Stamp Carving

A GREAT way of saving money on stamps is to carve your own. If you want all sorts of textures for your art work, just carve your own. I find that the little erasers you can stamp out of are too small sometimes so I really like making a stamp that shows texture with the styrofoam meat trays. They can be at least 12" long so you get a great huge texture on your paper.

Michael's sells an economical way of buying a stamp kit including a breyer, a tube of ink, the stamp carving tool, a tray to put the paint, and a piece of rubber to stamp into. If you use a coupon, you get it for so cheap it amazes me. I mean a big savings. Just a breyer is $16.00 and the tube of ink is $7.00. The piece of rubber to carve is $6.00 so when you keep adding everything up, it is alot of money. The box at full price I think is around $34.00 with the coupon $17-20 depending if your coupon is 50% or 40%.

TUTORIAL: Stenciling Dish Towels

I picked up these flour sack towels and stenciled them.

1. Lay your towel out on a flat surface; make sure you have a paper towel underneath the flour sack.

2. I used black ink, but you could use any color.

3. I used a stencil brush.

4. Keep brushing your stencil brush over the ink till yur brush has enough ink on the bristles.

5. Lay your stencil on top of the towel, on the center fold of the towel.
(Most towels will already be prefolded so find the middle of the towel.

6. For my 123 towel, I put the stencil opening with the two directly on the center line of the towel. Dab or rub your brush all on the opening of the number two till it is filled with black ink.

7. Now for the number one, move to the left of the two, eye the space between the numbers, lay the stencil down again and redab your brush on the ink and apply to the towel the same way.

8. Number 3 is to the right of the two and repeat as with number 1 and 2.

9. "BE CAREFUL" to not rub onto any other opening of other numbers or you will get black spots as I got. You may want that look anyway. Many sacks that were made out of burlap and linen have smudge marks or numbers or letters blurry.

10. Now iron the piece with a paper towel over the numbers. This makes the numbers more permanent into the fabric so it will not wash out.

I then did one with the word "Paris" on it. I love white towels and writing or symbols on the fabric. It adds a little interest in your kitchen.

Collage Edition-my newest little piece

Healing Art Journal Page Spread

I had so much fun doing this, that I am doing another one in different colors. Cool too because the next girl portrait looks so different. When you draw a different shape head, you then automatically have different shape eyes, nose and mouth. I wanted to try to paint with warm colors seeing that the last one I did was blues and purples. This time will be reds and oranges I think.

Gesso, ink, acrylics, watercolor pastels and crayons were used along with graphite pencils, and stamps. Next time, I am going to use stencils.

Sketchcrawl.com

I just found out about a really cool idea. It is called Sketchcrawl. Sketchcrawl is a group of artists-age-children-adult, you do not have to be professional, can be an amateur, and you meet in a group in a city and draw all day.

October 16, 2010 is the date held for the sketchcrawl. Artists get together all over the world-France, Italy, Spain, England, Japan and various states in the US.

I found on in Cambridge Massachusetts where the Sketchcrawl is going to be held this year. So what I can do now that I have heard about this is contact the man that is heading this event off. I could also hold a sketchcrawl in a different location.

You can post the sketchcrawl on line to get people to come to your location and have a sign-up. You can invite friends, artists, children and family. Anyone who would like to attend can. You bring your sketchpad, drawingpad, ink, watercolors, pencils and sit and draw what is around you, the people, the scenery, different objects, cars, bicycles.

It looks like alot of fun. Sketchcrawl.com asks that you have your sketchcrawl on the same date as everyone around the world will be doing it then.

After that date is over, you can upload your pictures of the sketchcrawl online so others can see what was done that day.

The positives of this I read was the meeting of different people, interested in the same thing as you-drawing.

In Cambridge, the drawing goes on in all various pubs. In other areas of the world, people are drawing buildings, streets, other people in parks or walking, eating, drinking and you may even see your own portrait hidden in someones sketch pads (sketch books).

If you are on vacation at that time in another country, perhaps you could check out the area, sign up and draw with others. Or perhaps, you want to take a vacation and fly to one of these sites. Great idea!

On the other side, on behalf of my Dad who passed away three years ago from cancer, October 16th is his birthday.

Wax-Candle Wax Example

This little piece that is almost camouflaged leaning against my wooded goose, is a new favorite.
I took a piece of cardstock, a piece of paper towel that had paints all over it. I first brayed two inks: black and distressed navy on the cardstock. I then put gel medium on the paper towel and ripped it and placed it on the cardstock. Then I used the breyer that had left over ink on it to rub the edges.

Now the famous step: you know that candle wax I told you about in the previous day blog, melt that, let it drip on your piece and then I used a rubber stamp to press into it. Yes, I know, I may have ruined my stamp. I just had to do it though to see if I would get much of an impression. I did not. I also used the edge of the candle to rub a bit in spots.

Lesson: Is to show you how you can even use candle wax as a layer and an integral part
of your collage process.

Bees Wax on Bird ATC

I just loaded on the bees wax trying to let it drip before dry!

Many layers here of ink, marker, maskin tape, distressed inks of various colors with stamp pad collection

Another Art Assignment using techniques from "The Technique Zone"e

Boy, did I find a great blog-the technique zone!

This artist is very giving. Go over to her site and give her a "hoot and hollar"!

I did two of her ideas for techniques tonight.

One was to take two ATC's and cover them with gesso. I chose to use grey gesso, this artist used white. Cover one card with the gesso, apply the other card on top, rub a bit and then separate. Let them dry well. After they are dried, rub some kind of ink or acrylic on top. I rubbed yellow ink on one and then white for the edges. The other I rubbed white ink, then black ink, then white ink, then black ink and got kind of an eerie look. The yellow one with white looks like leaves. Amazing the differences.

