As part of my “Creative Every Day” challenge for this year I’ve been working in an old book that was cut down and had a hole punched through the edge so it can be clasp shut with a chain.
Here are a few of the first projects I’ve done in it:
I also did a two-page spread of this lovely lady and her funk and funky hair:
I have done a few other things since then but I’ll save them for another post. Have any of you been following the “Creative Every Day” challenge? What have you worked on?
Lynne
I’ve been working on two large pieces of art featuring butterflies. Today as I was waiting for some of the layers to dry on those two pieces I took time to create three smaller butterfly pieces. Using the batik style I’ve been fond of lately I started by drawing them with a Sharpie on some hand made paper.
After the outlines were down I added color with my Pitt pens that are full of india ink. Love me some Pitt pens!!
The next couple of steps involve wax being applied on the surface to make a resist when I spray liquid watercolor onto the paper. The first layer of wax just covers the part of the the drawings I don’t want to blend with the background color. After that has been sprayed on and dried I cover the entire piece with wax. Then comes the part that continues to make me nervous – wadding up the paper into a tight little ball to crack the wax in a random kind of way. Then (gently) unfolding it and spraying the piece again, this time with a contrast color to make random lines throughout the piece. I used black watercolor on these pieces but have some white ink on order than I’m anxious to try for a different result.
The final step is to place the waxy art between sheets of newspaper and iron it with a hot iron, which pulls the wax out of the art and leaves it on the newspaper. Sometimes this takes a few ironings before it’s totally wax free. Ta-da! Art! Well, okay, I did go back in with some gel pens and add a few details. Then the ta-da happened. 🙂
Rather amusing is that these quick little pieces are more exciting to me than the larger ones are right now! Go figure. I’ve added these three to the “Giftables” page on my website so go pick out your favorite and give it a home!
Lynne
Getting back to sharing the process images of the artwork I created for last November’s show at ArtSplash Gallery in Carmel, Indiana. 
All the pieces had materials and inspiration drawn from nature, this particular piece started as a fallen branch that my grandson found for me while he was playing back in our woods. I was given instructions to “make some art” with it, so that’s what I did.
Most of the bark had fallen off, whatever hadn’t I striped and then smoothed off any rough spots. The very bottom of the branch was split so I ended up cutting that portion off. I still ended up being four foot in length! After it was cleaned up I began adding designs to it in black.
Once the entire piece was covered then it was time to fill in the designs. Much of it was done using Pitt Artist markers, which lay a nice layer of India ink into tiny places. The black & white areas were painted with F&W artist acrylic inks with designs added on top of the white sections with Gelli glaze pens.
After the painting was done it was looking pretty good but I just felt like it was too tall & skinny and needed a little variety to it, width wise. Out came the drill and I (carefully!!) drilled holes in it, gradually using larger bits until I could fit this aluminum wire through, bending and curling it in different directions until I was happy with it.
Ta-da! This is one of several “branch” pieces in the body of work. I’ll be posting more down the line.
Later Gater!
Lynne
The title sounds like some covert operation, doesn’t it?
Surprise! It’s sculptures instead. 🙂
The wood bases that hold these stones were shaped and carved from balsa wood, making them much lighter than they look.
The stones were arranged and more cutting/sculpting done for them to fit snuggly in the center of the wood. (Okay, yes, they were also glued quite well in one of the final steps, I’m not that talented with wood working yet!)
As you can tell, the stones and were rearranged quite a bit before the final steps were taken.
I decided to use stones that had been colored with ink as the accent stone for each of the sculptures, from this selection:
Once the wood pieces were carved they were sanded, sealed and then colored with inks to get their patina. The center of each piece was painted black and then the stones were all glued into place. Here are two more images of the finished pieces from a different angle:
I really enjoyed working with wood again to created these, and discovering the right sizes and pattern for the stones was quite a challenge. I hope you enjoyed the peak at their creation!
