translucent collage tutorial

I worked with my class this week to make

translucent sandwiches with bits of yarn, fabric, 

thread and ribbon between waxed paper and 

kleenex.

The results were fun and now comes the 

chance to cut them up for use in cards, 

mixed media work and collage. 

Fringe coloured magazine sheets to make fun confetti.

Sprinkle these over a sheet of waxed paper. Add fabric and other tidbits.

Next place a one ply layer of kleenex over the cut up bits on waxed paper.

Gently cover whole collage with mix of 1/2 water and 1/2 white glue.

Let dry then display!

self portrait made easy

I recently worked with a group doing self portraits and we
tried a very simple but effective method for beginning the
portrait which bypassed the challenge of drawing one's face.
We simply taped a transparency on a large mirror and
got close enough that our face was contained within the
transparency sheet.  Hold head steady and trace facial
contours onto the transparency with a sharpie marker.
(Hold one eye closed to aid tracing). The resulting
outline can readily be used for painting or silk screening. 

This is my traced portrait using
a transparency on the
mirror.

I put some old sheer drapery fabric over
the transparency and used masking fluid
with a small paintbrush to mask the
negative space areas and the face
(leaving the drawn facial lines
unmasked)

The drapery scrim was stretched in a round embroidery hoop
to enable silk screening.  This result was a first pull. It is printed
on muslin fabric.

styrofoam printmaking tutorial

It's easy to make a print from a styrofoam plate or meat tray.

Start by drawing a simple design on the styrofoam with a ball

point pen. Impress the design just hard enough to make an indentation 

without going through the styrofoam.

Next roll out some printing ink (or acrylic paint) on a tray. If you don't 

have a breyer you can roll the ink or paint with a small sponge paint roller. 

Roll out a thin layer of ink (or paint) over the styrofoam.  Notice the ink
lays just on top and doesn't flow into the grooves of the drawing.

Lay down your roller or breyer (on its back not resting on the roller) and
carefully lay a piece of paper over your inked design. Use the back of a spoon
or your fingertips to rub in circles over the whole design. (This ensures that
all inked areas of the design are transferred cleanly to the paper)

Carefully peel the design off of the styrofoam plate and voila! you have made your
first print.  Repeat the process as many times as you wish.  Be sure to clean off
your plate so that later prints will not be clogged with dried ink or paint.

Good luck and happy printing!
I love comments and sharing.  I have lots of different ideas if you have questions about
other printmaking projects!