For a little over a year I’ve been adding a weekly spread to this ginormous sketchbook. This is what’s happened…
Here is the latest flip through of my Book of Days 🙂
find out all about the project here
The next flip through will exclusively preview to my newsletter subscribers.
Sign up below if you haven’t already 🙂
For a little over a year I’ve been adding a weekly spread to this ginormous sketchbook.
Because of the ginormity of this book (600 pages!) it’s going to span the course of a few years to come, and I’m excited about that. To see what appears in these pages is as much of a surprise to me as it is anyone else.
You can see a flip through of the first pages and a second update from early 2021 here on my youtube channel
Since then more creatures and people have shown up on the pages.
They populate the spaces in between the thought scribbles, color swatches and the occasional off-cuts of the projects that happen along the way.
The latest flip through catches us up with from January to July of this year, it’s exclusively previewing this weekend to my newsletter subscribers.
Sign up below if you haven’t already 🙂
We’ve all agreed that time isn’t real, right? because I’m fully embracing that in my reality now.
All that to say, World Collage Day was in May. I posted some photos of my collages in June, I’m writing this in July August, and you could be reading it any time after I hit publish 😉
In my world, I’m somewhere in Collage Season.
Step one: make space on the floor, spread out all the bits so see what you have to play with.
Starting out with a bundle of collage images – mostly cut out from magazines and book pages + a few abstract patterned papers – kindly supplied by the Arizona Collage Collective + some from my own collection, I began with some swapping of heads.
Gradually these newly imagined characters formed together in groups, in turn finding their home in the pages of my Book of Days
I’ll be posting a flip through of the latest pages in this book where you can see this, and the rest of the collages. For an exclusive preview you’ll need to get my next newsletter.
I’ve been taking a few online classes lately. Exploring areas I already feel comfortable – mixed media, collage, watercolours – and adding to my range with the help of some fabulous teachers.
What I was not expecting from this, is how it’s encouraged me to revisit some older pieces that I’d got stuck with.
To find out more – catch my newsletter out today
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I filled the pages of this little book with 100 tiny paintings…
As I write, this little book is somewhere between here and Brooklyn awaiting scanning, processing and being homed on the library shelves.
Meanwhile, you can visit my tiny gallery, page by page from the comfort of your screen, right here 🙂
If you’d like to read more about how this came about, I wrote more about it here.
See videos like these before anyone else by joining up for almost regular monthly updates by email.
If you follow my Instagrammings, you’ll have seen some cryptic posts about my *secret project*. It’s time to let the cat out of the bag…
This year’s entry to the Brooklyn Art Library’s sketchbook project is a little different.
During the COVID lockdowns one thing I’ve really missed is visiting art exhibitions and galleries, soaking up the inspiration, being surrounded by likeminded people.
So to mark this very strange part of history I’ve used painted papers and screen prints from my studio to create a tiny gallery of tiny paintings in the pages of this book.
I began by cutting small pieces from the papers I chose and developing the shapes and colours I had as a starting point to make each individual tiny painting.
They range in size between less than an inch to maybe 3 inches at the largest.
Naturally, the journey from start to finish took a few diversions on the way.
I considered stitching them into patchworked pages.
I like the effect of doing this, but went back to the ‘gallery’ idea. I’ll circle around to this idea another time.
Then my thoughts wandered to mandalas.
Could I make 100 tiny mandalas? …yes I could, but the deadline was looming so this is another idea on hold for another time. Meanwhile the ones I made are finding a home in my sketchbook for now.
Eventually I settled back on the original idea, and I just got it all done in time to mail it off to Brooklyn.
It will be part of the permanent collection after it’s arrived and been scanned, so you’ll be able to view it in real life or in their digitized library soon.
Meanwhile, if you’d like to watch a flip through with close ups of these weeny little pictures, be sure to catch my newsletter later this week.
Swept up in all that new year – new decade – new beginnings energy I suddenly got it in my head to begin a new blog.
My colorful adventures are moving to Mixy.Art.Blog
Do come on over, we’ve got another TWELVTY going on 😉
Swept up in all that new year – new decade – new beginnings energy (and even a new moon today) I suddenly got it in my head to begin a new blog.
As you good folks who’ve been with me since the early days know, Ephemeral Gecko began as a place I documented my early mixed media experiments. I never expected anyone to read it, let alone follow along with me over these last eight (crikey!) years.
