(by 5 people)
Helping Your Muse Stick Things Together...
"Collage Mixed Media" will be here for you to use as the cozy coffee shop inside that charming local bookstore. Gather up some info on your favorite subject of collages, mixed media, assemblage, digital art or even paper dolls. Whatever mood strikes your fancy today. Grab your cup of steaming java-whatever & browse & read & purchase that which moves your muse.
A Terrific Travel Journal
Wonderful 2 parter on putting together a travel journal of a trip to Greece
- The Altered Page
- The Altered Page is a blog written by Seth Apter which I have been enjoying for a little while now. But today, I opened it up and found the most delicious, fantastic, wondrous travel journal I had seen, well ever. And I've seen many, having spent waaay too much time on this innertube riding along seeking out lovely and/or strange wonderment for my eyes to gobble. Seth had made a trip to Greece, and came home and put his beautiful photos and ideas into a journal which MUST be gazed upon for many minutes to get all the richness and texture possible.
SO do not hesitate, hit the link NOW... no don't pass go, I said hit it now, I'll wait. I may just go up to my studio now and make "sumthin purty".
Check out this Great Book!
Art Making, Collections & Obsessions by Lynne Perrella is absolute eye candy. A must read, peruse, amaze over if you have anything to do with collage/mixed media. 35 artists, 35 collections, many fabulous pictures to remind you why you have the things you do in your studio.
Mixed Emulsions: Altered Art Techniques for Photographic Imagery
A book review of Angela Cartwright's newest book
This is an excellent book for anyone wanting to take their photos to the next level with mixed media. Angela shows you what each emulsion or process that you might want to try (or hadn't thought of trying)will do for or to your photos. This is whether they are processed at a lab or you use your printer at home. The tips she gives along the way are invaluable, almost worth a book themselves. Angela lets you know what she has used for each project, and has a list of everything in the back, that's very handy. There is a section of other artists taking these processes and putting their own touch to them. All through the book, the pictures that go along with the ideas are beautiful. They are great for encouraging you to get out there, get some photos, come back into the studio, experiment & make some great art!
You can order Mixed Emulsions Here:
This is just the greatest, I can't say enough good about it!
Mixed Emusions by Angela Cartwright. Order from Amazon
Mixed Emulsions: Altered Art Techniques for Photographic Imagery
Great for taking your photographs to the next (& best) level in mixed media arts.
Amazon Price: $16.49 (as of 12/02/2008) 
In The Zone
Don't ya love it when...
You're working in your studio. The music is playing. The colors are coming out exactly as you imagined them in your head. The layers of glazes are sitting on top of one another just so. The printing or stamping or writing is going on in the right direction not smearing and they're dark enough. The papers do go with the colors you laid down, but not in a "this picture matches the sofa" kind of way. The watercolor crayons, pastels or other added attractions(!)look great. Oops where are those images you pulled ahead of time, oh yes, here they are. And they are the right size & color, and if you use wax on them, either what is behind them won't matter or won't show. You have used the Golden gel medium to put them down, & everything is straight & your hands aren't sticky because you used your little plastic spreader. You prop the finished piece up under a light & step back. It's done & it's good. You look at the clock. Two and a half hours have gone by! You would have said maybe half an hour. You were In The Zone.
Transfer Lessons Learned
Practice First!
It never fails. I had a book cover I needed to collage & put together by a specific date. Fine. I knew what I wanted to do. I cut the chipboard to size, gessoed it, & had fun painting it. I figured out just which pics I wanted to use for a transparency transfer & did all the computer whiz bang on them. Now we have to keep in mind that I have only done tape, contact paper, & regular injet printer paper transfer. This was my first try at the transparency transfer. But I had no problems with the others, so what the heck, I am in a go for it mode these days. I spread on the liquid Golden gel medium on the cover first, then the image. I laid the image down & burnished. The first bits of the image started to squiggle all over the place. Uh-oh, I thought, probably too much medium. I pulled it up & used water to get rid of the evidence. On to the next one. It was going to be a 2 step transfer. (Yes I'm either brave or stupid). So I repeated the medium process, but even less medium this time. Started burnishing, Yea, no sqiggling. Pulled up a bit on the image to check the progress of the transfer. Rats! It was not going down completely. Now normally, on a transfer, a little "off the image" is okay. But this was a lot. So I laid it back & burnished more. Finally I pulled it off. The image was striped looking. What the heck? I finally realized the transfer had only laid down on the places where my brush strokes were high. Yikes. I didn't know at the time I was painting that I was leaving behind such ridges. So my lessons learned are: 1)Not too much Golden liquid gel medium 2)Smooth painted surface (or any surface for that matter) where the transfer goes & 3) Practise new methods. PS: Got rid of all the evidence & started over on another book cover! Will be practising the transparency transfers on the side until I get it right.
