29,000 Floating Ducks

Any Recent Sightings of Duckies?

2007-09-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

Hi All!

I'm hoping I'm the next person to add some ducks!

They haven't arrived yet - can anyone shed any light on the situation?

Here's a thought

2007-07-30T04:36:00.000-07:00

....It only occurred to me the other day, have i jinxed this journal by basing it on the story of 29,000 duckies that got lost in transit?
Here's hoping the individual pages don't wash up separately on the various coasts of the world over the next ten or so years!
maybe it can be like that nursery song i grew up with where in the end "mother duck went quack quack quack quack and all of her little ducks came back" (do you remember that song?)

news on our inspiration

2007-07-14T17:31:00.000-07:00

a news story on one of the original ducks

our kind of artist!

2007-07-11T06:54:00.000-07:00

from the artist Florentijn Hofman, more photos on his site
newspaper article on the duck's maiden voyage here

hi everyone! hope your summer is going well, any word on the journal yet?

Lost in Migration?

2007-07-01T23:05:00.001-07:00

Hi All!

Any word on the status/location of the journal??? It had been developing quite nicely, I would hate to see it lose its steam. Hopefully they haven't ended up like these... If anyone has any news it would be more than welcome!

Ciao,
Scott

still floating...

2007-03-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

Even though they were a little exhausted from their overseas journey, the ducks are resting up and getting ready to move on...but before heading on out, these posers couldn't help but flaunt their feathers in Colorado's mile-high sunshine!!! (more pics to come..!)

DuckSpace??

2007-03-03T22:12:00.000-08:00

Hello all, long time no post!

Just a thought- in this, the dawning of the age of MySpace, should we make a page for the ducks too? let me know your thoughts on the matter....

P.S. if anyone has a page and wants to share links, please do so (either leave a comment, post or email if you want to keep it private)

Hope all are well and hope to hear from the ducks soon (they've had a long flight from Italy to Colorado...)

Baskervillehound

All packed up....

2007-01-03T04:34:00.000-08:00

... and ready to go!! I finished at page number 39 - it is getting pretty bulky :)
It was nice having them all for the holidays - I think Matilde has hid a couple around the house for bath-time... for the other 28,998 - the next stop is Colorado!

Ducks on Etsy

2007-01-03T02:20:00.000-08:00

Looking around one of my fav sites today and look what i found!
Check out seller Bellaroo's gorgeous creation....

P.S. Happy New Year to all our Ducky journal-ers & Happy 1st Birthday to our project!

Seasons Greetings!

2006-12-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note to say the ducks are doing fine here in Italy, I figured I would let them hang out for Christmas and let the busy week pass by so they don't get lost in the postal confusion (and to let me wrap up my pages). Also, I can't seem to find my list of contributors.... if you are next or know who is can you send me a quick note with the address.
Thanks, Scott

Cool Card from Lee

2006-12-11T11:58:00.000-08:00

I got this card from Lee the other day...I just had to post it...it's GREAT!
Happy Holidays to all you DUCKIES!!!!

They're heeee-rrrrrr-e!

2006-11-27T06:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!
Good news - they made it!
The work inside is very impressive and the snippets of each stop are wonderful - I can't wait to dig in!!
Stay tuned.....
Ciao, Scott

The ducks are going to Italy!

2006-11-08T11:22:00.000-08:00

The ducks are off to Italy tomorrow and I had lots of fun working on these pieces. Here is a sample of spot illustrations I made for the journal. I had a swell time painting them, I usually have to do pretty precise work so it was great to do all hand work on these little guys. The other paintings I made for this book are airbrushed on to beautiful thick paper from my printing days. It was nice to be loose and stretch my brain for this project Hope the ducks travel safely and don't have to many drinks on the plane!

CA Duck update

2006-10-29T17:24:00.000-08:00

Just want to mention I am still working on my pieces for the journal, it's been fun and the book is awesome! Such inspiring art by everybody!!! I am going to try to get it out to Scott by the 1st week of November but it could end up being the 2nd week as I have been swamped. I might post a little of what I made soon, the ducks have been having a frightfully good time here.

The journal has arrived in California!

2006-10-02T17:59:00.000-07:00

I just got back from Seattle and the journal was sitting in my mailbox! Very exciting and wonderful, wonderful works inside! I am thrilled to be a part of this and will begin working on my pieces for this journal in a few days.

Finally!

2006-09-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

I finally got my pages done! This is a preview of one of them, and image transfer of some ducklings a saw on the river this past spring. So fluffy and cute.

I'll package it up and get it in the mail tomorrow!

I'm so sorry!

2006-09-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

Much to my embarrassment, and surprise, I just realized yesterday that I've had the journal for a month now, and I've barely had a chance to look at it. August just completely got away from me. I here and now commit to making it a priority and getting it off to Val by Sep. 20 (hopefully sooner).

Lava Duckling

2006-08-15T09:20:00.000-07:00

saw this on Flickr today and thought it was great...hope everyone is well!

Duckys Everywhere!!!!!!

2006-08-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

Found this photo on the Wilton cake decorating page....I love the ducky candles!

