Citra Solv Tapestry Collage

I just finished this collage using paper textures I created with Citra Solv. I started with transferring a photocopy of leaves using Citra Solv as the transfer medium. I wanted the images on rice paper, but it did not work. I decided to scan the copy of the leaf that transferred well on plain paper, duplicate the leaf in Photoshop and then print them on the rice paper. Walla, it worked! Next, I printed the tree trunks on Mulberry tissue. I collaged the treetops with the textured papers I made using Citra Solv dissolved National Geographic images. Then I added the same papers for the bottom band. I was surprised how long it took me plus the frustration I encountered just to create a simple collage. However, it was fun and I am working on another one. This one was originally 12” x 12” as I planned to mount it on canvas, but there were too many tree trunks to suit me. I cropped it to 11” x 11” and will mat it for framing.

Halloween Portrait

Because of the corporal tunnel syndrome going on in my hands, I have been giving them a rest. I have kept my digital and online activity to a minimum. In my retreat I stumbled on to this speed painting video. I thought it was fitting for Halloween.

I also had lazier surgery done last week on my eye that had the cataract removed. I feel very much like the subject of the YouTube video. A bit bizarre.  I am still not seeing as well as I would like. The other eye will wait until I cannot see out of it! For some reason, I am an awful candidate for any surgery.

Happy Halloween. May you be protected from ghosts, goblins, and all the Halloween mischief and your ‘trick or treat’ bags be full.

Kudzu Ties Us

                                                         Kudzu Flower                     Eva Macie ©

Southerners have been battling the Kudzu plant, (Pueraria lobata) since the Japanese brought it to their pavilion at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Southern farmers snatched it up, impressed with the promise of erosion control and its high-quality fodder for grazing animals. Little did they know the long hot, humid southeastern summers would work like super juice on the plant. Kudzu earned the name the "mile-a-minute vine," or the vine that ate the South. It grows more than 7 feet (more than 2 meters) a week, resisting almost any efforts to stop it.

                                                     
                                                     In Georgia, the legend says
                                                That you must close your windows
                                                At night to keep it out of the house.
                                                                                 …. James Dickey

Fortunately, in every situation, there is a seed of equivalent good. Southeastern landowners might be sitting on a gold mine, as kudzu is being used to produce energy. A new facility in Tennessee is turning kudzu into ethanol. Since it is not a food crop and does not require irrigation, it is a better alternative to corn. Furthermore, for years, some resourceful artisans (of course) have made friends with kudzu. They have created baskets, paper, and unique food items. Click here for pictures and more of the kudzu story.  

So what does this picture of these smiling faces have to do with kudzu? They are a few of the members of  Kudzu Art Zone. This is an art association in Norcross, Georgia. The association chose this name because:

• Kudzu: it grows fast, stays constant & is endlessly adaptive.
• Art: That's what we do.
• Zone: That's we where  live.

It is the perfect name for the organization and it has been over a year, since I have been to KAZ. When I arrived, it was as if I was there last week. Everyone welcomed me. We went to lunch at the Norcross Tavern (I think that’s the name or Iron Horse Tavern) and caught up on all the happenings. It was good to be around artists and art again. I have stayed so close to home the past year that I have become a hermit huddled up in front of my computer. The consequences of my retreat are corporal tunnel syndrome and tunnel vision, the price of digital addiction. I am glad I decided it was time for me to venture out and give my hands and fingers a rest. I plan to join them again soon. In the meantime, I just had to play with my new Painter program and Photoshop to create the digital image of the kudzu flower.

More About Collage

Nita Leland’s ‘New Collage Techniques’ book has a lot of good information in the ‘Getting Started’ section. The information included preparing the papers and the supports for collage. More often than not, we worry about acid-free glues, sprays, etc., but fail to think about the papers and ephemera we are using. Nita suggests we use a ph pen, found in art supply and craft stores, to test them. If the papers fail the test, we can spray them with Krylon Make It Acid Free® or encase them in acrylic medium. Artist Jonathan Talbot uses the encased technique for his collages. This involves coating both sides of the papers. When they are dry, he uses a sealing iron to adhere the collage papers to the support. This is all a little too labor intensive for me. I have collages I made over 15 years ago and they appear to be the same as they were when I created them. I did use acrylic medium for the glue and the top coat when I finished so maybe that was the reason they remained the same.