Sticky situations?
Lets hope not!
So being collagists & mixed media artists, we spend a lot of time getting into very Sticky situations. Yes I'm talking adhesives. I've ended up with 3 containers full of various brands/types of adhesives. And this is not counting the scads of nails, brads, wax, Xyron machines, screws, sewing implements,and whatever else I'm leaving out. When I look at what others are doing, I look at what they use, so I know that's what you want to know. First & foremost, I reach for my Golden Gel Medium. It holds down just about everything, from the lightest paper, to pretty heavy things. And it drys clear. The plus for it, is I can use a transfer with it, but that's another story. Beeswax is probably a second favorite. Gotta love that smell. Put down a thin layer, add your paper, add some more wax, there it is. And if it's not quite right, heat it up, & remove it. The various Xyron machines get used a bit too. So easy, & NO sticky fingers. Good for transparencys & vellum. After those three things, it usually means I need something hard core like a screw or brad or something sewn. Then I do my favorite thing of rummaging through the studio to find that "just right thing". You know, you've done it.
About making art while you're making your collage
It's not just gluing stuff down!
Sometimes it's the journey, not the destination. There are pieces that sing out to me right from the first moment I think of them. The Muse gets it into my head very clearly & off I go straight to the finish, not skipping a beat. The finished piece looks exactly like I (& The Muse) had envisioned. And then there are the other peices, that seem to start off fine and just break down like a car with engine trouble. I pull over in some strange city looking for a place to get it fixed, & they say it'll be a few says , 'cause they gotta order parts, or their guy is off or something like that. So I am stuck. Well, time to do something. Like take in the sights around me. Get my camera out & take a bunch of pictures. Then come back with my Muse & see is the "car" is ready. A new take on that piece is just what was needed. And yes, it won't look like it started out to look like, & my Muse might be a bit miffed. But once everything is underway, my Muse will be happy & I will be pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Plus I will have had a lovely respite on my journey to my destination!
Space...the final frontier.
Where does empty, flat work space go?
I have found after all these years, no matter how much work space I start with, my actual work space seems to shrink down to about 2 square feet. Right now my studio has a 2.5' X 4'drafting table used for painting and a 4' X 8' work table for everything else. Course it also holds a large shelf and many storage containers & brushes & etc. So there goes all that space. But when I really start, I have a 3 foot section that goes back 2 feet. Then all the papers come out, and the printers blocks, & the stamps, and some how the paints don't stay over on the drafting table. Oh that's full of things drying & waiting for another coat of whatever. The light box is out. There's little books with gesso drying in one corner. Back on the main table, I've got the wax out, which means one whole section is covered in metal. Several books have been pulled out for reference in case I need to have my memory jogged on something. I have my lazy susan out with cutting pad so I can trim whatever is going on to the collage. And that's why I'm working in such a small space.
Found Memories Art
My collage-mixed media Blog
I give short how-tos almost daily on my art with very little personal bits added.
foundmemoriesart.blogspot.com
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byThe Ten Things I Reach for the Most in my Studio
Well there are a couple more than 10, but they are interrelated.
- Good scissors
- Golden gel medium
- Gesso
- X-acto knife
- Small & lg metal ruler
- Watercolor pencils/crayons
- Computer, internet,& Photoshop
- Papers
- Beeswax
- Stamps, printers blocks, inks
Artist babysmith's studio cam
Catch her working on cool mixed media pieces, live!
This is the link for the studio live cam to a mixed media artist who calls herself babysmith. Many times you can catch her in there working. She has a second one now, also. There is a blog and more, so a lot to do.
