2013 Sketchbook Project - tea bags

Thought I'd give you a peak at the what has been happening with My Morning Tea aka my sketchbook for the current Sketchbook Project.

Thanks are owed to Fiona for mentioning once upon a time that it is possible to print on tea bags and to Pam for sharing the tip about ironing the bags to freezer paper. Both tips worked wonderfully this morning...and, of course, have left me with a stack of what ifs.

In the studio - now

Did you hear it yesterday morning? A sigh followed by a tiny giggle which was quickly followed by a happy woohoo!? Around 7:20 am NYC time? Yes? That was me...about 2 minutes after the little urchins boarded the bus for their first day of kindergarten. And after they were out of sight and earshot, of course.

My day was spent organizing and clearing the studio and

 beginning to unearth my work table.

 Time was taken to admire the light and shadows.

 I looked at the most recent tea bags

 while considering how to use them

 in my art.

Now...

In the studio...soon

I am eagerly awaiting August 29. Care to hazard a guess as to why?

As you can tell from the picture of my work table, not too much art making has been happening in the studio this month. August has been filled with little girls and little girl stuff. By the end of the day, my brain has been too frazzled to do much more than stare at the tv or pretend to read a book or play mindless games on my iPad. If anything - emails, art, phone calls, etc. - has required more than sound bite time, well...it just hasn't gotten done.  My apologies to those to whom communications are due...they will come soon.

So...have you figured out what happens on Wednesday? I'll give you a hint.

August 29th = more studio time

Got it now? August 29 is the first day of school in our town. The little urchins are 5 and that means...a drum roll, please....KINDERGARTEN!!!! ALL DAY KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

Can you tell I'm the least bit excited by this? Horrible mother, right? 

Back to sound bites - it's not entirely true to say that no art type activities have taken place in the studio this month. Rather nothing requiring a lot of focused time. The second book of tea has been started. Care for a sneak peak?

The wrapped white stones are not part of the book. Sorry to disappoint. They are a gift from Fiona and are wrapped with threads from Habu. Their placement on the tea and rust dyed pages seemed natural this morning and have produced a few what if's. Fitting. Thank you Fiona for such a lovely gift!

Remember, if you think you hear either far off maniacal laughter or one huge sigh of contentment around 7:30 am NYC time Wednesday, it's likely to be me after the little urchins have boarded the school bus as I stroll back into the studio for a bit of quality time. 

Searching for Roy G Biv - They've got green

Boston definitely has green.

That's where we've been for the past few days. Exploring Boston, feeding the ducks, riding in the swan boats, going to the aquarium and the most magnificent children's museum I've ever seen. Oh! To be 5 again and be able to play in that place.

Do you know who else has green? Julie has Maine greens. Fiona favored us with a bit of green to ponder. Lisa posted the most wondrous greens...my favorites are the patinas. But it was Ersi who stole the show!

September's search for Roy will have us all in a blue mood...or in the mood for the blues...or the Moody Blues...or...

What sort of blues will you have, I wonder?

Searching for Roy G Biv - Green

My search for green started

during our monsoon season.

It led me to see the beauty at the heart of bok choy

and to be fascinated by the sunlight

shining through translucent tiles.

 London's colorful office building caught my eye

as did the simple architecture with moss growing.

Back home, this little guy won my attention at the toy store.

We've played a lot Sorry lately...the girls have been trouncing me,

I'm sorry to admit. 

 Last Saturday's jaunt to NYC had me searching for green

and finding it on buildings,

 at Purl Soho

and ended over desert with Deb.

Have you got green?

Serendipity

 Saturday morning found me

waiting to catch the train

to New York City to do a bit of exploring.

My first new find was Treasure and Bond

which features New York artists and

 has an admirable philosophy regarding profits.

Not to mention 2 wonderful ampersands 

in the store's name in the front window.

So...I wandered and roamed the streets of Tribeca using what seems to be an outdated list of stores printed from the internet all the while waiting for a phone call from a friend.

You see, I posted Off to NYC this morning to explore Tribeca on my Facebook artist page early Saturday morning and received this comment from my good friend Deb in DC. 

No shit. Really? I'll call you when I get there. Don't know today's schedule yet.

We were posting simultaneously so the messages went back and forth fast and furious. Deb is a member of Batala Washington, an all woman percussion group that performs at various events including the Dominican Day parade in NYC this past weekend. Usually, after taking the bus up to NY, the group does guerilla performances across the city before taking part in a parade on Sunday. 

The serendipity fates-that-be were smiling on us both on Saturday. Batala Washington had a rare Saturday afternoon free, I was on my way into NYC and we both were on Facebook before leaving for our journeys.

photo by Deb Jansen

[I'm the short one in case you're wondering.]

We enjoyed a few precious hours together, wandering the streets and exploring shops well above the Metropolitan Museum, chatting all the while to catch up with our lives. All too soon, it was time to part ways.

Being that I was 50+ blocks away from Grand Central Station, a taxi was hailed...but halted when black and red and white polka dots were sighted, but that's for another post.

The big 3-0-0 celebration winner

You know the saying the early bird gets the worm? 

The version used at our house was this morning was

the first twin up gets to pick the winner. 

I'm thrilled to announce that Ellie drew 

Judy Martin of Judy's Journal. 

I want to say a most heartfelt Thank You to all who were interested in winning my book of tea. The number of you who threw your name into the hat...glass bowl in this case made by Ruth Gowell...represented 7 countries - France joined the list Tuesday afternoon - and has me considering another give away in January to celebrate 3 years of blogging. Anyone interested?

A quick reminder that the search for Roy G Biv continues next Thursday with green.

Just couldn't resist taking a shot of this ampersand while out with the girls yesterday. It brought to mind Fiona's post about and.

Enjoy!

The big 3-0-0 celebration give away reminder

Just a quick reminder that the deadline for submitting your name for a chance at winning my book of tea is right around the corner...5 am New York City time Thursday morning in fact.

Your response and messages have been overwhelming. And it's so wonderful to hear from followers who normally are silent watchers. Please feel free to comment more often!

Another treat has been keeping track of the countries represented...Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom as well the United States. I wonder where the book's journey will take it.

If my book of tea is calling to you and you've yet to throw your name in the hat, just leave a message on this post or on the original post [click here to go there]. Good luck!

2013 Sketchbook Project - August 5 tea bag

Helen over at This Crafting Life was curious what the tea bag from yesterday would look like when dried. Thankfully, I wasn't all thumbs when opening and emptying it this morning so the bag is nicely in one piece.

Not bad, huh?

Sketchbook Project 2013 - August 5

Just had to share the second spread with you.

This morning's tea was Lipton decaf with fresh mint.

The tea bag was moved after 30 minutes or so, hence the wider coverage. 

Sketchbook Project 2013

Art House Co-op sponsors some wonderfully imaginative projects. The best known is probably The Sketchbook Project. I participated in the 2011 version and even signed up for 2012. Sadly, that sketchbook is languishing away somewhere in the studio. I really should unearth it one of these days, don't you think?

Last week, while putting the finishing touches on my book of tea, the proverbial light bulb came on over my head. An idea for the 2013 Sketchbook Project had flashed into being. Listening to my muse, I quickly signed up.

 When I opened the mailbox yesterday, there it was.

  Memoir is my chosen theme.

My Morning Tea will be the title.

Thank you to all who have left a comment about my book of tea! I'm honored beyond words that you would want to own it. 

*If you just read those two lines and have no idea what I'm talking about, wander over to yesterday's offering celebrating my 300th blog post.