Beautiful  Books  Workshop
Learn how to create your own books like these

 Louise Kirby from

 River Girl Art
http://river-girls-art.blogspot.com.au/

 Is hosting a fabulous weekend workshop

 at the Grafton Art Club.

365 Dobie St, Westlawn.

Dates: June 1st and 2^nd
Times : 10 – 4 pm
Cost: $70
Bookings: Phone: 6647 3194
mobile: 0458 455 612
email: rivergirlart@bigpond.com

Beautiful  Books  Workshop

Things to bring~

We will be making 2 coptic bound books this weekend using a mix of new and repurposed supplies.
Please bring along anything you would like to include, I know some of you have old art works on lovely paper and I encourage you to repurpose those if you would like too.

I will be supplying one large sheet of Stonehenge printmaking paper ,enough for the book we will make on day 1, you can buy another sheet or two on the day  if you would like to make a book with more pages of this wonderful paper.

Papers- The book we are making on day 2 will be using a quirky collection of papers, I know some of you have collections of things you want to use and this is the workshop we will use them in. I like to include various new papers – various weight sketch paper in white and black, water colour papers, the last few pages I have left in a pad of any art paper, 12 x 12 scrap book papers and various  coloured printer paper and card stock, graph paper, velum, wallpaper etc  then I add a selection of repurposed pages, old art works or pages I have used to protect the surface I am working on- any size is useful, repurposed pages from books, old text books, old atlas pages, these pages need to be roughly A4 or larger when lying flat and its best to avoid shiny surfaces other than that you can include anything.

Cardboard- we will be using this for our book covers, I have used lots of things including cereal boxes, mat board off cuts from the picture framers, repurposed book covers, any stiff cardboard is suitable and we will be covering it so it does not matter what it looks like.

Tools and other items – if you don’t have all of these don’t worry we can share them.
 Awl (or a heavy needle and a wine  cork) , fine hole punch, ruler, decorative serviettes ( these will be the cover on one of your books) book binding cord or  embroidery floss in assorted colours, glue-you want a fairly dry,  glue impasto gel or acrylic mat medium, paint brushes -broad and fine, acrylic paints- brights and black and white , inks, stamps, stencils, artist markers gel pens etc.

We will be making an embossed book plate to title our books and will be using a repurposed champagne foil or yoghurt container tops.

 Workshop Program

Day 1

 -  Fold and tear Stonehenge paper,  and assemble signatures

-cut covers from cereal or mat board or other cardboard

-make book covers using serviettes

-dry

-paint and doodle cartridge papers (whenever you have a break – go and work on them)

-bind day 1 book

-finish cartridge papers

Day 2

 – select covers for day 2 book, cut and put aside

-  sort repurposed pages into signatures including cut down cartridge papers, consider pockets and opening flaps

-make covers including a back pocket and a liner

-dry

-make embossed book plate

-bind day 2 book

Art Journaling with Louise

Life has been busy around here as the boys, and I are working on major house renovations, home schooling, looking after all of our pets and trying to do all the other activities we are inspired to do.

Wednesdays are our town day where we try to do all of our running around and chores before getting to the Grafton Art Club for an afternoon of fun and relaxation.

Art Journaling with Louise starts at 3, and we have been playing with gesso for a few weeks now, learning lots of techniques and creating gorgeous back grounds.

We have a lovely group of ladies working in 2 or 3 art journals and/ or altered books each.

Exploring different products 

and also working on finished spreads.

These are some class samples 

I use for teaching.

If you would like to come along and can get to Grafton on a Wednesday afternoon, please contact me, we would love to see you there.

Art Journal / Altered Book Workshop

Things have been very busy in the studio as I am preparing to be away for 6 to 8 weeks and want to get as much done here as I can while I have everything on hand.

I am really looking forward to reconnecting with my beautiful Clarence River and getting home for a while and I will be taking a lot of art materials and setting up a studio space to work in while I am away.

