Inks, Marbling, and Stone

Yesterday I continued working with Tria alcohol inks, dye inks and found my stash of marbled paper. This is what I made with the results.  This is the real method using carageenan, not shaving creme. I used the last of my marbled paper, now I want to make some more!

The paper on the right is some of my hand-marbled paper.  I like the traditional design where you comb through first in one direction and then the other.

The geisha is on polished stone, and the metallic paper is from one of my shopping trips to Atlanta art supply stores.

This geisha is in a window of polished stone. The technique is explained in my last post.

The patterned paper was made with dye inks.

The papers were made with dye inks. I put rock salt on the lighter one while the inks were wet.

The fan image is sitting in a window of alcohol inks. The other is more of my hand-marbled paper.  I love these colors:)

Windows into Polished Stone

The first time I saw this technique, I thought it was like peering through a rip in the time-space continuum. It was stunning and so easy, I was instantly charmed. Back then in 2001, we used Tria alcohol ink refills, and Krylon gold or silver leafing pens. (This was before Tim Holtz) The bottles of Tria ink refills were 10.00 each, but held a lot and lasted a good while.  This is what I told myself as I kept buying more colors!  Some people used cotton balls, but I made an applicator by attaching Velcro to a wood block with super glue. Then I cut several pieces of felt and stuck it to the Velcro. Here’s where the real magic happens, immediately before the ink dries, apply a few drops of light-colored Tria ink (such as warm gray #1) or plain rubbing alcohol in the center of the cardstock. The alcohol with react with the Tria ink and create a window in the center of the composition causing the leafing ink to spread out. Allow the cardstock to dry completely. Stamp an image in the window with black dye ink and allow it to dry.

I’d never seen this window technique in any stamping magazines or on the internet, so I contacted Sharilyn Miller, then the editor of Somerset Studio, and told her about the window effect.  She had not seen this window technique done on polished stone and asked me to write an article along with some samples.  I was thrilled! I contacted a couple of stamp companies and Letraset, the makers of Tria inks, to ask if they would supply me with some materials for the magazine article. They said yes, of course as it was free advertisement for them. My article appeared in the Jan/Feb 2002 issue.

Later, Tim Holtz and Ranger developed smaller bottles of alcohol ink and the applicator.  I like the handle Tim put on his applicator, and the inks are much less expensive.  But what ever happened to the “window effect?” Is anyone doing it any more?  Some of my friends from the Oriental Stamp Art forum hadn’t heard of it, so I decided to write about it and let people see how pretty it is.

Regrets…. Yes!  Why didn’t I continue to submit to magazines and demo work?  So many reasons come to mind.  I was hit with empty nest BIG TIME! I went back to graduate school while working full time, I changed jobs, got into stained glass, digital photography, and ball-room dancing with my husband.  It just wouldn’t all fit in my schedule.  Now I’ve been away from rubber stamping for so long, I’ve lost most of my contacts. But I’m not sure what else I could have given up in order to make time for stamp art.  I made stained glass stepping stones and sold them to help raise money for the addition to our church building. I still enjoy photography and use the heck out of my camera.  Finishing my Masters was definitely worth it.  I learned so much, and I got a raise, which led to more retirement pay too.  Changing jobs. Yep that’s the thing I could have done without.  I left the gifted classroom and returned to teaching 5^th grade in the regular classroom.  Way too much work involved.  Too many kids, too many different ability levels, too many behavior problems and far little support from administration.

The window on the left was done with plain alcohol and and eye dropper. On the right, the window was done with warm gray Tria ink.

These two aren't finished yet,  just wanted you to see the window effect.  Isn't it pretty?

I went to an arts and craft fair today with a girlfriend and had the best day.  The weather was wonderful, only in the 80's ahhh sweet relief from the upper 90's.  Aren't girlfriends wonderful?  If one of you wants to look at something the other one does too.  If one of you is hungry, you both eat - or not - it's no big deal!  Where to park?  Anywhere's fine. Plus it's just nice to spend time with someone who isn't talking about cars, or hunting or fishing, or football.  Just girl stuff:)  Oh, did I buy anything?  Nope, not a thing, except lunch.  We just enjoyed looking and talking and seeing people we knew.

Last night's project: A friend sent me the cards for me to finish. She did the paper braiding, and I added the tangram and the Geisha.  It's a collaborative work.  Thanks Sandra!

I made this when I got home today.  Inside are black and white sketches of some of my favorite layouts.

