A Little Bit Of Gesso & Ink

Making background papers is always fun - and useful too - so I put together a little video tutorial to share with you on these. They're very quick and easy to do, require only a few ingredients and will give you some lovely results!

I have been having some time off from creating to nurse my poorly dog who's got pneumonia but he is, thankfully, on the mend now so I thought I'd ease myself back into things with a little play time. Hope you enjoy watching.

A Little Extra Something

Sometimes I like to just stop in the middle of splashing ink and paint around and see if I can get some extra mileage out of what I'm doing. The page directly above started life as the right hand side of the spread in the top picture and when it got to this stage I put it into the computer so that I could play some more with it.

I like it as a potential background for other pieces just as it is, so now I have it in my picture files I can print it out whenever I want. I will probably also use Photoshop on it and it'll end up with a whole range of different looks by the time I'm done.

This is what I did with the eggs here. On the left is my original photograph of a stamped book page and opposite is how it looks after being manipulated a little. You don't always have to create brand new images and backgrounds - it can be fun to do a little recycling and reusing of what you already have! 

Little Landscapes WIP

One of my favourite supports to work on is a chunky, small canvas. When I recently got a whole box full of six inch square ones I decided to prep a few in one go as I always find it easier to work on something which has had the 'newness' taken out of it. So I got out the modelling and texture mediums and applied some of those, followed by some almost random patches of colour.

I can thoroughly recommend this approach if you either have that 'blank page' discomfort or perhaps simply don't yet know what you want to paint. The canvas which ended up being The Inlet started out as the green and white one you can see in the other pics. I had a vague idea of the landscape I wanted to paint but it evolved as I was working on it into something different and, I feel, better.

Often the hardest job when creating something is just getting out of my own way and letting it happen.

A Little Perspective

 

I wanted to share a little trick with you today, something which, if you haven't already tried it, may well surprise you with its usefulness.

A long time ago, when I first began to make quilts, I discovered that it was nigh on impossible to get a good view of how work on my design wall looked. My studio, although spacious by some standards, is still a small room in a small house and I found that I couldn't get enough physical distance between me and the quilt to tell if the colour placement was balanced or if any areas needed obvious correction. Then one day I found one of those little spyhole devices - you know, the ones you put in your front door so you can see who's there - and I realised that by looking through it at my wall I could miraculously see the whole quilt as if from a good distance away!

Nowadays I use my digital camera for the same purpose and not only for textile work but also for collage and paintings. Maybe you've had experience of staring so long at something you're working on that you can no longer 'see' it? Well, I find it very worthwhile to stop and take a few pictures at such moments so that I can look at them on the computer and get my sense of 'distance' back. Often this will be enough to decide what needs doing next or to isolate things which I feel aren't working. It can also show me that sometimes a painting I've been fussing with is actually finished.

So, here is a canvas I'm working on at the moment. It's not quite there yet but I thought you might enjoy seeing the process.

How To: Create Your own Printing Blocks

Today I thought I would share the process of creating some of my block printed book covers - it's quite straightforward and a lot of fun to make your own printing blocks or stamps and you can use them for all sorts of applications.

What you need:

• Block for cutting:

I like Speedy Stamp for quick results because it's very easy to carve with the minimum of tools, but you could also try wood blocks or lino if you feel a bit more adventurous!

• A cutting mat or stack of newspapers to protect your work surface.

• Lino Cutter:

these can be picked up quite cheaply from art supply shops and the one I have has several interchangeable blades, although I mainly use the finest one as most of my blocks are quite small.

• Stanley Knife or other craft knife for trimming the finished block.

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I begin with a preliminary sketch or photograph of my design. For the block shown here I simplified a design I had previously drawn in my sketchbook.

I like to draw my design straight onto the block in pen or pencil, but you could trace it if you prefer. You may find it helpful to fill in any areas you don't want to cut out - remember, anything you carve out will appear as a void in your finished print. Once I'm happy with the outline it's time to start cutting.

Take care, as ever, with your sharp cutting tools and start off just taking little nibbles out of the block until you get used to how much pressure you need to exert and feel comfortable holding the lino cutter. It's helpful to stop frequently and angle the block towards the light so you can see how the carving is progressing. Once you have finished cutting, trim all around the edges very carefully with your craft knife. It's important that you don't undercut the block, ie the base should be slightly wider than the top edge to allow for even pressure when printing.

As you can see I took a bit too much off the bottom point of the flower when trimming it up. Don't worry, one little area like that won't affect the block's usability at all!

