The Art Society - February - patchwork

Hi all.  I am taking a class with Christy Tomlinson (The Art Society), which is really good - very different to what I would usually do, and this month - no paint!  Withdrawal symptoms commencing!

Christy's canvases (she did three) were based around the look of a patchwork quilt.  I think there is probably another version in me, but this is the one I am starting with.  I had a papier mache frame already gesso'd up (I think I got distracted!!) so decided I would use that as my base.  It's 9" square on the outside, with a 6" square recess.

The covering is from a napkin, stripped back to one layer, and chopped into strips, broadly the same sort of depth. I wish I had taken a photo before I 'aquarelled' (another new verb) around the edges of each of the patches.  It made so much difference.  I managed to salvage a little bit of paper clay (most of it had unfortunately set into a pillow shape that didn't really fit with what I wanted to do.  But I got enough to make 3 stars.

I found some silver 'Gold Finger' in my cupboard, and some black shimmer DecoArt metallic lustre.  I rubbed them both on around the inside and outside edges of the frame, and also around the outside of the plaque in the centre, and on the paper clay stars.

I doodled some stitches (and on the basis it would have to be a miracle for me to sew anything, this was pretty good!) on top of the aquarelle shading

This class is about using what you've got, perhaps in different ways to how you have used it before.  I have a whole load of Thickers sticky letters, but these black glittery ones worked really well, with my word of the moment 'Soar'.

Hope you like!

Resources

Substrate: Papier Mache Frame
Napkin

Paint and ink
erm...no...

Stamps
ah...no

Bling and other stuff
Aquarelle pencil: Black
Staedtler fine liner: Black
Thickers letters:  Boho black
DecoArt: Decopage glue
Paper clay
Star mould
Daler Rowney Gold Finger: Silver
DecoArt Metallic Lustre: Black Shimmer

February - Calendar Challenge

I'm a little late on this - where has this month gone??  February's page is a bit of a mish-mash, in that I thought - ooh February, spring, green shoots etc.  But actually, it's not, it's dark, and grey and wet.  But there has been the Olympics to provide a bit of colour...  So thanks, Kate Crane for challenging me to get on and do this!

I cut all my discs out of some Edwardian Country Diary paper I have had hanging around for way too long.  They have been sat on my workbench for a few weeks... ho hum... They are all a bit bright, but I will fix that over the month...

In my lovely book (Paperchase, 10" square), I reused Kate's gesso method for painting, using black paint with a fair amount of gesso.  Whilst it was still damp, I used some tiny amounts of red - thinking of Valentine's day, I suppose, subconsciously (I'd never think of it CONSCIOUSLY!), dragging through it with the end of a paintbrush, and also with an old bottle lid to make the Olympic rings.

I used one of Andy Skinner's stencils and my beloved Stewart Gill glittery paint, to provide some interest, and a little tippex and a big fat gold marker.

I started a little zentangling, which I will probably finish by the end of the month...maybe...

Hope you like!

Resources

Substrate: Paperchase book
Edwardian Country Diary 6x6 pad

Paint and ink
Pebeo: White Gesso
Liquitex Basics: Titanium White, Mars Black, Naphthol Crimson
Stewart Gill: Galactica Flamenco, Alchemy White hot
Edding calligraphy paint marker: Gold

Bling and other stuff
Sakura pens, various colours
Tipp-ex
Andy Skinner Mask - Sunburst

Q&L - Miss

Hi there!  This fortnight's Quotes and Lyrics from the Craft Barn challenge is 'Miss'.  I have loved Elton John's music for ever, and one of his earliest hits just came rushing at me for this:

I miss the earth so much, I miss my wife, it's lonely out in space on such a timeless flight

and of course, it gave me a change to go mad on the bling front!

This year, my book is A3, so I do have masses of space to go large.  I used as my base the shiny side of centura pearl, and painted it with water, before spraying it with several colours of Dylusions.

