Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover-A Peek-a-Boo Project

I am hoping that all of us has a few life time friends that I've known us through the accomplishments and annoyances, the beginnings of something the chapter ending, the fears and the glories, the highs and the lows, the meandering negotiations, the ordinary preciousness of quiet reflections, the sublime times, the unique voyages, wandering, yearnings with zeal     of our crazy journey called life. I've mentioned some of them in my blogs before. Along with these longer known friends are those that come into our lives at just the right time to encourage us to be more than we are. This artwork was inspired by them.

"Never judge someone by the way he looks or a book by the way it is covered; for inside those tattered pages, there's a lot to be discovered." -Steve Cosgroves

This art work is a second "collab" with PM Artist Studio and the dynamic duo of Patricia and Mariah. I am using gel print with nested circles and a broken squares stencil, lovingly sent to me to use as I felt best. It will also highlight the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts pieces I have adore.

Some blog post are like those comfortable gatherings with forever friends, others are like an introvert going to a multi media extravaganza, awkward and exhausting. The process for this project is the later. Put on your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Supplies:  Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Layered Frames, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Catweed Shape Set, Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Hypercium Berries, Gifted Gel Print Art Paper, Chipboard, Cutter, Turquoise Stencil Butter, Acrylic Hazelnut Paint, Black Embossing Paste, Gold Design Creme, Weldbond, Magazine Collage Pages, UHU Gluestick, Paintbrush, Tyvek, Sanding Block, THz Distress Stain Mermaid Lagoon and Rusty Hinge, ArtDeco Matte Varnish Gel, Awl, Fun Foam Sheets, Spine Template, Fluorescent Neon Acrylic Paints,  Glossy Accents, Scissors, Micro Screws, Screwdriver, Miniature Hinges, Wire Cutters, File, Rust Paste, Golden Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Gold Green Acrylic Paint, Turquoise Marker, Liquid Pearls, Pictorial Papers, Plain Papers, Book Cradle,  Vintage Button, Deerskin Lace, Nylon Thread, Needle,

1.  Gather Supplies.

2.  Cut Pieces of Bookboard That are Slightly Larger than the GSLC Layered Frames.

3.  Use These Pieces to Cut Pieces of Gifted Gel Print Paper.

4.  Use Turquoise Stencil Butter and Acrylic Hazelnut Paint to Paint Bottom Portion of Layered Frame.

5.  Use Black Embossing Paste and Gold Design Creme to Paint the Top Portion of GSLC Layered Frames.

6.  Use Weldbond to Glue GSLC Frames Together, Dry Fully Flatted and Weighted Down.

7.  Use Weldbond to Glue Down Gifted Gel Print Paper Pieces on Outside Covers of Book.

8.  Glue Magazine Collage Pages  and Strips of Gifted Gel Print Paper to Inside Covers Using a UHU Gluestick.

9.  Use a UHU Gluestick to Glue Tyvek to Book Spine.

10.                Paint Spine with Turquoise Stencil Butter and Acrylic Hazelnut Paint.

11.                Use Sanding Block to Distress Edges of Book Covers.

12.                Use THz Mermaid Lagoon and Rusty Hinge Distress Stains to Add Some Colored to the Sanded Edges.

13.                Seal Everything With ArtDeco Matte Varnish Gel.

14.                Use and Awl and Spine Template to Put Holes Into Spine Protecting Table with Art Foam Sheets.

15.                Use Weldbond To Glue GSLC Layered Frames to Front Covers.

16.                Choose Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Hypercium Berries you Want Highlighted.

17.                Paint Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Hypercium Berries With Neon Paints.                           

18.                Use Gloss Accents to Add Dimension to Berries, Dry Flat and Fully.

19.                Paint Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts-Catweed Shape Set With Neon Paints.

20.                Cut Out Portion of Used Broken Square Stencil.

21.                Glue Catweed and Stencil on Inside of Book Covers with Weldbond.

22.                Glue Dried Hypercium Berries to Front Covers with Weldbond Flattened and Pressed Down.

23.                Use Micro Screws and Screwdriver to Add Miniature Hinges to Connect Book Parts Together.

24.                Use Wire Cutter to Cut off Screw Tips and Sand Down with a File.

25.                Distress Covers with Rust Paste, Turquoise Stencil Butter, Black Embossing Paste and Acrylic Hazelnut Paint.

