Some Washi Tape Post Cards

Washi Tape, Magic Mesh, collage, 

acrylic paint rubbed through drywall tape

I photographed these cards

before adding a coat of matte sealing gel

to secure the surface/collage elements.

Pressing/drying between waxed paper 
in a pile of books under weights helps
the (waxy) tape to adhere over
painted surfaces or Magic Mesh.

Purple and Gold Paper Strips Collage

A sheet of card stock painted with 

purple acrylic paint, then drizzled 

with gold acrylic paint, lent itself to 

additional details with a gold paint pen 
and accents with a black marker. 
I cut it into strips, then glued the
strips to a black background. 

The next two cards have some 

Ascemic Writing on them.

For the last card, I glued strips onto a 

piece of black and white scrap book paper,
then added collaged elements.

Mid-February Collage

Starting with a black background (acrylic paint) and some white stencil work, I added yellow and pink (orange?) accents.  

These were fun to put together.

This card incorporates 

painted sheet rock joint tape 

(circle with holes) as well as other collage.

I'm finding after I seal the surfaces 

with matte medium gel,

there is a glare off the sheen 

which prevents clear photography 

of my designs...

Fish Over Paris - Sticker Swap Cards, etc.

"Poisson Sur Paris"

The above post cards were made for an online mail-art group Stickers swap.  The below were extras I made, using fewer stickers.  

 The backgrounds were made from full-sheet card stock, painted on the Gelli Plate.  After the blue acrylic paint dried, I drizzled a thin stream of gold paint in loops over the Gelli Plate and picked up the pattern with the paper.  I was able to get three or four prints from one paint application.  Then I cut the sheets into post card-sized pieces and began applying stickers.

Winter's Back!

Our recent 50-degree day was just a teaser.  Large snowflakes are falling straight down, accumulating at a rate of about 1" per hour.  It's lovely, for now...

I Had To Laugh!

Have you ever said "I would never..." and then later on, you feel foolish?  As I was cropping a picture of a large collage to illustrate an option for a "Fun With Paper Strips" group swap, I didn't pay attention to part of it until it suddenly stood out when I walked by the piece yesterday.  

Back story:  in 2007 an artsy friend invited me to join in with four other women (in different states) on a collaborative art project just for fun.  We were instructed to gather multiples of several objects and send them in to be distributed to each participant, who then had to incorporate them into her own collage design.  

Among the odd items I received were mylar from a helium balloon, stickers, a Tibetan astrology chart, keys, sheet music, some rock salt, a map, feathers, a small mirror, a silk leaf, some sequin waste, a painted rectangle, a tag.  
(It sounds like a scavenger hunt!)

While viewing this strange assortment of elements I was absolutely stumped.  I even resented having to use other people's items to make something, and regretted agreeing to participate.

Attitude?  Oooo-eeee!  
DOES NOT PLAY WELL WITH OTHERS!

Eventually I got over it, but not before I found an image of a pouting woman who I made to sit on some high heeled shoes.  I thought up the sayings, 
"You can't make me wear pointy shoes, 
and you can't make me do group art." 
and 
"This is not ART, this is just layered stuff."  

Keep in mind this was ten years ago, six years before I came across the MMSA site.  Now look where I am.  Isn't that funny? Sometimes our subconscious is trying to nudge us.

I still don't wear pointy shoes but I LOVE making group art, especially collage!  And I really enjoy being a part of an online mail art group.  Who knows where life will take us next??? 

Valentine's Envelopes

More fun with the Gelli Plate printer, also drizzling gold paint over the surface of the plate and lifting off several different "prints."

Repetition And Variation-Themed Post Cards

Squares came to mind for this current group swap 

in which participants were supposed to repeat 

at least one image in  three or more different

sizes or variations, on each piece.

Scrapbook papers served as backgrounds.  Using matte medium gel I collaged torn shapes of hand-made papers purchased from the Mulberry Papers online site. (Don't go there, it's addictive!)  Squares were cut from my own hand-painted cardstock.  With gold and silver paint pens I added dots and Ascemic Writing.   On the second picture, spots were added to the pink circles by overlaying some Sheet Rock Joint Tape backing like a stencil, and rubbing through with a small magenta ink pad.

More Valentines

Picture taken before glueing hearts onto backgrounds

These 1/3-page cardstock cards were first rubber stamped with a roller stamp.  Next I glued narrow strips of brown printed scrapbook paper down the middle.  I added a centered strip of gold-polkadot Washi tape.  Hearts were cut out of Gelli-printed cardstock and the edges smudged with dark pink ink.  I stenciled, rubber stamped and clear-embossed over the hearts. Stickers were added in blank spaces on a few of them. Several sentiments are rubber-stamped on the backs of the cards.