Hello Everyone!  My favorite time in the atelier is when I get to play with new ideas.   I keep the working pieces small and apply the learnings to larger pieces.  Truth be told, I love making little things.  They can be a little fiddly sometimes, but I love that.   Those tiny little things really uplift my spirit and keep me going more often than I care to count.  This book is a perfect example of that.  I also have another set of black and white photos of my everyday life, paint making and a few other small paintings to share with you today.

Simple 365 – Set 13

Here is another set of everyday Simple365 photos.   A few years ago,  I took one b&w photo of simple little things around me every day for a year.  I have been sharing those photos here every now and then. It seems I was particularly hands-on with different things during that time.

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos.

I created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365.  I continue to add photos to that page as I share them here.  That way I can relive my journey through the year via black and white photos, like in an old photo album.

I started making ink from plant materials that year, and then moved on to making pigments from them.  Pigments need to be mixed with binding agents to make paints.  I am making watercolors with these.  Even though ready-made watercolor binder can be purchased, I started experimenting with making my own.

I had a pretty good idea of what qualities I was looking for in the binder.   After a few tries and playing with the ratio of the materials, I was very satisfied with the paint I made.  This one is from the coreopsis flower.   I painted two 1″ x 4″ bookmarks to ensure the quality of the paint.  

I really love this golden yellow and orange paint I got from coreopsis flowers.  All those months of simmering petals on the stove, measuring, filtering, and making notes paid off in the end.

Once I was happy with the paint after refining it while painting those two trees,  I painted this tiny painting for a friend.  It is a 1″ x 3″  piece inspired by the glacial lakes at the High Sierra mountains. 

Little paintings are always quick and fun to paint.  They are perfect when playing with new paint, or even an idea.  Monochromatic paintings are also wonderful for that.

The painting accompanied this tiny little 1″ x 3″  book and a pan of my coreopsis watercolor to their new home to a dear artist friend.  She loves flowers and the color blue.   So I made hers with blue cloth and added a little yellow flower on the cover.

Before I made the blue book for her, I made a book of the same dimensions for myself first.  Because of their size, these little books can be a little fiddly to make, and I didn’t want any surprises while making hers.  I sat with a stack of paper and folded them before sewing the book together.  I used drawing paper for this one.

It looks like a lot of tools for a 1″ x 3″ book cover, but I really did use all of them.  No matter the size of the book, sometimes I end up using the same set of tools.

I cut a little piece of washi tape to size, and added that in the inset that I had created in the above picture. 

Here is the first painting in the book.   It was supposed to be a drawing, but the pen I used was too thick.  Not at all what I was expecting.   So I thought, even though this paper is not meant for water/wet media, why not try using watercolor with very little water by using a small brush.   Since wet paper can damage or tear easily, I was careful to let the paper dry before working on the next layer.  Much to my surprise, the paper held up.   It is not the painting I set out to paint, but it decided its own path along the way.   I am happy with that.

Currently I am working on an idea for a gift for another friend.  Tomorrow I will make a little sample piece for that.  I hope this inspires you to try out something new.  Keep it small.  Little things are less daunting and are packed with joy.

Until next time,
-Soma

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