School's Out-Almost-A Peek-a-Boo Project

 Everyone knows June is every teacher's favorite month of the school year, it's the month when Summer Vacation begins. For me it is my self-imposed isolation time of working full time in my artist studio creating the new Fall Collection of books and boxes. While working I like catching up on my podcasts, two of my favorite episodes are Unfictional-The Rowing Man and Nocturne-Blackfish, both of them are nautical in nature. I am not sure what fish do for summer vacation but as long as I'm not responsible for them I'm fine. These are the cheeky inspirations for this artwork.  

Supplies:  GSLC Shrine Nautical, Watercolors, Brush, DecoArt One Step Crackle, Golden Heavy Gel Matte, Green Ground Cover and Pencil Shavings, Clamps, Printed Pictures of Fish and other Creatures, Used Artist Shop Towel, Fancy Cut Scissors, TH Wild Honey Distress Stain, Used Postage Stamps, Long Piece of Paper, Double Sided Tape, Drill, Dowels, Metal Bobbins,

1.  Gather Supplies

2.  Use Water Colors to Paint GSLC Shrine Nautical- We Are Not Going for Perfection, We Want a Worn and Weather Look.

                    

3.  Once Satisfied Cover all Pieces With DecoArt  One Step Crackle.

4.  Put GSLC Shrine Nautical Together with Golden Heavy Gel Matte.

5.  While Still Wet Sprinkle With Green Ground Cover and Pencil Shavings.

 6.  Make Copies of Pictures you Wish to Use.

7.  Cut a Long Piece of Paper that Will Fit Inside of GSLC Shrine Nautical.

8.  Glue Printed Pictures to One Side of Cut Paper.

9.   Roll Up Into a Scroll Make Certain It Will fit Inside of Shrine.

10.                Drill Holes in Top and Bottom of Shrine, Where Dowels Will Go.

11.                Attach One End of Scroll to a Prepared Dowel and Roll and Then Attach Final Side to Other Dowel.

Some Final Thoughts.

In Unfictional-The Rowing Man, the story of Ove Joensen is brilliantly told by Rikke Houd. He was trying to be the first to row from his home in the Faroe Islands to Copenhagen in Denmark in the late summer of 1984. He hoped to kiss the statue of the Little Mermaid. He failed on his first attempt and had to be rescued below the cliffs of the remote Shetland Islands. This  is the story about finding a village of friends even when you are rowing alone across a ferocious sea told by the villages there who still think of him as family.

 In Nocturne-Blackfish Vanessa Lowe interviews  Malcolm Saunders, a fisherman from Cornwall, on the southern tip of the UK. While most of the old fishing ports have transformed into tourist attractions, there are still some working fish boats, manned by seasoned weathered fishermen. They're holding onto an almost forgotten way of life-one that ties their livelihood to nature, with all the thrill and hardship that goes along with it. Their lives  are governed by the tides, the weather, and time-A fisherman goes out where and when the fish are, day or night. There's nothing else to do. 

Here's to wishing you all a happy and healthy summer. Take time to do a few of the things that bring you pure joy. Rest and know.