Background Technique

I'm hostessing an UGRA gathering in September. I'll be leading a project for some really amazing artist, so I've been working on the invitations to start things off right. Last night I pulled out some watercolor paper and started playing
I combined a number of techniques to achieve the final look. The first was a background technique I stumbled onto at Technique Tuesday:

Materials List:

• Canvas, or Watercolor Paper
• White Gesso
• 3 Acrylic Paint Colors
• Paint Tray or Wells
• Spray Bottle w/Water
• 2” Bristle Brush
• Assorted Script and/or Design Rubber Stamps
• Heat Gun (Optional)
  

Prep:

• Water down the acrylic paints: approx. 1 part paint, to 3 parts water.
• Set your darkest paint color aside, do not use it until step 4.
  

(Note: I use inexpensive acrylic craft paints that have been watered down to about 1 part paint to 3 parts water. Once I have nearly empty bottles, I just add water to the bottle and shake it up. If you're starting with a fresh bottle and there is obviously no room for water, use a watercolor pan and put a pea sized blob of paint in a paint well and then add water. For those of you who are thrifty...this makes a bottle of paint last a LONG time!!)

Let’s Play!:

1. Give your canvas a generous coat of white gesso. Allow to dry. (Note: I speed dry this with my heat gun or a hairdryer)
2. Give the canvas (or paper) a wash with a single color of paint. (Note: I start with a wash of yellow because it is a light- you should start with the lightest color in your palette and work towards the darkest). Allow to dry.
   
3. Brush a second color of paint around the edges of the canvas. Do not cover the entire canvas, leave some of the base color peeking through. Allow to dry. (Note: Cheap brushes are great for this because they give texture to the thinned paint)
4. Apply a thin layer of your darkest color over the entire canvas. DO NOT DRY THIS!!! Using the water bottle, spritz over portions of your canvas. Let the water sit for a few minutes, then blot off the excess paint.
5. Brush your favorite rubber stamps with a layer of gesso and randomly stamp it on the canvas. Allow to dry.
6. Choose one of your 3 paint colors, and brush a light wash of it over your stamping. (Note: If you’d like the stamping to stand out more, then skip this step and leave it white.)
   

Paulette Install also taught this method in her Organic Backgrounds class with some variation. The effect is really unique. After I did steps 1 thru 4, I played with some more paint. I added additional layers of color and repeated step 4 over and over again. Once I worked my background to the pattern and colors I wanted, I stamped with gesso but I did it differently with each piece.

On one , I stamped an angel image all over the page and after a few moments, wiped the images to give them a ghostly look. Then I did step six. This was my husbands favorite piece.

On another, I stamped a paisley image all over the page and let it dry. Then I cut up bits of fibers and sprinkled them around the page. I melted white candle wax and dripped it on top of the fibers to adhere them. I dripped additional puddles of wax and sprinkled lime glitter over them. I love the texture!
With the 3rd page, I used the paisley stamp again but I poured a glitter embossing powder on top and then hit it with the heat gun. I LOVE this page - the glitter plays off the assorted colors and gives the page a lot of movement. (photo at the top of the page)

These are the paper towels I used to blot the excess paint after spritzing. Aren't they pretty? I use Viva which are super strong. I will try to think of some way to use these in some other project.

I will be cutting these pages into squares and mounting them onto recycled junk mail for the UGRA invites. I'll post the finished card when it is done!

I've finished a few UGRA projects lately. Here are some pics of the overall project, some of the other artist's and my contributions.

This project is entitled "It's my story and I'm sticking with it" - each person creates a mini album with their story and a visual depiction to follow.

The pieces above and below were the work of a very talented artist in UGRA. She is amazing!

The pics below are of my entry...

The project below is a garden themed explosion book. It was such a FUN project to work on because I've seen the recipients garden and it is truly an oasis.

Recipe for Turp Paper

A fellow UGRA-ite sent out some information on Turp paper today. I had to google it to found out what the fuss was about. I stumbled onto Sally Turlington's blog and was enchanted. Wow - this is a pretty amazing technique. I'll be heading over to whole foods later today to pick up some Citrasolv and will post my pictures when I've tried my hand at this fascinating new technique. Take a look at some of Sally's work:

And here are a few page's by Jennifer Rowland:

A little about Turp Paper (written by Sally):

This technique is done using pages from National Geographic magazine and Citrasolv or turpentine. I recommend Citrasolve only because it has slightly less toxic fumes than turpentine. Both solvents work equally well. Citrasolv is a cleaner and degreaser that you can find in many grocery stores, especially whole food stores. It is a natural product that smells intensely strong of orange.

