Old Dog… New Tricks

 

So… Sometime ago I watched a Youtube video featuring artist Katie Kendrick. She gave a tutorial on doing backgrounds for mixed-media art pieces. It looked like fun so I decided to give it a try.  I just played. I used water color paper and water color crayons. I used old dress patterns. I used paint. I just kept playing and adding layers.  I had a blast. And then IT happened. I hit a block and put it away for the summer.

Not long ago ANOTHER artist that I had met on-line shared some pieces that I was inspired by. Alicia Caudel does some amazing altered art pieces but recently painted some portraits. These made me think of my little blue haired girl packed away in a box. I pulled her out and my daughter INSISTED I start working on her again. So I did!

I let the piece lead me. It turned out like nothing I had really done before.  I started to see things in it that had more meaning than I had realized before. Hidden things that only made sense to me. She took on a life of her own. I posted a couple of pictures while I was working on it and then a picture of the finished product. It wasn’t a ready for etsy type picture or anything but in a matter of minutes she had found a new home and a friend commissioned to be sent along with her.

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I need to learn how to do this more. Just let the moment take me. I need more practice at starting out with absolutely NO idea of where I’m headed. Unlike my directional sense in a car my artsy sense can’t really get me so lost I have to call some one to figure out how to get home.

Enjoy your day and make sure to check out BOTH Katie Kendrick’s Blog: Joyously Becoming and Alicia Caudel’s Website: Altered Bits by simply clicking on the italicized names.

 

My Top Five Favorite Mixed-Media Artists

When I am in need of inspiration… which happens A LOT… there are certain artists that I turn to to get the spark going. Here are five of them that work with mixed media. Watch for other lists such as ‘Favorite Photographers’, ‘Favorite Craft Books’, ‘Favorite Etsy Sites’ and ‘Favorite DIY Websites’ to come on future Fridays… Look at that I just planned out my next Month of Fridays.

Here is today’s list… Drum roll please…

My Top Five Favorite Mixed-Media Artists

1) Claudine Hellmuth

I absolutely love her stuff. It’s so simple and yet, ingenious. I first came across her when I found a book called “Collage Discovery Workshop”. It was so inspiring and fun I had to check out the author. I was smitten to say the least. Here’s one of the reasons why:

 

2) Kathy Cano-Murrillo aka ‘The Crafty Chica’

Her work is so much fun. I lived in Tucson for three years and maybe it brings back fond memories of that. I don’t know… She does a little bit of everything and this stuff rally speaks to me. Here’s one item I really love:

 

3) Katie Kendrick

I wish i could explain WHY I like her stuff so much… I’m just drawn to it. It doesn’t hurt that I recently saw a REALLY cool tutorial on how to make a collage background that she made on her blog.

 

4) Michael de Meng

Michael de Meng’s art is soooo… cool. He’s an assemblage artist. His pieces are dark and beautiful. To be quite honest it sort of takes me back to high school and college when I was listening to Ministry and Skinny Puppy.  You can view his website HERE. He has a section called Haberdashery which is amazing.

 

5) Sarah Fishburn

The work of Sarah Fishburn is bright, busy and appealing. I think each piece tells its own story and that story changes for each viewer. I would love to have her aesthetic. I also like her sense of humor. You will have to check out her website (just click on Sarah’s photo). You can find her blog HERE.

 

Here’s hoping you’ve found something new here that has gotten those creative juices flowing. Who do you turn to for inspiration? Who are your favorite Mixed-Media artists?

 

The Phrase of the Day is WADDING POLISH

Wadding Polish? What the heck, right? It is my new must try product. I heard about this on a tutorial video done by mixed-media collage artist Katie Kendrick. She was using it to remove the ink off of magazine pages for unique background collage effects. It did such cool things. I NEED to try it!

I was out and about when I decided to look for it at Michael’s. Of course, since my brain is ever only slightly working, I could only remember that it was called wadding ‘SOMETHING’ and that it appeared to be in a small container that resembled a gesso tub. No luck.

Finally I went back on-line and did a search. NOTHING even close. The little light finally went on in my brain~ ‘Watch the video again’ the little keeper of that light yelled. I did. I found out that Ms. Kendrick was working with a product called Nevr-DUll Wadding Polish.

Nevr-Dull is a metal polish used on cars. My next move is to visit every automotive section in the area until I find it or something similar. I’m soooo… excited. For now I’m playing with rubbing alcohol and magazine pages which I also found out about in this tutorial which you can find HERE.

I will let you kow what I find and how it ends up working out.

What unexpected product have you found to work with in your projects?