- Artworks Live cam
- Artist babysmith's studio cam
A video on Tape Transfer with a good explanation
I enjoy transfers & the different results they give
You can use a regular carbon based b&w copier instead of a laser printer also.
ScrapTheWorld.TV Scrapbook Show: Image Transfer
Here is a demonstration on transfering laser copy images onto tape or laminating paper for your scrapbook layouts
Runtime: 4:11
8067 views
2 Comments:
Collage Link List
Places to keep on linking for more info
- CollageArt.org
- A major list of lists on collage, run by collagist-extrodinaire Jonathan Talbot
- International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction
- "The IMCAC is dedicated to the collection, study and exhibition of collage, assemblage, construction, montage, photo-montage, digital collage, concrete poetry, collage poetry, film, sound collage, and other constructive arts."
- Found Memories Art
- This is my Blog: Just thought I'd give it a plug!
- Artmam.net:mixed media collage
- Lists many artists who specialties include mixed media & collage.
- Nita Leland's Links
- Nita Leland, who is herself a great collagist, has a wonderful link set to take off from.
Random Blog Posts from Google
Have a refreshing trip around the Blogosphere of collage & mixed media
- Nostalgic Collage': Mixed Media Monday - Home Sweet Home
- I love all things nostalgic, retro or vintage and have been creating collage' pieces since 2003. I h...
- Mixed Media & Digital Collage by Peggi Meyer Graminski: Think ...
- Digital Collage * Photomontage * Photography * Altered Art * Fine Art * Experimental Photography * A...
- Papiers Collés: Collage Associations
- I am starting my New Year's resolutions from now; and one of the things I would like to do is to joi...
- Mixed Media Collage on Canvas on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
- Mixed Media Collage on Canvas. To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled...
Great Mixed Media Books on Amazon
Alphabetica: An A-Z Creativity Guide for Collage and Book Artists (Quarry Book)
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 12/02/2008)
The Complete Guide to Altered Imagery : Mixed-Media Techniques for Collage, Altered Books, Artist Journals, and More
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 12/02/2008)
Collage Discovery Workshop
Amazon Price: $15.63 (as of 12/02/2008)
Collage Discovery Workshop - Beyond the Unexpected: New Techniques Using Color, Personal Imagery and Creative Surfaces
Amazon Price: $15.63 (as of 12/02/2008)
Art Making, Collections, and Obsessions: An Intimate Exploration of the Mixed-Media Work and Collections of 35 Artists
Amazon Price: $17.81 (as of 12/02/2008)
New Del.icio.us bookmarks
Collage "mixed media"
Reader Feedback
Tell me what ya think, or just say Hey!
fotolady49 wrote...
Nice lens. Thanks for the info and tips on mixed emulsions! 5*****
Posted December 01, 2008
TexasTreasures wrote...
I can relate to all of this! Visit my lens sometime!
http://www.squidoo.com/familyphotos/
Posted November 22, 2007
jedi1138knight wrote...
cool collages and i like you're other site, found memories
Posted November 16, 2007
Intuitive wrote...
Hi Laura! Thanks so much for leaving a message on my image transfer lens. I really like the way you present collage here, especially the "journey not process" part. 5 stars!
Thanks too for adding the Little Gallery to your lensroll. I've added this lens to both of my image transfer lensrolls.
Posted November 15, 2007
Good Stuff to be Found on Amazon
Did you know...
Did you know you could buy artists' supplies at your "local" neighborhood InnerTube bookstore? That's right. Amazon actually carries some of the things we need. Or just want. Check them out.
No. 1 Singapore Damar Resin 1/2 Lb Bag
Amazon Price: $4.99 (as of 12/02/2008)
The Art of Encaustic Painting: Contemporary Expression in the Ancient Medium of Pigmented Wax
Amazon Price: $19.77 (as of 12/02/2008)
Golden Acrylic Medium Soft Gel - Matte 8oz
Amazon Price: (as of 12/02/2008)
eBay ephemera auction items
To give you a taste of what's out there
This is to give you a bit of a hint of the items to be found on eBay just in the ephemera category under Collectibles. Now off you go, bid well, but not against me!
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
