Saturday, November 27, 2010

lesson seven and eight

In Mary Green's Collage Basics class, for lesson seven we were to make several torn paper backgrounds using a different medium on each - gesso, pastel acrylics, bright acrylics, sepia - or anything with which we wanted to experiment. Here is my background with a sepia image against red and green acrylics:




For lesson eight, we were to take the bright colored background and integrate the vintage sepia image to make it more compatible with the colored background.
Here is my finished piece:



Even though I don't dislike the bright colors; I do prefer to use softer, more vintage-like colors when making a collage with vintage images. 

Mary will be introducing a new online venture for 2011, which will be the Green Paper Collage Club.  Check out her blog for the details. 

Have a great weekend!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

lessons five and six



Here are two ATC's I have done for the Collage Basics class.  We were to try using mostly vintage papers and an embellishment.  I have used all vintage papers for the queen and her castle.  I put the queen under one of Tim Holtz' fragments for the "embellishment" part of this ATC.  All of the papers used for the other ATC are vintage, too.  I added some stamping to both ATC's - just a bit of vine for the first and the blackbird and some more vines for the second.  There is no embellishment on the second one, but I like it the way it is. 

Thanks for visiting!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

lessons three and four


For these lessons I attempted to combine patterns in a pleasing way and also use the golden mean theory of placement.  My collage is done on a 5.5 inch square and I wanted the colors/patterns to be soft and muted.  Added a bit of gold paper trim and punched flowers plus gold metallic ink around the perimeter - couldn't resist the urge to add some bling!

Now I am somewhat caught up with Mary's class until tomorrow.  It is so much fun to see the creations of others who are taking the class.  So much talent out there!

Thanks for visiting!

lesson two

Mary has wonderful tips on how to blend colors in this lesson.  I have tried to merge the orange/gold and blue hues of the kitty picture with the papers I chose for the background layers.  A butterfly adds a bit of whimsy, too!


This was a one-page collage in my moleskine - not much space; but I like working within the confined area.  

Check out Mary's blog for more information on her Collage Basics class. 

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

collage basics lesson one

Mary has started us out with a simple lesson in composition.  I have used a few vintage elements to create my ATC:


My week is very busy again; so this was done in a hurry - would have done it a bit differently if I had taken more time to think it through.  Oh, well - tomorrow is another day!

Mary's class is still available for anyone who would like to sign up!  Lots a collage sheets are provided for the class and Mary has many tips and tricks up her sleeves. 

Have a great day!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

odds and ends

FLOTSAM:




AND JETSAM:




After having several stressful and demanding positions in the workplace, the last job I had was working for my friend's son-in-law (and his brother) who owned a laundromat with snack bar.  I worked two days a week and met so many interesting people.  My duties entailed just manning the snack bar and keeping  things neat and tidy.  There wasn't any stress at all in this job and I enjoyed working for two very nice guys!  Many times I would find little odds and ends of paper, buttons, stickers, metal objects, etc.  The two collages above include many of those items, along with some added stamping and images of my own.  I think I have a few more items in a little tin that I could incorporate into another collage.  Maybe someday. 

I am happy to be completely retired now - oops!  I forgot!  I do work occasionally for a few hours in a stamp store; but I really don't count that as work!  Too much fun. . .

Thanks for visiting!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

GREEN PAPER CHALLENGE FOR NOVEMBER

Oh, my!  It is hard to believe that I have not posted since October 4th!!!  If anyone is still following me or has the least bit of interest in my posts, I apologize!!  Seems my life is way too busy these days, and my artwork is severely limited.  However, I do want to get back into the swing of things; so here is the spread I did in my moleskine journal for Mary Green's newest challenge:


I started with lots of papers for the background which I gessoed over; cut the two images into scalloped ovals and placed them on the floral card Mary provided.  (copied the images twice).  Then I layered on more papers, stamps, postage stamps and some blue watercolor crayon with more gesso where needed. 

This spread is a bit busy; but I like the overall effect of lots of stuff.  Mary is offering a new online class - Collage Basics - beginning November 7th - check out her blog for the details!

Thanks for stopping by. . .