Vibrant transparent watercolor gives this little maple journal its lively nature. I just loved the little beaded edge of these wooden covers made for me by a woodworker in Pennsylvania, Art Bert. He uses his collection of antique planes to add this nice touch to the edge. We will take a set of these covers and decorate them using Peerless self- blending watercolors. You can also use Adirondack inks and sharpies to stain the wood. I then sand the wood for a silky finish. You might try carving on your journal with a Dremel tool and bits, or linoleum cutter. I will show you how to rivet found objects to your little book as well. If you’re new to riveting this is not hard. I will also show you how to cut your own washers with a metal disc cutter, out of pieces of tin. We’ll then use a simple Coptic stitch to bind pages to our covers.
Supply List:
- Watercolors-I will bring my set of Peerless for everyone to try. I also use Windsor and Newton watercolors. If you want your own Peerless sheets contact Akamai in Port Townsend for a set.
- Paper for your pages: You can tear, or cut it into 8”x12” pieces (mine pictured has 24 sheets total of Strathmore drawing paper) If you want to get it there in Port Townsend and cut it there, I can show you how. Try Akamai: http://www.akamaiart.com/
- Sharpies- colored and/or black
- Three or four brushes with a variety of sized tips (I actually preferred a small, cheap, flat one when I did my covers.)
- Water container for rinsing
- A dremel for drilling and carving
- Waxed linen thread for binding your book
- A matt knife or exacto
- A large needle
- Scissors
- Colored pieces of tin, you can cut up old tea or cookie tins with snips and bring the pieces with you.
- Found objects-small things like bottle caps, keys, dominos
- Tin snips
- A small metal block
- Chasing hammer
- Wire cutters
- Ruler
Optional:
- Paper towels
- Linoleum cutting tools
- Adirondack inks
I will bring some metal working tools, disc cutter, sand paper and my drill and bits to share, and things we need to rivet with and a few extra cover sets
$15 Kit Fee includes:
- two 8” x 6” unfinished maple covers and riveting materials.
A Little About ME
Melissa Manley lives and works in southeastern North Carolina a few miles from Wrightsville Beach. She holds a BA in Studio Arts from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and in 2006 completed her Masters of Fine Arts in Metal Design at East Carolina University, studying under nationally recognized enamelist Linda Darty as well as Robert Ebendorf, one of the godfathers of found object jewelry, and the studio jewelry movement in the United States. Melissa specializes in jewelry and small vessels in silver, copper and enamel, sometimes incorporating natural objects gleaned from her kayak adventures in the waters around her coastal home. Melissa has taught workshops in collage, watercolor, book altering and jewelry classes at art retreats for the past nine years. She currently runs the metals studio and teaches metalsmithing at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, NC. When not showing folks how to make things, she chauffeurs her 15 yr old daughter around, or kayaks with her kayak guru boyfriend Robert Smith. Her work has appeared in Somerset Studio magazine, Crafting Personal Shrines by Carol Owen, The Fine Art of Enameling by Linda Darty, Making Connections by Susan Lenart Kazmer, Collage Lab: Experiments, Investigations and Exploratory Projects by Bee Shay and 500 Enameled Objects by Lark Books. Melissa was the featured artist for the Winter 2011 issue of Belle Armoire Jewelry. Look for her book "Jewelry Lab: 52 Experiments, Investigations and Explorations in Metal" by Quarry Press coming in 2011.
