Mixed Media Artist

Lee Valley Tools Check out the hardware and tools sections. You won’t be sorry! American Science and Surplus Incredible stuff at unbelievable prices! Lots of junk you’ll just have to have. Be forewarned… Woodworks Ltd An amazing selection of wooden craft parts to build with. Sky Blue Pink Advertises cool stuff for non-fancy prices! Volcano Arts Handmade book and bookbinding supplies, paper marbling, clock parts, kits, etc etc. Ready Stamps This is the place that you must use to have stamps made from your own designs. Not only are the prices competitive, but Ready Stamps is a community-based business of The United Cerebral Palsy Association of San Diego, promoting the independence of disabled persons through training and employment. MisterArt A full selection of art supplies. Together with Dick Blick (below) you’ll be able to find all the put-it-together stuff you’ll need. Dick Blick Another very complete art supply shop. Between Dick Blick and MisterArt (above), just about...

Start with a beautiful picture taken on a clear sunny day. Add a touch of menace. Why would you want to do this? I don't really know, but it's fun to know how! With Photoshop , there are always multiple ways to accomplish tasks, but here's how I did it: 1. Open image you want to use to make a shadow. Make sure background is black. Note - I used a dragonfly image by R.A. Nonenmacher , available on Wikimedia Commons . 2. Select the shape with the lasso tool. Delete the selection. 3. With the shape still selected, use Cntr-J to create new layer with only black image. 4. Apply a Gaussian blur. 5. Drag and drop the "shadow" layer to your background image. Reduce the opacity to about 30%. Try different blending modes to see which looks best with the light conditions of your image. 6. Use Edit-->Transform to make the shadow the right shape. Copyright 2009 Cyndi Lavin. Not to be reprinted, resold, or redistributed for profit. May be printed out for personal use ...

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery See how to make a card and card album themed for a rock and roll mom to be that uses cute die cuts in a cool way. The Artful Crafter “Panadieres for Zambia” is a neat story and one small example of crafters helping crafters – all around the world. As Eileen likes to say, “Crafters are just the nicest people.” The Impatient Crafter Madge shares a technique in this post about embossing on slick surfaces! About Family Crafts What are your cleaning tips for crafting with kids? Please take a moment to share your tips and then browse through tips shared by others. Aileen's Musings Hard as it was, Aileen has narrowed down the playing field and needs your help again to choose from her favorite sayings that have been posted for her blog giveway! Stop by and pick your favorite. Cathie Filian If you are wondering what to eat, craft and play on the 4th of July then head over to Cathie's blog for ideas. Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at ...

Thank you Brian, thank you thank you thank you!! Don’t miss Brian’s own tutorials as well :-) Bookbinding links Brian Sawyer’s tutorial In all his spare time, Brian Sawyer is craft writer, including contributions to Make and Craft magazines. The man knows what he’s talking writing about! Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Hollander’s To make your own handmade books or altered books, you’ll mostly need things that you can get for free, or very inexpensively, especially if non-traditional bookbinding appeals to you! For serious bookbinding, or if you plan to do a lot of it, you’ll probably want to purchase some basic supplies and tools, especially if you want to make your books from materials that will last. Some suppliers are listed below to help you get started. If you want to try altered books and you don’t have a book at home that you care to sacrifice, try your local library where there may be shelves of books for sale…either donations or books that have been removed from the collection (big word for the day: that’s called “deaccessioned”). Trust me when I say that there are so many books that end up in landfills, perfectly good books, that you are actually doing the world a favor by turning these books into artwork. John Neal, Bookseller Bookbinding supplies, plus the know-how to do it Hollande...

Here's a round-up of many of the fabric techniques we've covered here. I'll be adding to the list in the future, so I'm going to add it to the sidebar under The Basics so that you'll always be able to find it quickly. Many of the techniques covered in Creating backgrounds for artwork , although they were designed with paper arts in mind, can be used for fabric painting too, so don't forget to check them out as well! T-shirt transfers Transparency transfers Painted fabric trim Leather-look felt Rusted fabrics Painting fabric in a bag Twisted fabric painting Wiped and striped fabrics Shibori fabric Snow painting Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

