Mixed Media Canvas

Hello! Can you believe January is almost over? Today I'm enjoying the energy that a lovely sunny day brings - I hope your day is going well.

I have been working on something that I originally intended to be two projects, but eventually I combined them into one. I almost never know how things will turn out, and they often take on a life of their own. At one point, I thought I couldn't salvage this, but I think I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

My inspiration for the "love" part of this was a video I watched where the artist created a small canvas, using 3-D letters that she made herself out of layers of paper. I thought of all the chipboard letters I've got - they've fallen out of fashion, but I still hoard them anyway. I pulled out a cover from a discarded book to use as my "canvas". I keep a few of these around, and when I have extra paint or ink on my craft mat I swipe it over one of these just to find a way to use up my excess. It's a great way to build interesting layers of color for a background.

The book cover I chose was a fairly bright blue from earlier painting sessions. I used a combination of inks, acrylic paints and Gelatos to cover most of the blue, ending up with a pinky-purple background with some of the blue still showing through. After adhering the letters, I did a little random stamping with a permanent brown ink, and added some fun tissue tape from Tim Holtz. The letters also received a treatment of ink, paint and Gelatos. I covered the back with a pretty paper (although that ended up being lost later in the project).

I had thought this little "canvas" would be a stand-alone item to use as a Valentine's Day decoration, but I just wasn't happy with it. I liked the colors, but it seemed to be missing something and I couldn't figure out what it needed. That was the point that I almost gave up on it and decided to go on to something else.

Next I pulled out an old canvas. Several years ago I had glued some decorative scrapbook paper on it along with some thread and beads - it hung in a spare bedroom. I decided it was time for a makeover, so I cut off the thread and beads and ripped off as much of the old paper as I could. I probably wouldn't have bothered, but there were wrinkles in the paper and I didn't want that to interfere with whatever I did next.

Although the canvas wasn't completely free of paper, that was okay - the extra texture could be nice. I glued down some washi tape and then coated the whole thing with gesso. Next I adhered some pieces of lace. Then I pulled out some stencils and embossing paste and applied it randomly over the canvas. Now I had lots of interesting texture going on. I had fun with some acrylic paints, thinned down with matte medium and water to create soft washes of color.

I decided I wanted some script stamping, but it's really tough to stamp on a canvas. So I used a trick I learned somewhere and did my stamping on tissue paper. Once the paper is torn, it's quite easy to glue it to a canvas so that the edges almost disappear. It's really a nice effect!

Now I was stumped -  where to go with this next? Then it dawned on me that the book cover I'd already done might look good glued to the top of this canvas. I had some ribbon I'd colored with dye inks that I glued crosswise on the canvas and then added my book cover. Hmm...something still not quite right. I decided that the canvas needed something on the upper left to balance things. But what?

I pulled out an artificial flower, a grungeboard flourish, a key and some colored twine. (This is why I have such a hard time throwing things away - I never know when I might be able to use them!!). I altered the flower and flourish with layers of paint. Once I tried positioning them on the canvas I knew I was on to something. I found a ratty old button that worked perfectly as the center of the flower and tied the key on with the colored twine. At last! Finally done!

I know this is a long post, but it was a rather convoluted process. I hope you enjoyed seeing the finished product. I'm linking this up to the January Make It Take It challenge from Craft Stamper Magazine.

Till next time,

Immi

Volunteers Rock!

I work for an adult basic education program, and volunteers are very important to our work. We have volunteers who work directly with students one-on-one or in groups; we also have a special volunteer who does all kinds of mundane clerical tasks. Every year, those in charge of our volunteer program organize an event to thank the volunteers for all they do. A special day is planned, and the staff works very hard to come up with a theme, decorate, and find/buy inexpensive gifts.

For this year's theme, we had to incorporate butterflies. They've been a symbol for us this year, as we've gone through a major change. After 50+ years, it was time for a name change and a new logo. I enjoyed being a part of the committee that worked on choosing the logo and new colors. The timing was perfect, as we wanted to celebrate the remarkable ways our program has improved. Just a few short years ago, we were at the bottom of the state "report card" for programs of our size (we're the fourth largest in the state). Thanks to the gifted leadership of a new director, lots of hard work from clerical staff and teachers, and plenty of innovative thinking, we've moved to the very top. That's an incredible turnaround, and we are quite proud! (I think it's so funny that the only area we missed being #1 is in the area of student retention. State Corrections beat us on that one!)

