Mandalas in Motion

Cave Painting - Cathedral of the Earth - A Video

All the images in this video are mono prints or a collage of mono prints.
Paint is applied to glass and the print is lifted off, one print is all you get, but the results are often amazing.
I used acrylic paint on painted paper which is then glued to wood panels and finished with an acrylic sealer.
The images in the video are, for the most part, very small sections of the much larger finished piece.

ALTERED ART BOOKS

My sister Diane lives in Texas, so we don't get together to share art projects in person, but Diane came up with a great idea on how to share her handmade Altered Book Collection, she puts them in a slide show format.


These are pages from one of the first slide shows she made in the Picasa Web Album program. It turned out great, and is very close to having the real book in hand.
Diane has great overall concepts for each book she makes. She collects vintage paper and books and combines them in her work, sometimes with light hearted humor, but always with beauty and soul.


It is a great way to show altered books or art books to people without damaging the books, as they are sometimes fragile, or are easily stained with fingerprints. After spending months making these beautiful art pieces, this might be the best way to show them.


Diane has five different Altered Books for public viewing. CLICK HERE TO GO
You will enjoy the visit. When you get to the album web page click on "Diane's Public Gallery" at the top of the web page to see her other altered book slide shows.

Extreme Decoupage

Extreme Decoupaging demands a little background reading before you take on a big project.
Your local library is a good place to start. If your library is as strapped for funds as ours is, then you will find some older books on this subject. That is a good thing. The older books have detailed instructions on cutting, pasting and cleaning, whole chapters on each of these steps. They took their art projects very seriously back in the forties and fifties, even making their own glues and finishes. Okay, that may be too extreme, but that is how my favorite glue was invented.
History of Mod Podge
The inventor of Mod Podge ®, Jan Wetstone, first developed Mod Podge® in the 1960s in her garage. The name of this now-famous mixture came from the term "Modern Decoupage." She tested it on all kinds of surfaces; she even decoupaged a Volkswagen Beetle using bed sheets!
You can see a photo of the car if you go to the website. Also on their website they have instructions for small decoupage projects you might like to try.
I do not use Mod Podge as a finale sealer coat, although you can. All the pieces I make, from fine arts to furniture, are on wood, so I use a poly- acrylic finish, sometimes many coats.

Decoupage - [Mid-20th century. From French , formed from découper “to cut up, cut out,” from couper “to cut.”]

Here is another link that includes some small decoupage projects and information on how to get started.

Extreme Decoupage from the 1960s

These photos came from an old library book about decoupage, printed in the early 1960s. I told you they were extreme decoupagers.


As beautiful as these are, you would certainly need the right room to place them in, the Palace of Versailles comes to mind.
This piece was from Victorian England. Who could have guessed....


The design on the legs of this piece is an interesting idea, but I can't get past the 1960s carpet and drapes.

MAKING A NEW BOOKCASE

In November I made this bookcase. I had been looking for a small bookcase to hold my collection of garden books and could not find either the right size or the right finish, nothing looked right. The above photo shows the side panel. This is an extreme decoupage project, in that every surface is covered with paper. Click on the photo to enlarge so you can see the details.


The top and two shelves are are the same pattern, I used metallic gold paper on the bookcase edges and in the centers of the shelves.


I measured my tallest books and and placed the middle shelf accordingly. The collection fit perfectly.





And this is what I started with, you see them for sale everywhere, sometime even on SALE, as this one was, $19.95. I stopped to look at them because it was the right size but really, really the wrong finish. But think about it, this inexpensive build- it -yourself furniture is laminated with paper and a plastic finish when you buy it and it comes in nice flat pieces, what could be better.
To start you need to sand all the pieces [a belt sander is handy] to give the surface some tooth. Nothing sticks to that plastic finish they put on this stuff.
Then I painted all the papers that I would need for all surfaces, I used acrylic paint as always. I buy large rolls of paper for big jobs and used this for the side panels and back. I paint my own paper but you can use any decorative paper, wall paper or any paper used for decoupage. Just make sure the paper is not too thin and is color fast. Test a corner by rubbing a little water on it. Even if the color runs a bit you can always spray it with an acrylic sealer before you start the project.
I then glued the paper on the pieces of the bookcase, using white acrylic glue, and a hard rubber roller [ a rolling pin works too] to press out extra glue and air pockets. I clean up excess glue with a damp paper towel.
As I went along I marked where the screw holes were on each piece of paper. I glued over the holes and after the piece was dry went back and cut the holes in the paper with a craft knife. Do not try to cut holes when your paper is wet with glue, you won't get a clean cut.
Instead of using the cardboard back that came with the bookcase, I cut a thin piece of plywood, using the cardboard as a pattern. It makes the bookcase very sturdy. After all the pieces were covered with paper and dried[ including the back piece], I put one coat of a satin poly-acrylic finish on all surfaces. Finally it was time to put it all together, I just followed the enclosed instructions.This was followed by five coats of the acrylic finish, lightly sanding between coats. It took me about ten evenings from start to finish and cost around thirty five dollars for the whole project.


Knowing that once the books were in place, not much of the surface would show I opted for a simple design, matching the colors to the room where it was to be placed. But the real fun of a project like this is planning the design. You can make the piece of furniture you have always dreamed of, and cleaning is a breeze, the best thing to use on a poly-acrylic finish is window cleaner on a soft cloth.

PAINTING PAPER WITH AIR

AN EXAMPLE OF AIR PAINTING, WITH A NAVY BLUE BACKGROUND.


AN EXAMPLE OF AIR PAINTING , WITH AN ORANGE BACKGROUND.

Here is a project to try, to get you in the creative mood or just to have some fun.
Lay down lots of newspaper, this could get messy. [Maybe you should do this outside]
Paint a sheet of paper or card stock [any size] with two coats of acrylic paint [any color].
It does not have to be perfect.
While your paper is drying, water down some contrasting acrylic paint colors, a little thicker then for a wash. You don’t have to be too particle about this either.
Put your dried sheet of paper in the middle of the newspaper, and put a few drops of the watered down paint on the painted sheet.
Take a can of AIR DUSTER, that can of air you use to clean your computer keyboard, and attach the little straw that comes with it. Hold the can low and spray the drops of paint across your painted piece of paper.
Keep adding drops of paint and spraying, until you like the finished piece.
This is the poor man’s answer to an airbrush, or a lazy woman’s answer to, “I’m too tired and I hate to clean out the airbrush”.
Using the canned air for this project actually works better then an airbrush.
I will leave the spray techniques up to you and your creative experimenting. Just remember to have fun. I think you will be surprised at what you can do with this idea. You might want to start with a small sheet of paper, so you won’t use all your canned air right away. You might need to get those muffin crumbs off your keyboard.