26.                Seal With a Stain of Golden Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold and Gold Green Acrylic Paint and Matte Varnish Gel.

27.                Add Detailing with a Turquoise Marker.

28.                Add Even More Details with Liquid Pearl Dots.

29.                Cut Pictorial and Plane Papers to Fit into Book.

30.                Make a Pages Template with a Scrap Piece of Paper.

31.                Use an Awl and a Book Cradle to Punch Holes Into Book Signatures.

32.                Add a Vintage Button and Deerskin Lace to Front and Back Covers.

33.                Sew Signatures Into Book With Nylon Thread and a Needle.

 

Some Final Thoughts.

I told you it was going to be a bumpy ride, I'm grateful that you've read this far. I am calling this a gratitude journal, although I won't be using as one. I will probably add it to my inventory and sell it at upcoming show.

There are many friends I am grateful for through the years, I will try to remember them all and honor them in my life, here I will mention but a few and none by name.

Fun Loving Coworkers from Friendly's at Lycoming Mall. My Youth Group Buddies form Moreland Baptist Church. My many College Companions. A borrowed friend from a college roommate. A misunderstood first impression becoming a brother from another mother. Church friends from various congregations. Bible Study Cohorts. Neighborhood Families. Lifters of the Light, Mindfulness Musketeers. Summer Sojourners. Room Enhancers and Encouragers of my Craft. Hiking Husbands. Cellar Dweller to Czech-Slovakia Spring Break Memories. Kayaking Coworkers. Royalty Ragers. Artist Allies.  Soul Mate Partners. Gladyses. Patron Saints, Collectors of my Art. Keeper of Secrets, Confidants of My Heart.

-A friend is one who overlooks your broken fence and admires the flowers in your garden. -unknown

-Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.

-Maya Angelou

-Good Friends are like stars. You don't always see them, but you know they're always there -unknown

- There's not a word yet for old friends who've just met-Jim Henson

-A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails.

-Donna Roberts

-The real test of friendship is: can you literally do nothing with the other person. Can you enjoy those moments of life that are utterly simple. -Eugene Kennedy

-I have learned to be with those I like is enough. -Walt Whitman

-As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend. -King Solomon

 

Summer Goes By Too Quickly-A Peek-a-Boo Project

I'm now into my 33rd year of teaching, 23 years at the same middle school. It is still early in the school year but I always begin full with hope. The more things change the more they stay the same. My father went to a one room school house near where I grew up in Pennsylvania, My mom's mom trained teachers to work in one room schoolhouses. The Golden Rule of treating others as one wants to be treated should never goes out of style. These are the inspirations for this artwork.

Supplies:  GSLC ATC Folder Frames 2, Transparencies of Vintage Black and White Schoolchildren, Copies of Vintage Classroom Rules,  Copies of Grade 2 Manuscript Practice Book, Dot Glue Runner, or Double Sided Tape Glue Runner, Embossing Folder of your Choice, Sizzix Big Kick Embossing Machine, Shades of Yellow and Brown Acrylic Paints, TH Pumice Stone Distress Stain, Blue Lagoon and Neon Blue Acrylic Paint, TH Rusty Hinge Distress Stain, Art Alchemy Metallique Flame Acrylic Paint, Weldbond,  UHU Gluestick, Blue Neon Highlighter, Matte Gel Medium