Anyway, I was asked for advice about a way to incorporate butterflies into this year's gift. The volunteer coordinator had scoured the internet and Pinterest, looking for interesting ideas, and she showed those to me. I was especially drawn to a couple of examples that used collage. We talked about trying to mass produce something original for each person, but that was overwhelming. Then we had the idea to have one original "something" which could be reproduced via color copier as a card. I timidly volunteered to take a stab at creating a piece of art, and she took me up on it. Yikes! I get myself into all kinds of pickles this way! I was nervous, but excited to get started.

The inspiration was a poem she had chosen that would be printed inside the cards. I won't include it here since I don't know the author, but it's about the migration of monarch butterflies and their difficult journey. Two important words in the poem are "believe" and "achieve".

I decided to use a quality piece of watercolor paper for this, and began as I love to do by creating a messy background. I used paint, gesso & spray ink, and included a few pieces of cheesecloth for texture. The butterfly I drew the way I learned  in grade school: fold a piece of paper in half, draw & open. Easy peasy. I traced the shape onto another piece of watercolor paper which I cut out. I pulled out an assortment of papers and created a collage, adding some ink & paint over that. The words in the center are too small to see here, but they are words that came to my mind when I thought of volunteering. I cut them out of an old dictionary and glued them down.

Once the butterfly was finished, I glued it to the background. I made antennae out of some copper wire I had, running it through a paper crimper for texture. I stamped the words believe & achieve, and added a few fun touches. Voila! All done!

I'm going to be excited to see this up when it's time for display, and I'm happy to have had an opportunity to do something I love to make a positive contribution at work.

Till next time,
Immi

Breath of Spring

Spring in Minnesota is usually heralded by potholes after a long, difficult winter. This year, we had an unusually mild winter, with very little snow, so the potholes are hardly a problem at all. March has been amazingly warm, with the trees budding much earlier than we normally expect. The freshness of spring seems to inspire the desire to clean and freshen indoors, too. What I'd really like to do is swap out all the drapes and bedspreads with lighter, fresher choices. While I'm at it, why not get some new throw pillows and placemats! That's not part of the budget, and I don't have room to store all that "off season" stuff! (It's hard enough finding storage space for all my beloved Christmas treasures.)


So, next my thoughts turn to art projects I could do. These don't take up a lot of room, and I don't spend much on supplies. Now if I can just think of something...


A few months back, I saw a call for art based on the color chartruese. Thinking I might submit something, I got out one of my old book covers, and glued down odds and ends of paper. Next came layers of paint and spray ink. This has become my favorite way to create a background. There is no way to ruin it, because another layer of paint or glaze will fix anything. I also enjoy creating the look of texture by using a material called sequin waste. It's what's left after the sequins are punched out. It's available with a variety of hole sizes, and works really well as a stencil.


I ended up with a background with a lot of pink and green, and a little blue as an accent color. I didn't achieve chartreuse, but I loved the way it looked. Perfect for spring! The board sat tucked away until I came across it last week.


I decided I wanted something three dimensional, using a bouquet of flowers. I went to the craft store and bought three small sprigs. After I brought them home, I cut them apart and arranged them in a single bunch. I wrapped strips of dictionary pages around the stem ends to create a neat bundle. I had a piece of green polka-dot ribbon I'd saved from a gift, and there was just barely enough to tie a bow.


Next I found a spring quote somewhere online, and printed it in a font that I thought fit the theme. A little ink helped the white paper blend into the whole. 


Finally, I used some heavy-duty adhesive to glue my bouquet down, and left everything to dry. I took the completed project to work to enjoy on my desk. Every day when I walk in, I enjoy seeing it there to greet me!

Happy Spring!

Immi

Living and Active

You may remember a while back that I posted a preliminary sketch for a piece I planned to submit to Somerset Studio magazine. I did mail it in, but I haven't heard anything yet. I hope that means that it will be used in some way, but it may just be that they're still going to return it with a polite rejection letter.

This is the finished work and I'm pretty pleased with the result. I ended up cutting out the sketch rather than drawing a new one. I painted the "vine" with layers of color and set it aside. The background paper is a nice watercolor paper that stood up to lots of splashing and spraying. Once the vine was glued in place, I added the text from Hebrews that originally inspired me. That was printed on the computer and cut apart.

