May 9th, 2008
I was recently sent a sample pack of several new Golden products. The first three that I’ve had a chance to play with are the new digital grounds. These products are made to enhance the quality of work done using inkjet prints onto all kinds of surfaces.
It boggles the mind what wonderful possibilities this may open up for artists who like doing image transfers or who like working with non-standard materials. Instead of being limited to toner copies for image transfers, inkjets will now work just fine…including on non-absorbent surfaces! Instead of being limited to pre-coated papers, artists can now create their own, out of just about anything!
Original Image
Transfered Image
Testing them out, I treated a piece of waxed paper to use for an image transfer. It took awhile to treat the surface: the ground tended to want to bead up, but as I patiently stroked it over the waxed paper with a foam brush, it began to spread out and form a film. Then I printed out an image…it was magical! Although the image was still moist, it stayed in place with no running or streaking until I was ready to make the transfer onto a piece of paper that I had spread with a thin layer of matte medium.
Amazing!
Here’s some of the info from the Golden’s website; you can visit them for much more in-depth information.
The Three Grounds
Digital Ground White (Matte) is a porous, opaque, white ground, for use on a multitude of surfaces. Like other porous ink-jet coatings, it allows prints to dry extremely rapidly, making it the safest choice for use with unmodified desktop printers that still have ‘pizza wheels’ or ejection rollers. It is also an ideal starting point for the first-time user looking for the most trouble free application on a wide range of materials.
Digital Ground Clear (Gloss) is a clear ground with a gloss sheen for use on most absorbent surfaces, allowing the underlying material to show through. Similar to other swellable ink-jet receptive coatings, prints dry much more slowly, which can sometimes present problems for desktop printers that have ejection rollers or ‘pizza wheels’. While there are rarely if any problems when used on very porous surfaces like paper, we do not recommend using relatively non-porous substrates coated with the Digital Ground Clear on a desktop printer unless the printer’s ‘pizza wheels’ or ejection rollers have been removed. However, such modifications of your printer are at the users risk and may negatively affect printer performance, void printer warranty, etc.
Digital Ground for Non-Porous Surfaces is similar to the Clear described above but optimized for increased adhesion and performance on non-porous surfaces such as aluminum or plastic. We do not recommend using the Digital Ground for Non-Porous Surfaces on a desktop printer unless the printer’s ‘pizza wheels’ or ejection rollers have been removed. As before, such modifications of your printer are at the users risk and may negatively affect printer performance, void printer warranty, etc.
Tags: Collage, Digital Art, image-transfers, Mixed Media By Cyndi -- 0 comments
May 9th, 2008
A quick and easy market bag to crochet for ‘WOW MOM’s!
Noreen Crone-Findlay designed a quick and fun market bag in honor of all the Wow Moms out there. And it’s good for dear old mother earth, too!
Decoupage a Byzantine Cross Pendant
Eileen shares instructions for a decoupage Byzantine cross pendant made from cardboard - of all things!
Digital Photomontage Demonstration
Links to a simple photomontage tutorial.
Glorious Gourd Decorating
A quick review on a great resource for gourd decorating.
Layers Upon Layers
Take one cheap piece of felt and transform it into “leather”!
Gadget Wish List for Quilters
Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you have on your dream list of quilting gadgets
Spring-time felt flowers
Inspire kids to start sewing with this easy felt flower from Tangled Thread
Wooden craft boxes as wedding favors
Chloe from the Creative Bride suggests painting charming & inexpensive wooden boxes to give as wedding favors
By Cyndi -- 0 comments
May 8th, 2008
Artist: Elis Cooke
Business name: Into the Blystic
Location: Tara, Ontario, Canada
Website & Blog:
Into the Blystic
Into the Blystic blog
Elis, how do you describe your work?
Loosely I would describe my work as mixed media. I am especially focused on acrylic painting, making textural works with handmade paper, monoprinting and bookarts. My business name is a reminder to myself to ‘Follow my bliss’ [Joseph Campbell] as the creative state of making always takes me into the blystic.
What is your creative process like?
Music is vital. I am not much of a planner. My creative process is very much in the moment. I am almost always in ‘what if??’ mode until I see something I haven’t seen before that I want to develop. So I play a lot, layer a lot until something interesting happens. I usually spend the first part of my day in play mode and then choose something to try and finish. I always have lots of work in progress so I can choose the kind of work I feel like doing… I am good at starting things, but the finishing can take awhile.
What kind of training did you have which helped you achieve your current level of artistry?
I am pretty much self taught. I have taken a few courses here and there for specific interests… watercolours, collage and printmaking. I still feel like I am learning and hope to be learning for the rest of my life. It took me a long time to see being self taught as a positive thing. I used to feel inferior about it, but I have come to see that it has worked for me… that the methods and processes I have developed are fully my own, that I have built the skills I needed as I wanted them in a self directed way that made them relevant instead of to meet a course curiculum.
Is there a tool or material that you can’t imagine living without?
Some of my favourite tools include drywall putty knives, syringes, dimensional fabric paint, rice paper and polymer clay.
What inspires you to create?
I am mostly inspired to create because it is necessary to me… it is my favourite state of being… and I am incredibly grateful that I get to spend most of my day doing what I want to.
What inspires you to keep going when the work gets frustrating or tough?
