Paper and Threads

I love making "paste paper" and spent 1 1/2 days last week making some with a friend for an upcoming bookbinding project.  Next week we are going to make portfolios, and decided that was a good reason for me to teach her what I learned about paste paper at Center for Book Arts here in NYC..

We used corn starch paste, acrylic paints, and Strathmore series 400 drawing paper per Lynn Gall in my workshop at CBA.

These are a few samples made last Tuesday.  The polka dots sheets were created using a 10 x 10 Lego Base Sheet as a stamp to create the design. 

These 3 books which I photographed on top of the above papers are examples of how I use these papers in making books.  From left to right: decorative papers for the covers of a Coptic book, an accordion book, and a wrap around cover for a small book with "perfect" (glued) spine.  I also use them as end papers in some of my watercolor sketchbooks.

bookbinding.   

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Yesterday was a gorgeous day near New York Harbor.  We had a cool breeze while sketching the model and the rest of Manhattan was really hot.    

We did 10 one minute sketches to warm up, and I actually liked one of them more than usual. 

The warm up sketches were done on newsprint with an 8B graphite pencil.  The rest were done with a General brand Sketch and Wash pencil (soluble graphite) and then finished with a Niji water brush. 

These are the 5 and 10 minute sketches.

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These are the 20 min poses:

The flowers in Wagner Park were amazing this week - probably because of the amount of rain we've had.  I'll post them after I finish the painting. 

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In addition to drawing a few of the flowers blooming in Wagner Park (Battery Park City) before Figure Al Fresco, a friend and I went for a ride on the Sea Glass Carousel which is close to the Staten Island Ferry.  It is magical, even for adults. 

Flowers in Bloom in Wagner Park:

Seaglass Carousel:  Where you ride inside gorgeous large fiberglass fish.    The fish swim in multiple directions in addition to up and down.  Search online for one of the videos to see this remarkable addition to Battery Park.

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I haven't been to Battery Park City as often this summer, but still really enjoy the setting, visiting with others who regularly attend the sessions, and drawing really good models, in a program that is sponsored by the Battery Park City Conservancy.   These models are clothed because the session is held outdoors in the Park.

Five minute poses:  I recognized this model from prior venues when she let her hair down."  These and the 10 minute poses were drawn with a General Sketch and Wash graphite pencil.  The graphite was then spread with a Niji waterbrush.

Ten Minute Poses

Twenty Minute Poses: I switched to a Mahogany Caran d'Ache watercolor pencil for the final poses.

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My grand daughter Annabelle was here for a one week vacation, and in addition to other activities we saw the Maurice Sendak exhibit at The Morgan Library and Museum and the T.Rex exhibit at AMNH.  We sketched some of my favorite paintings by Sendak and the large T.Rex model at Natural History.  These are mine.

The T.Rex exhibit is a special exhibition at AMNH. It was very interesting and informative - and was one of the activities Annabelle had at the top of her list.   But if you are not a member, it is expensive paying both admission and the exhibit fee - even with a senior and child <12.  We were only going to see T.Rex, not spend the day in the museum.

Posted by Shirley at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)