Good morning! It's an exciting weekend coming up in the Shay household....the whole family is off to South Carolina first thing in the morning to witness the graduation walk of the middle child on Saturday, then it's a whirlwind 3 weeks of moving her from SC to Connecticut to start graduate school on June 1. When I awoke this morning I was feeling like I needed to clone myself to get everything done that needs to get done between family, work and art. Looks as though those thoughts found their way into my work today, which often happens!
So....to the lesson at hand...WASHES! In the book the lab outlines 9 different ways to approach doing washes. Here, in this little experiment, we are working with two simple washes; 1) acrylic paint wash (two colors) and 2) a sepia ink wash. To make a wash, simply dilute your paint or ink with water. The ratio of water to medium depends on how strong you want your color. The focus in our exploration will be less about the washes and technique and more about what you use under them.
Gather up your materials. Now please don't think that I am telling you to run out and buy all of this....to the contrary, please use what ever you have on hand in your own work space. It doesn't even have to be what I have used in these examples....REALLY....just whatever you have on hand. The idea is to see how the washes, both acrylic paint and ink respond to what you are putting them over.
I started with mat board cut into 2.5 x 3.5 inches (ATC size) and a carved stamp from my stash. My little goddess has been with me for over 10 years and I love using her. Noted on the back of each card is the medium used to stamp with and the type of wash that was used over top for later reference. I am way to forgetful in my advanced years to remember tomorrow let alone weeks from now what I did.
Starting with your first medium (in this case, GESSO), load your stamp or object by spreading the medium out on a palette. Press your stamp or object into the medium on the palette. Make sure you have complete coverage.
Stamp your board. (You could also paint your board or ink your board before starting and have more results to compare and think about.)
Continue stamping your image onto your boards with your different mediums and let dry. NOTE: Make sure to clean off your stamp or object between each printing for cleaner results. It would also be fun to try NOT cleaning it off to see what happens. There is always another road to travel!!!
It's interesting to observe the different textures and how they respond to being stamped with.
Clear Tar Gel is really fun to use for watermarking and faux embossing....
All stamped, DRY and ready to wash....
I chose to spray my washes but they can also be brushed on......
The first round results.....washed with coat one of acrylic paint (turquoise). Note how the different types of mat board respond differently to the paint wash as well as the medium.
step two.....peach wash over turquoise
Now for the Sepia ink wash trials....wow....that's pretty purple isn't it?
The color really surprised me.....I've never used this particular ink before diluted. I'm hoping it will tone itself down when it dries.
It did (whew)...the purplie pink went away and the russet hues appeared. One last look at the final results...not bad for a quick little experiment and certainly has me thinking about some interesting ways to use some mediums (like the Clear Tar Gel) that I hadn't thought of before.
I created a photo album that has close ups of all the individual pieces and what I used so check it out for a closer look.
NOW....for the CALL FOR ART!! We've worked our way through the first chapter so now it's time for a little reward.
1) It's time for another giveaway. Be sure to make a comment to this post to be eligible. I am going to give away the BUDDA (Where I Find My Peace) that I did in Lab 3.
2) It's also time for and ATC exchange. Here's how to play. Use any technique or techniques in chapter ONE to create 5 ATCs. Send them to me and I will exchange them for 5 in return and will post ALL of them in a photo album here on the blog. Follow these simple instructions:
Send me 5 ATCs (again, using any technique or techniques from Chapter ONE. They must all be originals (no copies) and please use mat board or card board as your base. On the back tell us what you did to get the results you got. The whole purpose of this exchange is to share information with one another and to learn from each others experiments.
Mail them to me:
BEE SHAY 2 GREGLEN AVE PMB 324 NANTUCKET MA 02554 by JUNE 10. I will scan and post all ATCs received on the 11th and send your new ATCs back to you at that time.
Okay...the music has started and it's time to dance....see you soon!
I just found your blog! Love your expermentations. The carved figure you call a goddess remind me of the rock art figures... Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Carol@Swallowcliffs | 05/07/2010 at 10:50 AM
Am eagerly awaiting the arrival of your book, and working through the exercises with a friend (from her book) until mine arrives. So far the *best thing* is doing exercises I wouldn't necessarily try on my own - and the happy results (and happy accidents!) that occur as the labs progress. I love that you're posting MORE STUFF here - so generous of you. :)
Posted by: Penelope in Vancouver | 05/07/2010 at 04:18 PM
Bee, your Lab 4 washes are wonderful! I can't wait to try this with what I have on hand. Thank you for doing this blog...I really enjoy it! (ATC's will be forthcoming.)
Dorte
Posted by: Dorte in California | 05/08/2010 at 07:40 AM
Hi Bee...I LOVE how the Budda turned out...now I'm on the hunt for the lace paper...gorgeous!
Posted by: Linda F. | 05/10/2010 at 11:21 AM
Love your blog, Bee. So many new directions to take the labs, so many new materials to explore--and wonderful projects using the techniques. And the photos are just delicious! I look forward to following along.
Kay and I are already thinking about our *next* year of collage--with the goal of producing finished pieces together each week. We have *a lot* of time to plan (we'll complete the 52 Collage Labs next February if we can keep on schedule!) and your blog will be the perfect inspiration.
Thanks for setting us and all your followers off on a fabulous adventure.
All the best,
Nan and Kay
Posted by: Nan | 05/11/2010 at 02:45 PM
Oh, my darlin' friend, lovely blog, lovely post! And I am so happy to hear that you are trying to treat yourself with the same infinite grace you lavish on others! Yes, it is good to admit we can't always do it all and guess what???? It's OKAY! You be kind to Bee, okay? I love her dearly!
Posted by: Michele R. Unger | 05/15/2010 at 09:27 PM
I'm going to keep your blog in my favorites because you have things that are really interesting, so to see if I update from time to time because you learn a lot reading you.
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