Mixed Media Artist

Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed-Media Artists: Experimental Techniques for Composition, Layering, Texture, Imagery, and Encaustic by Ann Baldwin Inside the Creative Studio: Inspiration and Ideas for Your Art and Craft Space by Cate Coulacos Prato Metal Artist's Workbench: Demystifying the Jeweler's Saw by Thomas Mann Personal Geographies: Explorations in Mixed-Media Mapmaking by Jill K. Berry Photoshop Brushes & Creative Tools: Ornate Letters and Alphabets by Alan Weller Create Your Own Printable Scrapbook Papers: 135 Vintage Designs for use with Photoshop Elements by Jodie Lee Patterson Sew to Swap: Quilting Projects to Exchange Online and by Mail by Chrissie Grace Stitching a Culture Together: African American Quilters of Ohio (Ohio Quilt Series) by Carolyn L. Mazloomi Firefly's Step-by-Step Encyclopedia of Needlecraft: Patchwork, Embroidery, Quilting, Sewing, Knitting, Crochet, Applique Plus Dozens of Projects with How-to Instructions b...

Woo hoo!  It's finished!  Let me introduce you to At First Light , companion piece to As Daylight Fades .  They are both approximately 3 x 2', all hand painted silk except for the batting and backing fabrics, and all hand stitched. I started by stitching down the top-most pieces, that is, any pieces that were not covered on any sides by any other pieces.  I then moved on and worked more or less from the center outward so that I could trim pieces as needed as they shifted slightly.  I used a single strand of embroidery floss and stitched through all layers of silk and the batting layer, using a blanket stitch. The backing fabric was added and cut to size.  I stitched all around the outside with the same blanket stitch.  Even though the image at the top shows straight edges, they are not completely straight: wherever the blocks jutted out slightly around the edges, I allowed them to stay that way. I added buttons to the ba...

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Do you craft for profit, or would you like to? Here are some tips for reaching your target market. Felt Ornament Houses Cherie makes little felt ornaments for the tree.   Beading Arts Beautiful toggle clasps are meant to be seen, not hidden away! Creative Dreamer Exciting news!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Carmi's Art/Life World This week I have a little card tutorial featuring Popcorn the bear digital images. Craft. You. This week on Craft. You. we feature craft activist Corrine Bayraktaroglu a.k.a. Jafabrit   Crafty Princess Diaries The Crafty Princess attempts to design her own cotton market bag with mixed results. Eileen - The Artful Crafter It's that time of year to harvest (or buy) hard shelled gourds for crafting. Here are some ideas to get you started.   Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter Retrofabulous Christmas Craftabration marches on with some upcycled holiday greetings inspired by a 1966 Christmas Helps magazine!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Image via Wikimedia Commons I received the following question recently, and I thought I'd share it with you along with my answer.  I am unfamiliar with textiles from Uzbekistan, so I did a little searching around before answering.  I don't know if my answer was "correct" or not, but it was my best guess.  Anyone have a better idea?  [Note - before doing anything to ethnic fabric, you should really read Caroline's comment below] Dear Cyndi, I purchased an antique suzani from Uzbekistan on ebay. When it arrived, some large areas of the design are grey, not black. I need the grey to be black. I am willing to take the time to make the grey black. The design is intricate so I will need some kind of brush. I am going to have this framed when I finish. So no worry about it being washed and used over time. My only concern is appearance. I am thinking that I will probably have to do the black areas too for evenness of color. I believe the thread...

Push Paper Make way on your bookshelf for a new series by Lark Publishing .  Containing Lark's usual fine attention to detail and color, the first two books of the series are ones that you will savor!  The purpose of the new series is to explore artwork that pushes the boundaries of tradition in various media; the first two books tackle paper and stitchery.  Just in case you think you know everything that can be done with these materials and techniques...you're wrong!  Push Paper will introduce you to artists who are doing things with paper that you'll sometimes find hard to believe can be done with...well, humble paper!  I was already familiar with the work of a couple of the artists, but this book introduced me to many many more that I wish to know better.  Thirty artists in all, to be exact.  I was particularly enamoured of what Chris Gilmour is doing with cardboard.  It sent me searching online for more, and I was so happy to find th...

