ATC's and digital collages

It has been a little while since I posted any new ATC's, I have been really busy with several things including my art group's annual exhibition. And also our main holiday, photos of which will be appearing on my photography blog.

But I am going to take the opportunity to let you see what little collage work I have been doing, both atc's were for scheduled swaps and so I couldn't really miss doing them. I hope that the pressure didn't show in the work I did.The first was for a swap on Flickr group, Artful Ideas with a theme of Autumn Romance. The main image seems to be missing a little contrast compared to the original, not quite sure why. Must be something to do with the scanning.
 

The second was from a swap on PDA, with a theme of Family Matters. I called this one Sisters, a little tongue in cheek but I call it artistic licence.

The other piece I have to show this time is a digital collage. A little bit of fun really but again it was for a challenge on PDA . the challenge was to use what Kim called an "ugly image". I was playing around with the image and background ( both from one of Kim's collage sheets) and then whilst browsing found the image of the men amongst the free images on PDA. The text came to me at once and I thought, "why not". A little sexist perhaps, but I don't think it does any harm.

PS the "ugly" adjective was the image, not the lady. Kim seems to have some of these less than pretty images for us to come.

Oh well , back to the preparations for the groups exhibition, see you soon

Considerations for framing ATC and ACEO art cards

Further to my last post I have taken an opportunity to create a Squidoo Lens with a few thoughts on framing Art cards. As a painter, I have always placed a mat in front of the painting when framing art. But I have decided that for many art cards, it is easier and better if the art card is placed in front of the  mat. This opens up a number of benefits (easier to cut the mat, etc) but it can also provide a means of protecting cards with 3-d embellishments. In the extreme this leads to the use of a "shadow box arrangement" for framing very bulky cards.

Framed ATC collages for 2010 Art group Exhibtion

I usually keep my painting and "crafting" activities quite separate. No real reason but I paint at my art group and "craft" at home. Most of my internet activities are about the crafting side. However, this year I am determined to bring both activities together for my art group exhibition.

I have framed a selection of ATC's (which have not been snapped up for swapping) and intend to offer these as part of my submission to my art group's exhibition this year. Just a couple of weeks away and I have very nearly got them all ready. Just need to write some sticky labels and decide how much to ask for the individual works.

In this neck of the woods there are several large outlets ( department stores, athena prints, IKEA) for prints from the famous and the infamous, whch seem to get picked as wall decorations by the modern "art lover". This means of course that real art from up-and-coming artists does not sell well at all. Do I pick a price which may lead to a sale, but will simply show the public that it is not worth anything. Or do I set a price which I feel I am worth and hang wether it sells or not. Decisions, decisions !!!! Whichever way, I gave up on Ebay a long time ago as a means of making sales; I might as well have given them away for all the good it did me.

see also my other blog for a view of the pastel paintings

Marbling paper and lots of other simple background techniques

Gosh, I have been so busy lately, very little time for blogging even tho I know it should take precedence. After all, isn't one of the golden rules that you should post regularly!

I have actually been quite busy with crafty things and this is a little bit of a catch-up (again!!!!)

First thing is that I am finally investing a little time in writing some Squidoo Lenses. If you haven't come across these before don't panic. they are simply single page web sites designed to put across a particular piece of information. they can be short or long depending on the subject and how much you have to say.

Some time ago I wrote about how I came across ACEO paintings and what they were. This led to a series on making , collecting and selling ACEO's. However, I never got around to completing the latter because I found ATC's and became quite addicted to  swapping.

One or two more lenses followed but I am now creating a series for beginners, people new to the mixed media scene. The first was a simple tutorial showing the making of a collaged ATC. this has been followed by a lens on simple techniques for making unique backgrounds and another for making marbled papers using shaving foam. I enjoy developing the tutorials and it makes me think about what I am doing and how to improve my art.

It has been a couple of years since I started making ATC's and although I am happy to try anything for a challenge, I am beginning to feel that I am in something of a rut. hence the look at what and how I am doing things. I see lots of references to products which have been developed to aid the crafter/artist but am most happy using discarded bits and pieces and images which often require work on them ( e.g. digital editing) before printing. And I do get most of my images off the web. recently I have tried digital collages, which I enjoyed but it begins to get a little same-y. Although that is not to denigrate the great art that I see created by this method. My "rusty bucket" is another way of looking for another way forward and I have been making larger collages and painting over a collage prepared as an initial step.