Naughty Secretary Club Think all the marketing at a craft show is already taken care of for the vendors? Think again. Jen shares some marketing tips. Stefanie Girard’s Sweater Surgery Another of Stefanie’s Happy Bunnies-This one created using the help of the cool book: Stray Sock Sewing The Artful Crafter What new mom would not be delighted with this precious keepsake pendant? Eileen gives you step-by-step instructions for making it using polymer clay and decal paper. The Impatient Crafter Madge went on a bead buying trip to NYC! Get the scoop! Vickie Howell Craft Corps Stencil Kits are in! Check out Vickie’s How-To on making your own, stenciled gear. Stand up, shout loud, you’ve joined The Corps and you’re proud! About Family Crafts What is in your craft cupboard? What craft supplies can you not live without? Has there been a craft item that your purchased thinking it was the greatest invention of all time and then never used? Aileen’s Musings Aileen needs your help! ...

Mixed Media Explorations by Beryl Taylor Beryl Taylor’s beautiful work is unlike any other! Her techniques are clearly presented, and somehow you just end up believing her, that you could do stuff like this too. One of the most valuable parts of the book for me is where she shows how she breaks down a very complicated-looking design into quite manageable elements. Even if you don’t want to work with fabric and paper, the visual aspects of this book are worth the time to read it. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

The Make It From Scratch Carnival is being hosted by Jen on 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven ! I want to thank Jen for including my post on twisted fabric painting :-) Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

I’m ending our short series on painting fabric surprises with a technique that takes a bit more time. Although it starts out with unpredictable results, the second half of the process is much more deliberate and controlled. Double the fun! For the first two fabric painting techniques, visit these links: Painting fabric in a bag Twisted fabric painting This time, you'll need the usual ripped or cut piece of plain muslin, acrylic paints , a large soft brush or painting sponge , tape of different widths, and a large stamp or two. 1. Wet your fabric until it is dripping. Stick your brush or painting sponge into thinned acrylic paint and wipe it clean on the fabric. To do this, wad the wet fabric up in your hand, and pull the brush through the folds, squeezing to clean all the paint off of it. Reapply paint and repeat. Splatter the fabric with some random drops of paint as well.  Color used: Primary cyan 2. Use additional colors and repeat the first step. If you allow ...

Last week we looked at how to paint your fabrics in a plastic bag in order to achieve unplanned but beautiful results. Well, here is another method that will keep you in suspense until it dries and you unroll it! Again, you'll need to rip or cut a piece of plain muslin, gather up the acrylic paints that you want to use, and find an old bottle (wine bottles are perfect), some paint brushes , and a rubber band.  Again, I will note here that I use heavy bodied acrylic paints, diluted with plain water, not fabric paints or textile medium.  My fabrics are all used in projects that don't need to have a soft feel or stand up to repeated washings.  1. Make sure your fabric is thoroughly dampened, but not dripping wet. Holding diagonal corners, twist it. Start at one corner which you'll anchor to the bottle with the rubber band. Twist the entire piece and tuck the second corner under the band as well. 2. Using your first color, thinned with a fair amount of water, p...

Over the next couple of weeks, I want to turn our focus to fabric painting. Now that it's getting warmer, this is a wonderful activity to do, maybe on your picnic table or on a sunny porch table. Painting your fabric in a plastic bag is a great technique to choose when you want a surprise: you never know what you're going to end up with when you let everything swirl around together in a bag. So rip off a length of plain muslin and gather up your acrylic paints , small cups, water, and oh yeah...a gallon sized plastic bag.  Note: I do not use fabric paints or textile medium.  Since these fabrics are going to be used in fiber art projects and not washed, I am not concerned about the stiffness of the fabric or fading.  You can see what I used this fabric for here . 1. Wet your fabric thoroughly, and ring it out so that it is wet but not puddling. Place it into the plastic bag. 2. Working from lightest to darkest color, mix your paints with water if they need it...

Perhaps you feel that there is no need for instruction in mixed media. It’s something that just comes naturally to you. Or on the other hand, maybe you’re just beginning to explore assemblage, altered books and other constructions, and you need a gentle nudge to get you going. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional, there are instructions and projects in the links below that will challenge you to move beyond what you are currently doing. I guarantee it! Suze Weinberg’s Tutorials Her tagline is “Schmooze with Suze”, and her instructions are clear and friendly. USArtQuest Wonderful ideas and tips from collage artist Susan Pickering Rothamel. International Society of Altered Book Artists Online classes available to members of ISABA. Mini-Books, Flaps, and Folders Links to sites that provide how-tos on constructing handmade. HeartsArt Tool Box Some of the master artists from HeartsArt radio show provide information on mixed media techniques. Ann Baldwin’s Technique...

