Vintage Findings

Today ~

~ I will clean up the worktable.

Hoping you have a great start to your week.

~K

STUDIO FRIDAY

Wow, Friday again!  Where does the week go?  It has slipped through my fingers. My blog has the capabilities of letting me create a post and having it publish in the future, so today I am taking advantage of that.  You will see this Friday morning, but I am composing it Thursday night.  Works for me!  I can sit here and wait for the rain (I know it is coming) and have a glass of wine while I share the images I shot for you today.

I know, I know, you want to see what is inside the printer's cabinet.  This will be a lengthy post, but mostly photos. . .

Obviously, this is a button drawer.  I'm not sure why I have such an attraction to buttons.  As the photos progress, you are going to wonder why I have such an attraction to so many odd things!  But, speaking of buttons. . .

These are all Mother-of-Pearl buttons.  They don't make these anymore, except for the button artists who still carve them.  I am lucky to own a few that my grandfather carved.  

Here is a piece of shell showing the holes where buttons were stamped out.  I find this amazing!

This is a Button Counter Paddle.  It has a wonderful worn wooden handle.  The paddle was thrust into a barrel of buttons to collect exactly 144 of them to dump into a package for sale.  There are button paddles for all sizes of buttons - baby ones to coat buttons. This is how buttons were counted in the late 1800s.  Heard enough about buttons?

Here is a random junk drawer shot.  It is full of jewelry findings.  Cathy, we should do a trade bag :-) I'll wait until you are settled in Singapore!  For quite some time I made jewelry with findings, which means with whatever I find!  The tiny doll heads on the left - their necks fit perfectly in a vintage typewriter key.  You just need to drill a hole in the top of their heads with a diamond bit (under water) to make a fabulous charm.  And speaking of doll heads. . .

These come from the old abandoned doll factories in Germany.  I use them for my 19th Century Sisters.  They are larger, and their necks fit perfectly into a bottle cap. . .

And those printer's drawers hold even more. . .

Pen nibs, button cards, vintage papers (the one with the flag is my father's perfect attendance card for the month of February 1930.  He was not absent nor tardy a single day in February of 1930.  Signed by his teacher Tressie Box in Violet Hill, Arkansas. Thank you, Rose, for giving it to me.  And the little white glove?  It is hand made out of the finest leather for a very tiny child.  I can slip two fingers inside the wrist.  I only have the one.  Are you beginning to see that this modern girl has a vintage soul?

Bundles of old letters.  These were written by a young man in the air force during WWII. His letters home are so touching. 

All of these findings get scanned in and used in digital collage work.  Which, by the way, I have not done lately.  I am itching to get back at it and use the old photos I found at the flea market.  A story always comes together as I work.  I don't always share the story because I'm not sure the viewer wants my story.  I sometimes feel that they want their own story with the images.  

There is more, but I think I'd better save some for next Friday.  Better yet, come see me! Take the (very short) studio tour.  We haven't even gotten into the threads and fabric or the paintbrushes and paints or the tools and metal working. 

To be honest photography is what is pulling at me and has been for the past few years. I have only made one quilt since my father passed away 5 years ago - it was for my oldest when she graduated from Teacher's College at Columbia University in New York with her masters. How I wish I did not need sleep!  Ever feel that way?  Ever have so many ideas and so much to accomplish that you  want to work at your art full time? 

I am beginning to ramble, but as a wonderful person told me:  it is not rambling, just meandering like a river.

All for now.  Have a great weekend. . .

~~karen

Almost forgot! Big Picture image for today is Morning Light. 

STUDIO FRIDAY

Amazing how quickly Friday seems to come around!  Maybe it's just me. But Friday it is and the tour continiues.

Pretty unexciting, huh?  My textbooks.  When I am not involved in an on-line PhotoShop class, I am usually reading these as well as googling tutorials to learn more. But, LOOK, my table is clean!  This particular table is an old door found in the attic.  I cut and adhered vintage papers all over it then put a protective coat on it.  The indentations of the panels keep my pens from rolling to the floor.  Unfortunately, it catches the crumbs when I dare eat in here.  This door/table is 8 feet long and 30" wide.  I love having all the extra surface area.

Table number 2.  This is the work table.  It came from an old art school in Ohio and was truly a lucky find.  I love every single scratch and dent and hole in it.  It is perfect for frame work and wrapping canvases.  It is just the right height for standing.  My friend, Doug, drilled the holes for my tools. My drill just wasn't up to the job - the table top is 2 1/4" thick and the holes needed to be large enough for the hammer handles.  This sits in the center of the room so I can work from any side.