This is a piece I am working on at the moment, it is about the river and my connection to that place, I have called it Kundalini Pathway and it is about the spiralling journey of life and where we feel at home, what lifts us up and makes us feel good. It is one of 4 pieces I am working on to be shown at the Grafton Art Clubs 44th Jacaranda Art Exhibition  Saturday 27th October - Saturday 3rd November at the Grafton Community Centre, don't miss this great show if you are in Grafton for the Jacaranda Festival.

I am also running a weekend workshop at the Grafton Art Club

Art Journal / Altered Book Workshop 

With Louise Kirby

http://river-girls-art.blogspot.com.au/

At the Grafton Art Club

Saturday 10^th Sunday 11^th Nov. 10 – 3

Cost $65 includes hall fees.

Come along for a fun and creative workshop to discover the joy of art journaling.

 An art journal is a powerful creative tool, offering you a safe space to explore,

 to consider different ideas, to experiments and play with different materials and styles and to create a meaningful memento of your journey as an artist.

Over this weekend we will play with various mixed media techniques, making a cover for our journals / books and working on pages within.

Things to bring-

Ø      A sketch book with a sturdy cover or an old hard back book you would like to alter, to do an altered book it needs to be in reasonable condition and bound with sewn thread not glued.

~All other things listed here are optional~

Ø      Any paints/ watercolours/ markers/pencils/ oil pastels/ stamps/ink/ stencils you like to use.

Ø      An old credit card.

Ø      Some images or photographs you would like to include.

Ø      Any small sketches/ doodles/mini art works you have lose at home that you would like to keep in a safe place.

Ø      Tickets/ tags/ mementos/fabric scraps from that favourite outfit and any other reasonably flat items you would like to include.

Contact Rhondella Hyde on 0431735215 for bookings.

Facebook Page and Art Dolls

Lots of exciting things have been happening at River Girl Art

A gathering of Goddess Art Dolls 

have helped me celebrate the launch 

of my new Facebook Page

Please pop over and have a look.

I have started the River Girl Art page to try and reach a wider audience and have been busy posting lots of pictures over there of my work.

Someone said it was like a private art gallery.

I am hoping to increase the sales of my art so I am busy making lots of stock to do handmade markets and I am also selling my art online. This ia all a huge learning curve and a dream I have long held.

These Goddess Art Dolls are made from pure wool felt, vibrant cotton embroidery thread, silk dyes and various charms, glass and semi precious beads. They are all unique and have their own names and associations and come with a beautiful card to share their 'story' 

They are $45 Please look at the Goddess Art Doll album  to see which ones are still available and PM me over there if you would like to have one of your own.   

To celebrate 100 likes in the first week 

I did a little art doll give away

My boys and I printed all the names, cut them apart

 and put them into a hat

and my lovely assistants Mr13 holding the hat

and Mr9 picking the winner

selected the winner and Lavender the Goddess Art Doll

Congratulations Michelle.

It was so much fun we might have to do another give away at the next milestone. 

Today we walked to the post office and sent 

Lavender and Aqua to their new homes.

Dreamy Layers

I have been enjoying playing 

with layers and vivid colors lately

\

I love the dream like 

feel these pieces are developing

and I find myself drawn back

 to the easel again and again

to find a little something 

and reveal it

Its quite intuitive and playful

I come to the canvas 

with a lot of supplies to play with

and an open mind.

This one really changes colour through the day

and it just glows in natural light

Bygone Era

I worked in Beth's traveling art journal

 when I was away traveling...

Beth and I are part of the 15 Artists-15 Journals- 15 Months 

 journal round robin, being run over at Milliande's 

I really enjoy being a part of these

 collaborative art journal swaps.

It is so nice to see and hold the pages

 the other artists have done

 and also to try and interpret the journal owners theme.

As I was traveling I had limited art supplies

 but I like to set myself challenges like that.

Bright New Art Journals

I have been really enjoying book making lately

and have made some lovely art journals to sell.

I learned a new skill~

copic binding

and love they way look bound this way.

I used a variety of different papers,

repurposed ones - vintage book pages, vintage atlas pages,

 sheet music and an old children's illustrated dictionary,

and lots of new paper as well

printmaking paper , water colour paper, 

black and white sketch paper and

 different coloured printer paper.

Some have found there way to new homes already

where I hope they will encourage their new owners to 

make art and play in the pages.