Over in the Mixed Media forum of WetCanvas , our friend Sonia showed us a great tutorial on using gouache as a resist for India Ink. She works in watercolors, and the ink gave her piece a lovely "pop" that we all wanted to learn to do. Well, I don't work with either watercolors or gouache very often, so I decided to try changing the method slightly so that I could at least give it a go with what I've got. I don't paint like Sonia does either (I'd be embarrassed to even show you a simple house and a tree), so I stuck with geometrics. I'm even slightly challenged with them as you'll see! Here's what I did: I used student grade oil pastels and rubbed them into my surface is a sort of spotty manner, so that the diamonds weren't completely solid. It made a very bright - and unattractive - pattern. Then I sponged black India Ink all over it. The pastels act as a resist, but because I didn't apply them really heavily, the ink soaked into a ...

Another topic we visit pretty frequently here is different digital effects tips and tutorials (including those that mix physical and digital work). So I thought that they should get compiled for future reference too! You'll always be able to find the link in the sidebar under The Basics . Transparent digital backgrounds A photographic collage Gaussian blur Adding an embossed layer to your photos Digital collage using scanned background papers Multiplying your color options Encased tissue paper Using a gradient fill Creating a digital mixed media collage How to create a peaceful landscape Making a digital stamp How to digitally create "fuzzy memories" How to make a digital Polaroid image transfer Infrared with Photoshop Cyanotypes with Photoshop "Match color" in Photoshop Black and white conversion methods with Photoshop Pop art with Photoshop Making a layered digital collage Mixing digital and physical art Digital manipulation with a torn l...

This is a fun way to finish off some of your experimental pieces that you create in Photoshop. I love this particular border for expressionistic, impressionistic, or surreal pieces, or for anything that doesn't use a lot of hard edges. This method allows the border to blur and glow, while keeping the central image as sharp as you want it. 1. Open your completed image in Photoshop. 2. Make 2 duplicate layer copies of the image. 3. Add a canvas border to the background copy, using the color picker tool to find a color that looks good with the piece. Duplicate this layer, keeping this copy below the two other duplicates. Lock your original layer and work from now on with the other three layers. 4. Pick the middle layer. Apply the motion blur filter (Filter > Blur > Motion Blur) to the image. I used 50 for the angle and 150 pixels. Experiment to find the size that suits you best. 5. Pick the bottom layer. Apply the motion blur filter to this one too, but use a different an...

Heritage Photos – Learn Something New Every Day Do you know how to scan an old newspaper photo without all those pesky little ink dots being visible. Eileen just happened upon the key. Upcycle a used shirt with crocheted flowers Have you ever passed up on buying a great shirt at a second hand store because it had a logo from someone else's company? Well, now you CAN upcycle that shirt and make it uniquely your own! Here's a tutorial on how to crochet simple flowers to cover up an unwanted logo. Hope is the thing with feathers Read about my daughter's senior art show, the installation piece that she made, and the cause it supports! The video below is grainy because unfortunately my camera was set to compact mode. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals

We've explored lots and lots of fun collage techniques over the years. I figured it was past time to compile some of the methods. This post doesn't include all the techniques like image transfers and making background papers ...those posts have been compiled elsewhere! I'll be adding links to this list as new tutorials are posted, and you will always be able to find the link handy in the sidebar under The Basics . A photographic collage Paper quilting Collage embellished with embroidery Paper clay collage Frottage collage Digital collage with scanned background Encased collage Small art quilt with fish Digital mixed media collage Simple collage with an image transfer Packing tape transfer collage Monochromatic art quilt Mixed media collage with embroidery A geometric collage An organic collage A layered digital collage Abstract collages Waxed paper transfer collage More on abstract collages Mixed media piece with watercolor background Fabric c...

My daughter Dani had her senior gallery show yesterday. Instead of creating multiple pieces for this one, the project was one big installation: a 20 ft pair of gently flapping wings. The piece was to benefit the non-profit organization Not For Sale , an group working to end the enslavement of people worldwide, including here in the USA. Technorati Tags: mixed media , collage , assemblage , digital art , photography , altered books , art journals