The collage I am showing is one I started in an introductory class offered at the Spruill Center for the Arts, located in Dunwoody, Georgia. Contemporary artist and teacher, Chery Baird, had boxes of the most unusual papers. Some she bought, others she altered herself. Digging through these papers was a treat in itself. Chery said she plans to write a book about altering papers for collage. I look forward to it. Chery’s two-day workshop will be held on October 15^th.  Click here for details.

Chery was kind enough to let me bring some of her papers home to finish the couple I started. Chery uses ‘Yes’ glue for her collages. This glue is not acrylic base so it can be reactivated when wet. This is great for changing pieces around. I did put a final matte acrylic varnish on top to keep it stable. I am not sure that Chery would do this, as it was not mentioned in the class.

I would love to hear about your experience with using non-archival papers and the type of adhesive you use.

Collage Book and Creativity Workshop Contest

I am very excited as two of the three books I won in the August Creativity Workshop Contest arrived! The one I am reading now is 'New Creative Collage Techniques: A step-by-step guide to making original art using paper, color and texture ,60 projects 62 artists ' The 60 projects in the book a beginning collagist will find invaluable as it covers basic collage techniques to assemblage and other mixed media. As a mixed media artist, over the years, I have dabbled in just about every technique in the book. However, I did find a couple of techniques I had forgotten, and I am feeling inspired to revisit collage.

Creativity Workshop has another contest for watercolor artists, and the entry date ends October 15^th. I encourage anyone who has a talent for painting negative space in watercolor to enter. Click here to read all about it.

The comfort of the familiar.

One of my birthday gifts, instead of the recliner, which I returned, may be an upgrade to my old Painter3 program. I started out using Painter before Photoshop, but never got very far with it. At the time printer’s print resolution was so poor I could not see the point of fooling with it. I was too busy with painting art for shows and my agent's clients. Because of my brief professional affair with photography, I was determined to learn Photoshop, and I never thought about Painter again.

Surfing YouTube for new Photoshop techniques, I discovered the Painter12 video above. I was intrigued and downloaded a trial program. It is different from Painter3 and even more complicated. I tried referring to my old Painter books to navigate it, but the changes are not making that easy. This past week I just kicked back in my 'old recliner' (yes, the new one did not work out. It was really too short for my lanky legs). I have been watching videos at the Corel® site and on You Tube. The videos gave my corporal tunneled hands a rest, but my eyes and brain are stressed to the max!

My conclusion is Photoshop has the edge on some of the actions. Both programs, however, have techniques that the other seems unable to do without being a master of the programs. For that reason, Painter users often rely on Photoshop. I am wondering if Painter for me will go the way of the new recliner and rejected in favor of the comfort of the familiar.

Remembering

                                      "Remembering"                                                                               Eva Macie©

I created this digital collage in memory of those who lost their lives in the 9/11 tragedy. In addition, we must not forget the lives that were lost, and continue to be lost or injured, in the horrible wars that have resulted from this event. I wish they could be equally compensated for all they and their families continue to endure.

I created this collage in Photoshop from a photo of an angel statue and a Citra Solv® manipulated page from a National Geographic® magazine.

I’ve Been Citra Solved!

I have been chosen for the Citra Solv® Artist of the Month!  When they asked me for a photo, I almost declined the honor. The last photo taken of me was at my grandson’s graduation, and I was in shock to see how the years are showing.  My son agreed to take one of me  in front of a large abstract diptych I painted a few years ago.  Using Photoshop®, I layered the photo with a Citra Solved National Geographic® page and some freehand graffiti. I told the folks at CS that, “I now think the photo represents who I really am, someone with layers of paint, styles and time.”

The timing was great for this award as my birthday is on the 8^th of this month. My other gift that is arriving on that day is from me to me, a woman’s recliner. It has taken me a long time to find one small enough to fit in my bedroom and still fit my lanky body. The one I have is over 30 years old. It has been reupholstered, patched and slip covered to the point that is almost impossible to deal with anymore. However, it is like an old friend who has offered me comfort and place for afternoon naps for so long that putting her on the curb is not something I will enjoy doing. It is almost a metaphor for me.

