A Few of my Favorite Things

Pretty much anything goes with mixed media collage.  But every artist has his or her favorite ingredients.  I want to share a few of my own here.  First there is the paper.  I must admit, I'm a paper junkie.  I love the feel of it, the sound and smell of it, the many different textures, colors and qualities.  My favorite paper store is Handmade Paper Superstore.  But be forewarned:  you can get lost in the marvelous papers this shop has to offer, and wind up spending far more money than you had intended.  I only buy certain special papers there, like lace papers and a few lightweight, fibrous mullberry papers.  I used to buy assorted colors (who can resist all those luscious hues),  but found that some of the colors are produced with dyes that fade quickly, so now I prefer to buy plain white paper and decorate it myself.

 I use 90 pound watercolor paper, acid free cardstock, mulberry and tissue paper, and an oriental paper made for calligraphy that is very lightweight but strong.  It is available from Dick Blick art supplies.  Paste paper is a favorite, made by cooking a cornstarch and water paste on the stove, straining it to remove lumps, then adding acrylic paint.  The colored paste is sponged or brushed onto paper, and can be combed through with various tools to produce patterns.  It's especially effective to paint on an undercolor, perhaps metallic, then add a different color paste on top and comb through it so the bottom layer is revealed.  Diane Maurer-Mathison has published a wonderful book called "The Art of Making Past Papers", which gives detailed instructions. A fellow mixed media artist, Paula Guhin, has recently published a book called "Creating Decorative Paper".  You can find out more about her book and her work on her lively blog, http://www.mixedmediamanic.blogspot.com . 

Two other books I love are "The Art of Paper Collage" by Susan Pickering Rothamel and "Handmade Paper Collage" by Dawn Ackerman.

Now, for embelishments:  I use silk yarn for added interest.  The Handmade Paper Superstore carries it, as well as many other online shops.  Plain cheesecloth can be dyed with acrylic ink such as Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay Ink.  Cheesecloth can be used in all sorts of ways: as a stencil to leave mesh lines on your work, or glued onto the paper.  Mica chips are great for adding texture and sparkle, and even come in different colors.  You can find them at craft stores or from US ArtQuest, an online store.  I also like to add bits of abalone shell or other shells collected at the beach years ago.  Good old sand makes a wonderful texture either sprinkled onto wet paint or glue, or mixed right in the paint as it's brushed on.  Fabric paint can add great detail and is so easy to use.  In the picture below, you can see dots and zig zag lines of fabric paint dancing through the collage, as well as shells, mica chips, yarn, and many of my hand decorated papers.

My favorite glue is Perfect Paper Adhesive, though there are many glues that will work.  Just be sure to use acid free, non-yellowing glue if you want your artwork to last.  PPA is available from US Artquest and also from Amazon.com.  I love its smooth, non-sticky texture and its strength.

As you begin to experiment, you too will find your own favorites.  Mixed media collage is a wonderful, liberating experience!

Garden Party

I am posting some flower collages today.  Many of us have just endured a wild winter storm.  Luckily we didn't get a lot of snow like some places, but it has been very cold and blustery.  These flowers are a reminder that, though the earth is sleeping, spring will come again.

These collages are available for sale in my brand new Etsy shop.  Please come by and visit!  http://www.etsy.com/shop/onthewindart

A Long Ago Christmas

I am remembering the story my dad always told at Christmas time.  He and his father and two brothers would go out to the barn on Christmas Eve and milk the herd of cows by hand, by the light of kerosene lanterns.  While they were doing chores, my German grandma would set up the Christmas tree and decorate it all by herself.  When grandpa and the boys came in from the barn, there the tree would be in all its splendour, alight with candles.  I could always sense in my dad's voice the magic he felt, and imagine how wonderful it was to come in from the cold, dark barn and behold the tree.  My grandma loved Christmas.  She made special treats: eggnog with their own eggs and cream, Butter S cookies that used 16 eggs and a pound of butter!  And a Cinnamon Ball Kuchen, made by dipping little balls of dough in melted butter, then rolling them in cinnamon, sugar and ground pecans.  These were layered in a bundt pan with whole pecans tucked in here and there.  I think she put some glacee cherries on top, and maybe a drizzle of frosting.  You didn't cut it, but just pulled the little balls off and ate them.  It was heavenly.  Would I want to go back to those days?  Probably not, though the simplicity and innocence of times past is very appealing.  But it's important to remember where we have come from, and ponder where we are headed.

 Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night!

The butterflies are in!

At first I thought I would use the butterflies, then changed my mind, then changed it again and bravely glued them in.  I was afraid (and still am a little) that they would be too big and overpowering, but the collage is big enough to support them (or I hope so).  It takes awhile to look at a piece after you have made it to decide how you really feel about it.  When you've been scrutinizing every detail of something for so long you lose perspective and it only returns gradually.  Any comments welcome!

New Mandala

The glue isn't even dry on this yet, but I had to get a picture up.  I'm so excited to finally be finished with it.  It seemed to take forever, but these things just won't be rushed.  It was meant to have butterflies in the corners but they just wouldn't work.  Plus my camera skills are just not adequate to capture all the wonderful details.

The diamond shapes around the circle are a chartreuse metallic color which I dulled down a bit with some burnt umber washes, as chartreuse is a color that screams!  But chartreuse it had to be.  I kept seeing it in my mind before I started this and had to try it.

Many layers of paint, sand and glue went into this.  I scrubbed, splattered, sponged, crinkled, tore and brushed to get the effect I wanted - ancient and rich with mystery.

Bleeding Heart

Mother Nature speaks with many voices.  I can hear her best in still, quiet places, beside streams, in the woods or meadows, or raising her voice during a thunderstorm.  Twilight is a special time when the membrane between the invisible world and the visible becomes very thin.  Sounds take on a special significance.  The air vibrates with small whispers - nocturnal creatures are stirring, birds are winging their way to roosting places, a rustling squirrel sounds like an elephant!  You can feel a presence there beside you and your heart opens, wanting to communicate, wanting to share.  The sky is streaked with purple and a few last tinges of pink as the darkness falls.  Ah, the sadness!  Words won't do, feelings arise and float off into the dusk - to go....where?  Are there others beyond the veil, watching and waiting?  Do they share our feelings?  I feel sure they are there.  So I let my heart speak to them and hope that they hear.  And I try to hear them.  Sometimes it seems I do.  Thoughts come unbidden, thoughts I would never have thought of myself!  What a strange and wonderful world we live in, and how rich is the life around us, both seen and unseen.

Wings and Things

Here are some wings just unfurling on a squash plant in our garden last summer.  Wings are beautiful creations.  Sometimes I wish I had some!  But I don't, so I draw creatures that do have them.

Sometimes I dream I'm flying and it's a wonderful feeling.  But I'm really happy just to be able to walk, so I'll just enjoy the lucky winged creatures, visible and invisible!

Here is a sneak peak at the collage I'm working on, which will feature some winged things - moths, or butterflies, I can't yet decide.  What do you think?

Later, Heidi





Moon Snail Tag

My chickens have devised a game using some moon snails I have on the patio from a family trip to Cape Hatteras years ago.  For some reason the hens love these shells.  Maybe they look like eggs?  One hen will pick up a shell from the patio and run with it, while the others follow in hot pursuit.  The snail will be stolen several times, and the new carrier chased again.  Finally it is dropped and several hens will cluster up together, peck peck pecking all around the shell.  I find them all over the yard and put them back on the patio until the next game starts.

Spirals and circles are wonderful shapes.  They are everywhere in nature and the cosmos.  The Milky Way, seashells, the ripples of water flowing around rocks in a stream or from a skipping stone, the vortex when you stir your tea or let the water out of the bathtub.  Trees, of course, are tall and upright.  But inside, what do we find?  Hidden circles, rings for each year's growth.

Spirals and circles have been appearing in my mandala collages.  They are perfect meditative forms.