Eye Spy...

2006-08-01T12:34:00.000-07:00

I'm wondering if any of you have noticed how many Rubber Duckies are appearing on Illustration Friday this week? It seems like everytime I click on a link, there's another one! haha!

Spotted: Duckie Taking a Dip in Hot California!

2006-07-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

It's here!

2006-07-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

I just got the journal out of my mailbox. It's so delightful!

Rubber Ducky Cupcake

2006-07-22T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone....I was surfing the blogs...and ran across this at http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/
Cute huh?

Finished!

2006-07-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's a sneak peek at my final product! The Ducks and I have had a wonderful time together. In fact, it was a little too short, and I can't wait for them to come back. They're on their way Angela in Washington. I'm sure they will welcome the relief from the heat!

Update from Tejas

2006-07-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I'm hard at work on my section of the duck journal. I can honestly say that I am having a lot of fun with this project. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of it.
And since I'm being so truthful, I am running a little behind. The Fourth of July weekend resulted in a small delay. Never fear, I am positive I will have it mailed to Angela by early next week!
Hope this peek satisfies you until then. I intentionally blurred the picture....don't want to give too much away just yet!

more duck fun...

2006-07-02T11:26:00.000-07:00

hey, it's a long weekend here in the States...I'm bored and feeling the ducks (that sounds kinda bad doesn't it?)....so just a collage I made with fd's flickrtoys ...wonder if we could do a collage with images of the ATC's and get t-shirts made at cafepress or something?

hope everyone's enjoying the afternoon!

Hello All

2006-06-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

been sort of hectic...hope everyone is well and enjoying their summer (or winter bec ;))...the ducks are always close at mind...how are they progressing these days?...good thing they got out of the deep south when they did, cause it's hot and humid :)

Role Reversal

2006-06-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

With the early summer sun bearing down today, we found a way to beat the heat and let little Matilde cool off... squeeze the beak and it quacks too!

Here in Texas

2006-06-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

The Journal arrived yesterday, and boy am I glad to see it! I can tell you, looking through it has certainly been the inspiration I've needed to get out my paints again.

I've been really lax about doing any art this month, but knowing I have to, well it's a kick in the caboose, that's for sure! (haha)

Here's a peek at a lovely card that Miragee included, and I can't quit staring at it's loveliness. *sigh* I'm going to get to work on the journal very soon. (Hopefully, I'll be mailing out my ATC's along with the journal.)

I'll post again with a sneak preview!

(oh, and don't I wish I had a photo to show y'all of the GIGANTIC rubber ducky I saw last weekend. It was the size of a suburban, parked in front of a mom and pop burger place. I saw it as we drove by in Houston. I have no idea what it was doing there, but I thought it looked rather lonely....)

At Last!!!

2006-06-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Decided I couldn't wait until tomorrow, so I had one last go at uploading this image!

And success!

CAS xxx

Another go at putting Puflet on this Blog!!!!!

2006-06-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

I don't believe it ... I've tried three times now, and keep getting 'This Page cannot be displayed'

Grrr.

I'll have another go tomorrow.

CAS xxx

My Picture won't Upload!

2006-06-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

I've finally done a series of pictures of Puflet, but for some reason the images won't upload to this blog. I'll try again tomorrow, but if anyone's interested you can take a quick peek at www.puflet-palace.blogspot.com.

I hope it's OK to put Puflets on here as well as ducks. They have got webbed feet!

Out of Taiwan

2006-06-02T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hi kids! Sorry that I haven't been able to update you on our journal book because Iwas working very hard on it! The good news is that I just finished pasting my story onto our book and I have to tell you guys, it is getting bigger and thicker and sorta fragile because of the paper weight. I am sure that all of us will handle it with tenderness when receiving it!

Here is a glimpse into my entry. I did 6 images threaded by a short story. It seems that my submission for the cake theme (IF) came a little bit late. But mine is definitely different from the cakes we eat most of the time. It's a Peking duck cake!

I will mail our one and only journal book to Dee in two days. I am kind of sad that it is going to leave my little island. Maybe it will come back in a few months or even next year!

So, have a fun, duckie summer my fellow artists! How can life be boring with all those adorable ducks in our life:-)?

Homage by a Master

2006-05-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I know I have been participating inadequately on this blog, and I apologize for that. However, I found something so adorable, I know y'all would want to see it!
It's 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle...an actual picture book depicting the same little voyage our own duck journals and ATC's (mine will be in the mail by mid-June, I'm going on vacation soon!) are experiencing! The pages are colorful and interesting...and there's a storyline for each duckie!

Look, there's even a page that shows when the poor duckies were dumped into the sea! See the captain's face?

Val's Card

2006-05-19T08:56:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone...This is the card that I got in the mail yesterday from Val....I love it! It's the "Duck House".....Thanks Val !

2006-05-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

I found these cute little stickers in my travels.
I thought they were just so adorable!
Hope all is well were you are.
Hope my little duckies are travelling well too.
B.

