The huge winter storm that has been clobbering states to our north is now on Georgia's doorstep. My friend Kathy and I had planned to paint together in her studio tomorrow, but now it looks like that's not going to happen. When the Atlanta area gets ice and snow, the very last place you want to be is out in your car. If you don't slide off into a ditch, chances are you'll be slammed into by another driver.
So for the next few days I'll be "working" in my own studio making Gelli prints! The new 8x10 inch Gelli Plate I bought last month is one of the very neatest art tools I've ever used. Using it is pure play.
Unlike homemade gelatin plates, which quickly disintegrate and require refrigeration, the Gelli Plate is a permanent material that requires no refrigeration at all. To use it, you simply brayer on a layer of color, add patterns using stencils, soft tip mark making tools etc., and pull your prints. When you're done, just wipe it clean with a damp paper towel or baby wipe. Or clean it using soap and water. No muss, no fuss, no bother.
I used my Gelli Plate to make many of the papers for the series of mirrors I've just completed (now available through 2Rules at $90 each). Making those papers with the Gelli Plate was so much fun and they turned out great!
My supply of collage papers is running low so for the next couple of days, while ice and snow keep me home-bound, I'll be immersing myself in Gelli printing to build up my stash. It's an opportunity to replenish a much needed supply as I watch the snow fall...or the ice form, whichever. So my motto for this week is "When life hands you lemons, make Gelli prints!"
©2015 Lynn Edwards
Showing posts with label collage papers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label collage papers. Show all posts
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Art on the Road: How to Create While Traveling
If you're like me, you love traveling to new places but dislike having to spend time away from your studio. Especially if the trip calls for you to be gone for several days or even weeks. It can seem like an eternity before you're able to return home to the studio and resume your usual routine. In the past I'd practically experience separation anxiety when I was on the road. Yearning to be at home with my paints and papers sometimes came dangerously close to overriding the happy experiences that traveling yielded.
Forget about lugging paints, brushes and canvases through airports, hoping airport security personnel will know enough about the nature of art supplies to refrain from detaining you. With nothing more than a few items small enough to fit into a purse or pocket, I've discovered how to remain in tune with my Inner Creative Child while living out of a suitcase!
No matter where we go, it's possible to make mini collages, while packing nothing more than a glue stick, a few pens or color pencils and a 6x8 inch pad of 140# watercolor paper.
Watercolor paper makes a good collage substrate. And there's no need to use gesso. Just apply the glue stick to the back of your collage papers, and press them down onto the surface of the watercolor paper. Nor do you need scissors if you're willing to tear your collage papers rather than cut them. Vary the look of the edges by tearing the papers toward yourself as well as away from yourself.
"What collage papers??" you ask. "You didn't mention packing collage papers!!!"
Here's the good news. You don't need to. Wherever you go there's a wealth of collage material all around you. Below are just a few sources available to on-the-go artists. Because many are likely to be copyright protected, artwork made with them should not be offered for sale or used for commercial purposes. Such collages are to serve as personal creative exercises only!
1. Roadside welcome centers offer hundreds of colorful travel brochures for the taking, as well as road maps.
2. Restaurants are usually happy to give you their menu if you ask for one.
3. Many hotels and inns provide their guests with free newspapers.
4. Ticket stubs can be used if you take in a play or concert, visit a museum or attend a sporting event.
5. Ditto for printed programs and seating charts these venues may provide.
6. If you attend religious services while traveling, don't overlook take-away materials such as Sunday bulletins.
7. Free magazines and circulars are commonly offered in racks at entrances to shops and restaurants.
8. Boutiques and specialty shops often have attractive graphics or patterns on their shopping bags.
9. If you like the grunge look, curbs and sidewalks can be great places to score interesting bits of paper litter. The same holds true for parking lots.
10. Stopping to buy snacks at convenience stores and gas stations can yield colorful candy wrappers and other useful packaging, provided they're not greasy or waxy. Bonus: you get to eat the contents!
As you can see, there's no reason to leave your creativity at home when you hit the road. You'll be so much happier, and get more enjoyment from your travels, if you take a few art supplies with you. So don't leave home without them!
©2014 Lynn Edwards
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| Here I'm checking out a local newspaper while on a trip to North Carolina. Words pulled from headlines often make good collage fodder |
Traveling light
Forget about lugging paints, brushes and canvases through airports, hoping airport security personnel will know enough about the nature of art supplies to refrain from detaining you. With nothing more than a few items small enough to fit into a purse or pocket, I've discovered how to remain in tune with my Inner Creative Child while living out of a suitcase!
No matter where we go, it's possible to make mini collages, while packing nothing more than a glue stick, a few pens or color pencils and a 6x8 inch pad of 140# watercolor paper.