I cut a circle out for my earth, using the hole as a stencil to rub some iridescent blue luminarte powder through, extending it slightly larger, to give my 'earth' a corona.  The earth was painted up with fresco finish paints, and then sprayed with goosebumps, to make it a bit bobbly.

I stamped that lovely Tim Holtz lady in archival, and then smooshed her through some watered down distress ink, doing the same sort of thing for the words, only in this case, the DI was watered down with cosmic shimmers.



















It's hard to believe that this single was released in 1972 - OMG...

Hope you like!



Resources

Paint and ink
Archival ink: Cobalt, Cornflower Blue
Distress Ink: Dusty Concord, Stormy Sky
Dylusions: London Blue, Vibrant Turquoise, Black Marble, After Midnight
PaperArtsy Fresco Finish: Pea Coat, Toad Hall, Hyde Park, Nougat

Stamps
Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz: Classics no 5 SCF005

Bling and other stuff
Goosebumps
Luminarte: Iridescent blue
Cosmic Shimmer Mist: Pearl, Astral Mystery

Q&L - Silence

This fortnight's challenge from the Craft Barn is Silence or Dazzle.  I went for silence (not my usual approach!) as my first thought was The Sound of Silence, but I am creating a bit more difficulty for myself this year, by trying to keep to my real core favourite music...so I went for I Can Hear Your Heart Beat, one of my favourite Chris Rea songs, another old song, from Water Sign.  I suspect most of my lyrics will come from 70's and 80's.

I'm using this massive A3 sketch book, so I have plenty of space to work in.  I found a set of old map prints and knew this was going to be my base.  I trimmed it up, and gave it a really good sanding, because it had a high gloss finish.  I chose a map as a back drop, because of a line in the song 'I'm in a European disco, and it's thumping up the beat' - so welcome to Marseilles!  I also distressed the  edges, and ripped into it to age it.

 Before.........  and after!

Then I set to with ink and stamps!

I wrote out the first few lines on card, which I then coloured using promarkers. I added a doodle of a heart monitor output on that lyric (it's NOT my heart beat, it's not fast enough!), and then glued it all together.

Hope you like!

 

 

 

 

 

Resources

 

Substrate: - Endeavour City Maps Print Set, Marseilles

 

Paint and Ink

Archival: Watering Can, Orange Blossom, Venetian Orange, Potting Soil, Red Geranium

Distress Ink: Tea Dye

Promarkers: Vanilla, Satin, Spice, Cinnamon

 

Stamps

Prima clear stamps: Finnabair Brickwork, Distress dots

KaiserCraft: Film Edges

 

Bling and other stuff

hmmm, no bling?

Jewellery making - the start of ANOTHER obsession??

It's no secret I am a bit of a magpie.  In the 'bright, shiny, sparkly' sense, and 'The Toon' sense, and also in the hoarding sense.  I buy or acquire stuff, and put it to one side for the right moment. 

I now have a stash of gemstones, mainly from Jewellery Maker, but elsewhere too.  Today is when I start showing what I am making.  I know I will get better (not entirely sure I am using the right things with the right things yet, but hey!  It's only wire, so I can always take them apart again.

Over Christmas, I spent ages stringing up some chips from a gem scoop, so not exactly sure what they are. There are five strands, three from the gem scoop, one from a bead scoop, I think mainly moonstone, and one strand of glass beads, sort of like labradorite.  I made some earrings to match.  They have silver findings, which I think finishes them off.















A couple of weeks back I got some GORGEOUS agate faceted beads. Oh my.  Wonderful.  I stroked 

them for a while, and then had an idea of fancy chain - which I don't have.  So I used some black .8mm wire and created loops at either end.  It was a bit fiddly linking them together, but I got there.

The necklace is approx. 40 inches around - so it sits very low - almost belly button level.  The colours are orangey, sage, mustard, all held together with black wire, ooh, lovely.  Now I have to decorate that display hand I have had on the shelf for a while!

Hope you like!

Resources

Gems, findings and wire: Jewellery Maker

Glass beads - Gutterman