ICAD No. 6 Under-Paper Abstract

I'm a day behind and the prompts aren't inspiring me, so I'm trying some other things I've had on my "to do" list.  For today, that means using "under-papers" to create an abstract collage. Under-papers consist of the cheap newsprint or wax paper that I use to protect my work surface, clean off brayers and stencils, or lay under final pieces when I spray them with acrylic sealant.  I've been holding onto one piece of wax paper that I especially liked, waiting for the right mood to strike.

The letters along the bottom and the filigree image on the right were left by stencils when I cleaned them off on a piece of newsprint.  I cut out certain sections and adhered them to my index card.  I then overlaid a piece of wax paper with the wonderful red, green and black spray ink remnants.  The shimmery lime green circles are from another piece of newsprint.  The black hand drawn circles, the asemic writing at the bottom right, and the splatters were made using a calligraphy pen and India ink.  I am thrilled with how this turned out, as abstracts do not come easily to me.

Asemic writing is defined by Wikipedia as a "wordless open semantic form of writing" and by its creators as "quasi-calligraphic writing gestures."   I just call it scribbling.

I hope you had a great weekend.  My mom and I spent most of today on an adventure in the country.  I'll tell you about that in a future post, once we get my mom's purchase back from the framers.

Thanks for reading my blog!

ICAD No. 5 Poppy Dreams

I broke out the watercolors for today's card, but I used 140 lb watercolor paper instead of an index card.  You're just asking for disaster by not using the correct paper for this medium.  And since I wasn't motivated by today's prompt (owl), I waited until late in the day to complete this.  I had plans to attend a reception and exhibit opening at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art this evening, and I knew I would be more inspired afterward.

I worked wet-on-wet for the initial layer, then after some drying time refined the petals and stems.  I couldn't resist adding a little outlining with a Staedtler pigment liner pen.  I'm happy with how loose I was able to keep my poppies and how vibrant I was able to keep my red.  I really need to watercolor more often, because I do see improvements every time I play with them.

Thanks for dropping in.  Have a great weekend!

Supplies:
Strathmore 140 lb watercolor paper; Schmincke Horadam watercolor paints; Staedtler black pigment line pen; Tim Holtz stencil.

ICAD No. 4 Looking Over Paris

Today's ICAD prompt was mailbox.  I had a lot of ideas for this theme, but in the end I decided to be a little less obvious and make something that I'd like to find in my mailbox: a postcard from Paris.  I'd even send it to myself, if I had to (wink).

For the background I collaged a variety of Paris-themed labels by Cavallini.  I dry-brushed white acrylic paint over the entire card to blend the various designs.  My stately gent was cut from a reproduction Sears Catalog, and the Eiffel Tower image was cut from a reproduction postcard.  The old French postage stamp is real, but I added the cancellations with rubber stamps.

Creating yesterday's and today's card takes me back to two online classes I took with Mary Green in 2010:  Your Vintage Gluebook and Collage Coterie.  I learned so much through those classes and they helped to solidify my love of vintage collage.  Here's a link to one of the first collages I made using the blended paper technique, something I learned from Mary Green.  If you scroll through August 2010 you'll see other collages I made for Collage Coterie.

Thanks for popping by!  Have a great day.

Supplies:
4x6 index card; Paris Labels by Cavallini and Co.; white acrylic paint; vintage photo, black soot and pumice stone distress inks; gentleman ephemera from reproduction Sears Catalog; Eiffel Tower image from reproduction postcard from Mary Green; vintage French postage stamp; postal cancellation stamps by Stamp Francisco and 7 Gypsies; Derwent peat and white charcoal pencils; white Stabilo all pencil.

ICAD No. 3 Cow Country

Today's index card not only fed my soul artistically, but also served as the means for me to get something off my chest.  I went to bed last night with another person's negativity weighing heavily on my mind, and I decided I wasn't going to carry it around with me today.

After adhering a vintage map, reproduction ephemera and an old photo to my background, I took a graphite pencil and wrote a rant around and around the photo until all the negativity had left my thoughts.  I further obscured it with a black Stabilo All Pencil.  I know it won't be long before I don't even remember what the negativity was because in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter.

I wish you a positive day!

ICAD No. 2 A Swinger of Birches

Ack!  It's only day 2 of ICAD and I'm already behind!  I barely finished my index card before midnight, and only then because I ditched today's prompt (carnival) and went in a totally different direction.

I spritzed Dylusions spray inks through a stencil and then added bits of a Robert Frost poem called Birches.  Did you ever climb a tree as a kid and feel at peace?  As if you were somehow, just a little, temporarily, escaping whatever troubles you had on the ground?  Even in your young, partly-formed mind, you knew that eventually you'd have to climb down and face reality.   But for a while, you felt safe and "above it all," literally and figuratively.

Here's a link to the poem and one analysis.   I don't know if I completely agree with all of the analysis, but this poem does speak to me in terms of the themes of transcendence and escape.

Thanks for popping by!

Supplies:

4x6 index card; 6x6 stencil by TCW; postbox red and black marble Dylusions ink spray; computer-generated text.

Scrap Tags Part Deux

I had a few small scraps left on my craft table, so I made two more mixed media tags last night.

Have a great day!

ICAD No. 1 Purple Coneflower

In my attempt to get my mojo back, I've decided to try the ICAD Challenge (Index Card a Day) this year.  The concept is simple enough: create something every day on a cheap index card.  As the hostess says, "The challenge is about the DOING and not the KEEPING or PRESERVING or ARCHIVING. It is the process of creating each day that matters."  This is exactly the kind of challenge I need right now.  So I bought some unlined 4x6 index cards at an office supply store and away we go!

The theme for week one is drawing and doodling with pens, markers and ink.  The prompt for day one is chevron.  All themes and prompts are optional, but in this case they did give me an idea.  I drew a simple coneflower and colored it using Derwent watercolor pencils and a water brush.  I then stippled on distress inks through a chevron stencil and a piece of punchinella.

More information on ICAD can be found here.  It just started today but you can join anytime.

Happy June 1!  Thanks for stopping by.

Supplies:
4x6 unlined index card; Golden white gesso; Derwent watercolor pencils; Niji water brush; Ranger wild honey and dusty concord distress ink; chevron stencil by Studio Calico (Huey's Masks); piece of punchinella Staedtler pigment liner pen; vintage sheet music; Tim Holtz number stencil; date stamper.