New Information

2006-05-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone....My computer took a major dive last week...so here is my new e-mail address.
victoriaanncarmen@yahoo.com
Please send any e-mail to me at this address. For the time being I cannot post any pictures...I am working on this...and will either fix the problem or get a new computer....Thanks..Love, Vicci

Making ATC's

2006-05-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Instead of starting a new post I decided to use this existing post and delete the old. I rambled a bit. Just a quick Hi! to everyone and I have just finished addressing most of the ATC's that I am sending to everyone that sent me an address. I made one for everyone so if anybody who doesn't receive one I'm happy to send yours if you share your address. I really enjoyed making these for you . Have a nice weekend!

in the mail tomorrow

2006-04-30T20:38:00.000-07:00

I'll drop the journal at the post office tomorrow and the ducks will be on their way to miragee in Taiwan....here's a look at my pages...we're off to the mountains of North Carolina after that until Friday :) postcards and pictures to follow!

Postcard from Leeza

2006-04-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Thank-You Leeza...very awesome postcard! We have so much talent in this group!!

Thank-You Miragee

2006-04-23T08:24:00.000-07:00

This is the cool atc that I got from miragee...I got the "urban" one...Thank-You so much!

a peek at Al's pages

2006-04-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

sorry it's taken me a week to put this up...but here's a little sneak look at Al's pages...

Ducks are in SC

2006-04-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

funny...I just posted about this today on my blog...how cool...great pages guys...such an interesting mixture of styles - looking forward to adding my .02 and sending it on!

Passing the duck

2006-04-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

Our daughter Matilde was born last weekend (on April 1st actually) and I have been amazed how much of the clothing and towels we received as gifts have little ducks on them - not to mention the duck shaped bath that daddy bought her!

Ducky weekend!

2006-04-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

Hi guys, I don't know if you have noticed that each of you receive different ATCs from me. If you are interested, come to my blog and check them out!

I'd like to apologize to those who haven't received my ATCs. Due to lack of time, I came up only with some of them. I am going to do my second series tonight. I promise you'll get them soon ok?

Have fun with the ducks!

Catching up and BiG thank you

2006-04-06T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
I also want to send out a great big thank you to Cathy, Leeza, Vicci, Weichuen and Rebekah for the wonderful ATC's they are all going into the holder Leeza sent. I've read all the t-shirt ideas and the book marks so just let me know what you want done and I'll do it.
Now that Leeza said she got a duck from the duck project I am going to have to send for one because I met up with my friend who told me about it. I was amazed at how small they were. I have a rubber duck from the store here and it is much bigger.
Here is a pic of my friend and his no. 19 ducky.
Have a great day!

New project

2006-04-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

Hi all,
I have been working on something new to send each of you, here's a sneak peek ... "Can you tell what it is yet?"
Have a ducky day!!!!!

Arrival from Australia!!!!!!!!

2006-04-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much Rebekah for the wonderful atc!!!! Such a talented group...I have a special book especially for the duckies!

More ATC's ...

2006-04-04T12:35:00.000-07:00

Ever so many thanks to Lee and Baskerville Hound, whose ATC's arrived today! There are so many gorgeous things being done, not just with the cards themselves, but also with the envelopes. I wish I hadn't left mine so plain, now!

All the best,

Cathy xxx

Thank you Vicci!

2006-04-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

I received Vicci's ATC two days ago. Sorry I didn't post my thanks until today:-). Thank you very much Vicci!

Here I'd like to say that I sent out part of my ATCs last week. But since I had a really tight schedule, I did not have time to prepare all the mail for everybody. I'll do it asap and I hope you guys won't mind!

Thank Vicci and everyone else for your lovely ATCs!

Journal Update

2006-03-26T23:33:00.000-08:00

I've been in contact with Al, and just thought i'd let you all know that the Journal is still with him but is set to leave for its long journey to South Carolina shortly. Poor Al has been flat out of late, not helped by my pesky emails to see whats happening! Hopefully if he gets a chance we might even get a sneak peek at what he has added to the book!

Tee shirts

2006-03-23T15:53:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about the suggestion that we have tee shirts, which might be a bit of a problem. But how would it be if we did designs which could be downloaded onto transfer paper and then ironed on to whatever we wanted?

Just a thought!

Cathy xxx

Thank you Scott!

2006-03-22T12:30:00.000-08:00

I have to admit to getting really excited about the post arriving! (One of these days I might grow up, but I doubt it.)

The latest arrival is 'Vitruvian Duck' by Leonardo 'duck' Vinci. I noticed that he does mirror writing just like his human counterpart!

Thanks, too, for the 'Happy spring' card. I wish it would arrive ... I had to scrape the ice off my windscreen again this morning.

All the best,

Cathy xxx

Amost Ready to Fly!!!!!!!

2006-03-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone....I'm almost finished with the atc's...will be mailing them out soon!!!!

Another Ducky ATC

2006-03-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

Another "ducky" atc landed in my mailbox!!!! Thank-You to Cathy. This is awesome.

