Play Date - Mini Canvases

 Saturday our monthly play date group got together, although there were only three of us instead of the usual 6.  Sorry to miss the three gals who could not make it for various really good reasons!  Our hostess D ordered a bunch of 2" by 2" mini canvases for us to play with.  We each had 9 or more to potentially create a grid like final composition.

 Surprise, surprise, i decided to do something with birds.  You know you keep things that are too "good" to use?  Well i have been "keeping" a bunch of German scrap birds for some special project - so i figured it was time to use them.  the sizing is perfect.  Here you can see me experimenting wiht the layout. 

 Here is after all the birds have been trimmed of the little join-y bits.

 I applied assorted ephemera and lightweight papers is soft blues and neutrals - things like napkins, tissue paper and sheet music. I used gel medium to apply - mostly using my fingers to press and wrap around the little canvases.

 Here they are with the birds glued on top, plus some added embellishment like shell buttons, pearls and a little brass key.

 They look so nice on top of this vintage legal document - i think i'll frame them in a shadow box with this as a background.

 Here is S's work in progress.  She went with an approach to apply shapes and textures to the canvases - then coat everything with white gesso to blend it all together.

 See how interesting a composition this will make, mounted on another canvas.  I doubt very much this will remain white however!  S. is a master of brilliant colours - so i am sure she'll ratchet it up a notch or two with inks and powders.

 D. had fun with her mini canvases - starting by using stencils to apply bright colours with assorted shapes and designs for backgrounds.  She also added color to the edges.  Next she did some stamping - which was "imperfect" due to the soft spot in the middle of the canvases.  yes - these were ligitimate "wrapped" canvases - with a mini wood frame on the back.

 Finally she added postage stamps and completed her artwork with markers and crayons to bring out the colours and designs. A coat of Pine Tar will make them shine.

Look how cool they look on a black background!  Here she was drying them on a black tray.  D. might glue them all together to make a piece of art that resembles a handpainted mexican tile!
Thanks D. for the great idea and your gracious hospitality.  In addition to showing off our altered books, we did a show and tell of other projects we have worked on.  We have some great ideas for next month's play date - but we'll have to get concensus from the rest of the gals!