Yucca: Armatures, Protos, Colors

2017/07/092017/07/1016 Comments

deskmess_070917

It’s end of day, for now. Made some progress with the yucca exploration.

tearing_paper

I began with tearing brown paper into thin strips.

wrapping

And wrapping multiple layers over florist wire to build up a convincing yucca stalk-and-stem armature.

color01

Yucca species are varied in color, though not as much as succulents, perhaps. In miniatures, I ascribe less to slavish reproduction and more to evocation of spirit :) Starting with white cardstock for this one, each leaf end gets tipped with Winsor & Newton Promarker Sunflower and Amber, both sides.

color02

Broad strokes of Pear Green color each leaf.

color03

Both sides colored. The inks blend as they build up and mellow as they dry.

color04

Thin cross-leaf striping, in Moss.

color_05

More cross-striping on the ends with Amber, and surprise leaf tipping in Poppy.

gluing_yucca

I snipped through the lower edge, applied a thin line of glue, and began rolling the leaves up into a cluster.

mor_glue

Adding a generous dab of glue to the rolled end to ensure a well-bonded base.

let_dry

Inverted in a cup of fine gravel, I let the leaf clusters dry completely. This makes arranging and styling easier — and more robust — later on.

gluing_on_tops

Clipping the end of each armature branch with pliers creates a flat surface on which to glue a leaf cluster. Holding until set ensures uprightyness :)

glue_to_armature

Watching glue dry. Again.

add_more

I added two more trunks, wrapping everything together at the base.

apply_glue_wraps

To improve the transition from leaves to trunk, I cut sections of 7 or 8 leaves and applied glue.

all_joins_wrapped

I wrapped these just below the base of the leaf/trunk join.

all_joins_wrapped

All trunks wrapped with leaves, and drying. I’m awaiting a larger cylinder pot to plant this particular specimen in, before unfurling and styling the leaves — the really satisfying part.

yucca_protos3

I’m fairly happy with the appearance and versatility of this plant concept thus far. They work well on an armature, date pit stem, or just as foliage — and any combination thereof. I even think this pattern and method could work for Sansevieria, with the right colors and a little bit of shaping.

green_stock

The next step is to explore and evaluate color stock choices, which brings us back to the first photo in this post. Above is medium green cardstock (cut with a dulling blade, resulting in torn, dragged edges and general scuzz. This particular design cut really seems to blunt a blade fast :(

This green leaf set is colored with Holly swashes and edging, and a subtle Leaf Green vertical stripe. Very different than coloring on white. Each stock seems to absorb the inks differently, as well. I’ll show some side-by-side color comparisons next time.

Yucca

2017/07/042017/07/0518 Comments

yucca_proto_00

New project: yuccas. The trunk is cut from an organic Medjool date pit :)

yucca_proto_parts I’ve been thinking about yuccas for a while. They’re such an iconic houseplant, and here in California, many varieties grow in the landscape. Above is the design process: free form shapes cut in paper, then drawn in Illustrator and cut from cardstock with a Cricut Explore Air 2. I’ve got pretty good working models, which will be refined as I build and rebuild. Still a long way to go with colors and details.

yucca_protos

This is an armature from a succulent I had at the ready, and I learned a lot from messing with it as a yucca plant. There are characteristics of the tree-form varieties that will translate well in torn paper-wrapped wire. And Braxton Payne’s exquisite pottery makes for perfect containers.

braxtonpayne_fireplace

(Speaking of Braxton Payne, I just saw he’s making a Southwestern-style beehive fireplace… which I think must replace the Scandinavian-style one currently in use on the MMS+S set.)

yucca_proto_02

Yucca Proto_01 on a Peter Tucker bench. Much as I love terracotta, I think I’ll glaze this pot matte black to match the black sand. And then switch to lighter color sand for future specimens. Imagine this plant much taller and more gracefully limbed. Getting back to work now.