ATC's a BIG thank you

2006-03-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

Sorry I have been sort of absent lately. But before I go to work I want to also say a great big thank you to Lee and Leeza for the ATC's that have found their way to my mail box. How exciting it was for me to receive my first two. Looking forward to the others and thanks Leeza for the holder. You guys and gals are great! BTW I got my rubber duck and will be meeting up fellow Erie blogger Ron next week. Watch for pics soon to come. ;)

Almost ready...

2006-03-20T04:16:00.000-08:00

My ATC's are almost complete and ready to be sent on their way. I am actually just working on the envelopes now and compiling the addresses.
Wont be long now.... :)

Leeza - lovely ATC

2006-03-19T12:26:00.000-08:00

Hi Leeza!

What a lovely duck to receive in the post - you should all be receiving mine any day now; I think they prefer swimming to flying, though, so hopefully it won't put too much of a strain on them.

Lots of love,

Cathy (& P) xxx

on your mark, get set, Go Ducks!

2006-03-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

Hi all,

just a quick hello and thanks to Lee and Leezy for the great atc's I received!

Also wanted to share a great duck related event that's been happening in Richmond for the last 16 years, our annual "Duck Race" to benefit Big Brothers and Sisters! Just click on the link to learn more about it, and here's another link, a video showing the 22,000 ducks being dropped in the river to begin their swim! I've never participated in this before but I'll definitely be racing this year!

sorry to be so brief but it's late and work tomorrow!

best to all!

Cindy

Leeza's ATC !!!!!!

2006-03-17T18:50:00.000-08:00

Another "Ducky" atc arrived in my mailbox today!!!! This is from Leeza...Thank-You Leeza!

Lee's atc !!!!!!!

2006-03-17T18:42:00.000-08:00

QUACK !!!!! Everyone here is Lee's "ducky" atc....and ducky envelope...Thank-You Lee !

Ducky's arrived!

2006-03-17T09:58:00.000-08:00

Toni!

Thank you so much - your ATC arrived this morning, and it's wonderful!!!

All the best from the residents at Puflet Palace!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The wings of a duck

2006-03-15T10:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Ducky,
The ATCs took flight yesterday. Can't wait for all my new friends to receive them ... I added something extra in their envelopes as a surprise ... sssssh ....
Love R.D
xxx

duck mornings

2006-03-15T06:31:00.000-08:00

the whole duck project Flickr group got me thinking and that's usually dangerous because obsession is sure to follow....

so this week on my way to work, I've been stopping at some fun places and taking the duck along for company....if y'all are interested I've made a Flickr set of my duck photos and images to date...but here are a few of my favorite shots so far....Columbia SC by the way

a piece of public art by (former local) artist Blue Sky

at the Congaree River that runs through the middle of town

at Findlay Park in downtown

Hope everyone is having a great week....I'm having some laughs :)

so many ducks, so little time!!!

2006-03-13T21:15:00.000-08:00

Hello to all!!! I thought I'd create a quacky little mosaic of rubber duck photos I gathered together...how cute are these guys? After searching through hundreds of rubber duck photos, I'm thinking that we may have to paint ourselves a duck...kind of like the cow project in Chicago!!! A rubber duck of any color...or many colors...never fails to make me smile!

Another thing that makes me smile...receiving art in the mail! Thank you Toni for the beautiful ATC...such an exquisite work of art! I am still working on my ATCs...my goal is to get them in the mail by the end of the week!

Dear Ducky ...

2006-03-13T12:10:00.001-08:00

Part of my weekend was spent working on art projects with my human. I was excited because she helped me begin working on my ATCs to hopefully send to you in a few days. Here's a couple of shots so far. I cut ducky shapes out of an old book (inspired by my Australian cousins' human) and collaged acrylics, matte medium and gels together on a heavy watercolour paper. I will add some lettering later and glaze with a satin polyeurathane to seal it all up on both sides. I have already had my human cut them and they are looking quite dashing. I hope you like yours when you receive it - soon, I promise. Lots of Love R.D. xxx

Little Duckie Would Like to Say THANK YOU!

2006-03-13T02:38:00.000-08:00

I don't mean to disappoint you guys. I do not have any image to offer today. However, two people's mail made my day. This morning before going to work, I found two letters on the table. One is from Kelly. What a lovely ATC! That makes me really ashamed of myself. I think I am going to remake my ATCs. I will take it to the school to show to my kids tomorrow. The other person I would like to thank is Rebekah. I got a postcard filled with words from Australia. I have my postcards prepared too, but to be honest, I've been really busy with an exhibition that will take place in April. I hope you guys won't lose patience with me. Give me some time, and the little ducks from Taiwan will find their way out soon...

Good luck to all the other ducks. I hope you guys are doing as fine as I am:-).

Duck Says Brrrr....from Snowy California

2006-03-11T09:44:00.000-08:00

Hello all you "Ducks" out there....from "sunny"...ooops! I mean "snowy" California! This is what we woke up to this morning! I haven't forgotten the atc's...just been very busy...hope you all have a GREAT Saturday!

Hello our fellow Duckies!

