Sunday, April 5, 2009

Things I teach.....occasionally!

(Photo by Anne M Huskey-Lockard, copyright 2009, all rights reserved)
Last Summer, in the midst of the usual Summer mayhem we all live with, I did a demo for our Community Artists Co-Op on making Collage Papers from left overs, odd papers, scraps of artist papers, etc. From the demo, came a class, which turned out to be a pretty good time and some fun work done. Above are samples made for the class, and of course I had to go into excruciating detail on the instructions (probably would be an adequate cure for insomnia....) which made it read a lot harder than it was. Truly, they are easy to do. If you don't collage, they can be used for a card front or just frame one and enjoy.
I found these fun to do because of all the paper I could recycle into them. Foil candy wrappers, safety envelopes tinted with fluid acrylics, cheap coarse glitter from the dollar stores---regular stamping and embossing supplies. I did use some Golden Mediums, my splurge, but they go a long way. Really, the only thing that might have been hard to find was the Demco Gesso, which is a must.
If you've never tried it, go to a Hobby Lobby store, get a small jar of the ARTISTS GRADE----do not buy the STUDENT GRADE. No. NO. A thousand times NO!!!!!
The quality is fantastic and it can be used as a base coat or as an in-between, tone down coat or as a texturing coat before applying color.
Now, if the gods of Blogger are with me today, the above photo is *clickable* so you can see the detail, of which there is plenty. Peek around, see what you can discover, and don't hesitate to ask questions.
I might just be able to remember how I made them! ;)
Seriously, it is a good way to use scraps and be involved in a creative activity on a basically non-creative day (which we all get now and then....).
That's it! Go have fun!
Or go look at yesterday's monkey picture.......

5 comments:

Tristan Robin said...

These are beautiful - especially the top one (is that Chinese chop?). Would make a wonderful background for a collage - except it would be criminal to cover it over.

Is this Demco Gesso better than Golden?! I always use Golden, but it's expensive, so if there's a cheaper one that is as good - or even almost as good - I'm going to use it!

Good post - again! I'm sorry you're damaged and can't do as much art work as you'd like - but it's a real plus for your readers! LOL

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

The top one has a cheap foam stamp used for the chinese character. I hoard those---they are sooo inexpensive and so useful. These papers are entertaining enough to make that using them for a BG isn't a problem. If you're ever inclined to how these are done--e-mail me.
While I have not used Golden Gesso (and that is about the ONLY Golden product I've not used!) I feel sure Demco is cheaper, even the Artists Grade I buy. Demco is like the old fashioned gesso of years ago. Most of the new stuff is too *acrylic* to suit me (sloppy, snotty). The Demco is exceptional----try and find some and try it; see what you think. It might just be perfect for you.
I did stagger/waddle to the cellar to paint a bit today---it felt good! The painting part.....not the staggering! LOL!!!!
I'll be back soon and hey, if I have things others can learn from in the meantime, or stores worth plugging, why not? It just makes a richer environment for us all!

Tristan Robin said...

If you find the directions for making the paper - and certainly don't rush to do so! - I would love them.

I like making background paper - and these seem more textural than the ones I make.

Leslie said...

Again, thanks for telling us about the processes. I am really appreciating the learning. Lovely work and am now in search of Demco Grownup, LOL

Anne Huskey-Lockard said...

I like that--Demco Grown up! There ya go!

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