Next I selected portions from the prologue of John's gospel. I hand-wrote those around the edges of the vine. The Roman numerals along the edges represent the Ten Commandments.

The bottom layer is a canvas panel, painted a darker green and splashed about. The blue "ruffle" is plain old tissue paper that I painted with a wonderful acrylic paint made by Lumiere. Their paint is beautiful and remained flexible when dried. This allowed me to fold it into rough pleats and stitch it to the watercolor paper with my machine.

Apart from the pressure of making something I thought was worth submitting, this project was completely pleasurable. Of all the artsy or crafty things I've tried, messy painting is the most fun for me. I'll let you know what happens as soon as I hear anything.

Till next time!

The Gift of Art

I originally wrote about this piece of art here. I've had this on my desk at work since then. This morning, we were registering students for our ESL (English as a Second Language) program. A young Asian woman was there, helping her mother go through the process. After her mother had finished the reading test, she and her daughter were at my desk. I matched up the mother's test score with the proper class, filled out the paperwork, and explained everything to them.

When I was finished, the young woman pointed to the canvas, asking me if I had made it. I told her I had, and she asked me about the frame. I picked it up to show her that actually there was no frame, only a canvas. She admired it so much, that I was moved to offer it to her as a gift. She was taken aback, but when she saw that I was sincere in the offer, she smilingly accepted it and thanked me profusely.

It was so gratifying to know that this thing I had created would make someone else happy. Her spontaneous admiration and pleasure assured me that she would enjoy the gift. For me, giving art can be stressful (self-induced, of course!!). In this case, though, the giving was untainted by any sense of the recipient feeling obliged to "like" the gift. She so obviously liked it, and I'm so glad I followed my impulse to give it away. It's nice to think that it has a new home!

Till next time!

Without Ceasing

Here is another of the pieces I made while the energy was burning high. I've had a lot of phrase snippets floating around in my head that I'd like to get into concrete form, so I expect that this may turn into a series. These bright colors seem exactly right to me just now. So much of what I've done in the past has had an old world feel. I still like that look a lot, but maybe the warmer weather is influencing me in color choice. I could spend hours layering paint and ink! There is really no way to mess this up - you can always cover everything with a fresh layer of paint. I like the depth that comes from peeks of previous layers showing through.

"Without Ceasing" and "Stand  Firm" were both done on canvas, utilizing miscellaneous papers glued down as the first layer. I've also done this technique before on the covers of discarded books. I love the idea of breathing new life into something that otherwise seems of little value. Yet another way to recycle! It occurred to me the other day that I could do the same thing while leaving the book intact. I'm excited to give that a try to see how it turns out.

I've toyed with the idea of setting up an Etsy shop to see if anyone would be interested in purchasing any of my work. I also would like to donate some pieces to the annual camp auction for Flaming Pine Youth Camp. I have given previous pieces as gifts, but I always worry that the recipient may feel obligated to "make nice" while cringing inside!

For me, this represents a beautiful string of pearls. Everything about this art exploration makes a happy song in my heart!

Staking a Claim

A few evenings ago, I got together with some of my co-workers for a "Welcome Summer" evening. We've had a long, cold, damp spring here in Minnesota. Everyone is ready for some warmth and sunshine. We had fun eating, laughing and talking. Our hostess likes to pose an interesting question for her guests. We began to discuss what we would be doing if we could choose any career. It was very interesting to gain insight into the dreams of others. Some of those dreams have been realized, but some have been left behind with little thought of trying to reclaim them.

As soon as the question was presented, almost without thought I said I would be an artist. One of the women present began talking about finding joy in play. She had been in a toy store and ended up having a great time with one of the employees as they played with some of the toys there. She talked about how energized and joyful she felt afterwards. Apparently that sparked something within me, because I continued thinking about the subject after the party was over.

I realized that it was silly and fruitless as well as self-pitying to think that maybe "someday" I could be an artist. The only reasons to stay locked into a helpless state of waiting for something undefined to happen are fear and laziness. I'm an artist right now! I've never made any money from what I do. I've never had my work featured in an exhibit or publication. That doesn't make me any less an artist.

Thinking these things, I felt motivated to get into my paints and make art happen. I've had the idea for a while to create some pieces based on phrases that have meaning to me. Here is one of the happy results of that inspiration. I've taken this piece to work so that I can enjoy it and be reminded of what it means.

I'm staking a claim to the title of artist!

Immi