For a start, would I have chosen such a peculiar name?
(maybe I would)
Anyhoozles.
Having meandered to where I am now, I’m ready to be more purposeful in my online voice. I’m in no rush to remove or delete anything over here, but will be retiring this site.
So join me, will you —
My colorful adventures are moving to Mixy.Art.Blog
This is where I’ll be sharing all my makings and doings in my colorful world.
Beginning with a new year full of color.
YES! TWELVTY is back!!
This year I’m not running it as a formal course, but as an open invitation to anyone who would like to play along. No cost, no commitment – the more the merrier – so do spread the word!
If you get my newsletter you’ll have already seen the TWELVTY Guide (and if you join up here you can get it delivered straight to your inbox now!)
I look forward to seeing you over at Mixy.Art.Blog where our colorful adventures continue!
These are the pages that have been brightening up my long dark days of winter. As we’ve reached the shortest day I’m calling this project finished and ready to move on to all that comes next. I can’t tell you how much fun I had with this book.
This is my 3rd year of taking part in The Sketchbook Project.
(You can see my previous books here & here)
I fill these pages in the spare bits of time in between other things, so they become a visual stream of consciousness, garnished with bits of stuff, collaged scraps of whatever’s on my desk, they come to represent a snapshot of the season’s projects and ideas.
I scribble down words I hear in song lyrics, audio books and podcasts, there are phrases and words snipped from magazines, landing together to create found poetry and serendipitous sentences.
Faces emerge from the blobs of color, the torn paper shapes and the negative space in between.
It’s weird, it shouldn’t work, but it all seems to come together in a way I never could have predicted.
I can’t tell you how much fun I had with this book.
These are the pages that have been brightening up my long dark days of winter. As we’ve reached the shortest day I’m calling this project finished and ready to move on to all that comes next.
I’ll be sharing a full flip through video + a SPECIAL HOLIDAY GIFT that this book inspired with all the lovely peeps who get my newsletter this weekend.
Sign up here if you haven’t already done so (and then do check your spam hole cos sometimes the good stuff gets swept up into there by mistake)
if you’re planning to get any gifts from the Etsy store Made by Mixy, please don’t leave it to the last minute, the postal elves are scurrying as fast as they can 😉
Dear Santa,
if you’re planning to get any gifts from the Etsy store Made by Mixy, please don’t leave it to the last minute, the postal elves are scurrying as fast as they can 😉
For shopping on behalf of folks from any of these places, these are the last chance mailing dates from the UK:
Monday, December 9 for Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Far and Middle East
Wednesday, December 11 for Eastern Europe
Thursday, December 12 for Australia and New Zealand
Saturday, December 14 for Canada and USA
Monday, December 16 for most of Europe
Wednesday, December 18 for UK & Ireland
You’ll get a confirmation email when you sign up (check you junk mail folder – cos sometimes the good stuff gets swept away by mistake).
I’ll pop into your inbox about once a month with news on what I’m up to in my colorful little corner of the universe and what’s been inspiring me.
How many ways can one simple patterns look so many kinds of different in different media, in contrast and colors, in scale and size?
A pattern is defined as the repeated or regular way in which something is done.
An arrangement of lines or shapes,
a design in which the same shape is repeated
at regular internals over a surface.
A pattern is an arrangement of form,
of natural or chance configurations,
a regularity in the world,
in human made design
or in abstract ideas.
Our psyches are plumbed in such a way to seek out and construct patterns.
We organise and categorise our ways into behavior patterns.
Patterns are as much about the arrangement of the component parts as they are the parts – the shape of the space in between.
I was quite entranced by these thoughts on holiday recently.
I had this little sketchbook and just a few colors. As I noticed the repeating patterns around me I began to play, when I got home I continued to fill up this little book with more variations.
I explored a similar idea before, but now I want to carry it on further – with simpler forms – maybe a circle or a square – maybe in just one color – just to see what’s possible.
If you’d like to see more ideas like this and find out what’s been inspiring me, sign up for my monthly studio musings newsletter here.
You’ll get a confirmation email when you sign up (check you junk mail folder – cos sometimes the good stuff gets swept away by mistake).
I’ll pop into your inbox about once a month with news on what I’m up to in my colorful little corner of the universe and what’s been inspiring me.
Mixy's Art Blog 