And speaking of collages, I'm working on a new one which will appear shortly.  Till then, happy December!

Heidi

Frost Flowers, Leaves and Lace

A morning walk revealed some rare treasures - frost flowers.  They only occur the morning after a hard freeze when there's recently been rain.  The moisture in certain plant stems oozes out and forms delightful, delicate, spiraling ice crystals.  They remind me of ribbon candy or frosting flowers on a cake.  These were found on Dittany, which grows along our driveway and the county road we live on.  I have seen huge ones along the river on large weeds growing there.  They look like fairy castles.  So ephemeral, they melt away as soon as the sun touches them, so you have to be an early bird to see them.  The slightest touch shatters them; even breathing on them can melt the edges. 

Nothing can improve on Nature's beauty.  But we try...  Here is a collage I did featuring paste paper gingko leaves, doilies and lace papers.

Thanks for sharing my morning treasures!  I hope you find some unexpected delights in your day!

Heidi





Two Ministers

 The Minister of Chlorophyll

The Minister of Nonsense

I figure everyone is a minister of some sort.  We just have to figure out what sort of ministry we are in.  These guys have very important jobs: the Minister of Chlorophyll helps keep the earth green, the Minister of Nonsense reminds us that there is always something to laugh about, even if your umbrella has holes and you have stepped in a puddle.  Let me hear from other ministers!  What is YOUR special calling?

Have a good weekend!

Heidi

Thanksgiving

The turkey is in the oven, the pie is made, and I'm having a quiet moment to reflect on the past year and the seasons ahead before company comes and the day gets underway.  Many things to be thankful for.  I'm thankful to be human and to be living on the earth at this time, chaotic though it may be at times.  I'm thankful to have a home when so many have tragically lost theirs this year.  My thanksgiving wish is for all people to find common ground and work together for peace.  And for us all to work harder at respecting and helping our planet, which so desperately needs healing.  Surely it's possible!  I'm also looking forward to another year of creating beautiful artwork to share with others.  It's my way of making the world a little richer, brighter, happier.  And I wish health and prosperity to all you people out there, each making the world a better place in your own special ways.

Sugar Plum House

This one took forever to make, but finally it's done!  It definately brought out my whimsical side.  I am envisoning a whole village of sugar plum houses, though how many I have time to make remains to be seen.  Maybe a fairy will come along to live in it!

Early Fairy Collages

I have started a facebook page for On The Wind Art and was looking through photos to find some to post.  These I'm sharing today are some of my first collages, before I began painting fairies in watercolor.  These collages really have a unique look, though they are extremely time consuming.  The fairies were drawn on cardstock and carefully cut out.  Their wings and clothes were glued on, almost like paper dolls!  The background trees were also meticulously cut from interesting paper, then painted.  In the "Undine" collage, most of the elements were made from paste papers I had created earlier.

"Spring Beauties"

"Through the Knothole"

"Undine"

"Pearl"

Hope you fairy lovers out there enjoy these!

Heidi

Collage Chaos

Collaging is an exciting and very messy process - at least for me!  I suppose it's like putting on your fancy duds when you're not used to wearing them.

Sometimes the pieces just don't fit, like clothes that have hung in the closet too long and aren't the right size anymore.

Sometimes things get in a terrible tangle and you feel like screaming.

The mound of materials increases by the hour until you can barely see the table top.  And oh, where is that special little piece of paper you were saving for a certain spot?

Is it going to look all right?  Is it too far-out?  Too childish?  What will others think?  Is the style out of fashion?

Days may go by while you avoid the art table and find dozens of other projects and chores that need your urgent attention, while the collage lies there, waiting....  But eventually you get around to looking at it again.  Sometimes it looks entirely different, as if mischievous fairies came along in the night and scrambled things around. 

 It seems a lost cause.  It may be so discouraging you want to quit.  But you don't.  You pull yourself up by your bootstraps and soldier on.

And then the magic happens.  The shapes fall into place, chaos gives way to order.  Harmony reigns, and, whew! at last, a work of art is born!