This is my printer's cabinet.  Yes, each drawer is full of treasures.  It started out being used for threads for my quilting work, then there was the button collection, and it's use has grown to include all types of findings used for one-of-a-kind pieces of jewelry. There are game pieces, jacks, dominoes, eye glass lenses, buttons, pen nibs, bullet casings, typewriter keys, scrabble letters, watch faces, bezels, keys, doll heads, rivets, beads, chain, papers, ribbons, tags, clothespins, metal curlers, garters, library cards, checkers, typeset, rhinestone pins, mahjong tiles, chandelier crystals, and more.

Next week I'll open the drawers and let you peek inside.  

Since I am not making much found art jewelry these days, I have been using the items in my digital collage work. I can make a digital collage, print it on canvas, staple the canvas onto the stretcher bar frame, then add components to the canvas surface.  Anything that has a hole in it or that can be drilled is fair game.  I sew items to the canvas and secure it on the back with knots which are then caulked with a glue-like substance to keep the pieces in place.  

It gives the canvas a 3D look which appeals to some.  There is only so much depth and dimension I can add in PhotoShop, so I supplement that depth with findings.

Leave me a comment and tell me about your space.  If you dream of having a space, tell me about your dream space.  What do you need storage for? Do you need an extra table? What kind of art are you pursuing? Is your space comfy-messy or do you like everything in it's place? Can you create amongst clutter? Do you crank up the music? Do you like soothing tunes or music with energy?

Have a wonderful weekend.  Get out there and do something fun!

~~karen

 

STUDIO FRIDAY

Friday seems to have come around quickly this week.  I had a busy week.  How about you? Did you accomplish a lot? I think I still have things on my To-Do list that will carrryover into next week.  I kept all of my Pilates sessions and managed to walk everyday, so that is a plus for me! I seemed to have a good week creatively and even did some troubleshooting with Epson when my printer decided not to talk to my computer. 

So, in an effort to carry on the Friday traditon of a glimpse into my workspace I have a few photos for you. These are straight-out-of-the-camera (SOOC) shots.  No time to tidy them up.

This little cabinet sits on my table - one of my tables - it is so very old.  It holds office supplies.  The dowel rod on the bottom was originally intended for kitchen towels. It used to hang in a kitchen, but my ribbon spools fit it just fine. I tie my tags with odd ribbons so I keep them handy.  The 3-drawer cabinet on top was an old sewing cabinet. Really handy with that handle on top.  It now holds ink for my smallest Epson printer. I just noticed that my thimbles are up there.  And my Dad's watch. . .  

My inspiration board, or just notes I tack up so I don't forget something - show dates, submitted work, papers I don't want to lose on my table top, etc.  It's just a large bulletin board with a vintage map of Europe as the backdrop.  The kind of map that teachers used to pull down in classrooms.  It was a flea market find.  I actually wanted to use it for a window shade, but the mechanics never worked out.  The blue ribbon is from my quilting days.  It is the highest honor - The Master Award for Traditional Artisty. But I am on to new and different things now.

 

Last image today.  Here is one of my sweet birds sitting on a pair of vintage binoculars. I just love it.  I have another bird on a vintage camera that I will share next time. If I remember. I want to share how I organize all of my collectables, too. And I want to share my tables.  Two of them I made from old doors that I found in the attic. Thank goodness for Home Depot, I got some lumber for the frame underneath and the legs. For a small space, I really did pack a lot of things into my studio. It is a comforting room for me. I love it in here.  

Check back next Friday for more.  Because, there will always be more! But I hope you come back before Friday, so I can share my week with you, too.

Have a great weekend.

~~karen

STUDIO FRIDAY

Good Morning!  I thought I'd offer a regular Friday post to share things in my studio. Being involved with mixed media, I tend to collect some strange objects to incorporate into assemblages.  I mean, doesn't everyone have a bowl full of doll heads?

These are used for the 19th Century Sisters.  They come from the abandonded doll factories in Germany.  I was told that when an imperfect doll part was made it was tossed under the floorboards and put inside the walls.  Now that these old doll factories are being torn down people are finding these and using them for all sorts of creative work.  Mine are attached to the lid of a jar, which will open to tuck treasures inside.  I try to file the necks fairly level, then sit the neck into a bottle cap and secure with Ice Resin. Her cape or skirt is made from "findings" in my collection.  

I taught this as a class a few years ago in Berkeley.  You just need to start a box and toss in small, meaningful items such as game pieces, keys, vintage jewelry, chain, charms, eyeglass lenses (perfect for adding a vintage photo to one side),  - you get the idea.  Pretty much anything I can drill a hole in is fair game here. Then use basic wire wrapping techniques for jewelry making and you have a one-of-a-kind 19th Century Sister.

The smaller heads make great ornaments.  You just need a tiny diamond drill bit to drill that hole in the top of her head, which is hollow.

You can find the 19th Century Sisters at ACCI Gallery, Berkeley, CA.

Stop by on Fridays for more of the studio tour.  Have a great weekend!

~~karen