Still feeling that I need to develop however, doing the same thing too often is fine but does not equate with satisfying my artistic tendancies. But thinking abouot it I felt like this about painting at one stage, and now it is just another stirng to my bow. So maybe I should stop thinking and get creating

thanks for getting this far, hope to be back soon.

Exploding ovens

or rather exploding oven doors: just had to get this off my chest

I had to replace an element in our oven, and decided that it was a little worse for wear. We decided to give it a good clean.

We had bought a cleaner called OVEN PRIDE, some time ago and decided to try it out. On the box we read, " Caution, this product actually works". Looked good. One evening I applied the gel to the inside of the oven, the racks and the glass door. Leaving the gel on the surfaces overnight as the instructions said this was a good idea.

Next morning, I cleaned up the residue and was pleasantly surprised that the stuff had actually done what it said on the box.

At lunchtime I turned on the oven, ready for my wife to use and left her in the kitchen. Very shortly there was a shout from the kitchen, " you had better come and see this". The inner glass door which I had just cleaned, had virtually exploded and now lay on the floor of the oven in hundreds of pieces. The sodium hydroxide gel had obviously affected the glass in some way, probably affecting the chemical structure of the glass. It had certainly lost its ability to resist the heat of the oven.

I emailed the suppliers of the product and one of their staff, a Ms Hilda Tabas, very obligingly told me they had changed the packaging since I purchased it and now did not recommend it for tempered glass. No doubt they had had many similar, previous complaints. She did not even offer any apologies for waht her product had done. But then I guess that is the way with customer services today.

BTW the glass door panel cost me £52 to replace, I doubt very much that I will be using any similar products again in case the new door panel gets splashed and the same thing happens.

Assemblages, my rusty bucket collection

I must have mentioned my flirtation with assemblage. Since reading "The Secret of Rusty Things" by Michael de Meng, I have been collecting bits and pieces which I may be able to use for such a project. Mostly things from around the house mostly, but I have been keeping them in an old bucket in the garden ( plus a little bleach for good measure) to get them good and rusty. It is cooking nicely! Thought that you might like to see a photo or two.

an overall view

some drawer runners from the old kitchen units to use as structural elements in any larger assemblages

old taps, springs and brackets

some of the smaller, deliciously rusted items; note the bits of conifer tree which found their way in the wind into my bucket

not quite sure what I will be doing with the scissors but I will use them I am sure

bits of plumbing, an old plane and a couple of cake slicers

 the top of a throw-away barbecue, more taps and a sardine tin ( will find another use for this one)

old salad servers and an empty sealant tube. If you have read MdeM's book you will know how useful an empty sealant tube can be.

Now you will probably be thinking, "He's lost his marbles". But I honestly felt inspired by this book and just wish I had access to the sort of scrap available in the book. If I find that I enjoy making assemblages as much as I think I will, I shall be visiting the local scrap yards - if I can talk my wife into letting me have a part of the garden to keep piles of rusty old metal parts. It's difficult enough to convince her that my paper scraps etc, are the price of my chosen art media.

And one interesting thing he was originally a painter, and found his way into assemblages, the story of my life (sorry art) so there is a precedent to my art direction.

A display holder for little "row houses"

Wow, it seems to have been such a long time since I posted on this blog. I have been so busy putting together a consignment of paintings for a new craft/art shop, Fair Wind Studio. My good friend Nancy is opening a small studio in a recently re-opened mall in Ohio and I was invited to send a consignment of artworks for sale in the studio. You can see a few of the aceo paintings I have done recently especially to go in the initial consignment in my blog painting with John. Best of luck to you Nancy, I hope all goes well.

In the meantime I have not been doing much in the crafting line, but I did make one of these; a display holder for some of the row houses which I have been swapping.

These photos show the end results , you can see one of the sides of the accordian folded holder have pockets for the inchie row houses and the other side has pockets for a larger set of row houses. A tutorial for the construction of this display holder can be seen on PDA. this very closely follows an original tutorial from Kim Newberg who runs PDA.

I am very much hoping to try another very shortly in which I can display atc's. The pockets are not transparent because many of the row houses have lots of very tactile embellishments and it is all about being able to handle the displayed items. thanks for looking.