2006-03-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

After following Toni's links to this project and seeing that they are looking for photos of rubber ducks all over the world, i had to contact them with a photo and to let them know about our project!
Here is some of the email i sent them:

"What a coincidence! I started a Travelling Journal Project called "29,000 Floating Ducks" named after the story of the shipment of ducks that was washed overboard a ship in the pacific some 11 years ago. Toni Kelly, one of our fabulous participants of our Journal/shared blog project found your site and mentioned to us- I had to have a look!

I thought i would send you the the image i used as the cover to our journal which l started from here in Adelaide South Australia, on to New Jersy and then to Tokyo where it is currently about to depart bound for South Carolina USA. Amongst several other US Cities, the journal is also bound for 2 cities in the UK, Taiwan and Italy. I can invite the participants of our project to send you some pics too if you like, which will give you a few more cities for your map".

Feel free to contact them with your duckie photos- we're getting quite a collection!
catchya all soon....

A must see!

2006-03-10T03:55:00.000-08:00

This morning I was reading some blogs and came across this from one of my fellow Erie bloggers.
Check out this photo.

Then I followed the link he provided to this flickr group then on to this web site.

You will see we are not the only ones doing a duck project. They are also selling t-shirts which got me thinking what do you think of a colaborative t-shirt for us?

Dear Ducky ...

2006-03-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

I was wondering how my Australian cousins were getting along. I haven't heard from them since they left for Tokyo. I do hope they arrived safely and are having a swimmingly great time. If anyone hears from them, plese send them my love. Lots of Love - R.D xxx

Puflet's ATC's

2006-03-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

Yay! Here's the colour version of the Floating Ducks ATC - I'll print them off and send them out to all the addresses I've got, sometime over the next couple of days. I think they'll enjoy their travels!

Lots of love,

CAS & Puflet xxxxxxxxxxx

2006-03-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist!! ;-) I found these at Target for a $1. Even my cat found them interesting. You think they will flip flop me across the Big Pond? Now wouldn't that be a sight.
You guys have a great week. I may not be able to respond to emails and posts next week so will catch up when I can.

ATC's

2006-03-05T03:57:00.000-08:00

I'm really looking forward to receiving my ATC's. In the meantime, I thought I might post my design in case anyone was interested in the process. This is just the start (fitting in as many ducks as I could in the space) which is to draw out the image, and work out the tones, just using cross-hatched biro.

Then I'll use Photoshop to remove the tones so I can work out colour, and then I'll trace the whole thing onto watercolour paper and go through the whole business of putting washes in the background and cross-hatching with the watercolour to get the detail. This looks very drab at the moment, but it won't ... promise!

All the best to everyone!

CAS & Puflet xxxxxxxxxx

Thank-You Toni

2006-03-04T08:01:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone....I got my great atc yesterday from Toni...THANKS SO MUCH!!!!! It is awesome!

ATC update from me

2006-02-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

kinda got motivated to start my cards and got a fair bit done today...we couldn't find duck anything at the craft store Friday so I wound up making a couple of stencils, used a canvas I got at the auction Thursday night (2 for $1.00 ;)) and used acrylic paint to put the design on...I cut everything and added the card stock - here's where we are...approximately, LOL...

we've got to go out of town next weekend and the week will probably be pretty crazy so I doubt I'll actually finish these for another week or so, but just wanted to share...they've been a lot of fun so far :)

The sky less travelled.....

2006-02-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

Thinking about our travelling journal and now, our ATC's, i worked out the the path our ducks are taking look something like this..... [a play with watercolours in my sketchbook with a little photoshop] Sorry to anyone whose town i might have misjudged on the map :(
Those Ducks sure will be tired when they're done travelling!
I was thinking maybe in line with our ATC's it might be fun to send out a couple of postcards from the towns where we live- you know the touristy ones you by when you're on vacation to send back to your friends....would be good to learn more about where everyone is from. Whoever receives one can post it [rather than the sender, so not to spoil the surprise].
Who doesnt love a surprise in their letterbox?!

ATC's are done

2006-02-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

After the background dried I lettered some duck quotes with acrylic ink and then collaged some paper I had created some time ago randomly over the background. I then brushed the entire background with a mix of acrylic medium and glaze. So the photo is showing somewhat of a glare.

Next I cut the entire piece into the size of the cards. As you can see they curled a bit so since you need to put your info on the back I printed out on card stock all my info and cut those to size. Next I sewed the two pieces together with a zig zag stitch.

The imitation stamp was done from a watercolor illustration I did and put together in photoshop, cut and collaged on.

Then I lettered the quote and now ready to mail them out.

Most likely this is more info than you wanted but I really enjoyed creating these ATC's.

2006-02-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! I was at the Thrift store yesterday and found this book...it was published in 1941, and has some great illustrations in it! It was 3.00...I grabbed it right up! It's funny because everywhere I go now...I see "DUCKS"!

Hey you Duckies out there!!! Look What I found!