The next assignment I did was to take maskin tape, apply black ink to a stamp, which I chose a bird, rub the stamp with the black ink, then lay the maskin tape (non stick side down on the stamp and rub a bit, then remove tape and apply tape onto some substrate (surface). I again, selected an ATC, and applied many layers of maskin tape, inks, drew with black marker, and then bees wax. I also did the back of the card with remainders of maskin tape, gold ink, black lettering stamp pad.

So, I accomplished three examples of ATC's and I decided to poke holes in them, take a little silver ring, and attach them as ATC samples and reminders of how I did the techniques. I thought perhaps a sticky label could be applied to the backs and in small printing or type it, what the technique was. This is a great way to build up a collection of memory of "How To's"

Layers of collage

In this collage, after applying the acrylic paint with a credit card on a prepared canvas board, I used a tan brown color, an olive green color and an aqua blue scraped over the canvas approximately 3-4 times, drying the layers in between with a blow dryer.

I used a baby wipe, paper towel and a scraping tool to make marks and wipe off paint in places to have layers of color peek through. What I realized was that the value of the paints were almost the same, so the layers were getting a bit muddled and merky. Then I applied the white with stencils and build up from there.

I noticed how much I love bird images so I added that along with some papers with shades of a burgundy red. Using stamp pads with french writing, I added white, black, and red inks.

I wrote with black and white marker, applied transparent black letters, dripped olive green ink, and I love the use of charcoal around edges and across the whole piece creating a shabby piece.

Believe it or not, I did journal on how to do a collage and why I like to collage all over this piece. It is quite subliminal where some of the writing shows and some doesn't.

Enjoy! Now I know what it looks like to apply colors I like and colors I don't!

Printmaking on Fancy Fabric

A year ago, I went to the Brimfield Flea Market in Brimfield Massachusetts, supposedly the largest flea market in the country. I think I have that info right:) I am from that area so from time to time, I check on the schedule of the flea market and try to attend at least once for the year. It takes me almost 2 hours to get there now and I can only make about 1/8 of the market because I don't stay in the area. I would probably have to be there 3-4 days to scout the place the way I would really want to.

I found this wooden block along with one other. They were only $4.00 a piece. My sons had given me money for my birthday so that is what I bought.

The first attempt was trying to print with them on a canvas board. Duh! What was I thinking...it didn't work. I kept the blocks out for decoration in my studio for awhile but just wasn't getting it. I didn't necessarily want to print the way the blocks were used for. I wanted to do something different but what?

So, the other day I was dabbling in all sorts of little projects and I thought, I am going to try to print with them today! I brought out my ink pads, the blocks, and some fabric that I was gifted with from a woman who makes drapes and upholstery covers. I worked on it for a short time. I am going to have to continue though; different fabrics, different color inks, fabric paint, creative patterns, and stitching...ooolala! It should be fun.

What a blessing that the Lord has given us this sort of creativity to play with!

Rub the Paper Off of the Packing Tape

Here,you see my rubbing the paper off gently, off of the packing tape. You may need to spray a bit more water, and continue to wipe off till all of the paper is off. Your ink image is actually on the tape and this can be used in all of your art work, art journal pages, collages, mixed media pieces...

4th of July Petite Doll on Wood

A 4th of July Petit Doll that I am working on! I one day worked diligently, and then stopped and have been doing journal pages and shopping small antiques and ephemera to do some grunge.

She is handrawn, cut out and applied to wood. Tissue paper, inks, copy of a church from free Dover Publication, ink, colored pencils, a hand cut stamp of a cloud, and acrylic paints so far!

Tags-Like Little Petit Journal Pages

I don't know where this journal spread came from but all I know is that I had a ball. I had taken a photo of a water fountain in a beautiful botanical garden in Andover Mass about three years ago. I didn't want the photo to just hang around, I didn't feel like framing it, and I didn't want to junk it.
so months ago, I cut it out and applied it to my journal along with a gum package and gum wrapper. It stayed this way for months. I also love labels or tags from clothing and save them figuring they would make great tabs for journal pages. I gessoed the tags and put them inside the gum container and there they sat until tonight. The whole spread I did this evening. Shocked I am to be honest with you. I just let go and went wild. A bit different than my style because I always seem to go green, black and gold and grungy. This time I went more bright psychadelic colors.

I went to the Dollar Store today and found these small acrylic pots of paint in tropic colors and "Fresh" colors. Yes, that is what they were called. So I began to use a palette knife which is different for me and applied them to the pages-that was step one for tonight.

2. Stenciled with a metal stencil and a plastic stencil.

3. Flicked paint.

4. Stencilled with an absorbent ground to raise an image.

5. Used bronze acrylic paint and used a tool to create texture.

6. Dotted sparkly paint.

7. Attached hydrangea petals stamped out with a punch into paint tabs.

8. Applied with medium the clothing labels onto pieces of papers, ripped the edges, grunged them up with black and walnut ink pads. Punched holes and attached with hemp to the journal page.

9. Added a small embellishment of yard.

10. Began to journal on the back of the re-gessoed tag.

Supply list:

journal page
acrylic paints
personal photo
gum wrapper
gum package
gesso
papers
clothing tags
hemp cord
paint chips
glitter paint
absorbent ground-white
yarn
stencils
metallic paint
modge podge
pen
black ink pad
walnut ink pad
copper acrylic paint


Techniques with this journal spread

flickered
scraped
palette knifed
stencilled
sponged
rubbed
painted
written
glued
gessoed