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Bird Words for People

What is it about a blank slate that can be so appealing??  This is never truer than when crafting from nothing a something that springs up from your imagination.  While staring at a blank page in art and crafting can be intimidating, I’ve found the best way to approach it is to jump all in – and see what happens!

Some years ago, I took this approach when wanting to craft something that would call on numerous art techniques and start from a blank slate.  The result was “bird Words” (yes, the lowercase “b” is correct!), and it’s one of the few things I’ve made I don’t think I could part with as a gift or a sale.  Maybe this is because of how many months of stolen time here and there it took to complete it, but I rather think it has to do with the sense of accomplishment in transforming blank space into something tangible around a single theme.

This theme for “bird Words” was to find people’s interesting quotes involving birds … and put them on backdrop pages made from various art techniques.  The project literally started from a blank board book – (think thick pages like those held by toddlers’ chubby hands) – produced for decorating however you wish.  Twelve white pages plus front and back covers stand before you as a challenge, and you’re limited only by your imagination.  It’s like child’s play that’s free without any (artistic) rules, and it’s a great way to test your skills but more importantly, to simply enjoy the process!

For the book, I used numerous materials and techniques, including water-soluble wax pastels, collage, encaustics, stamping, gold embossing, alcohol inks, pages from old books, colored pencils, wax resist, painted wood, distress inking, and adding embellishments like ribbons and “jewels.”  I literally took hundreds of photographs while making the book, and I’ll let a handful of them describe themselves for this posting on The Daily Artisan!

The ending result was something I was pleased with, especially happy that I stuck with it and kept making yet one more page.  The book is carefully tucked away, wrapped in white tissue paper in a box, and while I don’t often take it down, I know it’s there when I want to hold it in my hands, and turning the pages, appreciate the feeling of accomplishment from taking nothing to something – uniquely from one person’s imagination.  And we all have that unique imagination just waiting to be explored and enjoyed however we choose and in whatever we pursue.  That’s what being a daily artisan is all about!

Is there something you’ve created like “bird Words” that you can’t imagine parting with?  What is it and what makes it so special to you?  Please comment below!

November 14, 2021

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