11.18.09
Art-o-mat
OMG, I just found out about the coolest thing, by way of Thrifty Collage Artist.
It’s called the Art-o-mat and is the very coolest thing! Old cigarette machines have been given new life as art vending machines. And they have a cool retro 50s feel to them, too. Take a look!
09.14.09
Candy, or Art?
It’s a sad state of affairs when I decided to purchase a chocolate candy bar just for the art-full possibilities of using its label in some yet-to-be-defined art project.
Chocolate is an important part of my life. But in this case, the label was more important, and was the motivating factor in its purchase. What’s more – it’s imported!
© amateur-in-art, 2009
07.13.09
Soul Journal – Day 22 – Self portrait
Today’s assignment was to write a “today I feel” prompt, then go to work with finger painting! (latex glove recommended!)
I used gray gesso to start on top of my writing and it really blocked things out too much, even when I mixed it with some white to lighten it. The pictures aren’t worth posting here. Then I put on the background, using 3 colors – green, blue, and pink. I just squirted the colors right onto the page and then smeared around with my fingers. I was hoping they would not blend so easily so I could have some pretty solid bands of straight color, but it did not work out that way.
Then it was time for my “self portrait”. I cannot draw or do anything like that, so I went with the basic stick figure. In the end, I decided that was fine because stick figure is equally childlike as finger painting, so I decided it was a good match. The stick figure has a balloon in her hand although it looks like something otherwise unidentifiable. I also filled her out a little bit, giving some substance to her body, to help show that she was a grown woman, and not a child. Because it was finger painting and kids often include their pets, I added a cat on the bottom left, but he looks kinda funny. (love the fluffy tail, though!)
Then Sarah told us to add personal symbols or things that were important to us. I definitely wanted to add a cardinal, and I think he didn’t turn out too bad, considering he was finger painted. I also added a book (ha ha – the black thing that looks like a sad butterfly). At this point, I still had some black paint to use up, so I did “fingertip dots” around the edges of the pages – and I like the way that part turned out.
I’m not much for self-portraits, because I can’t draw other people, let alone myself, but I did like the finger painting aspect of this, and I esp. like my cardinal. I think this would make a great photocopy page, to reuse in the future.
I believe we’re almost coming to the end of the Soul Journal Journey, at least, the initial one with Sarah. I had no idea it would take me this long, but I have really enjoyed the trip and the things I have learned about myself, and about art and art making, along the way. I really liked following along in Sarah’s blog, Caspiana.
© amateur-in-art, 2009
06.30.09
Soul Journal – Day 21 plus – Secret Superhero
On Day 21, Sarah gave us two options. A scribble misfit character or a “secret superhero.” I really enjoyed doing the misfit exercise, so I thought I’d try my hand at the secret superhero, too. I have to say that artistically, I’m much more disappointed with this outcome than I was with the misfit. My scribble character turned out kind of weird, and the end result is “only OK” – but hey, that’s alright. I still like the exercise, and there are parts of my end result that I like.
Once again, I started with a scribble on the right hand page, then played with the scribbles in my mind until I started to see a character. I saw a small head, what looked like a fist in the air, and some flowing capes. In the end, after I traced it and gave it firmer edges, it ended up looking kind of like a grasshopper or insect head, on sort of a fish-like body, with a cape.
It is a weird scribble-character. But I knew from the very beginning, though, that I wanted my “secret super hero” to be my Right Brain. I’ve been reading some lately about left/right brain stuff, and realize I am way way WAY too left-brained. Left brain is logic, order, linear, and yes/no. Right brain is creative, carefree, and amorphous.
Given their characteristics, then, I think these two pages turned out about right. I really like my brick building on the left. And I like its simplicity. I did this probably a week or so ago, and am just now getting around to posting – I had forgotten that I wrote on the door “No solicitors or new ideas!” That made me laugh. I even put a little lock on the door! I made the address 123 because anything else would be too creative for my left brain and it would want that logical sequence.
Although I’d prefer to have a different-looking character for my right brain superhero, I like the overall feel of these two pages, and I think the free form, color, and just general weirdness of my right brain character does a pretty good job of summing up what the right brain “looks like” in a metaphorical sense. I really enjoyed this scribble prompt – but have to admit I like my “misfit” results better than my superhero. But a good time had by all, nevertheless. Both really kind of helped “stretch” me – and that’s a good thing!
P.S. I realized just now as I am posting that Sarah’s original prompt was for a “sad superhero” instead of “secret superhero.” Oh well. I like having a secret superhero. It works for me!
© amateur-in-art, 2009
06.13.09
Create your own stamp from 3-D objects
I came across this technique in the book, Altered Book Collage by Barbara Matthiessen. She calls it “monoprint background” – which of course, it is – but I think of it more as a stamp. It is an easy and simple way to get some really cool looks. I think of it as sort of “negative stamping” – where the item or object is ‘blank” and the background has all the ink or color.
Get a block of fairly thick foam. I found a garden kneepad thingy at Target for $1 and it worked just fine!
Lay out the 3 dimensional objects you wish to use to create your stamp and put them on a sturdy surface.
Heat the foam using your heat gun.
**CAUTION: As always, use care and precautions when using the heat gun, do not get it too close to the foam, yourself, or flammable objects, and to be on the safe side (because I don’t know what kind of chemicals might be released when the foam is heated) – I would advise having good ventilation. Mathiessen also gives no caution about fumes, but foam is synthetic so who knows what kind of chemicals might be present. Always be safe, whatever you do! If you attempt this procedure, you do so at your own risk.
When the foam is hot, press it down on top of your objects. Remove. Let foam cool.
Voila! You now have a stamp that you can use with ink, paint, or what-have-you to make a really cool impression! Better still, when you are finished, you can heat the foam again to “erase” the initial impression and reuse the foam to create a different stamp using different objects.
The blue impression and the pink foam "stamp".
Lessons learned:
It is best to have all objects be the same approximate thickness.
Very thick objects may be difficult to remove from foam when you reheat to “erase” it. For instance, I was able to “erase” the keys in the foam – but after two tries, my locks still have not totally “disappeared.”
© amateur-in-art, 2009