At this point you want to try your block out so go ahead and ink it up for a test print. You will probably find that you've missed a bit somewhere when carving, or that some element needs a bit more work, or that there are unwanted high spots on the block. Just go back into it with your cutter and carry on until you're happy with the design, then start making your own giftwrap, cards, book covers etc with your spiffy new hand carved stamp!

New Tricks

When I was a child I used to watch my mother crochet and be completely spellbound by it. She would make scrap blankets and afghans from odds and ends of yarn. They were a riot of colour and appealed to me in the same way that, in later years, scrap quilts would. There is something deeply satisfying about getting the most out of one's resources and, having been brought up by parents who lived through WW2 and its attendant austerity, I suppose I've inherited that mindset.

I never learnt to crochet though. I could knit many intricate stitches but put a crochet hook in my hand and I was lost. Until now. Last week I came across these wonderful video tutorials which have finally taught me the basics and how to make an afghan - in progress in the picture above. Beth is a clear and talented instructor, so if you've ever thought you'd like to learn a new craft I heartily recommend her excellent 'classes'.

Tutorial - Stamping with Utee

Today a tutorial which I wrote originally for the Variazione network, but thought others might find useful.

A Quick Course in Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel

First off, I am not an expert with this material and what I'm describing is just my own method of working with it, discovered through trial and error.

Utee is usually sold through shops which carry stamping supplies. It looks like a bigger grain version of embossing powder and is available in various colours and metallics. It does however behave somewhat differently from regular embossing powder and has lots of possibilities.

To begin with you need a fairly firm base on which to work - I usually use mat or illustration board. If you're planning to add images or stamping that's best done first as the embossing will be quite 3-dimensional.

Caution: You will be using heat and the embossing will get very hot so please be careful of your fingers!

Tools:

Utee in your chosen colours

Pigment ink pad or embossing ink pad

Foam stamps

Heatproof work surface

Heat gun

Small paintbrush for removing stray bits of powder

Optional - glitter, tiny beads, metallic waxes etc

1. Print your design with the inked stamp. Foam is a good choice as you don't want too much fine detail for this technique.

2. Sprinkle on a generous amount of Utee over the stamped image and tap off the excess onto a piece of scrap paper. On a heat proof surface give the board a blast with your heat gun. Keep it moving over the surface and about 2-3 inches above it. You will see the powder begin to liquify.

3. When it is completely melted and still hot very quickly sprinkle on more Utee and tap off the excess. Alternatively, make a little mound of the powder on a piece of paper, invert and gently press your image into the powder then tap off the excess. Reheat and melt the new layer of Utee. Continue in this fashion until you have built up the kind of thickness you want. The thicker it becomes the more it will flow so experiment to see what 'look' you like.

In the demo piece here, the stamped image on the right has a couple of layers and is finished with a sprinkle of glitter onto the hot surface.The other part of the board is built up of 4 layers of Utee over the impression from an ink pad, which I then stamped into with the same foam stamp while the Utee was hot and liquid. Leave the stamp in place for a few seconds then carefully remove for an impressed image. When it cooled I finished the surface with two shades of Treasure wax.

A note about stamps: you will probably find that after you've stamped into the hot Utee your stamp block will have bits of embossing powder crusted on it. Wait until it's completely cold and then just pick them off with your fingernails.

Turning Japanese

Hope you all had a wonderful Holiday. It was quiet chez DG, but that's how I like it! I got myself a present in the form of a Japanese screw punch and I have to tell you, if you have frequent need of hole-making equipment then this is the baby for you.

They aren't cheap - this one cost around £20 and I have seen them for twice that price - but well worth it. So what do you get? Well the body of the punch feels solid and comfortable to hold. It has an easy to remove chuck and six different sized bits ranging from 1mm to 4mm. The punching action works by pushing downwards on the handle, the barrel turns with a screw motion and makes the hole. It doesn't require a lot of strength to use and is completely silent - no hammering involved!

So far I've used it mainly for making holes for sewing books together and for tag making, but I'm sure it would go through leather or similar if you needed it to. Definitely my favourite bit of kit for quite a while!

Weapon of Choice

Another drawing of my fantasy town which I might paint later on. Rima and Neda were asking me about ink drawing a while ago so I thought I'd just mention my choice.

I have a good old-fashioned mapping pen which I use when I want a particular effect - it can make wonderful variable lines with a slightly grungy appearance and of course you can splat the ink around if you're feeling adventurous.

For most line work however I prefer a Pilot drawing pen. These come in several different point sizes and are quite robust. I also like Pigma Micron pens, just can't get them round here alas. Both these brands are inexpensive and most importantly (for me) don't 'scratch' when you use them. Nothing puts me off a pen quicker than scratchiness!

