Artists Books and Some Things To Like About Art

My intrigue with artist’s books goes back to the second grade, when I fell in love with my teacher’s grade book. It was a truly magical book with multiple interior pages of different widths.

All our names were entered down the left hand column. Each interior page flipped to show our grades for a variety of subjects, the column of names on the left remaining constant. The beautiful Miss Monroe entered marks in blue, red or black ink, creating a random pattern of visual interest. The weight of her entries made an impression that created depth to each page. I was truly enthralled.

No other book I experienced had any handmade marks –books were stored on shelves, pristine and sterile. It was sacrilege to make a mark in a book, except for the teacher’s grade book. When ever my BF and I would play “school” I would always start by making an elaborate grade book, with pages of differing widths, filled with columns and rows. Heaven!

I seldom make a model book – I may as well just make another book. But I knew a model would help to test the weights of different papers and how they interact with one another. I used tape to secure the papers since this was only a model. But now I like the model book, so I may add content and hope the photo quality permanent tape will hold for sometime.

To add interest I used some of the paper I do warm ups on when I am starting a studio session. My warm up papers are like a sketch book of ideas. I hang a large piece of light weight paper on the studio wall so I can work on ideas in larger format. I also practice making gestures and marks.

I like a lot of things about making art. I like to work with my hands. It’s something that occurs right here, right now somewhat within my control. I can’t have much of an effect on world peace, but I can make art.

Do you know what I mean? I work out thoughts and responses to being human, especially the parts for which I can’t find deep enough words.

I like to see what happens when I create. I’m just so curious about the whole process. I’m always finding new ways of doing things. One day I may make marks with a stick dipped in paint, and the next day I may use a razor blade to scratch out lines and marks. Curiosity is real fuel for studio time.

When it comes to art, I get to do it my way, and create my vision. No one else is making the decisions, or setting the course. It’s all mine. As said in Art and Fear – art is about “a rolling tangle of choices.” We have to make our choices. And then roll with it.

What are some things you enjoy about making your art?

Speaking of rolling tangles of choices, my new life coaching for artists web site is up and running. So I’m offering a new session of the popular course for artists called Re-Fresh Your Creative Practice. The dates are Tuesday, November 2^nd to Tuesday, December 7^th. If you like you can participate in a complementary call to find out more about it on Tuesday, October 6^th. Head over here and also sign up for my newsletter to find out more about it. The next time I offer this course will be June, 2011, or thereabouts.

If you have signed up for the newsletter and haven’t gotten your complementary gift, check your spam folder. Once you confirm your subscription, an email will be sent to you with your gift. The spam folder is no place for your present to be!

Studio Construction Update

Dispatch VI, mixed media collage, by Leslie Avon Miller



The work on the studio facility continues. It is so very exciting to see the progress. It echoes in the space now. I guess walls and a ceiling will do that! We were just talking today about how to finish the floors. Someone suggested a good material if I didn’t get too much water on the floor…I work in water media and boy, do I ever get water on the floor….back to the drawing board.

On the art front, my collages for the International Collage exchange have arrived in New Zealand. As I write this 94 artists are taking part. If you would like to see all of my collage for the exchange, you can find them at this link. When the work from all of the participating artists is posted, I’ll provide a link. It is a great online exhibition reflecting the state of collage art today.



Earlier this week I held a creativity teleclass. We discussed that being compelled to create is just the opposite of a creative block. We talked about the passion for creating our work, which can make the world disappear. In support of our creative passion we identified some means of dispelling our inner critical voice.

Passion pulls us towards something we can not resist. What is pulling you forward?

Because of the creativity call I am getting to know even more artists, some of whom are joining the creative coaching group, Re-Fresh Your Creative Practice currently forming. Some deeply committed and powerful artists are taking part in the group which begins March 23rd.

If you want to join us, or want to know more about the group agenda, send me an email to coach leslie @ olypen.com (remove the spaces).

Wishing all of us a creative weekend!

And the Winner Is...Give Away! Hey! I Just Thought of This!

Update - Sunday - The name drawn from the hat is Elizabeth! She has a photography blog and a blog about Buster, my favorite dog. Elizabeth is also an author of children's books. Congratulations Elizabeth!

