3 Fun

Fun is unique to the fun-haver. For me, there's almost always a component of learning something new or having the pieces of some puzzle click into place. 

For the last few weeks I've had so much fun watching videos on making handmade books and learning to play with watercolors.  The operative word is play.  

Here's my first accordion book and tags:

One of the guest teachers in the Handmade Book Club is Andrea Chebeleu, owner of an art supply store in  San Jose, California, A Work of Heart.  She's is a wonderful teacher for beginners like me or for anyone who has a stash of art supplies and wants to learn more ways to use them.

Both Carolyn and I were up all night, she not feeling well, me with a flare of sciatica.  She texted me at four  to cancel our rodeo outing and I happened to be up knowing I'd have to cancel too.  So I'm spending the day with Andrea in a class I signed up for called "Watch Learn Play."  (If you're interested, I'll send you a link.)

The way it works: You pay $25 a month and have access to so many videos there's no way you can watch them all in a month.  (You can cancel any time.). 

One of my middle of the night videos was a fascinating class on using Derwent Inktense blocks.  I went right away to check out the price on Amazon, then realized I had already bought a tin of these a couple of years ago.  Intensely pigmented blocks of color, they can be used interchangeably with watercolors.  Just like watercolors, they run and move on the page; when they are dry, they are permanent.  

She also taught me how to construct three-dimensional houses out of gel prints and painted papers, how to use permanent pens with watercolors, simple book binding methods, and so many other things I want to try.  

At the moment, I'm watching a Masterpiece series and hoping to catch up on my sleep (having been up almost all night)--but as soon as the sciatica gets better, I will play with colors and have as much fun as it's possible to have on a September Sunday!