The other thing in the picture is my propelling pencil which I love because it never needs sharpening and gives a nice fine line.

Paper Play

More playing with materials today. I had these lonely pots of glass bead medium and modelling paste sitting on my shelf - bought ages ago because it seemed like a good idea - and I thought it was about time I used them.

So here's some Khadi (Indian cotton rag) paper which I painted and applied the medium to before gilding with a gold Markal stick and Treasure wax. The top two pieces are modelling paste, the other two have the glass bead medium.

And while I was at it I made a bunch of wrapping paper sheets. These are simply brown parcel paper repeatedly crumpled, painted and waxed. Used to be a favourite thing of mine to do so a little revisiting seemed in order.

Click on the pictures for more detailed views.

WIP Lutrador

Thought I'd post this for you to see. It's made using lutrador, which is this cool spun synthetic 'fabric'.

As you can see it takes acrylic paint quite happily. I added an image transfer as well, again takes very well. Finally I got the soldering iron onto it and did a bit of random burning to create a lacy effect.

The nice thing is it's stitchable, so that's what I'm going to do next.

The Beating of My Heart

I spent part of last week with Thea at the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham. Although I don't work with fabric as much as I used to I love going to the quilt show. There's so much wonderful and inspiring work to see and I come back buzzing with ideas for new techniques I want to try. If you'd like to see a selection of the quilts, I have some photos on my flickr.

Here's a mixed media piece I made when I got back. I had read that Golden gel was the best gel medium for image transfers so I bought some while I was in Birmingham. I've had very little success in the past with image transfers but I can report that Golden is da bomb. It works so much better than any others I've tried, so I may go off on a bit of a transfer rampage now!

For sale here

Insomnia

So, 2am this morning here's what I was doing. I was in my studio with all the windows wide open making Turpentine paper. Egads it's a smelly, messy process, but I'm pleased with the results.

Now Neda was asking the other day if I'd do a little tutorial type thing on the mail art I'm engaged with currently, and I will soon, promise! I just need to get it together enough to take a few photos and write something. In the meantime here's a quick rundown of how to make your very own turps paper.

You will need

~ National Geographic magazine (I'm told it won't work with any other mag, something to do with the type of paper)

~ Real turpentine, the substitute stuff won't work

~ A throwaway foil tray slightly bigger than the magazine

~ Newspaper, plastic sheeting etc for protecting your work surface

~ Rubber gloves

~ Very good ventilation, ideally work outdoors

Ok, what you do is put your magazine in the tray and, starting with the bottom page, tip a little turps onto it. Smoosh (technical term) lightly with your Marigold clad fingers or tip the tray back and forth to wet the whole page.

Move on to the next page, repeating the whole process until you've worked your way through the magazine. Make sure your completed pages are in good contact with each other and are thoroughly covered in turps. After you've got about halfway you'll notice that there's a build up of turps in the tray. This makes the whole thing easier as you can agitate the tray to cover your new pages as you go.

Once you've done the whole magazine pick it up and gently squeeze out the excess turps, then prop it up somewhere to dry (this can take a while). I ended up putting mine in the garden to dry out as it was taking too long for impatient me! Once it's dry separate and pull out the pages. It will still smell strongly of turps so I advise pegging bunches of the dry pages up outdoors and letting them 'air'.

I did find that not all the pages worked and the ones which did best were the highly coloured photographic ones, but it's a pretty random process and you get some surprising and beautiful results from it. Worth trying if you're looking for something different.

Sennelier Rock!

I am so excited I just have to share this. Yesterday, whilst returning DVDs to Blockbuster I made a slight detour to the local art shop. Well you know, they often have supplies I almost need. Sure enough I found this box of Sennelier Iridescent oil pastels going cheap so I had to buy it obviously, even though I have absolutely no experience with pastels. But hey they were developed for Picasso so that's good enough for me.

Anyway, I have to tell you I am in love with them! They go on like butter and blend like a dream, and the colours are just yummy. Here's something I did with them today.

Unfortunately my scanner doesn't pick up the iridescence so you'll have to trust me on the gleam they provide to this piece. I heartily recommend you try some!

Grungy Wallet

Here's something I've been playing about with and finally finished. It's a collaged wallet made using Gillian Allen's plastic fantastic technique. I wasn't entirely happy with it as I couldn't get the surface as transparent as I would have liked but I may try a different gel medium and see if that gives better results.

It has an outer covering of plastic, which also forms the pockets inside and it could be useful for keeping credit cards or other bits and pieces together. I put some tags and a business card sized collage in this one just for fun.