1.  Gather Supplies.

2.  Make Copies of Grade 2 Manuscript Practice Book and Transparencies of Vintage Black and White Schoolchildren.

3.   Use Dot Glue Runner or Double Sided Tape Glue Runner  to Adhere Transparencies to Manuscript Backgrounds.

4.  Print Copies of Vintage Classroom Rules on Vintage Looking Paper. Add Patina by Spraying with Water.

5.  Use Sizzix Big Kick Embossing Machine and Embossing Folder of your Choice on Front Portion of GSLC ATC Folder Frame.

6.   Randomly Paint GSLC ATC Folder with Shades of Yellow and Brown Acrylic Paints.

7.  Fill in Any Empty Spaces with TH pumice Stone Distress Stain.

8.  Paint Back Portion of ATC Folder Frame  With Blue Lagoon Acrylic Paint.

9.  Add Neon Blue  Acrylic Paint Using Dry Brush Technique.

10.                Add Patina by Randomly Adding TH Rusty Hinge Distress Stain.

11.                Paint front Portion of GSLC ATC Layered Frame with Art Alchemy Metallique Flame Acrylic Paint.

12.                Glue Layered Portions of Frames Together with Weldbond.

13.                Attach Prepared Black and White Manuscript Images to Frames Using Dot Glue Runner or Double Sided Tape Glue Runner.

14.                Use a UHU Gluestick to Add Wider Washi Tape to Spines of GSLC ATC Folders.

15.                Attach Frames to Back Inside Portion of Folder with  Dot Glue Runner or Double Sided Tape Glue Runner.

16.                Use a UHU Gluestick to Attach Copies of Vintage Classroom Rules to Inside Portion of Folder.

17.                Seal Everything with Matte Gel Medium.

Some Final Thoughts.

I used to say that by the time students made it to 6th Grade they knew the difference between right and wrong, students came to school with an understanding of social norms. It seems like the pandemic has seemingly changed our collective ethics and common etiquettes. We have lost the Golden Rule as this poem titled The Golden Rule by Jim Yerman contemplates:

 As I watch many world religions fight, acting inhumane and cruel
It makes me ask the question, what’s happened to the Golden Rule?

Countries at war with one another, soldiers dying, a world of dread
Again I ask, has the Golden Rule been buried with the dead?

People going hungry every day, so many in the world oppressed
Is it possible the Golden Rule has been forgotten or suppressed?

We read of people murdering one another, even children, and we’re stunned
And I ask as we wipe our tears, has the Golden Rule been shunned?

Yes, so many sorrowful stories we hear each day...we hope they can’t be true,
And we ask, have we forgotten Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

As I see people hating people just because of how they look or who they are
I think to myself...Do unto others hasn’t really evolved very far.

In a world where we are so connected we should look within our hearts
And find the reason why, when we’re so close, we still so far apart.

I believe the answer is a simple one and will come as no surprise
For it’s been around since the dawn of man sitting right before our eyes.

If you look at most of the world’s religions, (I remember learning this in school)
A basic lesson in all of them is some form of The Golden Rule.

Ah, but it’s not enough for the religions of the world, the Golden Rule to teach
Another thing I learned in school...we must practice what we preach.

We can point fingers as to the cause but we all shoulder part of the blame
For it’s up to each of us to follow the rule and treat everyone the same.

Is it possible the answer is so simple or am I once again the fool?
For thinking the world would be a better place if we all practiced the Golden Rule.

If it worked, if starting today we all practiced The Golden Rule
And the world became a better place...then I would gladly play the fool.

I want my students to know the joy I felt when the Scholastic News Flyers were handed out in class and if we had the money my momma would allow me to choose one or two items. Students today seem to have no appreciation  for their immense requisitions, so much is given to them and they do not have a need nor a care. They live in a world of instant gratification and privileged entitlement.

 

The two items I would most often Choose from magical Scholastic News Flyer was the latest Clifford, the Big Red Dog book, who originally was the runt of the litter, seemingly fated to small and sick, but grew to an enormous size apparently due to Emily Elizabeth's love and care. The second treasured item was getting a yearly subscription to Highlights Magazine.

 

Highlight Magazines had wonderful features like "Hidden Pictures", "Jokes and Riddles" and "What's Wrong" being my favorites.

Not to brag but I was always a 'teacher's pet" because I was a people pleaser and did not want to be noticed in a crowd. I did not need the  Goofus and Gallant cartoon feature created by Garry Cleveland Myers and drawn by Anni Matsick. The strip features two contrasting boys, Goofus and Gallant. In each cartoon, it is shown how each boy would respond to the same situation. Goofus chooses an irresponsible, immature and unkind path, while Gallant chooses a responsible, mature and kind path. My hope for my students to more often choose the path of Gallant and less often the way of Goofus.