When working on an issue of Deeply Rooted Magazine with the theme of “Light”, I started experimenting with cyanotypes and illustrated an article/tutorial on the subject.  Upon returning to the States after two years abroad, I found prepped paper that had been left in storage, and  decided to see if they would still expose. My little nephews helped me gather and arrange plants, and we developed 8×10 swatches of blue and white botanical patterns.

I decided to turn these patterned papers into simple little saddle-stitch notebooks. Most of my art supplies were still in storage, and we didn’t have a permanent place to live yet, but I had these patterns, brown paper, embroidery thread, and book binding needles at my disposal. It was the perfect opportunity to focus on a single project from start to finish and work on something creative during this time of transition.

The process of making the books is relatively easy. I cut the 8×10 cyanotypes in half, and cut slightly smaller interior sheets to make up the bulk of the notebook. From there I folded everything in half to form the spine, and measured out the position of three holes for binding. Below is a quick little sketch of the stitching process, as it is better explained in pictures than words.

While I made these books from custom printed paper, any paper will do! I recommend a heavier card stock for the cover and thinner paper for the interior pages. Happy bookbinding!

When visiting Seoul in the summer of 2016, we found ourselves lost after hiking the fortress wall, but where we ended up was one of my favorite parts of the city. Traditional buildings were sprinkled in between more contemporary dwellings, and I loved the contrast of old and new. Most of the photos I took weren’t compositionally exciting, so I translated my favorite photograph into this drawing.

I started this with oil paint, but I transitioned to drawing with pastel pencil on a teal-painted base after realizing how out of practice I was in painting technique.

 

I was storing some 5×7’s that had already been prepped with cyanotype solution, and one became slightly exposed to sunlight. I rinsed the solution off and was left with a pale cyan wash – the perfect watercolor-esque drawing surface. Layering on shades of Prismacolor marker and black & white charcoal, I created this little peek into the mountain village of Ta Van, Sapa.

While in Vietnam in December of 2016, this was one of our favorite parts of the country. We arrived at our homestay in the pouring rain, and heavy fog and clouds hung in the sky for most of our visit, but the overcast weather was perfect for long hikes through rice paddies and nights of tea and karaoke.

While most of the residences were scattered throughout the countryside, every so often in our hikes we would come across more densely populated village centers, like the one pictured here.