Here is Sally's process:
1. Work outdoors on a plastic drop cloth as the process is very messy and the fumes are quite toxic. Pour the Citrasolv or turpentine into a container.
2. Starting at the front of the National Geographic magazine and using a big paintbrush or sponge brush, paint a very generous amount of Citrasov or turpentine on both sides of the pages. The pages with lots of colored ink are the best.
3. Continue turning the pages and painting both sides of every page throughout the whole book. When you are done, the National Geographic will be very wet.
4. Let the wet book sit closed several hours but don’t let it start drying because the pages will stick together.
5. After a little while, start from the front of the book and peel apart the pages. If you like what you see, tear those pages out of the book. If not, close the pages again. Continue checking the pages every so often.
6. You can mash on the closed book or twist it slightly to help manipulate the mingling of inks. You might even add more turpentine or Citrasolv to some of the pages that seem too dry. (Sometimes the pages at the very front and back of the magazine don’t work well. Maybe there is a different kind of paper or ink on those pages.)
7. Also, great patterns can be made on the pages by blotting or swiping with a crumpled paper towel directly on the wet page or through a stencil or piece of punchinella (sequin waste). Or try drawing with a stylus or stamping with a rubber stamp or other item with a raised pattern. (Remember to rinse your stamp off right away afterwards.)
8. Eventually, you will tear out every page or spread, and let it dry completely. The longer you can let the pages cure outside after drying, the more the smell of the solvent will evaporate. My pages eventually lost all their odor. “The resultant paper is rich with color and has the look of a National Geographic page!

Wow - what a ride!

The last six weeks have been incredible - I've had the pleasure of teaching my favorite activity to incredibly talented children, my in-laws came for a wonderful visit, I sold button blooms at the De Anza Flea (twice), Aidan attending 3 weeks of summer camp, I enjoyed the company of some of my local UGRA fellows at an amazing luncheon and I got some super quality time with my family. Here are a few photos showing the recent "Art" in my life...

This is an "Under the Sea" Project I did with the Pre-K kids. We painted fabric banners, decorated card stock fish, cut them out and glued them to the banner with pop dots to give the banner dimension.

I taught card making to the 1st - 2nd and the 3rd - 6th grade girls. Each girl (60+ students in all) received a class kit with the materials to make a dress card and a purse card. The templates for these cards are on my web site.

Sample cards with minimal embellishment.

The banner project was extraordinarily successful. I taught this to the 1st -2nd grade girls and I was astonished at the ingenuity. They painted and embellished their banners in ways I had not even thought of. They were fearless in their experimentation and their creative process was a truly beautiful thing to watch.

This is a paper bag book I did with the 3rd - 6th grade girls. They absolutely loved this project and their finished albums where darling!

Aye Carumba! The Ugra projects started piling up on my desk because I did not have much time to play while prepping for the classes.

This paper doll project started by Corvus was so fun to work on! My husband and I caught up on few Tivo'd Law and Order's after the kids went to bed one night while I worked on my doll. Tim said, "I'm getting the biggest kick out of watching you work on that doll. You are so happy! It's great!". It was true. My spirit dances when I drift into my creative space.

This is Corvus' doll. I just love the funky and edgy feel of hers!

This is the talented Sharla's doll who I had the pleasure of meeting in person a few weeks ago at the local UGRA's play date. Turns out we had met before in an entirely different context at an Autism Education Workshop where I was a vendor selling customized PECS boards and she was an Autism educator attendee. Life is full of connections if we open our eyes to them. I think her doll is wonderful with all of it's tiny details. I had a hard time committing to my final design because both of their dolls were so gorgeous!

My doll's face came from an Aug. 15, 1943 edition of life magazine. I adorned the coat with rhinestone buttons that match her broach and shoes. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the players create!

I also was very busy making button blooms for the July and August De Anza Flea Markets. They were SOOOOOOOOOO much fun and super validating! The July 5th flea market was pretty slow due to the holiday but nearly everyone who stopped at our booth left with a bloom.

I brought mostly arrangements for sale but learned that many of the customers would have liked to have purchased the blooms by the stem so they could put them in their own pots and vases.I shared a booth with my friend Linda who I met through Aidan's pre-school. She sold these fabulous kid activity kits at fantastic prices - Our booth was bursting with color!

For the August flea market I decided to diversify and created "Goodie Bags", "Card Kits" and "Collage It!' kits.

I thought the booth was even cuter for this flea market and I doubled my profits.

The highlight of the day was when Tim and Eva popped in to say hello and Tim told me how impressed and proud of me he was.

I wanted a couple of examples of things you could create with the goodie bags so I asked two fabulously gifted artists, Loretta and Bonnie (both from UGRA) to take bags and make something for me to display

This gorgeous wall hanging was created by Loretta,

and this beautiful mini album was created by Bonnie! I am so honored to know such talented individuals.

I also had the honor of technically assisting my dear, dear, dear friend, Nancy with a letter of interest for an exciting opportunity. It is an incredibly creative and humorous response to a job post I was so pleased to hear (but not surprised) they contacted her for an interview! You have to check it out - be sure to go to the bottom of the page where she shows before and after pictures - it is a crack up!

After this lengthy tidal wave of activity, my office was a complete disaster so last weekend I dedicated an entire day to getting organized and I am ready to get back to the business of creating.