Heart Dichotomy

                                                                            "Many Hearts"                               Eva Macie ©

The past few days have pulled my emotional heart in many directions. Watching Irene’s ravishing of our Eastern towns and cities is heart breaking. Brattleboro Vermont is the birthplace of my late husband and the home of many of his relatives. I think of our little house along Marlboro Rd next to the brook and wonder if it any harm came to it. My children spent the best part of their childhood there. Seeing the beautiful bridges being ripped from their foundations and washed away has brought up so many emotions that surprised me. I had no idea that my love of them remains so deep. I am sure it is more than the bridges, it is my history, and I am grieving. To everyone harmed in any way by all of this, I send my heartfelt love and prayers.

Along with the devastation of Irene, the other side of these emotions is gratitude for the awards and attention I have received lately. All together, these events led me to create the “Many Hearts” digital collage. The collage is a combination of a Citra Solv® image and thanks to Creative Catalyst Productions, a foam block print. A shout-out goes to Kelly Powers for writing about the process on her CCP blog. In addition, I am happy to say I sold the “Kimono” collage.                                                                                                        

'¡Olé!

'¡Olé!      Mixed Media   !4" x!4" ©Eva Macie

I am so proud and happy as I just won an “Watercolor Artist” Editors’ choice award! It was for the August ‘Creativity Workshop’ contest. The challenge was to create a work of art from some “repurposed” items based on the techniques used by Nancy M. Grisby, the author of the August ‘Creativity Workshop’ article.

The award was fantastic, $50.00 worth of Northlight art books and a 6 month subscription to the Artistsnetwork.tv. If you do not know about this site, I suggest you check it out as they have so many art instruction videos. You can view all of them online and at a reasonable price. I have been watching videos all weekend, and I am eager to try some of the techniques I saw.

The piece I created, shown above, started with an old water media piece I had not finished and put aside. I had some old ink jet prints I made from sections of a picture I took when I went to Spain in 1997. The picture was of a wall covered with old posters. I manage to tear a few pieces off this wall for souvenirs and I used some of them, along with the photo. The rest of the items are rice papers, old stamps, coins and other ephemera. This was a fun project that brought back many wonderful memories of Spain. Thank you Northlight and Watercolor Artist magazine for a wonderful contest and award!

CitraSolv Mixed Media Collage

"August"         Eva Macie ©

I have not been very hands-on creative the past couple of weeks. I am having some corporal tunnel issues from using my mouse too much with Photoshop. My other hand has also developed joint tenderness and pain. Strange, since my typing skills are so limited that I only use a couple of fingers to hunt and peck.  Two of an artist’s worse nightmares; the loss of good vision (which I am still dealing with) and use of the hands.

The piece I am showing I created a few weeks ago. It is a mix of collage papers, created with CitraSolv and National Geographic pages. In addition, some computer-generated images, an image transfer done with CitraSolv, also acrylic paint and ink. Honestly, the actual piece looks better than this. As much as I use a camera and Photoshop, without proper lighting, I have not learned to duplicate the appearance of the real thing to my satisfaction.

Living with Expressive Art

                                                                          © decorpad.com

One of the comments on my last post about ‘Stacked Calligraphy’ was a question about displaying this type of art in a living room. I was a little surprised, as I believe one can display any type of art anywhere in their home. I personally have almost every type of art in every room in my home.

One of my abstract expressionist pieces, ‘Neptune’s Song’ (at the right) hangs in my living room. The colors and movement enliven the space and always command the attention of my visitors.
 

A quick search of the internet will yield many beautiful rooms that display abstract art. The two rooms that are not mine can be found at http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=1681 and http://designindulgences.com/2011/05/11/iwant-abstract-art/

Enjoy!

