Expanding on the basic principle of layering

Once I became confident in handling the materials for the layering technique: the podge, serviettes and paints, I tried adding a photograph into the creative mix. I don't know how you like to work, but I like to have a 'loose' plan and at the same I like to give the image lots of scope in order for it to emerge according to impulse and whim. 

What I mean by this is: I had the canvas, the photo, the serviette pieces and some of my favorite colours. In my minds eye I was going to give the little girl long curly hair (like my own) by using the black and white stylized design. As I tore the pieces I dropped them onto my photo and a thought slowly emerged: "It looks like fairly wings. I like all things winged and fairy-like, including insects, so I will make her into a fairy". There was my inspiration. Often my creations are as much a surprise to myself as others. This is what I call the 'playful' process and I find it fun. 

Fairy-girl,  Layered technique on  block canvas, November 2011. 

You might be wondering what is going on in this next piece of art. I say "the meaning is in the eye of the beholder". Go ahead, make of it what you want. This is an example of me taking a technique further and further. I use collage for working with concepts that are fresh in my mind. Here the concepts are Past, Present and Future...life is a journey.    

Forest girls, Layered technique on flat canvas, November 2011.

If you want to try this process please bear in mind that it is the journey of the process that you must throw yourself into totally. Try to live in the moment, feel the feelings, whether it is the joy of creating or the frustration of the challenge of creating a new and valuable image out of items that are mundane. The destination then becomes incidental and a surprise: sometimes lovely sometimes not. Enjoy playing in the process. In creativity you have your materials, inspiration, incubation of an idea, intuition to know when to take advantage of mistakes and surprise elements and the conviction of knowing when to stop. But enough said for now. 

I will tell you more later.

Questions of an artistic kind

The next day, after the workshop, my mind did what most creative minds do: it brainstormed many options and became saturated with questions and ideas such as: 

• what if I created a marbled look using string dipped in black ink as one of my layers?

Marbled butterfly, ink, craft acrylics and glitter glue.

• What if I drew my own paisley design to collage onto my canvas for textures?

Girl in the gateway, inks, acrylic paint and serviettes.

• What if I add string and serviette textures and then look for an image, much the same way as when you look for images in clouds? And lastly to enhance the image so that it becomes the foreground I added dry glitter and glue glitter. This makes the butterfly pop out.

• What if I texture with a mixture of recycled paper and serviettes, then stick stars on as a stencil and sponge over a template to create a negative design?

And so that day become my artists 'play' date. I had the freedom to try out all my ideas. It is good to try out even the 'silly' ideas because that is how one learns: what works, what doesn't and how to create something new out of mistakes. The more you try the more you have experienced the more you know how to achieve what you ultimately want.

Next time I will show you how applied what I learnt to making images, covering journals, etc. 

Hands

 You might have noticed that I have been quiet for five months. I won't be explaining my whereabouts but about one thing I will tell you: Last year, in October, I was invited to go to a workshop: ‘to create is to live’. It was based on a layering technique using collage, paint and other creative processes. I find it important to fill my creative well by doing art and going on other creative workshops; this keeps my creativity alive.

After five happy hours of sticking, painting, 'podging', stamping and stenciling (and a wonderful lunch) My Hands appeared.

Layered Hands.

Happy hands

healing hands

caring hands

reaching hands

lifting hands

holding hands

clapping hands

cold hands

warm hands

wringing hands

human hands

ordinary hands

pretty hands

lovely hands

young hands

 old hands

hands belong to all of us

hands link us together

push us apart

I am held

in the Hand

and you are too

It makes me smile

Knowing that I am Held. 

This technique consists of layers of paint, collaging serviettes  for texture, podge, stamps, and stencils. It starts off with a light luminous layer (here it is yellow), then you choose patterned paper serviettes which you collage over in a random torn pattern, you need to separate the two back layers of paper of the paper serviette so that you can create the translucent effect. I used podge to stick my layers down, first you paint the podge on over the paint then place your torn pieces and then paint over it again carefully with more podge. You can also use translucent/clear glue. 

When this layer is dry you can continue layering different chosen patterns from serviettes or you can use stamps and stencils as well. Always wait till the layer is dry; you can use a hairdryer to speed up the process. If you choose a dark colour remember to keep this for last and use carefully otherwise you wont get a very nice effect because the dark colours conceals all other colours and patterns. If you look from left to right in the image below it will give you an idea of the different stages.I used the dark color last to create the image of the tree so you can see that it covered up the patterning where I didn't want it to show and thereby creating the patterned tree.

I felt it was a serendipitous way of creating depth and textures which could then be used for art and image making. It was fun and I felt free to 'play'. I enjoyed being part of the group instead of facilitating a group.

Moving from left to right shows the different stages of building up the layers.

In my next blog I will show you my own interpretations of using this new technique.