ALTARED ART: INCH BY INCH

One of my favorite memories of yesteryear was getting up early and watching the 3 Stooges. I know, I know, it's not terribly Franciscan of me to like such "violent television", but they are FUNNY. What can I say, I LOVE their slapstick double-eye poke. (I was going somewhere with this...now where was it...oh yes!) I remember one of my favorite episodes was when Curly was a wrestler...one who went particularly NUTS when he heard "Pop Goes The Weasel." Somehow, amidst all of this, Moe, (his coach) would say (before Curly opened up a can of "whoop a**" on whomever) "SLOWLY I TURN, STEP BY STEP, INCH BY INCH..."

Anyway, that LONG (and incredibly rambling) trip down memory lane is the source of my title...however, the AltAred Art part of the equation is TRULY an inspired notion. In one of my most inspirational resources: Somerset Studio Magazine, (the Nov.Dec. 2007 edition) Mixed Media artist Angela Cartwright (yes, she's the little girl from "Lost In Space") displays hundreds of her altered art endeavors via the "one inch model." Artist Julie O'Neil conceived the "Inchie Swap" idea in her yahoo Group where creative swaps abound.

"How much art can you get in a 1 inch model?" you may be asking...well, because we live in a digital age, the answer is A LOT! Several of the benefits of inchies are:

1. They don't take up a lot of space
2. They allow you to display a large portion of your work at once
3. You can whip out several in one setting
4. It helps get rid of the scraps inevitably left from AltAred Art projects
5. It's AMAZING to look at...veritable EYE CANDY!

So here are a few of my layouts, done in an inchie type format:

I made the "Inchie Grid" (I'll email you a printable digital copy if you'd like) and then resized all of my page layouts to 1 inch by 1 inch. Because the grid is so thick, the layouts are not true "inchies". However, you get the idea. The effect is still amazing, don't you think? In a 6x6 space I've displayed 36 of my fave layouts! This concept lends itself well to framing and printing since it's a real space (and ink) saver! Of course the best (most fun and creative) route to go is to have an Inchie Swap. Each person in the swap creates 5 inchies (which the host of the swap designates) and then sends them to each other round robin style. Imagine how many little pieces of art you'd have in your possession at the end of such a swap! Wouldn't it be fab? AND you could easily display your collection...again, it's a real space saver (she said from her 750 sq. ft. "palace")

Leave a comment on this post and let me know if you'd be interested in such a swap...I'll include more instructions (including the theme) after I've heard from you!

Meanwhile, check out Angela's fab blogsite: Said & Done

More soon!

xoxoxo