surface treatment workshop -- materials

Surface Treatment Workshop:  materials

Clockwise UL to LL:  Square notched spreader; Nylon cord; Liquitex Texture Gel Black Lava; Liquitex Black Gesso; Elmer's Glue All; OneTime Lightweight Spackling; Fiberglass Drywall Tape; Ventilation tape; masking tape; rust solution w/ vinegar; Chemtek Copper Metallic Finish; Mod Podge Gloss-Luster; assorted acrylic paints, Sterling black shoe polish; imitation gold leaf; stencils: found item circles, purchased squares, hand cut "Kuba" design; Joss paper, clay tool, palette knife, silicone spatula, silicone basting brush, white colored pencil, paintbrush.

The samples in this series were created with the materials pictured above.  I successfully stuck to my "use stuff you have" parameter.  Note:  The Square notched spreader, Chemtek Copper Metallic Finish, shoe polish, Joss paper and silicone basting brush are NOT items suggested in Surface Treatment Workshop.  However, they jumped into my hands and fit into the spirit of experimentation suggested by the book.  The only disappointing material I used was the Chemtek Copper Metallic Finish.  In all fairness, it is probably a decade past the (non existent) "use by" date.

surface treatment workshop -- beginning

Surface Treatment Workshop: beginning

Parameters:  use stuff you have; try new things

Although a rigid substrate was suggested, card stock was affixed to vinyl place mats with masking tape (use what you have).  This set up allows me to move samples and clear the workspace as needed. Media and tool notations on masking tape can be moved to sample back when complete.

1. Liquitex Acrylic Texture Gel: Black Lava applied with brush.

2. Liquitex Acrylic Texture Gel: Black Lava applied with palette knife, removed with wooden clay tool.

3.  L: Ventilation tape over nylon cord, texture impressed with wooden clay tool.
R: Kitchen aluminum foil pressed onto rubber stamp, lower half filled with Mod Podge Gloss Luster.

4.  UL: Red Devil Onetime Lightweight Spackling applied with palette knife through grid stencil.
UR: Red Devil Onetime Lightweight Spackling applied with palette knife through grid stencil onto layer of speckling.
LL:  Red Devil Onetime Lightweight Spackling, tinted with black black texture gel applied with brush.
LR:  White Spectator pencil applied through stencil (far right: over red permanent marker).

5.  R: Sterling black shoe polish (paste) applied with Q-tip through grid stencil.
C. Grid stencil with smudged Sterling black shoe polish (paste) printed.
L: Sterling black shoe polish (paste)  applied with Q-tip.

6.  Liquitex Black Acrylic Gesso applied with brush through stencil.

7.  L:  Wine Craftsmart acrylic paint (vertical strokes) over wet Elmer's Glue-All.
R:  Wine Craftsmart acrylic paint  (random strokes)  over wet Elmer's white glue.

8.  C: "Silver" and "Gold" Joss paper.
UR:  Mod Podge Gloss Luster applied with brush through grid stencil.
L and LR: Imitation gold leaf over Mod Podge Gloss Luster applied with brush through grid stencil.

surface treatment workshop

Happy New Year!

After the holiday activities and before my responsibilities to Missouri Fiber Artists (MoFA) -- its membership renewal time -- gear up, I've inked in (too close to "due date" for pencil) time on the calendar to research/experiment for the presentation at my study group.  It's not that I really procrastinate.  I just tackle the items at the top of the list and other tasks, even things I've been looking forward to, get demoted  It's a triage tactic, probably developed in college and honed during my years in the classroom.

The Fiber Arts Study group of my local guild has been sharing books this year.  Later this month, I'll present what I have learned from SURFACE TREATMENT WORKSHOP, by Darlene Olivia McElroy and Sandra Duran Wilson.  I bought the book a couple of years ago with the intention of working through it, technique by technique and adding new "flavors" to my bag of surface design tricks.    I love the juicy photos, simplified process instructions and descriptions of how variations were achieved.

The plan is to photograph the experimentations as they progress, make notes of materials and share them here.

solstice

The following is a repost from 2011.  I feel the same way today.  Enjoy the winter solstice:

  

Whether we watch the moon change shape, notice the length of a shadow, look at a numbered grid or remove clothespins from a line (a countdown to Christmas I remember from childhood), each of us observes the movement of time.

Winter solstice is a “hump day” for me.  Even though the coldest weather is yet to come, long winter nights begin to shorten as daylight arrives a minute or so earlier. 

Another hump day comes at the end of January when the tips of crocus leaves break through the ground.  (Years ago I planted the super early variety by the front door.)  Last year I missed it.  By the time the unusually deep snow disappeared, the crocus leaves were two inches tall! 

Happy Solstice.  Wishing you a joyous celebration of the season.

residents and visitors

Impressions left by objects pressed into the surface of a wet sheet of paper thrill me.  My artwork has evolved to display these recordings and the highly textured surfaces are the hallmark of my sculptural forms.

  

The first snowfall was light.  The 20' between my back door and the studio recorded impressions left by visits of those who share my space.  Opossum prints were easy to identify, especially with the tell tale tail track.  I briefly misread the rabbit's front paw prints as deer but, taking a wider view, saw the pattern and gate.

On the front porch, the visitor was feline, probably the young tabby from across the street.  She is bold and often follows me to the door, expecting an invitation in.  Sol keeps careful watch from his favorite sunny pillow.

toasty toes

As the temperature dropped, I began moving indoor plants from atop the wood stove to their "winter" places.  This involved some creative placements (even some stair step arrangements) to take advantage of daylight during shorter days.  At last, the wood stove was freed, emptied, wiped down and loaded.  The first fire on the season is glowing in time for the single digit temperature predicted for tonight.  I'll be toasty as I sort through the other items displaced today and find appropriate cubbies and niches for their long winter sleep.  Perhaps a few items will find places in someone else's home:-))

winter is coming

Where has the summer gone?  And for that matter, the Fall?  My previous post was vacation pics from May and the forecasters are predicting snow and really, really cold temps tonight!  Brrr.

Needless to say, my commitment to blogging has slipped.  Oops.  Refocus.

installation of folded books by Carol Zeman
and Leandra Spangler
THAT'S PAPER!?!, St. Louis Artists Guild, 2013

I became intrigued with folded books after finding Rhymes With Magic on Etsy.  Following directions is always a challenge for me, but Heather Eddy's tutorials are wonderful.  

After exploring the tutorials, I discovered my preferences and began creating designs for patterning in the round.  After all, I am a sculptor working with paper:-)) 

Paperbacks cut into six or eight pieces are my favorites for ornaments.  But, I couldn't resist the hymnals I'd been saving for altered books.  The musical notations are festive for this season.