2006-02-21T06:54:00.000-08:00

Start of ATC's

2006-02-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

It's bitter cold and snowing here so what better time than now to work in the studio. Not sure what was happening about the ATC's so decided to go ahead and make some for you all. Pictured is the start of the background work. One easy way is to take a large enough sheet of paper or fabric, in this case here I used 'duck canvas', to make several at once. Either paint, decorate or collage the whole piece then cut it to the ATC size and finish with added touches.
The background work here is called paste canvas which is similar to paste paper. I made designs first with soft pastels in two shades of blue. Then the entire canvas was covered with ross art paste and while still wet acrylic paint was dropped onto the canvas and blended in. Then a marking tool was used to create wave lines. This needs to dry before more design is added then I will cut the canvas to size and finish with embellishment. My theme here will be pertaining to our journal. Hope this inspires you to try some ATC's in any case I would love to send you one. I'll send out an email to all journal members. Have a creative day.

Up, up and away ...

2006-02-16T13:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Ducky
My new friends ended up staying an extra day and left Tuesday morning for Tokyo, Japan. I begged them to stay. I couldn't bear to see them leave. I miss them so much already, I wish I was going with them. Here's a shot I took when I waved them goodbye.

I hope to see them again soon - one day. R.D. xx
(Click image to enlarge for detail)

*** Collage, acryllic, ink, pencil and linseed oil on 140lb coldpress watercolor paper. Image continues over four pages.

atc for Duckies !!!!!!

2006-02-10T14:45:00.000-08:00

This is an atc in honor of our duckies....I used a playing card and covered it with light green tissue paper...added some yellow tissue paper, and painted over that with some yellow acrylic paint..ran a comb through the paint to give it texture....stamped some duckies on the paint (when dry)...added some leaves, and the word quack.

Preparing for takeoff

2006-02-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

Dear Ducky …

The duckies have enjoyed their stay at my house, but now, with a mix of vegemite, cheddar and marmite sandwiches packed in their bags — the little darlings have to get ready to leave for their big trip to Tokyo. Their flight is booked for Monday at 11 a.m. and I will be so sad to see them go. We had so much fun: getting to know the swans on Hill Road, the geese down at the Raritan River and the Woodpecker that lives two trees away. The chickadees stopped by for a final farewell bash last night and we are all feeling the effects of the bath water today, let me tell you. I really feel like I made some good friends these last couple of weeks. I do hope they come back soon to visit. It'll be quiet without them around to hide the bath plug, peck the cats' tails quack jokes, and see how many ducks can fit in the kitchen sink. I'll let you know they took off safely on Monday, goodnight quacks for now — R.D. :D

New Ideas...

2006-02-03T16:17:00.000-08:00

I thought that rather than have a million group emails back and forth, i'd just post this so we could all share our ideas from here...

For those of you just tuning in, here's my original email:
"To keep everyone involved, interested and active in our travelling journal project i thought we could come up with some ideas to share more about ourselves and our work through the shared blog.
The idea is that we could set a few themes from time to time throughout the Journal Project to which we could respond [through drawing, illustration, collage, photograph or just a written post] like we would for Illustration Friday.
The themes would be ones that would reveal a bit about ourselves and our work [materials we use, ideas or artwork/artists we like...etc]
The themes could be about the towns where we live, our favourite songs or the things that inspire us. I thought incorporating a few mini-projects within this Journal project could be one way to keep the creativity flowing and share more about ourselves...What do you think??"

Toni shared a great idea: to make ATC cards so that we can all get a set. This was actually the first time i had heard of these, and a quick internet search revealed they are Artist Trading Cards-what a brilliant idea!

I know nothing about these, so please share what you know and what you think about this!!

The duckies have landed!

2006-02-01T11:46:00.000-08:00

They flew in on Saturday and I have almost finished my four pages ... I think it's an art journal kinda week, cos I'm all fired up and rolling art out of the wazoo! Here's a detail, but you can't really see too much. I don't want to give it all away just yet. :) I loved Bek's pages and wasn't sure how to continue, but I kept true to my word and paid homage to the airborne R.Ds floating in the sky - my wee friends I made flying back and forth tranatlantic-style ... stay tuned ... quack!
(Sorry it's a bit fuzzy)

a few seem to have snuck South early

2006-01-28T13:27:00.000-08:00

my Illustration Friday entry this week ;)

p.s. no ducks or waitpersons were or will be harmed as a result of this drawing :)

Dear Ducky ...

2006-01-24T12:42:00.000-08:00

I decided to take a bath while I await the arrival of my Australian cousins. Apparantly they are coming by air, which is an amazing distance to fly or so the rabbit next door told me. But I am glad and hope they won't get seperated like our ancestors did back in the '90s. I wonder if my cousins look like me? I bet they will be hungry, I should put on a spread ... hmm I wonder what Australian ducks like to eat? I'll make sure I have plenty of Wonder Bread in stock. Of course, I'll run them a nice big bath so we can all float-out togther. I'm very excited. Can't wait to see them soon, love R.D. x a kiss and a quack x

2006-01-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

I found this gorgeous illustration in a 1954 Wonder Books series Children's book called The Nine Friendly Dogs. I thought the little duckies in it were just lovely, I had to share it with you!

rubber ducky

2006-01-23T12:29:00.000-08:00

I received another invite and finally I am on the blog! I realized I have been doing these little rubber ducky paintings through out the years and it took me a couple days to locate one but here it is. I thought it would be perfect for my 1st official post on 29,000 Floating Ducks blog. I have had a long connection to ducks. My first real boyfriend (when I was 21-28) was a painter that features ducks in humourous situations and his name is Michael Bedard. One year he bought ducks for my birthday a boy and girl named Ashley and Bosley and he made a comic strip about them. I really didn't even consciously think of any of this when I joined this group but when I was thinking about what I would say, I realized that ducks have been in my life quite a bit! I am excited to contribute and have fun and be inspired by all of you.