Stacked Calligraphy

                                           Judi Hurwitt © "Graffiti-esque"

In my search to find artists whose works, I believed, were inspired or reminiscent of Cy Twombly, I stumbled onto this super blog, Approachable-Art, by mixed-media and textile artist, Judi Hurwitt.  Judi’s art is not only reminiscent of Cy Twombly, but also of the early and possibly the original, American ‘calligraphic’ abstract expressionist artist, Jackson Pollock .

Judi has labeled her work as ‘stacked journaling’. The layers of paint she says are “graffiti-esque” in style. I call them eye candy for those of us who enjoy this style of art.

Another favorite artist in this genre is Alex Echo and this painting.

Alex Echo © "Mozart The Soul of Genius"   (detail)

It appears that Alex pulled his writing tool through the layers of paint, resulting in a wonderful woven tapestry effect. This is only a detail of the original and there is no reference to the complete size. However, judging from Alex’s other work I am guessing it is quite large.

I am very aware that there are many who do not consider abstract expressionism and other contemporary art as “real” art. There is a lively discussion about this in the ‘Art Discussions’ group on Gary Reef’s Ning site, Lovingmixedmedia.com This is a great site to join if you enjoy 'outsider art' and would like to push the envelope and create outside the box. If you decide to join, I would appreciate you mentioning that I recommended it. I want Gary to know I appreciate all his hard work and free tutorials.Thanks.

One of the contributors to the Lovingmixedmedia ‘Art Discussions’ group posted this quote, which I think, gives food for thought:

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance." ~ Aristotle

Also a quote that I use on my web site, etc., is that we are;

 “Making visual what, without the artist, might perhaps never have been seen”                                  ~ R.Bresson

Betty Ford and Cy Twombly

Two great people passed this month.  A hero for all women, Betty Ford, brought awareness to the disease of breast cancer and addiction. She championed women’s rights. Standing and fighting for what she believed, even if it meant opposing the President of the United States, her husband, Gerald Ford. Some may feel she was a bit too candid, but she was my kind of woman, and her husband loved her. I wish I could have been her friend.

                                                 III Notes From Salalah (Note II), 2005-2007 Cy Twombly ©

Cy Twombly

Twombly’s work has influenced many of today’s artists. His works are usually large-scale. Often they are calligraphic scribbles on backgrounds of mostly gray, tan, or off-white colors much like graffiti. According to Wikipedia , In the late 60’s Twombly made this work using an unusual technique: he sat on the shoulders of a friend, who shuttled back and forth along the length of the canvas, thus allowing the artist to create his fluid, continuous lines.

The layered or stacked drawing/ paintings are my favorite. The gestured marks remind me so much of the calligraphic ink writing of my Japanese sensei that I painted with when I was a young girl living in Japan.

Later I hope to write about some of today’s artists influenced by Twombly, but today I wanted to take the time to pay tribute to Cy Twombly and Betty Ford.

Anne Bagby Inspired Collage

                                      'Kimono'   "12 x12"  mixed media collage     Eva Macie ©

My gift boxes arrived from Creative Catalyst Productions and I was thrilled with all the goodies in them. There were Golden fluid acrylics, paint applicators, Creatology foam sheets, Lineco Tissues, deli wax papers, a Moo carving block, alphabet stencils, a 12"x 12" streched canvas and a Shirley Trevena’s DVD to replace the Anne Bagby DVD that I had previously purchased. Wow! Like the boxes, that was a sentence full! Needles to say, I was eager to start using my new products, but I wanted some of Anne’s instructions to guide me. I immediately reviewed Anne’s wonderful DVDs, ‘Collage: Paper, Patterns & Glazing’ and ‘Pattern & Form: Advanced Collage Techniques’.

I decided to create a 12" x 12" foam stamp using the craft adhesive backed foam sheets. One cut into the buttery foam and I was hooked! I spent hours, totally mesmerized, cutting little shapes and sticking them onto a chipboard backing. Anne used canvas board, which would have been a better choice because the adhesive pieces may have easier to reposition. In addition, it also may have warped less with all of the wet paint applications. I mixed all of my paint as Anne suggested, cut and ironed a stack of tissue paper and began pulling prints.

