Victoria Bolton's Studio

Mr. Liu's Great Idea

2010-03-10T08:40:00.001-05:00

I'm tutoring a man from Taiwan who gave me an idea. He described a soup he made of Chinese cabbage, pieces of pork ribs, tofu, fresh mushrooms and chicken soup powder. He made his soup for supper, but he told me it makes a good breakfast, too. I'm a terrible cook, but I made a version of it; and it was my breakfast today.
I used escarole, a few small pieces of Polish sausage, habichuelas rojas (red beans), vegetable soup base, and a packet of sazon con azafran. I put it in a big pot, boiled it up, and it was (surprise!) good. So, I had an Italian vegetable, Polish and Puerto Rican protein, and American soup base. A United Nations meal! Thank you, Mr. Liu!

Happy Birthday, Joe!

2010-03-09T11:19:00.001-05:00

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Happy Birthday, Joe!

My friend, Myra, likes fish.

2010-02-21T13:30:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, I went to FTDP (Finish the D@#% Project), where Myra was busily paper-piecing a school of fish. She used all batik fabrics, and people were coming in from the store to check out her work.

Aren't they adorable?

Have you tried...

2010-02-19T14:24:00.000-05:00

Derwent Inktense water soluble ink pencils? They don't dry back (dry lighter) the way other watercolors and watercolor pencils do. They're permanent when dry. I'm trying them, and liking them a lot. Here's a link for more information.

No street names in Japan

2010-02-18T19:03:00.001-05:00

Here's an interesting and very short video that makes me want to stand on my head to improve the bloodflow to my brain!

And, more journal pages from ROD #2

2010-02-17T00:10:00.001-05:00

I used parts of a Sara Midda calendar (it felt like sacrilege to tear that thing up). The espadrilles on the above page spread are from her book: Sara Midda's South of France. She lived and painted for a year there. It's one of my favorite art books.

The word 'sing' was masked with tape, then the black fabric was painted with metallic acrylic paints.

More Sara Midda, and 500 rubles. Wonder what that's really worth.

Yes, I know. Too much Mona. But I like Mona. A lot!

A new painting

2010-02-16T23:30:00.000-05:00

My friend, Sari Gaby, had a lovely show where I obtained this new work of hers. Her official website is here.

Journalcat

2010-02-16T17:44:00.001-05:00

Journalcat, originally uploaded by CaptElaine.

I'm reposting this with thanks to LOLcats and JournalArtista. In defense of art journalers everywhere, I reiterate: There Are NO Rules!

More and more pages

2010-02-10T15:40:00.000-05:00

More pages, ready to fill

2010-02-09T16:34:00.002-05:00

Here is a link to my Flikr photos, if you want to see all the pages, plus some other stuff.

Blank pages from Remain of the Day journal #2

2010-02-08T20:34:00.000-05:00

These pages are sewn into the cover and ready for collage-style journaling.

I am striving for balance...

2010-01-31T13:04:00.000-05:00

...but I just had to do a journal page.

A new journal cover, thanks to Mary Ann Moss!

2010-01-30T21:51:00.000-05:00

Mary Ann's Remains of the Day journals, are a lot of fun to make. I went out to the studio intending to clean up the scraps and effluvia from the making of the first ROD journal, but...the scraps jumped over to the sewing machine, and look what happened.

This is the outside of the cover.

Inside cover.

The back, closed.

Front cover, tied closed.

Yeah, I know I don't have time for stuff like this right now, but I did about 7 hours of schoolwork today, don't I deserve some fun?

Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

2010-01-29T13:50:00.000-05:00

My friend Rachel is working on this little tiny bead embroidery...

2010-01-27T21:22:00.000-05:00

She started with the interesting inlaid mother-of-pearl piece, and it has taken on a life of its own. I love the way she's blended the black/gray and purple/red. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Messing about. Not studying.

2010-01-21T14:38:00.000-05:00

Colored pencils and watercolors are still my favorites. I finished my paper, so I gave myself permission to do the rest of the reading, LATER!

The last hurrah

2010-01-12T14:38:00.000-05:00

So, I'm going to my first class of the semester, tonight at 7pm, and I have a feeling this will be the last bead project for a while. Boo hoo. I revised the aqua blue bracelet and made it narrower, with a bead embroidered button for a toggle.

I should not be allowed to sew after 10pm

2010-01-11T14:11:00.000-05:00

I was inspired by Mary Ann Moss and her Remains of the Day journals. She uses recycled paper and fabric of all kinds, and mixes it all up together. This process appealed to the recovering perfectionist in me, so last night I went into Guerrilla-Sewing-Mode. No Rules, no Thinking, Just Do It. It was a blast, but I really should not sew after 10pm. I brilliantly sewed the snap to the wrong side of the cover. Then, sewed it into the right position on the book, but upside down so it wouldn't snap. Then, I sewed it on and cleverly sewed the book shut at the same time. I am now the Queen of Unsewing.

This is the outside cover, all scraps, with fast messy free-motion stitching.

I started gluing and sewing things in it, and lots of the recycled papers that form the pages already have words and pictures. (This is why I've been saving all that stuff!)(Eureka!)

Guerrilla stitching, and a scrap of a colored pencil drawing I did in the last century. New motto: If it's loose, sew it down.

Attitudinal label covering the messy (but liberating) snap stitching. I start school tomorrow. I'm going to miss all the playtime I've had over the last month.

He knows he looks good

2010-01-07T19:11:00.000-05:00

Buddy is such a poser. He sits where he knows he'll get the best photo op. This quilt pattern is called Java Twist. I did two versions of it for Quilts of Valor. (They got washed before sending!) I now work in the cat-free studio.

It's still snowing, and I'm quietly stitching away

2010-01-05T20:19:00.000-05:00

I'm ever so proud of myself for learning peyote stitch (gourd stitch). Been meaning to try this for awhile, but I guess I just had to wait for the right snowstorm. This is the newest bracelet. It's quite gaudy and bright.

What's on your desk?

2010-01-04T09:40:00.000-05:00

What do you do when you're snowed in?

2010-01-04T09:31:00.002-05:00

We're not really stuck, but it has been snowing for 3 days nonstop. I learned some new bead stitches, took some pictures, and said a big thank you to the snowblower man.

The weather outside is bleak, but we're warm as a curled up cat.

2010-01-02T13:33:00.001-05:00

Holly says Happy New Year to All!

It's the last day of the year, I'm planning on greeting 2010 while quilting in the studio.

2009-12-31T15:16:00.000-05:00

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Here's an Animoto for Molly!

2009-12-30T17:36:00.000-05:00