29,000 Puflets on the move?

2006-01-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

29,000 Puflets

Just an advance warning - Puflet is usually very shy about being seen in public - but this project has galvanised him into action. Puflet and all his friends (and there are rather a lot of them) are getting together to try to TRACK DOWN THE MISSING DUCKS!!! They have already downloaded some maps which show major ocean currents, and are sorting out the logistics even as we speak ... watch this space.

Love to all

CAS xxxxxxxx

2006-01-21T15:54:00.000-08:00

The ducks were out in one of the pine trees today..the sun is shining!!!! Who knows where they will be next!!???????

Update

2006-01-18T23:00:00.001-08:00

I received an email from Theresa aka Snowbear today letting me know that due to other projects on the go, she feels she wouldnt have the time to dedicate to the project, and is having to pull out.

To Snowbear- we totally understand and wish you all the best with your work and the other projects you are involved in- be sure to pop past and see where we are at!

If you want to keep in touch with Snowbear, or see the work of her other projects, Theresa's website is: http://www.theresesmythe.com and her Blog is: http://rock-paper-scissors.typepad.com

So Crafty-Girl, when you have received the journal and are ready to pass it on, you now sent it to Bonojerry. Unfortunatly im yet to hear back from him so you may possibly be sending it straight on to Cathy in the UK- we will have to see what develops between now and then! [These being the challenges we face with such a project!] Hope this is ok.

And they're off!

2006-01-18T10:15:00.000-08:00

Hurrah!

I just received an e-mail from Bek to say the ducks are on thier way ... via airmail ... which brings me to my entry.

Last night, I found what I had been looking for to be able to make my post on the blog (see picture). Six little babies in the palm of my hand.

When Bek told the story of 29,000 floating ducks, I immeditaley thought of these little guys. Being from Britain and flying back and forth across the Atlantic with Virgin Atlantic, I aquired these little fellas in my goodie bag each time I made a trip. They came attached to a toothbrush.

And, as I reminisced about my trips and thought more about the duckies, I wondered how many of these ickle rubber duckies have been 'floating' in the sky over the years.

I contacted Virgin's press room and discovered the duckies have been discontinued since a year or so ago but I'd like to think they were in their thousands ... possibly more.

Let's think about this a second: An A380 airbus is designed to carry 555 passengers (555 duckies) including all classes. Take one airtrip three times a day from Newark to London — and back — for one year (365 days).

555 x 6 (return trips) = 3330; 3330 x 365 days = 1,215,450 rubber duckies!!!!! And that is just one flight.

Okay, now, is it me, or do we have a lot of baby rubber duckies flying over our heads in the world???? I like to think some may still be out there ...

So anyway, "29,000 Floating Ducks" will be a skybound tribute to my glorious flights with Virgin Atlantic back and forth to my homeland.

1st Journal Entry- Baskerville Hound

2006-01-17T02:15:00.000-08:00

Hey Kids! My first entry into our journal is all but finished and awaiting its long journey from Adelaide, Australia to New Jersey, USA! I thought instead of posting all that i have done in this journal entry and spoiling the surprise before the book reaches you, i would post a few thumbnails as a taste of whats to come!

I thought the best place to start is with the story of the ducks themselves. As i mentioned in an earlier post, i began with the shape of the ducks [specifically the plastic duck that adorns our cover-we really should name him/her-any suggestions?] I really liked the outline shape of him when he went from a 3 dimentional object to a 2D photograph. I started thinking about the currents that carried the ducks and started stitching into the page with cotton. This reminded me of ancient ocean maps, marked out with its currents and tides.

I have always liked the idea of language and speech being like a thread- that connect people's thoughts and ideas together like a dialogue. The rhythm of weaving in and out through the page made me think about this and the flow of text across a page. Using an old book, i incorporated some random lines of text, placed together in no particular order. The lines together creating a new piece of writing like: "So, having washed her plates and cup, the power of being alone with Earth and skies" [sounds deep huh?!].

we just so happended to have Chinese food for dinner the night that i added this to the journal, and i thought the fortune cookie messages fitted in with this somewhat philosophical idea quite nicely. one even said "good news will come to you by mail" which i thought had to be a good sign for our project!

Lastly, i wanted to add a playful element to my entry, since the rubber ducky is associated with children and play. Here i included a polaroid [how could i not have one in there somewhere!] and a cute little bluebird image.

Very much looking forward to seeing what Leeza's got to add for the next journal entry.

:)

"gaggle of geese" but what for ducks?

