All of these "installments" are the work I'm taking to Gallery Ten in Door County. Some people had wanted to see what I'm taking, so I'm posting all of it. 
And the door opens to reveal a greeting. This one took a lot of planning and time, but I love the effect.
First page of House of Art book.
"nesting with abandon" spread. Don't ask me what that means; it was a phrase that just happened!
Backyard spread.
"home is where the heart is" spread
"window of opportunity" spread
This is a regular book that I altered; it's titled "OPEN" and all the pages refer to how the word OPEN can be used. I'm very much into linguistics, and the usage of words intrigues me.
Here are all the pages! A lot of work.
One of the spreads, referring to Open Season.
The last page contains this monstrous antique key, which is very cool. It does cause the last few pages of the book to warp, but it makes for a dramatic ending.
This is the cover of a book you may not have seen yet. It's titled "Fresh Start." 
One of the interior pages of Fresh Start.
I love this quote--it says it all.
Seeds representing Hope. This one was a children's board book, altered.
This is the first page of my Birdies book. Whenever I see it, I'm reminded of my granddaughter Katelyn, when she was around 4, running through the backyard after a bird, merrily yelling, "My birdie! My birdie!" 
Cover of the Birdies book.
This is a book/panel/canvas assemblage. The panel comes off the canvas, and the book comes off the panel. (Look in the next installment for a peek inside the book.)
This is one page from my Specimens book, below. It's made of paperbags and was from a class taught by Mary Warner. This is still one of my favorites, and every time I see it I think "I want to make more paper bag books!"
The book is held together with a twig and rubber bands! But it's sturdy, and oh so fun.
This is one of the pages from my Pockets book. I found these denim "coasters" on clearance at Hobby Lobby, and immediately thought: BOOK!
This one is full of "tinsel and doodads" as my husband calls my embellishments.
Although I had not mentioned the tiled mirrors when I talked with her, I think I'll bring along a couple and see if she wants them. If she doesn't, no big deal cuz I'm rather fond of them. This black and white one is my favorite.
This blue/green one is another one I like a lot.
oops--this one should have been turned. This is one of the collages I did in Laura's class. I like the large format.
And here's another one from Laura's class. It was an experiment in black and white and I like how it turned out.
And yet another one from that class. I really like the frame; it enhances the collage. The owner asked for 3 collages, so these are the 3 I chose.
Some people had asked that I post photos of what I'm taking to Door County, so this and a few more installments will show that. It will be a good record for me too. Here is the miniature purse I altered and has an accordian book inside.
And here is my self-portrait, an altered styrofoam head with beaded hair. If the gallery owner really likes this one, I had better get started on another one, cuz those beads took FOREVER!
Took TWO classes at Valley Ridge in Wisconsin last week. They were both by the same instructor. I had taken her class last year, and learned so much and had a great time, so I decided to go again this year.
And here's our marvelous teacher, MaryBeth Shaw, with her painted, gloved hands. Yes, she paints with her hands! I didn't quite get into it, but I may try it again in the future. Very freeing.
On this day we made covers for our books of color charts. The texture is from a stencil (MaryBeth's) and wood icing. The palette is Quin Magenta, Phthalo Blue (green shade), and hanso yellow light. I used mostly shades (those colors mixed with black) of the palette. I like the deep rich colors it gives. And I LOVE that I know what that all means now!!
And this is the back cover, but upside down. I like the contrast of the linear drips with the round, raised circles.
This is on a pastelboard. I used pastels first, then painted over it. I felt it needed some texture, so I added some with the Wood Icing and a piece of drywall tape as a stencil. I really like this effect--delicate, yet raised. The color palette is one of my favorites from this class: gamboge, Quin Crimson and Cerulean Deep. 
This is another pastelboard. The three dots at the bottom didn't turn out well; for some reason, the paint cracked. The board itself is dark, and this piece seems a little dark to me overall. 
Here's the same palette on a gessoboard. Seems a bit brighter to me. I like it better than the pastelboards, which didn't take the paint very well at first.
Here are the four boards we did on the last day at Valley Ridge in Wisconsin. This one is a masonite multi-media board. The texture in the corner is from one of MaryBeth's stencils and Wood Icing. I like the wood icing a lot. It holds its shape and looks awesome. You put it on with a trowel, remove stencil, and let it dry for about an hour. I actually worked on the rest of the board WHILE the wood icing was drying! 
Not sure what this board is, but it's similar to the masonite and needed to be gessoed before working on it. I really like the composition and mood of this one. The "rocks" turned out so cool, but it was purely accidental and I am not really sure how to get this look again! Just another art surprise!
This is a DaVinci Board, made of mdf. You can buy big sheets of mdf and cut them into smaller sizes for really cheap. The heart is cut out of felt which adds another whole texture. 
Seems like Spring has arrived early this year. The pear tree in the back yard looks ready to burst open in blossoms any day. Usually it doesn't bloom until closer to May. This is the tree I gaze upon from the window in my studio; hence the name Pear Tree Studio. Just like me, it has its seasons, each one amazing in its own right. But the white Spring blossoms are my favorite. Last year, towards the end of its bloom, the grandkids laid under the tree on a windy day and let the flowers "snow" on them as they giggled and rolled around. Sweet memory.