Yesterday's project. The layout is from Oriental Stamp Art's Layout Challenge.

New Stuff

The mail lady brought a box from Dick Blick today!!  Inside were several new colors of Prismacolor pencils, and the Derwent blender and burnisher. I'd read somewhere that they were very good, so naturally I just had to try them.  I opened the box right away, sharpened all the pencils, filled in my color chart and started experimenting. I used two kinds of paper one smooth and one with more tooth.
Initial impressions:

• burnisher produces a softer look, I like it better
• blender moves the waxy pencil color around a lot, actually sounds different when it comes in contact with the paper's surface  
• blender gives a more scratchy, textured look
• used in combination, not much different than the blender used alone
• I like the burnisher a little better than the Prisma blender

 I'm not sure how much detail will show in the scan, but some results are shown below.

Oh and colors!  I just love the new greens that I got. Kelp green 1090, green ochre 1091, kelly green 1096, and artichoke 1099. Artichoke is almost not a green, kind of like one of the greens in camouflage and I know I'll use it alot.  I also got blue lake, clay rose, grayed lavender, and chestnut. The rest were replacement colors.  This brings my total up to 95 colors. Do I plan to get all 132? No. I'm not into just "collecting." I buy what I think I'll use.  Have you seen all the colors of gray there are?  There are 19!  There's no way I'd use all of them.  I have about 6 grays, an assortment of cool  and warm.  That's enough, for me anyway. My wish list has about 10 colors on it, and that'll be enough for me.

A trifold, using up scraps of Japanese paper.

Not one of my favorites, too..symmetrical or lined upish.

 Nature Geisha.  The Japanese maple leaves are from trees in our yard, as is the ginkgo leaf. I made some paper out of recycled junk mail a while back, and I still have quite a stash of it.  This one has Japanese maple leaves embedded in the paper.

This is an old optical lens I got from an optometrist who retired. (before you could buy them commercially). I dug out my stash the other day and went to work.  The tiger is colored with Radiant Pearls, glued to a piece of silk paper then glued to the lens.

Layout Challenge

This challenge was issued by Oriental Stamp Art forum.

layout challenge 137. This was fun, I'm going to do more of these!

You might be an artist if...

You’re familiar with Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck if…” jokes right?  No, I’m not a redneck, but have you ever thought of how odd artists might seem to others?  Try this one on for size:

You might be an artist if, you start looking at broken bits of lobster shells and wondering how you could use them in a collage.

True?  Afraid so my friends.  We had steak and lobster the other night.  It was the first time I’ve ever bought any or boiled them at home.  We decided that would be the thing to have for a dinner over the Labor Day weekend. Well, let me clarify that, the men in my family decided this was a good idea, as long as the price wasn’t too far out in left field. I am strongly out-numbered and I don’t even eat seafood. But hey, I’m a good sport, so I proceeded to our local grocery store, went back to the seafood section and looked at those little beady eyes and long antennas while squelching a shiver. Then I calmly asked the clerk how much they were. 12.95 He said.  Well I thought, that’s a good deal, I know what they cost in restaurants, as the guys have had them before. I told the man I’d take two.  He grabbed two of the creepy critters and walked away with them.  A couple minutes later he returned and handed me 2 boxes.  I said, “Oh, no I ordered lobster.”  “Yes ma’am,” he replied giving me a really strange look.  “You mean they are in those boxes?”  “Yes ma’am.” “But where’s the water? I may not eat them, but I know they have to be alive when you boil them, which kills them so that you eat them. Weird, but I know how this works I thought. This is where my son walks up, turning fifty shades of red as he takes the boxes from the baffled clerk. “Mom, what do you think they are going to do, give you a tank to take them home in? he whispered. “Aren’t you supposed to put them in a bag of water like when you buy fish at the pet store?” I responded with a huff.  Number one son rolls his eyes so far back, I’m sure they will be permanently stuck in the back of his head, and then informs me that the lobsters will be fine in these boxes.  By this time the other patrons of the seafood department had overhead and they were laughing. Not quietly either. Shocker number two came at the checkout line when I was given the total.  I walked away looking at the receipt and the light of dawn set in.  Those little beady eyed monsters that the men in my family wanted to devour were not 12 dollars a piece.  They were 12 dollars a pound.  Oops, I wonder if darling husband will think that was a fair price. Too late now, they better not die in those boxes on the way home either!