After looking at the variety of prints I pulled from my foam stamp, I chose one with a circle shape that I blocked out on the stamp . It looked Asian to me so I decided use kimono as my theme. I applied a glaze I made, similar to Golden’s asphaltum, to the printed tissue and then I stenciled the words ’KIMONO’. I created the kimono from one of my Citra Solv papers, which I printed on a label and collaged this to the tissue print.

For some reason the pictures I took did not come out well. The colors were totally off. I tried to correct this in Photoshop, but only made them worse. Honestly, the actual print looks much richer. I will mount this either on the canvas I received or rag board, then coat it with a satin acrylic varnish.

You can see the techniques I used in the free preview at  Creative Catalyst Productions

Citra Solv Altered Box Book

A Citra Solv altered box book? That is a mouthful and really sounds odd so I will explain what I mean by this. I have been in an altered book class instructed by Gary Reef. Most of the lessons have really been more of a non-traditional way of altering of books. Gary’s forte is assemblage and this is the approach he used altering old books. To be more precise the covers of old books as he guts out the book and uses the covers to house his unique assemblages.

It took me forever to make my book. I decided not to use a real book. We only have a few places near me to buy used books and the only ones I found were either too nice to cut up or not interesting at all. One of the books I bought was an old copy of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's book, 'Gift from the Sea'. Not wanting to cut it up, I was inspired to make my own. Mine is titled "A Gift from the Sea'

I constructed the book box from chipboard. A scroll design cut from mat broad and then glued to left edge of the chipboard cover served to create an embossed look. I scanned a Citra Solve page and printed it on label paper to cover the chipboard. Next, a book scanned on its side with rough pages to get the page effect. I printed this on label paper and applied it around the edges of the book. The frame around the opening is mat board. Inside the book is a scanned page from Anne's book, some shells and a small plaster bust from a mold I made for a mermaid doll. I sprayed it with copper and used turquoise acrylic to antique it. I did not glued the cover shut because hopefully I will finish the inside adding some more interesting shells that I love. At this point, I am tired of working with it!

Gary had four projects, but if I do another one, it will be a major surprise as these are labor-intensive projects. His energy and imagination are unbelievable. If I were a much, much younger woman, I would be in creative heaven knocking out all sorts of altered books and boxes.

Bamboozled Again!

It’s that time of year again when the bamboo tries to take over everything in sight, and I try again to forgive my neighbor for talking me into to letting her plant it. It has now invaded my other neighbor’s yard and I know she hates me for it. Having my son here to cut it back is super, as I can no longer do it. I worry that there will come a time when he will not be able to. He is not as diligent about it as I was, so now it seems to be getting out of hand. Add to that the heat and threat of tornadoes, I feel like the little dog in the Travelers Insurance® commercial. Worry, worry, worry has become my mantra. In fact, I did call my insurance company to see if my coverage was enough.

My escape is Photoshop and my current fascination with Citra Solv®. I wish I could pour it on the bamboo and dissolve it like the ink in National Geographic® magazines. The best I can do is to combine my dissolved ink images with a photo I took of the bamboo.

Unbelievable!

It is unbelievable and wonderful that Anne Bagby has released another great video,’ PATTERN & FORM: Advanced Collage Techniques’  Even more unbelievable is that I won one and other goodies in the Creative Catalyst Productions® drawing. I rarely win anything, and to win again after recieving a Citra Solv® honorable mention is almost unnerving. Maybe I should buy a lotto ticket. Okay, that would be pushing it and besides I would have to buy the ticket, which would constitute gambling. The most gambling I do is to put my blog and images out ‘there’ hoping that they will resonate with someone.

Anne’s new video is just as enjoyable to watch as her first one. Anne’s work is so intricate and layered with patterns that one would never guess she ever made a mistake, but she lets everything fly and does not mind showing her mishaps. She gives away all of her techniques for creating an amazing collage. Anne’s first video, ’Collage: Paper, Patterns & Glazing’ is also a 'must have' if you love Anne’s work as much as I do.  I am happy that I now own both and I have some new ideas to combine with my Citra Solv® creations.

