday! A modest trip to Art Mart to get some book tape.  Came out with deep violet high flow acrylic, gold fluid acrylic a new sepia pen and a Jon Snow key chain (for my teen).  Any art shop which sells Funko Pop key chains has my vote! Moon phase stickers from Stickerdoodles. I keep borrowing this fabulous book from the library, it might be time to buy it! Stunning cigarette cards from the gorgeous shop of Beets and Birch.  I adore these cards as I already have lots which my grandma gave me.  Mine are a mix of tea cards and cigarette cards. They were given away in each pack of tea or cigarettes until the 1970’s I think.  Grandma kept all hers and gave them to me in the 1980’s carefully kept in a ‘British Home Stores’ bag! I am very pleased to have these cards to add to my collection. The new Art Journaling magazine has two of my Get Messy friends inside it’s covers …

‘I Like’ Fridays. The travel art journal and supplies edition.

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  Before I went on holiday to Cape Cod I used the covers of an old book called ‘Cape Cod Folks’ to make myself a journal filled with watercolor paper, handmade blue paper, kraft paper and some pages from an old dictionary. I am really enjoying using handmade journals because I get to choose the paper, the size of the pages and the overall size of the journal.  Full credit to the Get Messy Bookbinding class for teaching me all I know about making journals.  It really is a great class.  If you want a good book with clear instructions I recommend Esther K Smith’s book called How to Make Books. I have borrowed it many times from the library. Once I was on vacation, it honestly took me a couple of days to get going in my art journal. It would have been easy to leave it in the drawer. I am so glad I didn’t. The first spread I made was awful and again I could have left it in the drawer.  Then …