Wax and Collage

No name for these yet….Paper collaged on cradled wood, then coated with beeswax/damar resin mix, then I “drew” in the wax and colored with paintstiks.  Then I used a tracing paper to make marks.  Love this whole process.

Loving Beeswax

I played with beeswax again with a friend this week.  We used the wax that I bought from honey producers.  My, my, what an enchanting smell!  There was a new Cloth Paper Scissors issue out with a technique using plexiglas.  Lynda wanted to try that so we did.  You can see our results here on Lynda’s blog, Bloom, Bake, and Create.  Neither one of us were terribly impressed, but perhaps that is just due to our lack of experience with the technique. However, I wanted to have a go at it again, this time using some ATC sized bristol board pieces.  I cleaned in My Room yesterday and found I had bunches of ATC size packs that absolutely needed be used.

Yesterday I watched Amy Stoner’s  dvd on using collage and wax.  Now I’m armed and ready.  I made the collages last night using 100 lb. Bristol board, prints on copy paper and words clipped from an old book.  First I glued the paper pieces down, then I  inked the edges with a black ink pad, just like Amy did.  Let that dry and this morning I am getting the wax out.

I used the ice pick to incise some lines and free hand circles in the wax, then I used a gold paintstik to rub paint into the lines before sealing them.  There is more that could be done with the ice pick and just maybe I will.  I think I could get addicted to this.

New Mixed Media Part 2

If you scroll down to the New Mixed Media post on October 17, you will see the beginning of a new mixed media piece.  I am going to go back to that process and show the next couple of steps and you will see it beginning to change and transform from the initial fabric and paper collage.

First stage: Gesso on the top part, then paint and some gesso on the bottom part

More paint on the bottom part, then oil pastels on the top part...a shape has been sketched in place

I love using oil pastels…I guess it’s the whole blending with my fingers attribute that I like.  I seem to be able to do it better that way than with paint and a brush.  It’s definitely more up close and personal.  With my finger I can make the pastel go where I want it.  I have even been known to apply liquid paint with my finger and rub it in.  Anything that gives me a bit more control and blending.

Now more elements are added and some ink lines...

And then it will sit while I decide what bothers me about it.  It is not finished.  More to come…stay tuned.

New Series in Paper

Last week I was working on getting some things ready to sell.  I often do events in New Harmony, IN  and have a lot of photographs from that historic tourist town.  I decided to start a series of collages from photographs that might be appealing to visitors to the area.

Stories of New Harmony:  Brick, log cabins mixed with modernity.

Stories of New Harmony #1

Stories of New Harmony #2

Stories of New Harmony #3

Stories of New Harmony #4

Stories of New Harmony #5

Stories of New Harmony #6

Stories of New Harmony #7

Sketchbook Cover

Got a collage going that just isn’t working for ya’?  Make a sketchbook cover out of it!  I haven’t been sketching much lately, but my sketchbook got a new jacket today.

Visual Journal-ing

I got the idea to decorate the front of my visual journal from someone else who is doing the online workshop at Strathmore.  Of course, I couldn’t just do it with paper…I had to use some cloth too…this cloth is rusted cloth and the rest is paper. I really loved her color scheme of browns, tans and red, so I worked off of that also.

Now as to what is inside…I have yet to finish Week #3’s instructions and Week #4 is where we are now.  I will get it finished this week!  And post it then.  As for the Sketchbook Project I signed up…I have gotten as far as collaging some newsprint to the page.  My plan is to do a sketch over that and then paint it.  This has been percolating for some time…and January is almost over.  A new theme will be announced for February. January has been a busy month, but I almost have my tax paperwork finished and will get it to the cpa early for once!

Friday This ‘N That…

Today I was up early and got some fabric dyed to fill out my inventory. I am preparing for the quilt show next week. I will also have painted dryer sheets for sale. Since all my art that uses painted dryer sheets is either in the arts council show or sold, I decided to make a couple of samples so that quilters at the show can get an idea of what they can do with those painted dryer sheets. That’s what I have been working on…that and getting my brain organized of what all I have to get done before I leave. I’m still waiting on important orders to get here! I also spent a good part of yesterday trying to get a hotel room. Who knew a military graduation, the Rider Cup (?), and a Coca-Cola convention would all converge on the town the same time as the quilt show?

Canvas, ink, coffee stain, painted dryer sheet, home dec sample, dyed scrim, photo transfer, old buttons, perle cotton stitching, dyed cheesecloth, very old ribbon.  The next one isn’t totally finished.  I am going to put some more stuff on it, but here’s where it is now.

It’s got pretty much the same stuff as the other one, except I haven’t done the embellishing yet.  These are not quilted, in the interest of time, so they have raw edges.  The home dec samples are the perfect size to use in a small hanging like this, and I have so many of them…I should really use them more in my work!

I am also watching this hurricane as it comes closer to shore and praying there will be no loss of life.  My sister lives in Dayton, TX and has already evacuated to Louisiana, although they could find no hotel room or campground to park their camper.  This morning they were still in the Walmart parking lot in Alexandria with their two dogs.  The news is saying this one is bigger than Katrina.  And that would be a shame.

Textural Studies….

I love texture.  I love it so much that I hunt around my house for things to slap onto a canvas and paint over.  Crumpled paper (brown and tissue), joint tape, onion and potato mesh bags, cheesecloth, heated tyvek, little micro beads…nothing is safe from me.  I like contrasting textures.

I love the textural markings I get in my hand dyed fabrics.  There is movement and pattern.  Some people like the flat colored hand dyes.  Not me…give me excitement and zing and movement! Here are a couple of collages on canvas that I have been working on.  These use all those things mentioned above.