Postcard collage

 Another collaged postcard - 

Lino printed tissue, paste paper, texture paste, sketch
and machine stitch (6" x 4" on Hahnemuehle postcard

I am enjoying making use some of my facial sketches in these small collages.

Collaged postcards

Since I finished my collage journal last month I have missed the playfulness of cutting, tearing and sticking random oddments of painted papers.  I have a box of Hahnemuehle watercolour postcards which I have only used on a couple of occasions and the size of these appealed to me as a substrate for further paste and paper experiments.  I also added machine stitching for more texture and interest.

6" x 4" Hahnemeuhle watercolour postcards

Ink, acrylic, paste paper, lino print, stencilled
texture paste, gel pens and machine stitch

Ink, acrylic, gesso, lino print, foam stamps,
gel pens and machine stitch

Updated Sketchbook Challenge spread

I've finally got round to adding a little more detail to the sketchbook pages I shared at the end of December.

On the left I have used some wine cork stamps and on the righthand page I stencilled paint through a fine paper-cut image from an old birthday card.  The latter didn't work particularly well, but there was enough information to bring out some detail with coloured pencil.

Sketchbook and online courses

I have been slow in adding work to my blog this month.  This has been partly because I have been taking a bit of a break after completing the daily Inktober challenge; in addition, I have been working on this year's Christmas card design which is not ready to be revealed yet.

I have also signed up for a short, online sketchbook challenge run by Laura Kemshall - eight videos throughout November (which can be followed at your own pace).  The course is very reasonably priced at £12 - if you are interested, follow this link.

I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to use the beautiful sketchbook my friend Pat made.  The first assignment was to "break the ice" and get rid of some of the blank pages by randomly adding some found papers, etc. - a couple of mine are shown below.  Now to catch up with the second session.

Faux leather cover with embroidered insert - 9" x 6.5"
(handmade by Pat Kitching)

Foam printed paper collage and stitch

Tartan ribbon - machine stitched

Paste paper collage and stitch

Part of a lino print

Another course being released later this month is by Este MacLeod - this will be free, but you need to sign up to her Newsletter (at the bottom on her home page) to receive details.

Happy sketching!

Paste grain fold book

Another attempt at using up old art supplies.

This piece of paste grain paper is probably about 16 years old!  It was made on a painted paper course and the paper we were given was rather stiff and shiny.  Also, I wasn't particularly impressed with the colours I used, but liked the pattern.  As anticipated, the surface cracked a bit with folding, but at last it's found a use.

Size approx. 4.5" x 6"

The Art of the Fold - November

I never did find out what happened to the October challenge so I missed that one, but I enjoyed trying out this triangular book (Section 19 of "The Art of the Fold" book).

For my version I used a previously painted and lino-printed sheet of copy paper, cut down to approx. 12" square.  The lino-print wasn't very successful so I overlaid and patterned it with iridescent pink paste paint.  As the back of the paper was painted gold, I reversed the top and bottom folds of the cover to provide a bit of contrast and added a band to hold it closed.

The finished book measures just over 2" x 4".

Paper flowers

Playing around with card, paper and paint and following some Youtube instructions on making paper flowers - just for fun.

The two flowers on the left were made from thin card, the central four from copy paper and the one on the right from painted tissue. All the leaves were cut from my scraps of painted papers.

Print workshop

At our local art group meeting last night, six of us set up tables around the hall with materials and examples of our individual printing techniques, with colleagues able to browse, watch mini demonstrations and ask questions.  We had lino printing, gelli printing for collage, Japanese woodblock, pastel painting with handcut stencils, inkjet and laser print transfers. It was a very successful and interesting evening, but unfortunately I was so busy with my display, in addition to trying to get a quick glimpse of what everyone else was doing, I completely forgot to take photos for our website write up.  I am hoping those participating will send me some notes and photos so I can rectify the matter. (Additional notes and images have been added here.)

My set-up included lino and Softcut, as well as handmade foam stamps, paste grain papers, printed tissue, mulberry and drawing paper which I use for cards, artists books and collage.

Sample papers, printing blocks and tools

Booklets and cards using handmade printed papers

Mini collages

Included in my parcels from Hahnemuhle were several small 3" x 4" sample paper pads.  There is no indication of which type of paper, but it is not very thick - I imagine a drawing paper.  Having recently watched a Youtube video by Caterina Giglio I thought I would follow her example and play around with some my art scraps to make some tiny collages.

The materials used include gesso, texture paste, handpainted and printed papers, teabag paper, lino and foam stamp prints, crayon rubbings, book pages, acrylic paint and ink, watercolour pencil, postage stamps, sketched images and fabric scraps.

It is quite addictive - not sure what I am going to do with them, but they might end up in some form of book.

See also -

In progress:

The finish:

Paste grain papers

Another diversion - it is a while since I attempted some paste grain papers, but with some leftover wallpaper paste and some "hand-me-down" craft acrylics, decided I could spend a couple of hours playing with materials.

I mixed acrylic paint with the paste and used a small sponge paint roller to apply it to an A3 sheet of 100 gsm copier paper.  The paste stays wet long enough to impress or drag patterns into the surface.  On this occasion I used a plastic fork, a spatula, a silicon brush and a bottle cork.  The papers can be used in bookbinding, collage, etc. - the surface will smudge if it gets too moist when using glue, so I usually seal it with an acrylic medium.