Although yesterday's page documents my pleasure in hanging out at a coffee shop with friends, I actually made it later, in Fran's apartment, probably early the following (or 2nd following) morning, alone, or perhaps with Fran while the others, who are much more night owls, slept in: we had far too little space, at a tiny round table, for me to do my usual thing of hogging up inordinate amounts of space with my projects, supplies, etc.[1] —I can cover an 8’ table in no time flat.
Fran made journal; Manuscript brand duotip callig markers; presto jumbo correction pen; watercolours; cat post-its; special tools: folding ‘pocket pal’ rule. 25feb20; photographed 2mar20, lumix lx100, natural (cloudy) light
I didn't have the space, concentration, or studio available to do ‘serious’ art. One person was making very geometric, ruled art, and since I had this awesome folding steel rule Page gave me that came from her dad(’s estate)[2] I used that to make some lines with the markers Fran gave me: I like variation in my line widths, even for nominally clean lines, so I tried for that effect deliberately, which is most obvious towards the top end of the two rightmost heavy red vertical lines. Then I used the other end of the marker to add the thin red diagonal lines, which, being lazy, I spaced visually.
After adding one of favourite patterns, the flax pattern (a triangular/120 deg) then I used a waterbrush, water colours & eventually the correction pen (since I forgot to lay down with my new rubber cement tool) to finish the piece. A couple of days later, noting all the pages with orange in them (& of course the affinity with things Japanese) Frances gave me some cute orange kitty big-butt notes. —I'm very bad about using up precious gifts, but the fact that the resist pen will be dried out in 6 months, will, I hope inspire me to use it. As Fran says, there are almost more art supplies waiting to be purchased if the ones you have get used.
Overall, I quite liked this piece, but then its full of green, curliques, and flaxseed pattern, plus I discovered the ink of the markers was somewhat water-soluable, so why would I not?
[1]Granted, I made it on Fran's tiny round table, but at least I had a full half or 2/3rds of it to myself. How she arts with no space is a mystery to me.
[2]It's probably older than I am, but my google-fu is failing me today: I can find no trace of the firm using this product as a sort of high-end promotional item, Genesee Tool Co., Fenton MI; the only dating I can find on the actual ‘pocket pal’ suggests it was being manufactured in the 1950s —one listing calls it The Executive Pocket Pal 8" Ruler Irwin Steel Co Canton 11, Ohio 1950’s) The common accompanyment, the ‘pocket chum’ is still being manufactured by a company that purchased the product line, they said, from the prior manufacturer, Chatco, about 20 years ago. The leather sleeve, embossed with a tomahawk(!!) logo more than the tool itself, is what suggests its age to me, but really it could've been made any time after the war and before the late 80s, approximately when Mr Brunner retired.
Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.
