Advance Copy

I finally got my advance copy of Adventures in Mixed Media, and I am happy to report that it looks terrific. Nice color reproduction; the book design is awesome; I'm always impressed with the work of my photographers, John Polak and George Bouret. The official release date is April 26, but you can pre-order the book from Amazon if you like. I will bring copies to Art Unraveled in August, and Art and Soul in September to make them available as well. Here are a few sneak previews.

Making a simple pamphlet-stitch book:
Remember these paper bags?
I did a chapter that includes making these shrines from foam core. The gorgeous one on the right is Carol Owen's; she is the inspiration for this project.
This chapter on Fusion, Fabric, and Fiber opens with a photo of Sue Bleiweiss's fabulous tea pot:
A couple of my own fusion fabric pieces:
There is a chapter on Mixed Media Dolls. The doll in the upper right of the left page is by Ingrid Dijkers.
And here is some eye candy from the chapter on books and boxes: paper mosaic with paper gems and glue gems. All the sparkle and glitz you could stand.
Thanks for visiting! Don't forget to check out the Sketchbook Challenge blog.

Pizza Book

I am on what I hope is the home stretch of my mixed media book. I have all the final photographs and am busily writing captions for many of them. I want to share ALL the photos on my blog, but I don't think that would go over so well with the publisher. Here is one, though, which may or may not make it into the book. It is my "Pizza Book" for pizza recipes. The cover is made from a fused fiber sheet, fused to a stiff interfacing. The tomatoes and basil leaves are cut from fabric I designed for Free Spirit Fabrics several years ago. I just love these tomato slices! They are fused to the background and then stitched by machine. I added a few beads to the tomato seeds. This is a one-signature book sewn in a few places to the cover at the spine. Now I have to compile all my pizza recipes. Anyone want to send me a recipe? If anyone wants a few tomato slices I'd be happy to send them.

Fused Fabric Patchwork

I made this small piece of patchwork (16" square, approximately) with pieces of fusion fabric. Fusion fabric is made by layering fabric, papers, threads, and fibers on a base fabric using fusible web, such as Mistyfuse. It is inspired by Indian patchwork made with discarded ceremonial garments and saris, with all kinds of embroidery, beading, and shisha mirrors. I left mine un-embellished, as the fabrics themselves are so rich. I'm making it into a pillow cover.