"Glory" Altered Book

I used the same technique that I have been using with creating a background out of paint and outlining the organic shapes. After that, I practiced the weaving technique with different found papers and threads. I also painted a simple bird and used a button to create an eye. Its not my favorite, but I think that it was good practice with the weaving technique.

"Blinded" Altered Book

Yet another unfinished piece... I started creating a background with assorted paint and stamps. Then I couldn't decide if it was TOO busy and was hesitant to continue. I outlined several of the shapes with a Sharpie marker. I also used the Sharpie to write in different layers of the paint. Will post more pictures at a later date.

"Reflections" Altered Book

As you may be able to tell, this entry is not yet finished. I still haven't found the perfect image to feature. Thus far, I used paint, wax, wax paper, thread, found papers, lace, and a Sharpie marker. I used the same technique that I have used in previous altered book entries. Because the prompt was "Reflections" I painted both pages and then closed the book pressing the pages together. Then, I reopened it and the paint had created a mirror image of each page. After this, I continued doctoring the piece and making the paint look how I wanted to. I had trouble with getting the intensity of the colors to match what I visualized them to be. As I finish this, I will post more pictures.

"Redemption" Altered Book

This altered book entry is one of my favorite so far. I really REALLY like it. I was inspired by the Johnny Cash album "Unearthed" because one of the tracks is "Redemption." The actual album is picture above. I wanted to create a reel of photos and a simple title underneath them, like the format of his album cover. After deciding my layout, I focused on color scheme and embellishing the piece. I used paint, wax, wax paper, thread, corrugated cardboard, found papers and found objects. I think that this is a good entry because of how detailed it is and how many layers there are. Because I created it, I recognize each layer individually. I also traced over the natural shapes within the paint and image, creating a contour line with a deep red Sharpie marker. I think that this piece was a success.

"Down the Drain" Altered Book

As my second altered book entry, I continued to experiment with style and technique as well as materials. The prompt was "Down the Drain" for which I wrote a limerick... "Up in smoke, down the drain, the cookie crumbles all the same." From this, I had inspiration for my piece. I used a light blue color scheme to represent water (from the drain) and added water to the paint so that it would drip and spread more fluidly. I also drew a very wavy, fluid pattern that represented water. Next, I represented smoke by the picture of the two old women smoking. I also continued drawing the pattern coming out of their cigarettes. I also had an image of the eiffel tower and I drew smoke coming out of it as if it was a chimney. I also outlined quite a few of the natural shapes that the paint made with a sharpie. I love highlighting this organic element of the composition. I think this was yet another success.

"Making Time" Altered Book

The green page is the contents page of my altered book that I used acrylic paint to create. The next several images of the green/orange pages are my first altered book entry. The prompt was "Making Time." As a mixed media piece, I explored my style, taking a risk. I really love how this turned out. I used paint, wax, thread, chipboard, sharpie, wax paper and other found materials. The images that I drew with the sharpie represent constallations that are believed to tell time. I was really proud of how this piece turned out and I think that I will definitely be creating several more formal pieces within this style.

Image Transfer with Texture

Step 1: Create a background using texture paste that I mixed with acrylic paint. The three colors I used were a light yellow, light blue, and salmon. I really liked the texture in the background. It reminded me of weathered furniture or chipping paint on wood. I really like that look and it reminds me of one of my favorite interior design styles. Step 2: Take a picture using a Nikon camera and a model. Print image with laser jet printer and carefully create image transfer on textured surface. Step 3: Continue adding the tinted texture paste on top of and around the image transfer. Step 4: Embellish the piece with thread, pins, buttons, corrugated cardboard, found papers and found objects. I think this piece was my biggest success thus far. However, I really don't like it because I wanted to make the image transfer become a fluid part of the piece and I feel like I failed at that. Comments?

India Ink

The assignment for this piece was to create a background using found papers, lightly gesso that background and then use india ink to draw a 'quick, sketchy' image on the background. I really despise the whole 'quick,sketchy' thing. I think that it makes the pieces look sloppy and I am not very good at 'letting loose.' It involved taking a risk and I was uncomfortable with the medium and the technique, which made the risk all the harder to take. I like the background in which I used newspaper and assorted colors of tissue paper. I do not like the image that is on top... It is supposed to be a canister full of dirty paintbrushes of all different sizes. I used parafin wax to seal the entire thing. In my opinion, not a success.

Erasure Drawing

The erasure technique consists of drawing a composition, erasing it, and then re-drawing the image in a slightly different position so that it looks as if the image is moving... I wasn't a huge fan of this technique when it was introduced. I thought that it would just look like poor craftsmanship to have erased lines all over the paper. I used different drawing pencils to shade and decided that the model hand would be the "moving object." I used the sign language hand gesture for 'I love you.' This gesture has a special meaning to me and I like that it was incorporated in my piece. However, I wish that I would have spent more time making the erasure technique more evident. It is rather subtle. This piece is decent, but I don't prefer drawing and I think that I am better at design.