When I get to that point, I often feel I have nothing to lose, so I will try anything… and that playful approach often takes me to the next level… or it is a good time for a nap! and if all else fails, there is always gesso.
What is your best piece of advice for those who would like to rise in their level of artistry?
I think the most important thing is to love what you are doing.
What takes up the majority of your time besides your art?
Writing poetry, yoga, tai chi and reading.
What’s your favorite comfort food?
Chocolate for sure!
Tags: artist profile, Collage, Creativity, Mixed Media, paper arts By Cyndi -- 4 comments
May 8th, 2008
Art Attack Thursday!
What a great DIY project! If you’ve got exposed beams in your house, how about putting the space to good use and building in some bookshelves? Thanks to Apartment Therapy (more specifically, thanks to Dad!) for coming up with and sharing this great idea. Apartment Therapy’s tagline is “Saving the world, one room at a time.” Love it!
Tags: storage, tutorials By Cyndi -- 0 comments
May 7th, 2008
Are you a knitter or crochetier? Do you design (or want to design) unusual pieces of street art out of yarn?
If so, you should design a pattern for Yarn Bombing: The Art of Knit Graffiti, to be published by Arsenal Pulp Press in fall 2009.
A DIY guide to the art of yarn graffiti and a history of hand-crafted textile street art, Yarn Bombing will feature patterns such as street-smart disguises, useful wearable tools like gloves and tool belts, street art such as knit car cozies, bike covers and headlight toques, and outdoor installations such as crochet shawls for leafy trees. The sky’s the limit as long as it’s knit or crocheted! Projects should be fun, colorful and a little bit wacky.
Designers are asked to submit a sketch and detailed description of their project, along with a brief bio, by the submission deadline of May 30, 2008.
Submission information: Yarnbombing
Tags: call for submissions, call-for-entries, fiber-art, knitting By Cyndi -- 0 comments
May 7th, 2008
Embellished Mini-Quilts by Jamie Fingal
This is a great book for eye-candy, but not one that I would recommend to someone who is looking for the basics of making art quilts. If you’ve got experience, you’ll find it a treasure trove of ideas. If you haven’t, you’ll find it beautiful and lush, but frustrating in the details it leaves out.
Actually, the book briefly profiles some amazing quilt artists and then moves directly into specific quilts that they’ve made, outlining the process. Due to this, the directions are of variable detail, as to be expected with multiple “authors”.
I really don’t intend this warning as a criticism of the book: no book can be all things to all people. Still, if you’re unsure about your own proficiency, you might want to take a look at a copy first before you splurge on it. Some of my favorite artists are in here (Frances Holliday Alford, Larkin Jean Van Horn), so to me it’s quite worth it!
Tags: Art Quilts, Book & Magazine Reviews, fiber-arts, Mixed Media By Cyndi -- 0 comments
May 7th, 2008
What’s Up Wednesday!
Deadline for submissions: June 2, 2008
Information & application: Cambridge Artists’ Cooperative
The Cambridge Artists’ Cooperative is now accepting entries for its 18th Annual Art to Wear Show. Celebrating excellence and innovation in contemporary American craft, the gallery is seeking original design clothing and accessories. From the funky to the sublime - all techniques and materials will be considered.
Show dates: September 25th - October 26th.
Opening Reception: September 25th, 5:30-7:30pm
Tags: call-for-entries, Mixed Media, Wearable Art By Cyndi -- 0 comments
May 6th, 2008
Technique Tuesday!
You’re not going to believe how easy it is to do this surface treatment. I’ve asked people to try to figure out what the material is without letting them feel the backside of it, and they always guess leather! Like I said yesterday, it looks a lot more like leather in real life than it does in my photos.
Materials:
Square of white felt
Fusible web
Extra heavy acrylic gel
Soft acrylic gel
Acrylic paints - raw sienna, burnt sienna, interference gold
Tools:
Iron
Parchment paper
Foam brush
Paper towel
Heat gun
- Iron fusible web to the felt.
- Smear the surface with acrylic gels. Use fingers. Let partly dry.
- Drip on light paint color using foam brush. Dab lightly with paper towel.
- Drip on dark paint color. Dab lightly. Repeat layers until piece is covered.
- When almost dry, spread on a light layer of interference gold. Dab lightly and let dry thoroughly before using.
Tags: fabric-arts, fiber, Mixed Media, tutorial By Cyndi -- 15 comments
May 5th, 2008
Once more, one of the projects posted here has managed to distract a dear reader from what she was supposed to be doing… :-)
Timaree, who writes Freebirdsings sent me pictures of this adorable photo journal that she made after she read a post on making them. Here’s what she said about it:
The one with the blue girl is me so that half of the book is plain paper for artwork. Flip it over and upside down and you have my daughter with ruled paper for writing. The other books were made for practice out of the scraps I cut for the first book. I just used extra clothespins to hold it closed while letting the glue dry instead of the extra books as the video showed. They were really fun to make and simple enough that I will teach my granddaughters to make them. Now I will see how they hold up to use. Oh, the cover for the smallest book are paint color samples cut down to fit.
Tags: artist-journals, Book Arts, Mixed Media, paper arts, photographs, Photography By Cyndi -- 0 comments
Recent Comments