February Read and Visual Book Notes

As part of Wendy MacNaughton's 30 Days of Drawing (in January), one day was a lesson on drawn journaling. In it, she provided examples of authors/illustrators who have used this form in their books. One of those books that caught my eye was 'Radioactive: Pierre and Marie Curie' by Lauren Redniss. So, I ordered a copy.

After receiving the book and reading through the first couple pages, I realized I needed to create a mind-map/flow-chart to keep track of the information. This would be my way of summarizing the story in visual form. With clipboard, cardstock and pens in place, I began reading the book and creating my visual notes -- and finished all in one sitting.

As for the book, it is very well-written, interesting and informative, and the artful pages make it additionally engaging. No wonder it was a finalist for the National Book Award!

As for me, I loved it! Also, I really like my visual notes because they capture the main points/relationships/events, etc. I wonder what my teachers in school would have thought about using this technique for book reports. The only thing missing in the drawing are my thoughts about the information and/or how it relates to the world and my life. Interesting to consider how this could be added.

Book Face

Mind-Map/Flow-Chart

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Visiting The Hague and Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Paris!

Since late March, I've been planning an international solo trip that included meeting up with friends. The planning is what makes a trip an adventure, and it was definitely fabulous -- now that it is in the rearview mirror -- so to speak. During my two weeks abroad, the sights visited included the: Mauritshuis, a lovely art museum (The Hague, Netherlands) Binnenhof (The Hague, Netherlands) Delft (Netherlands) Kasteel de Haar, a castle (Haarzuilens, Netherlands) Museum Speelklok (Utrecht, Netherlands) Walking Tour of Amsterdam (Netherlands) Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Dutch Resistance Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) De Oude and Nieuwe Kerks aka old and new churches (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Anne Frank House (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Sainte Chapelle/Conciergerie (Paris, France) Giverny - Monet's residence at one time (outside Paris) Versailles (outside Paris) Musee d'Orsay/VR Event titled 1874 Impressionists First Exhibition

New Project in Progress

I'm working on a new project with multiple layers and shapes of different colored organzas. It is an interpretation of lighting on an ice rink...from a show I recently saw. There is a lot more stitching to do, but I like how its coming along. I'm learning organzas are not easy to work with especially when you layer them and have overlaid edges. The fabric also tends to ravel easily. This post also linked to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com .

Concertina Dazzle Days

If you don't know what a Concertina Sketchbook is, it is folded paper (back and forth) that looks like the bellows of an accordion when done. Concertinas can be home-made or purchased, and they are fun to work in. The photos above are of three continuous two-page spreads from my own Concertina (the one on the right - the latest). The mark-making was done with Sharpie markers, Posca pens, Micron pens and Sakura PenTouch markers. All the shapes and color choices in the images above were spontaneous as well as the details. There was no plan. What I like about these is that each two-page spread collaborates with the next one and so on (as the designs spill over from one spread to the next). As new ones are created, they add to the wonderful visual feast. One of the things I love doing with these also -- is to crop sections and digitally mirror them to form symmetrical designs. The results are occasionally delightful. In fact, this one was made from such a process and has a n

Cay Denise

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