Trying to get the layout right for my new quilt.  This was not a fast process! Log cabin style?  Different centerpiece? Reverse the colors? Strips instead of block? Move colors around? Bottom colors too dark?  Oh, duh...it was upside down!  And needed a better frame. Part one Part two Part three Part four Copyright 2011 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains intact. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Creative Dreamer The ornaments have started! Come check out number three... June's take on a Sock Monkey! Eileen - The Artful Crafter It's that time of year to harvest (or buy) hard shelled gourds for crafting. Here are some ideas to get you started.   Moore Whimsies My amazing giveaway winner!   Picnic Plate Veggie Stand Cherie makes a veggie stand out of old plates.   Beading Arts Bead a continuous loop necklace for a unique eyeglass holder!   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  About Family Crafts Looking for some ways to dress up your Thanksgiving dinner table? Check out these creative ideas.   Aileen's Musings Aileen show's you how to make a Sparkle Berry necklace. It's a perfect Christmas gift giving project! Carmi's Art/Life World Carmi shares a little post about blogging for other companies.   Craft Buds Paper-piecing gives you a precise look to your quilt designs, and opens up endless possibilities. Check out the modern paper-pieced "Noel" quilt block tutorial, part of the 12 Days of Christmas Sampler Quilt Along. Craft. You. TV Producer and Artist Avelino Pombo shares his recipe for success!   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world This week at Craftside there is a chance to win a copy of the book Jewelry Lab along with a tutorial on how to make trapped felt and fabric jewelry, how to get started drawing, eye-candy with a good creative quote and a recipe for slow cooke...

  Scroll down to the lower image on Alec Bartos's page and prepare to be impressed! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Art Doll Quarterly Deadline: 12/15/11    Quilts4London Deadline: 12/31/11        Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

I used very dilute acrylics ( Golden Heavy Body Artist Acrylics ) to add color to pieces of silk habotai and dupioni.  Painting rather than dying allows for some patterning techniques that I really love.  Since the particles of pigment float above the surface of the fabric rather than chemically bond to the fibers, you can manipulate the results quite a bit as the fabric dries.  I like Golden's acrylics the best because of their high pigment content.  What follows are some samples from last week's painting session. Salt printing: While the fabric is still wet, sprinkle the top with salt.  Experiment with fine,coarse, kosher, and even larger crystals.  Place the fabric outside in strong sunlight and let the heat do its thing.  What happens is that the salt is hydrophilic, and it draws the moisture towards it as the fabric dries, which moves the paint along with it.  That's where the wonderful patterns come from as the paint mo...

  Eileen - The Artful Crafter Come see The Artful Crafter’s annual Thanksgiving Day Parade of crafts! Beading Arts Jewelry designer Tammy Powley shares some of her expertise for creating unique bead strung jewelry! Easy Peasy Turkey Cards Cherie makes some easy (cheesy) cards for Thanksgiving.   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

  Margot Potter The Impatient Crafter Retrofabulous Christmas Craftabration Returns to The Impatient Crafter Blog! Madge makes a retro inspired upcycled gift box! Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery How to crochet a cute striped Christmas tree skirt . Craft. You. An inspiring interview with Crafty Mastermind Mark Montano!   Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world This week at Craftside there is a tutorial on how to cut and lay a recycled end grain wood floor, a tip on how to cut tissue paper easier, a recipe for vegan white and milk chocolate and some wild crochet designs.   Crafty Princess Diaries Tammy shares a hand-made gift that someone else makes that is perfect for pet lovers. Eileen - The Artful Crafter How to make a tubular wine bottle tote from a cardboard mailing tube.   Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Nothing new, but still pretty darned cool...no pun intended! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

A guest post by Romona Weston of KitchenCarts360 There are almost as many different kinds of crafts as there are crafters but, whether you’re into beading, knitting or mixed media artwork, all crafters face the same dilemma – what to do with all the material they have accumulated (or will inevitably accumulate) during the course of their projects. Creative spaces are often allowed to become cluttered, but this can have a negative impact on crafting. How many times have you delayed starting, or even shelved, a creative project because the effort of finding and gathering the necessary materials seemed too much of a chore? 1. Mark out your territory If you have the luxury of a studio or garage that you can convert into your crafting haven, then all well and good. Otherwise, you may need to partition off a part of the household to make room for your creative endeavours. Either way, ensure that other members of the household treat your space and materials with respect. 2...

It's great when you can have the luxury of spending several uninterrupted hours painting silk and drying it in the sun!  It's especially a luxury in New England, when an unexpected warm and sunny fall afternoon showed up!  I know exactly what I'm going to do with these painted silk pieces...make a companion piece for the quilt I just completed, As Daylight Fades , which will be called At First Light .  This never happens! I used a couple of large smooth boards that I cover in a kitchen-sized plastic bags as a work surface.  This allows me to transport them outside easily for drying in the sun. I'll show you some close-ups of the best results next week, along with some tips on how to get the look! Part one Part two Part three Part four Copyright 2011 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use or distributed electronically provided that entire file, including this notice, remains i...