Now you must understand, I am a reasonably intelligent college graduate.  But like I said, I do not eat seafood, never have. Besides, I’m from Indiana, what the heck would I know about lobsters? On the other hand, I’m quite knowledgeable about corn, pigs and horses.  The boys had quite a laugh over this, so have all our friends who just had to hear all about it from my boys. 

I was fascinated as I watched the whole boiling process.  Those things really did survive being out of water for about 45 minutes and when cooked they were the most gorgeous color of pink.  I still think those pieces of shell would have been great on a collage.

You were looking for pieces of lobster shells weren't you?

Card With an Adventurous Life

This card has led quite an interesting life so far.  It began in June when I made the polymer clay piece.  See I got this brainy idea to make a kimono pendant.  I even put holes in the top to suspend it from a piece of bamboo.  Well, I just didn't like it well enough to make jewelry out of. My skills with clay haven't yet caught up with the imagination in my head. So I set it aside.  The poor little clay piece has been sitting on the corner of my desk ever since, getting lonelier by the minute.  Saturday I decided to work with dye inks.  I happily played, made quite a mess, and used up all my glossy paper:( Not having prepared or planned ahead of time, with ink all over the place and sticky gloves on my hand I decided I needed some rock salt.  Instead of taking of the gloves (cause that would have made sense) I attempted to open the cabinet door with my elbow, and hit myself in the forehead with the door, leaving a nice little mark behind. I continued following my creative muse merrily sprinkling the salt over wet ink and anticipating the wonderful outcomes. When I looked over where the cardstock pile should have been and realized it was all gone, I sadly began cleaning up.  Naturally, the ink somehow mangaged to find its way under the plastic I'd put on the counter to protect it from stains. Not able to find any bleach, I reached for an SOS pad to try to scratch the ink off the laminate. In doing so, I knocked the plastic on the floor spilling some of the salt. Now this is where the story takes a turn towards the Lucy-ness that I'm known for.  I get the bright idea to take the sheet of plastic outside to shake off the rest of the salt. Did I think this through?  Of course not. Because if I had, I would have known what waited outside for me, following my every move, always trying to get as close to me as possible and STAY THERE - my Australian Shepherd, Cricket. Otherwise known as "hurricane Cricket." She just knows that anything in my hand must be food, and it must be for her. So, while I'm busy shaking all the rock salt off the large unwieldy sheet of  plastic, Cricket decides to help herself to the food and busily begins to scarf up the dye-soaked salt.  NO Cricket!  "That's not food, it bad for you!" While I'm trying to keep her from eating what I think could be disastrous for her digestive system, she thinks we're playing some new game. (Did I mention how mischievous Aussies are?) She grabs the plastic sheet and takes off running. Yes, now I realize that running barefoot chasing the dog all over 20 acres is not one of the smartest things I've done.  At the time I thought I had to save my darling dog from ingesting rock salt laden with dye ink.  I finally got the sheet, rinsed out Cricket's mouth with the hose, covered my cuts with bandaids and removed the splinters from my foot. (Don't worry Cricket is fine.) I returned to my creations in the kitchen and was oohing and ahhing over the results, when in walks my darling husband.  "Gee honey, I didn't know cooking was such hard work, you're all out of breath and covered with cuts and bruises.  What's for dinner?"  Dinner?  He wanted to eat?  Is that what he thinks I do in the kitchen?  Didn't he realize I'd been risking life and limb chasing a crazed dog all over 20 acres?  After ordering take-out for my clueless husband, I latched on to this one piece of inked perfection, thinking the colors are just right for that lonely clay kimono!  I grabbed a stamp containing the perfect lines of Japanese poetry and prepared to create a masterpiece.  What was the poem you say?  I have no idea, I just chose it because I liked the shape.  Hey, at least I knew which way was right-side up! I pondered endlessly about the correct placement of the Japanese characters and the kimono, then inked up the stamp and...... forgot this stamp didn't need so much pressure and got a big icky blog of ink on my gorgeous paper!!! ahhhhh!  "Dont' panic," I tell myself, "I can fix this." That's why you see the little piece of additional characters below the kimono.  What do they say?  I have no idea.  Are they Japanese like the poem?  Haven't got a clue. My friends on the Oriental Stamp Art forum would gasp!  Maybe they won't notice?  Anyway just to make it look like I planned this whole thing out, and knew exactly what I was doing, I put a piece of the same line of characters on the envelope. There, now doesn't that look like a well-planned brilliant piece of work?  Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings if you don't just love it.  Like any good mother, I love it anyway, this poor card's been though a lot.