I’ve been at it again–making collage fodder, that is! It’s a good thing to do when I come home late at night and want to make art, but am too tired. I’m still making art, but its not a big commitment, and its ok if it doesn’t turn out great! Even the ugly scraps could probably be used in interesting, cool ways or modified to make it more interesting.
The first one is a gelli print on an old hymn song sheet. I think I used stencils and distress sprays. The second one is a page from an old book I got at the thrift store, which I used distressed sprays on. What’s cool is that I ended up discovering the page I randomly tore out had a story on Florence Nightingale, and that is who God showed me I am like in a dream. Well, in the dream, He commissioned me with a Florence Nightingale type mantle, except for emotional wounds instead of physical wounds. My Mom was a nurse to various populations, including being a psychiatric nurse, and I’m just now realizing some of her mantle fell on me, too, even though I’m an art therapist in a psychiatric hospital. I couldn’t believe I came across it from a thrift store book! That seemed to be God’s way of confirming it and just giving me a little fun! After all, God is a fun person!
The third is another gelli print of an old book page using distressed sprays. The fourth and fifth examples are gelli prints on deli paper with distressed inks. The sixth and seventh examples are awagami paper, dipped in water, folded and crumped up, then sprayed with acrylic inks, and marked with gold paint. The eighth example is handwritten text on copy paper and then coffee stained. The last two examples in this gallery, # 9 and #10, are gelli prints on copy paper using stencils, distressed sprays, acrylics, and then stamped on. #9 is my favorite in this series.
These last two were my attempts at distressing magazine pages. I used citrasolv on the first example, #11, which completely failed. I did not have a National Geographic that Froyle Art suggested I use, so I tried it on what I had. It might have been a Time Magazine. I saw another video (forget where) and the citrasolv was dissolving other magazines and even some junk mail. No such luck with me. That video mentioned that the cold could delay things, and it was about 32 degrees out the night I attempted that, and I only let it sit on the magazine pages in the book for 30 minutes before I pried them apart and sat them outside to dry. The next one, #12, was sort of successful. The acetate did dissolve the magazine, but I had to work hard at it. It was exhausting! Instead of brushing it on all at once on each page like the citrasolv, I just used a paper towell and rubbed on the sections I wanted distressed and through the stencils, but I had to rub hard, and I couldn’t really get much of the stencils to show. I was tired by then, and it seemed to be taking much more energy than I was willing to give, so after a few, I called it a night. I got a few cool little pieces.
Creative Passages 