Mixed Media Art--The Challenge Part 2

I forgot to post one of the challenge pieces that I did, plus I made a mistake describing one of them that I posted a few minutes ago, so this is a correction.

This challenge was to use only 5 things to make your art. Yes, I did use a photo from the JC Penney circular that comes every week, although I changed  it to black and white.

I was wrong about this challenge--we were asked to  use stamps, so I used three bird stamps.



In this challenge, we were asked to use embossing powder. That was something new to me. I glued this into my large art journal.

Hope I didn't bore you too much!

If you have any art that you'd like to show me, please respond and let me know where to look for it. It would be my pleasure!

Your friend in artliness,

Deb

Mixed Media Projects--The Challenge

I haven't posted for several days, so I thought I should get to it again. All I'm going to do in this post is show some of the mixed media art projects that I did for Julie Fei-Fan Balzer (balzerdesigns.com) and Nathalie Kalbach's (nathaliesstudio.com) Second Floor Challenge. In the challenge, they decide what medium(s) to use and then they put out the challenge in their blogs.

You  have to sign up for the challenge (I think there are only a few left to complete the year of challenges that they decided to do) and they will invite you. Then you post the photo of your challenge on the Flickr Second Floor Challenge Group.

Here are the things I've done for the Second Floor Challenge:

I wasn't officially in the group yet, but the challenge was to start with circles and see where it takes you.

 This challenge was to use pencil, so I used colored pencils to start this piece.

This challenge was to use only 5 items.

And this challenge, for October, was to use white card stock as a starting point. I finished it a few days ago.

I'll be back soon. Even though I started out posting every day, I've changed my mind and decided to post about once a week.

If you want to start a blog, Google let's you do it for FREE!

Your friend in artliness,

Deb

How to Comment on My Mixed Media Art Blog

I've been writing this blog since August. I'm disappointed and frustrated that I haven't received comments from many people, especially in the past 30 days or so.

I receive emails from my friends commenting on my blog, but they don't understand how to leave a comment on the blog itself. So ... this is how you do it:

• Go to the comment box below and type in your comment. I want to know what you think--good, bad, or indifferent.
• Where it says "Comment as," you will see a drop-down list. If you want to leave your name, pick "user name, or whatever it says and I think you will be able to type your name. If you want to leave an anonymous comment, click on "Anonymous."
• Then click on "Publish," your comment will get published, and (yippee!) I'll happily receive your comment.

I hope these directions are helpful. It would be great to hear from someone directly on my blog.
IF YOU STILL CAN'T COMMENT DIRECTLY ON THIS BLOG, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AT deborahapierro@comcast.net. I really want to hear from you!

About the art on my last blog that I asked help naming, my dear friend emailed me (because she didn't understand how to leave a comment) to call it "Paths to the Goddess." That's a very good title because of the white "paths" on it. I'll consider it, but I'd still like to hear a few more suggestions.

Hope to hear from you!

Deb

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Naming Your Mixed Media Art

A couple of days ago, I started this piece in my art journal. I have a small art journal that I finished, but this is my huge art journal. I wasn't even going to post it, but I decided that I would add some layers to it and see how it turned out ... so here it is:

I started out playing around with my various colored stamp pads. They seemed to be kind of dry, so I decided to do an abstract by just stamping them directly on the paper. Then, I outlined the stamped images with Sharpie metallic markers and other regular Sharpie markers.

I accidentally put a streak of orange marker on the page, so I made the squiggly things to cover that error.

Then, I dry brushed some acrylic paint aground the edges and glued on a picture from an outdated calendar that I  had cut out previously. After that, I added some wavy images with gesso, ran a plastic fork through them, and let it dry.

After the gesso dried, I sprayed Ranger Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist on the gessoed areas (mostly) and let that dry. And then I brushed on Mod Podge to seal it. It actually looks better "in person" than in this picture, but ... oh well.

The only problem is ... I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO NAME IT! Can you give me any suggestions? Please comment with your suggestions for a name for this piece.

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On another note--below is a photo of me and my two wonderful, creative nieces. I love them to pieces!

Please help me name my piece of art, above, won't you?

It will be fun to find out what you come up with. And you'll hear from me, no matter what.

See ya later!

Finished Mixed Media Art - Continued from October 4th

Well, on October 4th I showed how I prepped for the finished piece of art below. It's different from what I usually do because there is little or no color. I like it, though. I call it "Almost Black and White."

I decided to add some masking tape embellishments on each side. You just tape one end on and then twist it as you go down the board, taping it down at the other end. Then I brushed heavy gesso over the tape to stiffen it. After that part dried, I applied Mod Podge with a brush to seal the piece. I hope you like it.

The silhouette of the woman reminds me of someone standing in front of a huge work of art in a gallery.

To change the subject ... on Nathalie Kalbach's (nathaliesstudio.com) blog today, which I subscribe to, she features a wonderful video that is very uplifting and is worth listening to and sharing with others. It is all about having a positive outlook on the many awesome things we all experience in life (hopefully). Here's the link:

http://www.ted.com/talks/neil_pasricha_the_3_a_s_of_awesome.html?source=facebook#.UHAzUNK8Rmc.facebook

That's all for now ...

Preparing for a New Mixed Media Piece

Today, I decided to work on a new mixed media piece. I'm going to title it "Almost Black and White" and you will see why.

I found this board and decided it would be good to use for a piece of art. So I brushed it entirely with white gesso.

Then I got a group of design elements together. I plan on using all or most of them on this piece. Most of them are stamped pieces, the silhouette is hand drawn and painted with a Sharpie black paint marker, and one piece was done on the computer,

When I am ready to lay out my design, I will glue these elements onto the board with tacky glue. I generally brush the glue on because you get better coverage that way. It's also best to work on a craft mat like the one above. These mats clean up very quickly and easy.

You can buy tacky glue very inexpensively at AC Moore and other stores that sell art and craft supplies.

I haven't decided on the layout yet, but I will soon--and then I'll put it on my next post!

I wish at least one of my viewers would let me know what they do to prepare and create their art works.
I hate to beg, but PLEASE????