Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Altered Books - Advanced Techniques Workshop

Please join me at Liquid Marin for a class filled with new and exciting techniques for your altered books.  Take them to the next level!  Class is this Saturday, in San Rafael, CA.
Please contact me or Lucie@duclosdesign.com to register.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Altered Book Workshop

 Today i had the pleasure of sharing my knowledge of altered books with 5 ladies new to the artform, plus two friends. The 8 of us created 5 different structures in our vintage books - and completed three spreads using colourful papers, ephemera and embellishments.  Above is a shot of our "show and tell" after the class - where we all get a close up look at each other's pages. 
This was my "Vintage Birds Sing" spread.  I used portfolio oil pastels to add extra color to the pages.
 Next we have our Nature Walk theme - complete with stunning photography from a Sierra Club magazine and glittered butterfly wall decals.  YES - you can use those wall decals in books!  We created a sewn pocket and all used different techniques to sew up the pages before creating the collage.
Here is a closeup of my page.
Finally we created an Asian Theme spread on two pages - plus two triangle points - using an assortment of red and black mulberry textured paper, origami paper and asian text. 
And my page.I like to keep all my collage materials straight and geometric with this style of spread - as i told the class - it is my own self inmposed rule - no torn edges - everything crisp and layered.  Not that there are rules of collage!  Just guidelines i like to follow that can help you get started if you are new to collage.  Because - truly - anything goes!

We had a great class today and i hope to see everyone again at our Altered Books - Advanced Techniques class, coming up in June. Please check out the Liquid Marin website for calendar details.
After the class three of us went to a local estate sale - just before closing, to see if we could find any treasures for future projects. In fact they had started packing up - but what was left was 50% off.
 I grabbed three interested documents - a deed of sale from 1931, a telegram from 1919, and an honourable discharge from 1919!
Next i spied a page from a photo album with these 5 images.
And finally i picked through the "expensive stuff "- you know the jewelry and coins they keep individually bagged, right by the check out table at an estate sale?  Well - at 50% off - these things were a bargain.  Two pretty pins, some vintage buttons, and a fork and spoon in a pretty rose pattern, plus everything else i bought cost less than $10 - um - in total that is!
What a great way to end the perfect day!

Friday, May 6, 2011

intro to altered books class DATE CHANGE

Ok, so it turns out doing an altered book class on Mother's Day, was not so popular.  So we are moving the class to Sunday May 22nd.  Oh i promise - it will be worth the wait!
We'll take vintage books and create three fabulous collaged spreads using tools and materials provided.  Please contact lucie@duclosdesign.com to register - and check out all the upcoming workshops offered at Liquid Marin.    
There will be an advanced techniques class for the altered book students offered in June - so please sign up for the Intro class so you can take both!


Sunday, May 1, 2011

altered book workshop san rafael

I will be teaching an altered book workshop this sunday, May 8th at Liquid Marin in San Rafael, CA. There are still places left - so let your family know that you love them and want to spend a few hours on mother's day exploring your creative muse.  Hey - why not treat your mom to a class?  Or take your daughter?  Fun for the whole family!
 These are pages from an altered book round robin swap i did a few years ago.  I created a flip book inside a larger book -  and used tissue paper to create a colourful assortment of wine bottles.  The labels are paper napkins from wineries!  This is just an example of the kind of fun you can create with vintage books.
 I'd love to see you at the workshop.  We'll be holding an advanced techniques class in June - so we want to have as many students as possible for the intro class this Sunday.  Check out these great images from last class HERE.

Check out all the upcoming classes at http://www.liquidmarin.com/
Please contact lucie@duclosdesign.com to sign up.