Last month we were talking about daily practices. I just wanted to let you know that, although it's not an art practice, I'm managing to keep better organized!

Mary sent me in this information about an exhibit in Vancouver which well illustrated someone who has made a daily practice. She writes:

There is an exhibit in the Moat Gallery (here in the Central Library) called a Visual Year by a young photographer Roth Foster Hall. He took a photograph of himself every day of 2001 -- different backgrounds, but always just him (or him and his dog) and no people. Quite a project!

Has anyone else had any luck with daily practices? They don't have to be *big* practices....

Alphabet Tag Swap

The Alphabet Tag are starting to pour in.... um, trickle in! I've given the players an extra few days as I'll be out of town for a bit. The tags so far are wonderful! The artists are from a variety of backgrounds and passions which makes them very interesting indeed. My plan is to share a few with you every month. The two I'm starting with are chosen 1) because I have them in hand and 2) because there are few or no fibres (and I still have that scanner that dislikes bumps - but am in the process of getting a new one). The tags shown this month are a preview, as the tags haven't even been swapped out yet! You have to guess which letters each person did....

Christiane Lenz

Last month I inadvertently broached the subject of 'zines by talking about ARTitude. Each 'zine has its own character and mood. This month I'd like to tell you about my favourite 'zine and online group,

Belle Papier is a group of like-minded women lead by our fearless leader, Lloydene Cook, lover of all things of French inclination. Now, I have mentioned Lloydene before, she re-scripted the Artist-Self article in October's byhand. I first encountered her on the Artist's Journal egroup and always watched her posts with interest. One day she announced she was starting another egroup named after her publication, Belle Papier. I joined. There was no way this person was going to get away!

Each day Lloydene posts a quote or prompt or creative challenge. She is incredibly well read and writes some wonderful poetry.. I ordered my first copy of Belle Papier: a Collage of Art, Words & Whimsy, and was delighted and surprised by the creative content and enclosures. It was then I realized Lloydene had a partner in the publication: Lloydene is the editor of the Word & Whimsy and Ava Uy is the editor of Snippets & Enclosures. There are all sorts of cool things stuck in these issues; adorable handmade envelopes filled with sprinkles, Victorian clipart and quotations, hand-decorated pages, samples of paste paper, and I could go on and on. Often members bring back little goodies from their trips overseas to include in the 150 copies of each issue which are made.

The yahoo website is host to the Salon, where we gather to share experiences, propose art swaps, and fly off on flights of fancy (we have a salon gnome, you know). I have shared artwork in swaps of imaginary passports, decorated tickets, a decorated cookbook, artist's stamps, collaborative journals, creative symbols, home town pages and poisson d'avril (or April Fool's Day) just to name a few.

All the women in this group are creative and talented, women who suffer similar problems - one of which is the attacks of that nasty inner critic. There are writers here that give you goose bumps with their magical word weaving and stories that bring tears to your eyes. There are artist's who you admire, who inspire you and make you want to do better.

Click here to check out the Belle Papier website, lovingly created by one member. At the moment the group is full at about 200 salon sisters, but perhaps, if you are interested you could email Lloydene and ask to be on the waiting list. You may also ask her about acquiring copies of the 'zine.

You will find Belle Papier and her swaps featured in the next issue of Somerset Studio. Belle Papier is truly a labour of love for both Lloydene and Ava, who, by the way, have never met.......

Studio Tips

If you have a collection of bottled inks and paints, try scrounging around at yard sales for spice racks. It's a perfect way to display what you have and keep them handy to get at. Just make sure the rack is deep enough to hold your bottles!

I'd be delighted to receive your favourite tips for inclusion here - we can all learn from them and probably save someone - like me - frustrations!

If you wish to contact me, my email address is: suzanne@quietfiredesign.com

To subscribe: send me an email saying 'subscribe'!
To unsubscribe: send me an email saying 'unsubscribe'.
To change your email address: send me an email with both your new and old address. Thanks!

Notes
Please feel free to browse through my website Quietfire Design. There is no link from my website to this newsletter. I suggest that you bookmark the index page of this newsletter, so you can return here at any time.

for your amusement
Spell Checker Poem

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

Sauce unknown (Buy four now!)

Some samples of lettering I have done for Belle Papier....

