Psalm Circles

Progression on “Psalm 11:7” artwork

Earlier in the year I created some of my favorite recent batik artwork, using verses from the Psalms as my inspiration. I had been working my way through the Psalms and writing scripture that spoke to me in my journal along the way, making the selection process easy!

Each piece began by writing the verse in some sort of circular form on Unryu paper that had pieces of gold thread imbedded in it. As always I used my trusty Sharpie for that, knowing it can withstand the rest of the batik process without fading.

Beginning of “Psalm 32:7”

I took a wide brush and dipped it into melted wax and blocked off streaks of the pieces so they would remain white and then added light strokes of color with a feathery brush and India inks. Next all the pieces were entirely covered with the wax, crumpled to create cracks for more color to seep in randomly and then sprayed with liquid watercolors.

Covered with wax, crumpled and ready for liquid watercolors

After that application the pieces dried and then the wax was removed to reveal the final outcome of each. All four have been framed in 12×12″ barn wood frames. Here they are:

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Psalm Circles 37:24, 32:7, 33:22 and 11:7

I hope you enjoyed this peek into the process!

Your randomly creative friend,

Lynne

Sticks & Stones

“Sticks & Stones” Mixed media (stones, driftwood) on 24×8″ wood panel $375 © Lynne Medsker

Going back to more of the artwork from last November, this is also one of the first pieces that I developed using the stash of painted rocks that I made. One of the first parts of the process was preparing the sticks to look more like driftwood. I may a foray into our woods and selected a bag full of different sizes/types of sticks that were lying on the ground and then brought them back to the house to prepare. The first order of business was a two-day soak in a soap solution to loosen the bark and clean them. As you can tell the longer/larger sticks didn’t fit entirely in the tub so they were roatated frequently…although a few still never got their “middles” finished. The water jugs helped to keep the smaller sticks submerged while they soaked.The next step was the most labor intensive…peeling off all the bark. Depending on the type of wood some was easy to work with and others just wanted to stick tight, no matter how long you soaked them! Most of them eventually peeled, the ones that were just too stubborn became kindling for our next bonfire. 🙂 Once they were all peeled they went back to the tub, this time to soak in a bleach solution. They bleached out quite nicely! The final step was several days of drying out in the sunshine and fresh air. 

Here’s one of the early versions of the art piece as I was still moving the pieces around. Although the selection of stones changed positions and I added more sticks it still turned out much like my vision. Sometimes it just takes a little time to get there! The sticks ended up in many of the new creations I’ll be sharing with…as well as my Christmas greeting for 2014.  Altough you won’t see them in my next blog post, be on the lookout for them soon!

Lynne

Backbeat #4

A few years ago I created a three-piece artwork entitled “Backbeat”. This spring it was purchased by one of my collectors, with the request that I also create a forth piece to add to the set. I was more than happy to oblige, and the work began.

background for new piece © Lynne Medsker

Next came a layer of sewing patterns to add some detail and guidelines for painting.

A layer of sewing patterns added to the background © Lynne Medsker

 

That was followed by some drippy layers of acrylic ink.

 

After those layers dried it was time to start adding some geometric patterns with charcoal.

Charcoal fingers! © Lynne Medsker

Work in progress, three original pieces nearby for reference © Lynne Medsker

The piece was sealed and then the detail painting began.

Following the painting was adding the dimensional details – including old records & CD’s plus a few acrylic shapes too. Voila! Finished.

“Backbeat #4″ mixed media on 24×36” wood panel © Lynne Medsker

I really enjoy creating art in this style. Since finishing this piece I’ve covered some new wood panels with background, just waiting for me to get to them. Soon? I hope!

Lynne

Conjecture

Well, it’s finally here! The last piece of artwork from last year’s solo show “RE:Imagined, Created, Purposed”.

Beginning with a piece of foam core that would be mounted on a wood panel, I drew and cut out various shapes. Originally I thought I would use one of the panels covered with old book pages but the design seemed too busy for that so I switch to one of the panels I had painted black. 

 

One I had the design decided upon I leafed through my magazine stash and selected images that went together well. I was really excited to include the peacock feather in with the other images. 🙂

“Conjecture” © Lynne Medsker

For a little added interest I used three of the rolled magazine pages that were left from creating “Ceremonial” and “Continuum” for an accent in the upper right corner of the piece. I have more pieces left and have been thinking of other artwork I can use them in so you may see that again in the future!

Next week I’ll begin with some new work and then hop around to get caught back up from last fall and this spring. At least I won’t run out of content for a while!

Lynne

Exploring: Fun

The last two posts have been about the wonderful “IDEA Store” in Champaign, Illinois. Today I will share the original reason for my trip there – a workshop! Presented by artist Michelle Stitzlein, aimed at those who create art with children, we re-purposed plastic lids into creative works of art.

plastic lid assortment

Each person was given a 24×24″ piece of plywood to work on, which we first painted with a layer of paint as we pleased. Since we’d be working with round shapes there would be areas of the background that would probably peek through so this made a much better background than just plain wood. Once the paint dried then we began to arrange the lids into whatever pattern we desired. Look at the assortment of lids we had to choose from:

I think I started and stopped arranging at least three times before mine finally began to take shape like I wanted it to!

After it was  arranged then the hard work started: DRILLING. It was about this time I realized that larger caps equaled less drilling, but it was a bit too late. Good information for future projects though! 🙂 Needless to say, I did NOT get everything drilled to the board before time ran out.

Progress made before class finished

I’m pretty sure my design changed between removing it for transport and re-assembling it when I got back to the studio.

“Fun” 24×24″ mixed media art on wood © 2013, Lynne Medsker

But that’s okay, I like the way it turned out! I think this would be a really fun piece to hang in a kids room or at a daycare, peditricians office, etc. Bright, cheerful and eco-friendly! Here’s a detail shot:

detail from “Fun” © Lynne Medsker

It really gave me lots of ideas for future projects and other materials that could be used to create with. Fun, indeed!

Lynne

Work in Progress, Industrial Mixed Media

Yeah, I decided I needed to describe my creations with a little more detail than just “mixed media” art. Since many of the materials I use are from the hardware section vs. the art supply area I settled on the industrial title.

work in progress #1 (c) lynne medsker

These are some images of recent work, in addition to concrete and wood I’ve been exploring imbedding and attaching objects. Does the image above look like it’s got straws sticking out of it? Actually, it does…they are blocking the concrete from filling holes that were drilled into the wood. The pieces below have (top to bottom) glass, metal wire and paper in them.

work in progress #2 (c) lynne medsker

work in progress #3 (c) lynne medsker

work in progress #4 (c) lynne medsker

Since the time I took these photos I’ve sealed each piece and added a few layers of acrylic paint/ink. There will be several more of those before they are finished!  I will post more images as the pieces progress. In the meantime I’ve got several posts to share with you about recent classes and some of the great art that the participants created.