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
06.06.09
Wreck This Journal!
Today is Day 1 of “The Next Chapter – Wreck This Journal!” led by Jamie Ridler. Even if you’re late, you can still join, and it looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun!
I’ve decided to start a new blog, just for it, so bounce on over to
Wreck This Journal – (An Amateur’s Adventures in Art) to see what’s happening!
© amateur-in-art, 2009
06.03.09
Guided Tour of Art Map
I was in such a hurry to meet the True North Arts deadline for posting my Art Map that I rushed my previous post. I also hadn’t quite finished up my map. Here’s what it looks like now, pretty much done at this point.
I don’t think I’ll talk a lot about technique in this post (mostly because there is not that much to it) but I will say here that my base is a paper bag that I wadded up and smoothed out several times. My original idea was sort of to have it be a “treasure map” – with the heart (Art) at the top being the “treasure.” In the end it wasn’t really a treasure map, but it definitely is a map of my art journey through the past year. I’m thinking about pasting it down onto a canvas board, creating some sort of trim around the edges of the board, and putting a small placard on the top that announces the title of the piece: “A Year in Art”.
My art journey began almost exactly a year ago. On my map, it starts in the lower left corner.
You cannot read it here, it is too pale, but the small purple square at the lower left is a tiny “book” and the cover reads: “Altered Book Workshop.” That’s where my art journey began. I had not seen or heard of anything like this before, but being both a reader and a writer, it sounded like it would be very interesting and creative. Wow! Did that start me off on a journey! I think I went out and spent $100 (that I did not have) on various art supplies right away. I started searching out different places on the Internet, checked out books from my library about altered art and college, and literally, for a while, I think, went nearly insane in my enthusiasm. In fact, I started this blog not too long after that, too, and my original intent was to call it “Artistic Enthusiasm” because that was what I felt, and if I gave it that kind of a name, at least I didn’t have to worry if I was long on enthusiasm and short on talent. (The name was already taken, even though it appeared to be an abandoned blog, but so here I am as “Amateur in Art’.)
Back to the map. I’ve already commented upon Collage Diva and 1000 Squares in my previous post, so won’t reiterate here. Let’s move on to the “southeast,” which covers the next major portion of my art journey.
Caspiana (Sarah Whitmire) has been a mainstay in my art journey, and I started her Soul Journal project in the fall of 2008. She posted her Soul Journal prompts in July and August, but I couldn’t do them then. I have taken my time and am almost all the way through them all at this point, but it often takes me several weeks to do a single prompt due to my schedule and other (off-line) creative commitments. In any case, Caspiana is a big country on my map. I made it from a photocopy of one of my Soul Journal pages, and I added my little sketch of one of her little white dogs – sort of my own logo that I have made to represent her and her work at Caspiana. I also decided to add (you only see the top part of it in this image, but you can see it better in the full map image at the beginning of this post) a booklet attached with a brad that says “Caspiana Soul Journal” on the front of it. On both this and the Altered Books booklet, I thought about decorating the interior of the books, but I have not done so yet. I may come back to it – but then again, I kind of like the idea of leaving them blank – a “blank canvas” as it were.
I talked about the Watercolor River and the Village of Kindred Spirits on my previous post. One of my favorite parts on my map is the Ocean of Possibilities. I like the color of it and the way it turned out. The wrinkles on the paper bag also give it a very nice “wavy” effect. The large stamp in the middle is from Tim Holtz and reads “Live the Life You’ve Imagined.” Oh – and I just put on the finishing touch of the sailing ship earlier tonight, and realized I forgot to write “Set Sail for Adventure”. There is also a small “safe harbour” (I’m not British but I decided to spell it that way) in Caspiana, as well.
Onward! Let’s begin to head north, now.
Now it is less about specific places (like Diva and Caspiana) but more about what art gives me and how it helps me. There is a brick wall that is being burst through (a.k.a. “Creative Breakthrough”) and then up to the left we have “Inspiration Point” (a promontory and an old fashioned pointing finger) along with a “Leap of Faith” occuring at the same place. A few weeks ago, I had read something about creativity being an “act of faith” – because we simply have to trust that something will come from our first brush stroke, written word, note, or what ever action you take in your chosen field of creativity. Then, after these things, you at last get to the Land of Big Ideas – where the light(bulb) is always on, and it is a land of many mountains – big, strong, and with incredible vistas that give you great vision. You literally can “see forever.” Then finally a few tidbits – the quote “Not All Who Wander Are Lost” and the centerpiece and the real focus for the entire map: “Follow Your Art” (in the shape of a heart).
Now, let’s continue our journey to the northeast.
Starting at the bottom, after the journey across the Watercolor River and through Caspiana, and the Village of Kindred Spirits, we get to the Ink Well (literally) which is overflowing with ideas. Then we get a Flight of Fancy (love that flying flock of birds stamp – I’m using it again. It’s from Tim Holtz, too). And a journey to or through Creative Freedom. The first thing I think of when I hear the word “freedom” is an American flag so often it pops up in otherwise unexpected places for that reason. I had to stick “Wisconsin” in there – because after all, True North was leading this exercise – but also I consider Wisconsin to be my “heart’s home” – I love that state and its beauty. It makes me happy just thinking about it. And then of course we get to the compass and True North. I really like the look I got on the square that the compass is on. It is just a square of pastel-patterned paper, but I took some liquid alcohol ink and daubed it on a cotton swab and dabbled it around to give the paper more color. I like the way it turned out. Oh! And I have to comment on the tag at the top – the “Don’t Stop Now” came from a bookmark I picked up on a recent trip – I found that and immediately knew I was going to have to use it in my art somewhere, and when I started work on my map, I knew it would be the perfect place! Right at the “end” of the map, where normally you would “stop.” It also works well, I think, because at the beginning of my map I have a “Start” tag. Off to the far right side, I have written “Off the Map”, “To Unknown Lands” and “Unexplored Territory.”
I absolutely loved this Art Map adventure, and thanks go to Collage Diva at True North Arts for providing us this prompt and her guidance!
© All images and words copyright 2009 by amateur-in-art. All rights reserved.