A Book For You to Make

Over the past few weeks, I have come across artists asking if anyone has bound watercolour paper into books. I have seen watercolour paper sold in blocks and in coil-bound books, but not in bound books, either stab-bound or in signatures. My experience with watercolour paper is that it cracks when folded repeatedly and breaks at the fold.

So, how to bind such a book? Well, during this same time frame I was thinking of a way to display some wonderful postcards I have received. Here is the binding that I did for those postcards. It would also work as a binding for watercolour pages...

If you would like a printable copy of the instructions for this book, please click here. And please let me know if you have any suggestions for binding watercolour paper into books!

Let me know if you have trouble with the instructions - like there's a step missing... In general, I do my instructions to support my classes, not as stand-alone directions!

Alphabet Tag Swap

Marion Dodds

Gentle Thoughts

Teaching Schedule
Winter and Spring

To get more details go to my website Calendar of Events page. Use the back button on your browser to return here.

Jan 26  Victoria Coptic Stitched Journal  Private Class. Full
Jan 27  Victoria Coptic Stitched Journal  Private Class. Full

Feb 2  Burnaby  Instant Letters  Burnaby Community Ed
Feb 3  Surrey  Instant Letters  Private Class.

starting Feb 6  Port Alberni  Beginning Calligraphy and Continuing Calligraphy for Parks and Recreation. Six week class. Tuesday evenings 7 - 9 p.m. To register please call (250) 723-2181 after January 3, 2002.

Feb 9  Port Alberni  Instant Letters  Parks and Recreation

Feb 16  Courtenay Beginning Calligraphy  North Island College

Mar 2  Port Alberni  Charmers  Parks and Recreation

Mar 9  Burnaby  Artist’s Journal in a Day  Burnaby Comm. Ed.
Mar 10 Surrey Coptic Stitched Journal Private Class. (new)

April 6  Victoria  Artist’s Journal in a Day  Fairbank Callig.Soc
April 7 Victoria Over and Under the Covers Private Class

April 13  Courtenay  Instant Letters  North Island College

April 20 Victoria Instant Letters Shoreline Community School
April 21 Victoria Over and Under the Covers Private Class (new)

May 4  Port Alberni Spring Craft Fair  P.A. Athletic Hall

May  Calgary   Bow Valley Calligraphy Guild

May 25  Kelowna  Focus on Foundational  Kelowna    Calligraphers Guild
May 26  Kelowna  Artist’s Journal in a Day  Kelowna     Calligraphers Guild

June 1  Vancouver Adding Funk to Your Foundational*
   Westcoast Calligraphy Society
June 2  Vancouver Artist’s Journal in a Day    Westcoast Calligraphy Society

*I'll have more information about this class next month!

Don't Forget!

and will run September 13-15, 2002, in Richmond, B.C., featuring artists like Nina Bagley, Karen Michel, Claudine Hellmuth and Mary Jo McGraw just to name a few.Registration begins
February 1st.
For more information about ARTwerx, click on the logo above to go to the website.

For those of you who have taken the Coptic Stitched Class, you may still acquire waxed linen thread from me. It is $0.50/yard.
If you send me a SASE with your cheque (made out to me personally) that makes life a lot easier for both of us! Please email me before to check for availability. Thanks!

Here is a list of the colours I currently have in stock:

walnut brown
olive drab
black
Victorian rose
dark forest green
maroon

It takes two yards of thread to complete the book as we made it.

I also have some new colours on order, like navy blue, rust, oatmeal, plum, sage and walnut brown. Just drop me a note for more information.

If there is any information you would like to see in this newsletter, let me know. Each month I will email you to let you know the new issue is published. If you know someone who would like to receive notice of byhand, just have them email me and I will put them on the list. Bye for now and thanks for visiting!

suzanne@quietfiredesign.com
(250) 723-0321 Quietfire Design

I have put together some sewing cradles for sale as some of you have been asking for them. They are not things of great beauty, but really, really handy for when you have a lot of holes to pierce. They are large enough for an 8.5" spine length and are $20Cdn (or $15US -new price!- to the States) shipping included. Email me if you can't live without one! I will try to bring these to classes so you can see them in person!

Here is my nasty little illustration of one!

The original title lettering of byhand was done with a Mitchell's Roundhand Nib, size 0, and Higgins Eternal Ink.