Sealed With A Fish

2017/07/019 Comments

swaf_01_5x4

I’ve been enjoying making fish sketchbooks, and have finally come up with packaging I like. They’re individually packaged in a cotton fiber vellum folio, and sealed with a fish.

SWAF_contents_5x4

There will also be a kit of three blank fish sketchbooks, with some bonus printed fishes for you to play around with.

swaf_kit_contents_5x4

I have a little more photography to do, then look for them tomorrow in the shop!

Fish, Scarlett, Ruby

2017/06/242017/06/2517 Comments

1_fish_sketchbook

I have made a new variation of the sketchbook.

3covers_enpaper

Three different covers. Endpapers are cut from one of Recollections “Black Jack” papers. Book pages cut from a nice substantial Southworth paper I’ve had for maybe… *thinks back to the last time we may have actually printed out a résumé* … a really long time. I drew the fish a few years ago when I was dabbling in surface pattern design. So we meet again, eh, fish?

ephemera_pocket

Of course an ephemera pocket.

living_roof_062417

I have been gone a lot lately from my home, and Scarlett especially was not stoked. There was some regressive behavior and acting out.

living_roof2

I was reminded, though, of how much I liked the Sea House Warming Hut living roof, and how much I miss having a current build. But then I remembered the fate of the Argo Wool Works…

sigh_062417

… and sighed. Thus far, the room box that houses the set for Modern Miniature Succulents + Sundries is unravaged, cunningly set atop a bookcase, so that will have to continue to suffice for my construction longings. Scarlett is a year old now — a small cat in stature forever! — and although her depredations have diminished considerably, I am reluctant to reengage with my nemesis.

Maddie_Ruby_062417

The reason for my absence is shown above, in this picture taken by my daughter, of her daughters. Here is four-year-old Maddie reacting to the sounds of her 10-day-old sister, Ruby. We are all so in love.

DeskMess

2017/05/157 Comments

deskmess0

I have long been a fan of Cavallini & Co. paper products, especially their vintage maps and posters.

I used their map of San Francisco on the underside of the Sea House Pavilion roof.

inside_roof

sleep

And their vintage map of Italy on the back wall of Loft 1961, my first ever miniature build.

Cavallini & Co. print on beautiful cream-colored Italian paper of a substantial, but not too heavy, weight. I finally found a retail source, Two Hands Paperie, that carries *all* of their posters — at the best pricing! — and invested in a supply of lovely vintage city and country maps.

deskmess1

Because we all need vertical file holders to tidy our bookshelves, and journals, folios and file folders made from perfectly-scaled vintage maps of favorite places: London, Berlin, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Rome, Paris.

1done1_4x5

Vertical file with file folders. (London pictured.)

all3done3-4x5

The vertical files hold three sketchbooks or travel journals, as well as file folders and the new Vintage Map Journals with jaunty red bookmarks. The files are the same size as the solid-color Office Essentials vertical files, although of a different construction. The vertical files can also house the new Vintage Map Folios that hold fine cream-colored stationery or map file folders. The folios can also act as a slip case for a sketchbook or journal. It’s an elegant system designed to organize the shambles of your miniature office. Look for them real soon over at MMS+S.

Alcatraz Afternoon

2017/05/092017/05/104 Comments

alcatraz_model

There’s a 1:87 scale model of Alcatraz Island at Pier 33. (You can get a good overview of the model in this video made by Family Travel Fun.) The guard tower in the dock area was especially well done.

light

Poking around the island and its buildings is a compelling and visceral history lesson. This trip I became interested in the textures of decay. Here is a light on the Electrical Repair Shop, just past the Guardhouse and Sally Port.

