A Venetian Return

I found this blog post by Jenny Marples on the Paper Artsy blog.   It spoke to me.  I loved it and had to have one of my own.

But as I followed along I realised that actually I don't like things to look like something.  I don't 'do' realism.  But I started off the way Jenny suggested.  I put gesso on A4 watercolour  paper.

I used my gel plate to print on deli paper

printer paper

wet strength tissue paper

I glued whole pieces of the painted papers onto the watercolour paper that will be the covers of my book

I tore up bits of the painted papers and glued them on.

However everything looks a bit too green. And there's possibly too much gesso!

I moved on to using stencils and rubber stamps.

I used an Inktense Charcoal Grey water soluble pencil to suggest stonework and added water.

I added a piece of something I found in my stash - I'm not sure what to call it but it's sort of string!

When I'm working on something like this, I tend to do little bits to each page rather than work only on one page until it's finished.  In addition, I will stamp or stencil or whatever I'm doing on each page and then go away and do something else.  Usually Facebook or read a book.

It maybe several hours or even the next day before I come back to it.  And frequently the pages go through an ugly stage when I don't like them at all.   However I know I can always gesso or collage over a bit I don't like.

At the time of writing this blog the pages look like this:

In an attempt to stop everything looking green, I used some blue paint.  Which is too blue!

The next two photos show the inside of the covers.  I used a heavier weight watercolour paper for the covers.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice

ExTex: Penultimate Post

I hadn't realised it was such a long time since I have written about ExTex.  The last time was Session 4 and next week is the final session - Session 9.

Session 5 was about experimenting with weaving, knitting, needlefelting and wet felting.

The homework was to use one (or more) of these techniques to produce a 3D something.  I made this wet felted vase.

At Session 6 we used Transfer Paints.  I really wasn't enamoured with these but I'm quite pleased with this homework that used the dyed fabric and felt.

Session 7 was a mix of things.  Firstly we dyed fabrics.  At home after I had washed and dried the fabrics I made this colour wheel.

I also tried out the different colours on a dyed background with coloured stitching in the hope it would show how colours react with one another.

We also played with Tyvek and Lutradur.

At our penultimate session we played with Kim's technique of 'Backgrounds & Pretties' made with dyed or painted newspaper.  I backed one of my 'pretties' with painted Lutradur.

And we made beads with different synthetic materials including cellophane and crisp packets.

I've spent the time since trying to complete all the rest of the samples I need for my workbook and which maybe chosen for the exhibition at the NEC in a couple of weeks.

This sample is made from a baby wipe that I had used to clean one of the stamps I made.  It is stitched on to some fabric I had painted on a different course and some bits of painted Tyvek was added.

At session 8 Kim talked about different ways to raise the surface on a piece of work.  I stamped a piece of Lutradur with modeling paste using one of the stamps I made.  Then I painted it with Seth Apter Paper Artsy paints.  I also used some copper paint.  I stitched into it with seed stitch.

A close up

After the NEC show I'll share some photos of the exhibition and my finished piece which is still in the making and I have only 5 days left to finish it!!!!

Thanks for stopping by.
Bernice