Lynne
It seems like the prep and creativity for the new show in November centered around rocks! I’ve had a blast exploring on the different ways they can be painted, colored and incorporated into artwork. Here are a few images of my explorations, I’ve left a pencil in the photo of several to give you a gauge of the sizes.
How I’m incorporating these into my artwork? Aaaah, well, you’ll just have to wait and see. 🙂 In the meantime I can tell you that, after some requests, I’ll be scheduling a couple of workshop in the next month or two so YOU can create your own art on stones. Look for those to be posted soon!
Lynne
This piece was created last winter/spring and never made it to the blog. So, belatedly, may I present “Monocromatic”! Creating using a mixture of markers, charcoal and ink here are images of the piece in progress:
As you can tell I was busy creating instead of taking photos of my process. It happens sometimes!
Next post will be another tree from winter/spring, this one with a tropical feel. Look for it soon.
Lynne
Due to a scheduling conflict (and a delay on getting running water installed!) the first workshop in my new studio has been pushed back until October 18th! All the details are below, the only change is the date. I hope that you can attend, I’m anxious to have some printmaking fun with you!
Saturday, October 18th join me for a fun day of exploring printmaking on gelli plates. Come prepared to be messy and to leave with LOTS of prints! This simple, press-free, method of printmaking is great fun and hard to stop once you get started. I’ll provide all the materials, some tips & techniques and a bit of guidance along the way – you provide the enthusiasm!
If you’ve wanted to try this fun art form this is a perfect way to check it out before you purchase any supplies. If you enjoy it as much as I do the plates will be available to purchase at a reduced price at the end of class so you can continue printing at home.
We’ll start at 10 a.m. and continue to play until 4 p.m. that day. I’ll have coffee and pastries available in the morning and ice tea and cookies in the afternoon, as well as bottled water all day. Bring a lunch with you (I have a refrigerator and microwave in the studio) so you don’t have to leave during the fun!
To allow each person a lot of space to spread out and work I am limiting the class to four students (note: I have two signed up already!) so be sure to sign up soon! Cost per student is $95. Register online at www. lynnemedsker.com on the “Online Registration” page under the “Instruction” tab.
I can’t wait for this fun day to get here!
Lynne
A recently finished piece!
This was a fun project that I started for one reason and finished just because I loved making it. 🙂 Originally thinking I’d enter it into a competition, I didn’t get it finished before the deadline but that didn’t stop me from completing it. The drawing/coloring of all the mandala “leaves” was much more time consuming than what I thought! 
After getting them drawn it was on to adding the background paint and then it needed to dry for a while, it had gotten quite saturated!
Once it was dry, the first details I tackled were in the tree trucks.
Then on to the leaves. That was the slowest part of the process. 
I used a semi-limited pallet so that the piece would have some continuity, which added to the challenge. 
The finished piece is still in the studio as I decide how to frame & display it! I’m also thinking it needs a better title than “Mandala Tree” – what do you think??
Lynne
It’s finally time for a workshop in my new studio!
Saturday, October 4th join me for a fun day of exploring printmaking on gelli plates. Come prepared to be messy and to leave with LOTS of prints! This simple, press-free, method of printmaking is great fun and hard to stop once you get started. I’ll provide all the materials, some tips & techniques and a bit of guidance along the way – you provide the enthusiasm!
If you’ve wanted to try this fun art form this is a perfect way to check it out before you purchase any supplies. If you enjoy it as much as I do the plates will be available to purchase at a reduced price at the end of class so you can continue printing at home.
We’ll start at 10 a.m. and continue to play until 4 p.m. that day. I’ll have coffee and pastries available in the morning and ice tea and cookies in the afternoon, as well as bottled water all day. Bring a lunch with you (I have a refrigerator and microwave in the studio) so you don’t have to leave during the fun!
To allow each person a lot of space to spread out and work I am limiting the class to four students so be sure to sign up early! Cost per student is $95. Register online at www. lynnemedsker.com on the “Online Registration” page under the “Instruction” tab.
I can’t wait for this fun day to get here!
Lynne
A Randomly Creative Blog 