2006-01-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

Hi all

Rebekah and Lee's images of multiple ducks made me think of "a gaggle of geese", but what, I wondered, is used to describe a gathering of ducks? Thought you might like to see some of the fun answers I found on "google".

"a badelynge of ducks" from Medieval Names for Animals
"badling of ducks" from "Sir Nigel" by Arthur Conan Doyle
"waddling of . . . "
"paddling of . . . " from Collective Nouns for Birds
"team of . . . from Collective Nouns for Birds
"flush of . . ." from Collective Nouns for Birds
"raft of . . . " from Collective Nouns for Birds
"flock of . . . " from Collective Nouns for Birds

I like "waddling" and "paddling" the best, just perfect terms for a duck gathering I think!

(have also discovered that all these "nouns of multitude" have been researched and collected in "An Exaltation of Larks" by James Lipton)

Also, I've yet to introduce myself as others have, I intend to, but as it's late I'm afraid I'll have to put it off yet another day.

Looking forward to working with everyone!

one more thing....

2006-01-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

Oh and if everyone can post when the receive the journal, and then let us know when they are sending it on, we can keep track of it easier. Afterall these ducks have a tendancy to float all over the place!!
BTW: I've got Leeza's postal address and hope to send the book early this week! [29KFD on its maiden voyage!.....should get out the Champagne!]

Thoughts and Ideas

2006-01-14T05:13:00.000-08:00

Thank you Rebecca for posting the ideas. I had delayed my post to think things over.
So here are my thoughts and ideas:
Since there are 18 of us and 100 pages that would calculate out to 5 and 1/2 pages each to fill the book.
If each of us had the book up to 3 weeks it would take just over a year to complete.
So do we want to shorten the time to 1 - 2 weeks and do 2 or 3 pages and have it travel around twice.
Or lengthen it to 3 - 4 weeks and do 5 to 5 1/2 all at once

I would love for each of us to be able to keep a part of this project. So my idea on the CD are:
Have all the pages scanned and put on a CD for each of us so we can print out and make our own book.
The scanning can be done by one person or each of us scan our own pages at 300dpi or higher and
sent to one person to make the CD.
Another thought I just now had would be for each of us to scan our pages and post them as a download for each of us
to download and keep and print. This way we would get to see the book and print it out as it is being created.
I have a way with my server to make the downloads private and secure with a password so we would be the only ones
able to get it. You would have to send your scans to me via snail mail on a CD.

If you would need instructions on how to turn the scanned pages into a book let me know.

Just my thoughts and looking forward to hearing yours. And thanks Bek for putting this together.

Some changes...and some new kids

2006-01-12T23:33:00.000-08:00

Hiya All.....
To balance it out a little more i have shuffled the list around a little. Hope everyone is cool with this. So now the order will be:

Rebekah- Australia

Leeza- New Jersey, USA

Al McDermid [Urban convert]- Tokyo, Japan

Lee- South Carolina, USA

Miragee-Taipei, Taiwan

Dee- Texas, USA

Angela- Washington, USA

ValGalArt- California, USA

Scott- Italy

The Crafty Girl- Colorado, USA

Rock-Paper-Scissors- LA, USA

Bonojerry- NY, USA

Cathy, UK

Toni Kelly- Pennsylvania, USA

Cindy- Virginia, USA

Vicci- California, USA

Steve-UK

Back to Bek in Oz....

You might notice a couple new names from the original email I sent around, namely Cathy & Steve, both from the UK. We welcome them to the neighbourhood & look forward to seeing their work!

A few people have contacted me to ask if the book is making one trip through this list or if it is being sent a few times. My thoughts are that if it makes it way all the way through and back to me, not do we have a fantastic worldwide postal system, but why not give it another tour!

what do you think? Maybe if we do send it out again, we can send it through the list in reverse order, or in a completely new order?

Page Limit:

as for how many pages each person has, what if we set a limit of say 7 pages? This will allow each of us plenty of space to add our brilliant ideas and images [!] whilst making sure that there is enough room for everyone. There are 100 pages in the book- is seven too few or too many??

Time frame-

Chatting to Toni [well, via email!] she suggested we set a turn around time of 3 weeks from when you receive the journal to when you send it on to the next in line. This would give everyone an idea of when they can expect to see the book, as well as keeping momentum- does this sound good?

Any other ideas or suggestions about how best to go about this project? be sure to let us know!

Have a great weekend folks [remember here in Oz, we're a day infront of you so its Friday here!]

oh, and one last thing [i promise!] Toni had another brilliant idea, how about each page is scanned on to a CD for everyone to be able to keep?! great huh!

[Maybe each of us could scan our entries before we send it on, just in case, heaven forbid the journal got lost....]

Hurrah! ... quack, quack, oops!

2006-01-12T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hi, I'm Leeza and I am next on the list - I can't wait to receive the book and make my art on the next page. I'm on vacation and can;'t upload pictures right now because of my crappy old browser, so will add something extra when I get back to my office on Monday. Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. Glad to be a part of the team Bek, cheers! Everyone's sites look fabulous, it's going to be a brilliant book!