River Garden Studio

for the love of books

For the love of books, I had a give-away on my blog the last week.  

The drawing was yesterday... here are the names of the people 

who entered...

 

And here is the name of the winner who will receive a free copy

of my new book Song of the River!  Colette is from Sydney, 

Australia and has a beautiful blog called Tearose where she 

shares her self portraits, her collages and wonderful photographs.  

Colette, can you send me your address so I can mail your book to 

you?

 

My friend Fay is a bookmaker and artist as well as my editor. 

Here are some hearts she made to decorate her house for Valentines day...

 

and some of her handmade books in a basket...

 

and on a shelf...

 

My daughter, Amanda, visited this weekend,  always after 

she visits, my heart feels

so full.  She helped me critique my art for my upcoming show. 

 And made and ordered postcards for it's opening.  She will 

be my assistant in hanging my paintings. 

The most wonderful gift she gave me was to tell me that I 

was almost done, and everything looked beautiful.  I am sighing 

with relief.

 

 

Here is a stack of some very small paintings and collages in 

the sun on my desk.

 

 

And some decorated slides that I made for a project for the

students in my afterschool art club.  They are having so much 

fun with this and so am I!  I got the idea from Lynne Perrella's book:

Artists' Journals and sketchbooks which is a great book.

 

Later we exchanged decorated slides... here they are in a metal tin.

 
 

Next is a photograph, much more striking when you see it in person, 

from a little gallery in Portland, Oregon

called 23SANDY  

by CarolMcCusker. Fay had heard that they had

 book art, 

and sure enough, in a little room in the back they 

had cabinets full.  We were in heaven.

 

I fell in love with "would be darkness" by Linda Welch and  

bought for myself.  There are three books inside of a little white box, 

about 4'' by 3." Each has its own cover and every little bit is decorated with word

and color.  After my show I want to learn more about bookmaking and making small treasures.

I had to show you all the different views.

 

 

  

and finally, flowers and opening buds from Fay's garden 

get ready for spring.

 

Thank you dear people for your amazing and heart-warming response to my 

little book, Song of the River.  

Thank you for the links and the encouragement.   

I am so happy to have found so many wonderful friends through blogging. 

I am packing up several books 

to mail out on Monday.  

Since I work full time, the books that I receive checks for during 

the week will be mailed out the following Monday or Tuesday of each 

week. I hope that will work for everyone... 

March is finally here! 

               

song of the river

I spent last weekend in Portland visiting my dear friend and editor Fay Malloy and am very excited to report that my book, Song of the River, is finally finished!

 

This book is my story of the nature and wildlife of the Klamath River, here in southern Oregon. Each book is hand stitched, and each page is lovingly filled with pen and ink and watercolors of the animals and plant life of the riverland where I live.  The words and nature notes are all exerpts from my own journals.  The handwriting is my own.

 

To celebrate the first printing of Song of the River

I would like to announce a Giveaway!  

To enter just comment below and add a link and or a picture on your blog about this book!  The drawing will be held on Saturday, Feb. 27th.

  

If you would like to purchase this book please email me at: 

[email protected] 

and send a check of $12.00 plus $2.00 shipping to:

Roxanne Evans Stout

River Garden Studio

P.O. Box 645

Keno, Oregon  97627

  

These are some of the origial pages, and a few more peeks at Song of the River.  As always, please click for a closer view.

 

 

I hope your week is filled with the subtle signs of spring and creative energy.

earth tones

I sit here at my desk watching the spring trying to unfold and look back on my week. 

In the last days I have lost someone I loved, and that I have been responsible for over the last ten or so years.  I want to thank you, all of you, for your heart-felt wishes of healing and calm, peace and strenght and sweet memories.  Your words have comforted me in ways I cannot express.

Now that I go on with my life, I realize that this is the first time that I have gotten to stay home on both a Saturday and a Sunday and actually relax for ages (and not even feel guilty or frazzeled).  I know that many of you are responsible (were or will be) for your parents as well as your own children, home and job.  I applaud you for sharing yourself in this way, and with all of its joys and challenges, it is worth it.

On this weekend in February I did not make any new art, no new collages, and no new paintings. I just looked at things, moved around papers, and metal bits, and looked through my books.

So I thought that this is the perfect time to share my book "Earth Tones." 

This book has been traveling throughout the world for the last year.  And now it is home to me again.

The collaboration was called Inner Works, and included four other artists besides myself.  

I begin here:

 

My first pages... inspired by the dragonfly, the compas rose and the viking heroine Ghudrid.

 

 

 

 

The next two pages are by Rita.  Your can find her blog here:

 

 

And now pages by Jill at Jazzworks...

 

 
 
 

And Veronica...

 

 

 

And Supria...

 

And Seth...

 

 

 

My last pages...

 

 

And so I close this chapter of my life and look forward to making more books, more art, and learning new ways of being creative.  If any of you out in blog land knows of some fantastic workshops offered in June or August, please let me know about them!