(The palm of her hand smacks her forehead!) Hey! I just had an idea! Here I am at my One Hundred and First Blog Post! So – let’s celebrate with a give away!

You guys are just fabulous! I get such enjoyment from the conversations that happen here and at your blogs – art – creating – being passionate, being inventive, being determined – creating despite the cold, despite the heat, despite the chores, despite the day jobs, despite the economy! We keep at it – writing blog posts, creating art work, staying in touch with the ducks on our pond.

I love creating art. I love the blogging community. And I love it when we create from our own authentic passion for art.

So I’m giving away one free scholarship to the Re-Fresh Your Creative Practice Program! Yes! Free! The whole 6-week program.

Enter a comment here – tell us about your passion for creating perhaps, and I will draw a name in 48 hours, so the winner will have time to prepare for the first session on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 9:00 am Pacific time. All you need to participate is the ability to make a phone call to take part in the conference call, and access to the internet to post to a private blog.

After rediscovering and being inspired by the collage of Paul Horiuchi, I made this small collage last night. Since my studio is under construction, I am finding alternative spaces for creating. I made this one on a table in the living room. (I only have to paint in the bathroom.)

“You’ve got to find what you love. Going to bed at night saying I’ve done something wonderful. That’s what mattered.” ~Steve Jobs

A Fresh New Year of Art and Exploration

Don’t you love the freshness of a New Year full of potential? I do! I have my pile of books, I have time and I have all the ideas that have been incubating and collecting in my notebooks while I celebrated the holidays with friends and family.

I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day,
a fresh try, one more start,
with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere behind the morning.
~JB Priestley

Some fresh new exploring is in order. I want to explore collections – my own, and ones I have been gifted. I’ve always been one to walk looking down at the ground and picking up seed pods, feathers, lichens and such. I collect shells, rocks and miscellaneous finds from the beach. I like vintage white buttons, clasps and fasteners; the older the better.



Having been gifted a few brass bells, I add to my collection when just the right find comes my way. A vintage desk bell is my newest addition, having arrived in my Christmas Stocking. I wonder what kind of business it served in it’s former life, announcing the arrival of a new customer?

I am collecting beautiful objects. A pair of shoes. Some glasses.
Telephone. Typewritter.
…Their delicate and finished appearance is friendly.
And they are quiet.
~From the movie The Science of Sleep




Books have always called my name. “Come look!” they say from their shelf. So I am especially enjoying the book Etcetera, by Sibella Court. You might have read the recommendation about this book at Donna’s blog or at Ro’s blog. It’s full of yummy photography of all kinds of collections displayed in interesting ways. Being freshly inspired, I am starting a new collection of photographs of my collections.

Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen
from one to another mind.
~James Russell Lowell

My pile of fresh new books includes one about working intuitively in the studio. A suggested exercise using a burning candle to “paint” with smoke has caught my eye and my imagination. How fun! What a great color!




I’m inspired by a book of interviews of artists in New Mexico and peeks into their studio spaces. My own studio remains unfinished, but the insulation is here and will be installed in the ceiling soon. I am looking forward to the added warmth! It’s time to think about the finishing touches and final arrangement of equipment and working spaces.


Books are not made for furniture,
but there is nothing else that
so beautifully furnishes a house.
~Henry Ward Beecher




For rich images and insight into process, I am reading Histories Real and Imagined. It is a detailed look into Lissa Hunter’s body of work as a “basket maker” and assemblage artist. I love her work which incorporates natural objects such as rocks, mark making, and objects she has made. I’m looking forward to finding a cozy spot and flipping through the pages at a leisurely pace.

I love her because she makes things.
You know? She makes things with her hands.
~From the movie The Science of Sleep



It’s time now to begin on a series of collage for the International Collage Exchange. I enjoy the process of making 13 or so collage. Having a due date is motivating and I always learn a lot as I work my way through the series. Then there is the fun of sending them off to the world, and seeing a return package come to my mail box, plump with collage from artists all around the globe. This year my series will revolve around mark making.

Re-Fresh Your Creative Practice is a new coaching group I developed for artists which is beginning soon. You can read more about here.

A friendly hello to all the new followers. It is my pleasure to meet you! It’s deliciously pleasant looking forward to this Fresh New Year, with time in the studio and time creating. Happy Fresh New Year to you all!