Patti Edmon Artist

Working in a watercolor book - rather than starting on another canvas - has been one of the most liberating creative experiences ever. I don't have a lot of room in my studio and I'm currently not making any efforts to show or sell so the watercolor book is also far more economical.   Working in an open book also enhances my willingness to art more often and experiment more than ever. The biggest issue I'll have is that I may have to cut the pages out and re-bind them due to the dimensional aspect. I'm only seven pages in and the book won't exactly close.  The enlarged close-up shot of an old bottle top isn't quite as interesting a focal point as some, but in keeping with the old black & white photo theme, I had hours of fun: coloring, staining, grunging, embossing, using pan pastels, reinkers, oil pastels and acrylics to stamp and paint over texture and trim, wallpaper and old book pages. Cutting up an old screen, scrap cardboard, a piece of wood...

Back in the old days, BC as I call them (before children), I spent hundreds of hours with a medium format camera, black and white film and abundant curiosity. Along with, of course, a fearless approach to people, property and situations with which I had no familiarity. An avid darkroom junkie, those sessions were a lot like the ones I now spend in the studio - great music at the right (loud) volume and totally in the zone - sans the chemicals that are fairly toxic when pregnant or mothering small kids. In the early-90s Photoshop was around but the world wasn't totally digital. I preferred the pursuit, capture and printing of images - test-strip prints, dodging and burning often ten or more prints before achieving the results I'd envisioned. A month or so ago, I began thinking about incorporating my black & white prints and art. The first photo I chose was of an old truck (loved the rust, even then!) with the word "farm" scrawled on the door. It sat on the back...