Journal Extensions

Last week Roz’s assignment in the Strathmore Visual Workshop Course was to add extensions to our pages. I decided to continue with the pear theme. I started with spraying the background with watercolor and using stencils for the circles. I cut the page in half and hinged the loose edge with invisible tape to the page below it. I painted the pear with opaque watercolor and collaged the strips and print. The inside background is a combination of all the techniques mentioned above.

The assignment this week is ‘plein air’. This is not really my cup of tea. I may sketch something sitting on my porch sheltered from the sun and onlookers.

Art Journal Workshop

I am not a journalist so I have been taking the Strathmore Visual Journal Workshop Series. I have many old sketchbooks with notes and ideas, but they were precursors to paintings. The idea of putting so much work in a journal seemed unrealistic, since I needed to put that energy into my paintings. However, since I quit doing shows the art journal has become more appealing. Unfortunately, I discovered I do not have the casual mindset to dive in and start creating in my new journal. It is like a blank canvas that intimidates me. I need to think and plan what is going in it. The first workshop with Pam Carriker was easier for me because I was not involved with another project and was eager to get started. I loved the idea that she used her computer and scanner a lot. She had a definite motif of faces, which gave me a starting point. The second workshop was with Linda Blinn and she taught ideas for enhancing the journal with extension pages, pockets, stenciling and spraying. The current instructor is Roz Stendahl. Roz is a fantastic graphic designer and artist. Her attention to detail and organization is over the top, which awes even a fussy Virgo like me. As a result, she is a wonderful teacher. Right there to answer any question asked, Roz goes beyond what is expected with suggestions and advice.

I recently went to Whole Foods and sampled the most delicious and expensive pear I have ever tasted. I bought one and when I got it home, I could not bring myself to eat it without trying to paint it. I have been struggling with an idea for a subject for my first journal pages. A painting of this pear seemed like the perfect solution.

I created my background with the watercolor spray and stencil techniques we used in Linda’s workshop then painted the pears with opaque watercolor. Roz’s lesson included using collage. So I created my collage pieces on the computer (ala, Pam) and printed them out on clear labels, (I could have used vellum) and pasted them in my journal. Of course, the writing was also computer generated. It is far too intimidating for me to write on a page that I put so much work in.

One of my favorite followers is Robin Samiljan, who recently asked me if I still paint or do I only use my computer now for my art. Her question really made me aware how long it has been, since I have used a real brush to paint. Creating these journal images were a small reminder how much I love to do that. Thanks Robin.

Confused Anxiety

'Back To Square One Again'   4"x 4"                                   Eva Macie©

The weather is great today! I am so grateful for all the good in my life and having a son here to help me, but as the song goes, “every form of refuge has its price”. I should be outside pulling the weeds and pruning back the shrubs and ivy that has vigorously grown in this glorious weather. However, a word that I use much too often, I am glued to the computer that my son just tuned up and upgraded to Windows7. I am back to square one trying to adjust to this new platform. To top it off the Serif desktop publishing program I have been using has gone wacky and will not save all the work I have done this past month! A nice person from Germany, which I met on the Serif forum, has helped me a lot and suggests I upgrade to the newest program. (The devil in me wonders if in the updates includes a bug comes so you have to upgrade??). My son insists that I should switch and buy an upgrade of InDesign. I have a very old 2002 one that I have never used and I do not want to deal with outdated programs again. I downloaded a trial copy and the learning curve is something else! Needless to say, I am tired, confused and full of anxiety!  I believe the digital collage I created from some of my mix media images reflects my state of mine. I think I will turn off this computer, go pull weeds and meditate on it.

Realistic Abstracts

I just received a book I ordered form Amazon.com titled ‘Realistic Abstracts” by Kees van Aalst. The title is a bit of a contradiction in terms, but it is a lovely little book with a wonderful section on design. As a southern American, I have a little difficulty with Kees wording, but as a reader of images, I manage to understand what he is saying when I compare the illustrations with the words.

I am eager to play with some of Kees suggestions, but they will have to wait for now. I have a writing project that is joyfully consuming all of my time. I have been told (I know “have been” is a passive voice, is there anything wrong with that?) not to mention my project to anyone, as it will take the steam out of my sails. I hope that I have not said too much as it is, but I wanted to offer my excuse for not posting that often.