Today I have been working on three different projects. My journal page, my next set of Artist Trading Cards and some experimental stone coasters that I am going to cover with some of my tangled designs. First is my journal page for Fall Fearless and Fly and Test Driving Jessica Sporn's stencil "Medieval Leaves"
Headline Prompt: Divided by God: What does "God" mean to you? How do you access"God" or the divine or the sacred in your life?
Color Prompt: Metallics - gold, silver, copper, bronze, or all of them!
Quote Prompt: "This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart, is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." The Dalai Lama
My journal page had a drape of gold metallic paint across it left from a pool of paint from another project. I covered it with a wash of Silks Olive Green after journaling some of my thoughts about the headline prompt with my Micron pen across the top of the page. I must not have let the pen dry sufficiently because the wash of green erased some of my journaling. Then I decided to follow some of the instructions from my class with Dion Dior on various mediums you can mix with Silks paints. When the Olive Green was dry(I waited two days)I used heavy gel medium to make a design using my new stencil "Medieval Leaves" that I won on the Jessica Sporn Designs site. I left that to dry for two days, also. Tonight I used another stencil that I just received from Stencil Girl that is a Church window. Appropriate to the theme, I think! Here is the journal page so far.
Above is after journaling, a wash of green, and the "Medieval Leaves" stencil created by Jessica Sporn, stenciled with heavy gel medium. Below is with the addition of the gessoed stencil of the Church windows. Funny how different light can change the colors! The top photo is the beautiful color.
Next is a photo of the stone tiles that I first gessoed to seal, then painted black to make a framed edge around my Zentangle Squares. I am going to try Modge Podge and Matte Medium to see which seems to work best for adhering the paper to the tiles. I am hoping the black paint won't show through the Zentangles and the glues won't discolor them. An experiment! I may have to either repaint the centers of the tiles white, or completely seal the paper tangles before adhering them.
The next project I am working on is January's ATCs. Our theme for January is fabric. I bought a 1/2 yard packet of 5 different colors of fabric. First I prepared the backs of the cards. They had already been glued to a map and one side gessoed from last month. I painted stripes of Silks in green, yellow, rose and orange on the cards which had been sprayed with water and then sprayed on some aqua colored ink and some fuschia colored ink. I let it dry for two days. Tonight I lined up the edges of the fabrics and applied a thick coat of Polymer Medium. Again I noticed that when I use mediums they seem to pull color out. So I went back over each edge with my brush, cleaning my brush on a paper towel before doing the next color of fabric. The plan is to let the polymer dry, then coat the other side. When that is dry, I am going to use a silicon sheet and my iron to seal/melt it all together like you would for paper collage. If that doesn't work, I have some of that new clear fusible interfacing to hold all the fabrics together. Hum, I wonder if I can use it to attach it to the cards, or whether I need to stitch it on??? Anyone? HELP!
View of one section of back after paint & ink
Below is the fabric that I am gluing together. I hope this works!
Well, "that's all folks!"