Watercolor paper makes a good collage substrate. And there's no need to use gesso. Just apply the glue stick to the back of your collage papers, and press them down onto the surface of the watercolor paper. Nor do you need scissors if you're willing to tear your collage papers rather than cut them. Vary the look of the edges by tearing the papers toward yourself as well as away from yourself.
"What collage papers??" you ask. "You didn't mention packing collage papers!!!"
Here's the good news. You don't need to. Wherever you go there's a wealth of collage material all around you. Below are just a few sources available to on-the-go artists. Because many are likely to be copyright protected, artwork made with them should not be offered for sale or used for commercial purposes. Such collages are to serve as personal creative exercises only!
Consider the source(s)
That said, here are 10 places to find collage papers when you're away on vacation or traveling for business:1. Roadside welcome centers offer hundreds of colorful travel brochures for the taking, as well as road maps.
2. Restaurants are usually happy to give you their menu if you ask for one.
3. Many hotels and inns provide their guests with free newspapers.
4. Ticket stubs can be used if you take in a play or concert, visit a museum or attend a sporting event.
5. Ditto for printed programs and seating charts these venues may provide.
6. If you attend religious services while traveling, don't overlook take-away materials such as Sunday bulletins.
7. Free magazines and circulars are commonly offered in racks at entrances to shops and restaurants.
8. Boutiques and specialty shops often have attractive graphics or patterns on their shopping bags.
9. If you like the grunge look, curbs and sidewalks can be great places to score interesting bits of paper litter. The same holds true for parking lots.
10. Stopping to buy snacks at convenience stores and gas stations can yield colorful candy wrappers and other useful packaging, provided they're not greasy or waxy. Bonus: you get to eat the contents!
As you can see, there's no reason to leave your creativity at home when you hit the road. You'll be so much happier, and get more enjoyment from your travels, if you take a few art supplies with you. So don't leave home without them!
©2014 Lynn Edwards
Friday, November 15, 2013
Choosing Papers for Paper Beads
It's time to come clean and admit it. I'm hopelessly addicted to bead- and jewelry-making. Oh, it started innocently enough. While my studio was under construction earlier this year, I needed something I could do to keep my creativity alive while being without a space for making art (poring over paint chips just wasn't enough). So I started making paper beads. It was great fun, and I found it was possible to roll beads on a surface as small as a TV tray as I sat in the living room at night.
At first the beads were made from found images taken from old magazines. This upcycling resulted in many beads with fascinating patterns on them. Such as a series of beads created from a full page photo in an architectural magazine that showed lots of angles. You'd never know what the original subject was by looking at the beads, but the angles produced very graphic-looking beads with lots of zigzag patterning.
Next I tried using some of my own hand painted papers originally intended for collage. Some of these papers were textured; beads made with these papers exhibited a wonderful tactile quality. Collage papers made from deli paper painted with acrylics also yielded excellent results. The deli paper (bought several years ago at Sam's Club) was super easy to roll and took the adhesive and varnish very nicely. Another source that worked well for making beads was a museum calendar printed on heavyweight, glossy paper. Its smooth, lustrous surface made the beads look as if they were glazed ceramic, even before high gloss varnish was applied.
Now I'm experimenting with beads that combine solid color, text, and images, all on different kinds of paper used together on a single bead. These beads are more labor intensive to make, but worth the extra effort. I'm combining them with glass beads, fabric beads and semi-precious stones to create necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Photos of these latest creations will be posted here next week. Be sure to check back then for a sneak peek!
©2013 Lynn Edwards
At first the beads were made from found images taken from old magazines. This upcycling resulted in many beads with fascinating patterns on them. Such as a series of beads created from a full page photo in an architectural magazine that showed lots of angles. You'd never know what the original subject was by looking at the beads, but the angles produced very graphic-looking beads with lots of zigzag patterning.
Next I tried using some of my own hand painted papers originally intended for collage. Some of these papers were textured; beads made with these papers exhibited a wonderful tactile quality. Collage papers made from deli paper painted with acrylics also yielded excellent results. The deli paper (bought several years ago at Sam's Club) was super easy to roll and took the adhesive and varnish very nicely. Another source that worked well for making beads was a museum calendar printed on heavyweight, glossy paper. Its smooth, lustrous surface made the beads look as if they were glazed ceramic, even before high gloss varnish was applied.
Now I'm experimenting with beads that combine solid color, text, and images, all on different kinds of paper used together on a single bead. These beads are more labor intensive to make, but worth the extra effort. I'm combining them with glass beads, fabric beads and semi-precious stones to create necklaces, earrings and bracelets. Photos of these latest creations will be posted here next week. Be sure to check back then for a sneak peek!
©2013 Lynn Edwards
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