When one room gets clean, another usually acquires the mess. Such is the case with my studio. It is ridiculously cluttered with the odds and ends leftover from the class kits, flea market and a number of unfinished projects which I WILL COMPLETE as soon as I get caught up with life.

While I did not have much time to work on "my art", I did try to dedicate a little time to my art journal each night before I fell asleep. Here are a few doodle pages I tinkered in with my prismacolor markers.





Other highlights of the last 6 weeks include swimming at the club, lots of Yoga, quality time with my family and a week long visit with Nana and Papa (Tim's parents) which was fantastic!

I had the pleasure of taking Suzanne (Nana) to 2 Yoga classes and the week following my mom joined me in a class! It was a very busy time and I will avoid that kind of over scheduling in the future but I have to say that I am so very blessed to have such a full life filled with so many gifts and loved ones.

Time Flies

Gosh, I cannot believe it has been a month since my last entry - I've just been so busy with all the details involved in teaching art to children. It requires a lot more preparation than teaching adults because if you forget to include something in their class kits or if your instructions are not precise the kids go into a tailspin. Plus, my classes are tucked into a very tight schedule which means we need to make every minute count so they can leave with a finished project.

I’ll stay busy for a few more weeks and then I'll get to catch my breath. It is really rewarding work and the kids are wonderful- they have created really amazing projects. I just love hearing how much they love art and they shower me with thanks and hugs which is so incredible. Besides preparing project samples, I have not had a minute to art until a few nights ago when I made time. I finished 3 UGRA projects that I've had sitting on my desk since June. There were 2 hand sewn altered books, one was tucked into a 10 x 14 denim pocket and one had was bound using .25 inch altered covers. The pages were a hodge podge of cool images and magazine photos – really edgy stuff mixed with elegance. The only instructions in both books were to play and have fun so I collaged, colored and altered pages as they moved me. The other project was a technique book – it was bound by hand with sewn signatures – a piece of art in itself. Others contributed techniques like paper weaving, bleach stamping, quilling and more. I included no cut envelope folding and embossing metal. It was the outlet I needed. I hadn't realized how artistically pent up I was until then.

I also took my blooms to the De Anza Flea earlier in the month which was a lot of fun! A friend and I decided to do a booth and had a great time selling our handy work. The De Anza flea is more like an art and wine festival that a flea market - there are tons of artisans, amazing food, and it draws a really fun crowd. I was delighted by the response I got to my Button Blooms! We are going to do it again in August.

I will upload more photos as soon as I can - I have a lot to accomplish today for next week so no time to find good light for taking pictures, etc.

Getting ready for Camp!

It has been far too long since I last blogged. I started a few entries but was called away from the keyboard for one thing or another and never got back to my train of thought. I find it fascinating that during my "blog sabbatical," my house remained unusually clean.

I haven't done much free style art'ing over the last couple weeks because I have been very busy getting ready for Camp Gen Israel which starts in less than 2 weeks. I am thrilled to be returning again this summer and have a wonderful curriculum for the kids! Projects include charm bracelets made from shrinky dinks, artist's journals, scrapbooking, treasure boxes and wind chimes! I've been making project samples for the kids to reference while they work. I've had Aidan and Eva helping me so the end result is kid friendly and obtainable. I've learned that if you bring a sample that is "finished" beyond a child's capability they often get very frustrated because "their's doesn't look like your's." Creating with this in mind was quite freeing because I didn't have to color within the lines, cut straight, string symmetrically or stack perfectly. I created without the stress of perfection. I wasn't concerned with how the end result would reflect on me as an artist.

This has not been the case with my organic backgrounds class - I refuse to post pictures at this juncture because my painting went from being delightful to a big old mess after adding the wax paper treatments we did 2 weeks ago. I'm not sure if it was the color palette I chose or the paint placement but I REALLY dislike it as it stands - the good news is that I have 2 lessons worth to get it to its final state so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I have also been busy creating "Button Blooms" for an upcoming event. It isn't 100% confirmed yet, but once it is, I will post the details. I've diversified so that there are a variety of different styles and sizes. Be sure to visit my website at www.jilliene.com and send your friends! Stay tuned because I'm going to be doing a giveaway next month for a bouquet. More to come on that...

Button Blooms!

Jeepers Creepers - I cannot believe how quickly time flies when you are having fun and I certainly am having a ball! I have officially launched a new product through Jilliene Designs which I call "Button Blooms." I've updated the website, created a marketing piece, updated my etsy shop, and have started spreading the word. Friends have been sending out my information via email and I have already sold several arrangements! I've registered for two upcoming art and craft fairs and am looking a couple others. I am just loving the response and the process of creating these little joy blossoms!

The best part is that I can make them while hanging out with the family! Usually I need to sequester myself from little hands and distracting conversations when creating, but I am able to assemble button blooms without needing a large workspace or a lot of supplies. I have everything I need organized into a basket which I bring out to the backyard, the playroom and even to the park!