OFF_OFF

An interior light switch in the New Industries Building.

paint

A map of peeling paint on a cement support column.

pipe

Overseen by pipes, velveted in rust.

sheet

There was a new art installation in the New Industries Building, but I found this partial view more interesting.

sink

A busted sink and commode. And pipes.

sink3

Closer to the sink. It looks friendly.

post_exchange

Looking north towards Marin, the remains of the Post Exchange, built in 1910, as a general store for soldiers and their families. (When Alcatraz became a federal prison in 1934, the PX was converted into a recreation hall and officer’s club, with a dance floor, gymnasium, two-lane bowling alley and soda fountain.) It was destroyed in a fire in 1970.

The quotation on May’s welcome page, “New ideas need old buildings” is from Jane Jacobs.

Anthers, Easter, Stormy, Bunka, Scarlett

2017/04/172017/04/1813 Comments

tiny_succulent_flowers

The buds on the recently-noted succulent flower open out into pretty minimalist flowers, but look at all those tiny anthers! Nothing says Spring like pollen :)

easter

Of course, tiny Easter baskets. Undelivered because of a sudden plague at granddaughter’s house (resolved now).

stormy_cats

My husband was biz traveling for a long week, and we’re all very glad to have him back.

bunka_041717

I scored a one-gallon ziplock bag stuffed full of gorgeous, pristine (though moderately tangled) bunka for $5 at one of our local thrift stores. I’m not entirely sure of the implications. The colors are spectacular, and it untangles surprisingly easily. Fascinating stuff.

one_leg_041717

At ten months old, Scarlett has mellowed considerably. She spends a lot of time outside exploring and “helping” me garden, and is still incredibly ~~needy~~ demonstrative with her affections and vocal interactions. I texted this pic to my daughter today with the caption, “So sad. My cat only has one leg.”

Sensational Travel Journals

2017/04/132017/04/1312 Comments

Oscar Wilde wrote, “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read on the train.”

stormy_traveljournal_full

In that spirit, the OE Travel Journals kits are available over at MMS+S. There are two kit options listed, and one secret option at hand. The two listed options are for three blank journals, or one road atlas and two blank journals. I’ve made a video of the secret option:

YES. It is a secret gatefold pages option for both the sketchbooks and the travel journals. They work well with the single pages and maps, and are fun besides. Just add a note when ordering and I’ll include as many as you like with your kit/s, until I’m able to list them properly. Though they won’t be secret anymore, they’ll still be fun.

Production notes: If you like quiet page-turning fx, turn your sound on. The alarming bandage: I bashed my poor knuckle on a ~~boulder~~ rock emptying a cement bird bath. I tried to keep it out of the frame, but it’s like it has a mind of its own.

Maps Variation

2017/04/0817 Comments

maps_all

Like many others, I love pretty much everything about maps, for many reasons and in many ways. Soon after I finished the first round of sketchbooks, I thought about the iconic appeal of a road atlas, and built a few from an old spiral-bound Michelin North America volume I had on hand.

I experimented with covers and endpapers until arriving at this version of the classic sketchbook.

maps_cover

With a road map cover over mint green cardstock.

maps_endpapers

Graphically chosen road map endpapers bound to the blank cream pages.

maps_sketchbook_endpaper

And all those invitational blank pages, awaiting your expression.

I *wish* I had thought of this option before I listed the sketchbook kits over at MMS+S; I like it that much, and will be adding it to the shop. For those of you who have already ordered sketchbook kits — thank you! — please message me if maps appeal and I’ll send you the components to add to your kits. Then we’ll all be happy and mappy!

Sketchbooks Listed, Echeveria Eyecandy

2017/04/072017/04/078 Comments

sketchbook_kit_contents

The sketchbooks are kitted and listed! Each kit makes three books. The pages are cream-colored and acid-free :) You have a choice of cover colors: black, Warm (orange, yellow and gray) or kraft. I went detailed on the instructions, and introduce a good vocabulary word: bifolium (singular); bifolia (plural).

warm_sketchbooks

Here are three sketchbooks in Warm, before their bookmarks get trimmed.

I was shuffling around outside, pulling weeds between storms, and noticed this leggy echeveria on the shadier side of the yard is working on a flower display.

echeveria