Beeswax and Acrylic

 Our friend S. went to a workshop last year with the artist Crystal Neubauer - where they created collage on the back of acrylic panels, using melted encuastic wax.  We tried to recreate the process with plain old melted beeswax.  I purchased a dozen acrylic panels at TAP plastics - a west coast retailer for all things plastic.  They were so nice. We chose mainly 1/8 inch thick - which is quite reasonable - but you can get thicker if you want.
The piece above was 11 x 14" on 3/8".

 We started by peeling off the white backing from paper napkins.  I then cut out a bunch of birds.  I created a collage withy birds, nests, cages and flowers.  then layered on some sheet music (from a napkin).  then one large dinner napkin fit perfectly as the background for this 12" square panel.

 Same process here - i worked very symmetrical.  You have to work backwards - ie on the BACK of the acrylic.  So you lay down first want to want to show the most.  Kind of the opposite of traditional collage.  You use melted wax to apply the napkins, and a heat gun or quilt iron to smooth it out and remove the excess.

 

Here are some of the art created by my friends:

 Here is a riot of pink flowers.

 More pink flowers with a sheet music background.

And here are some yellow flowers with a bamboo patterned background.  The pieces look lovely in front of a window - where the light can shine through.  But you don't want to put them in too sunny an exposure - or they might melt!

Beeswax Tapestry Workshop a Big Hit!

 With a broad assortment of decorative papers, solids and patterns, vintage ephemera, illustrations and photographs, along with a vast array of embellishment, i hosted the beeswax tapestry class in my dining room this past Sunday.

 Two enthusiastic students got right to work diving into the materials to gather things that "spoke" to them.  As they emerged from the piles - their plans developed.  For one - an homage of sorts to her father and his interests in books, architecture and art.  For the other, a gift for a friend who lives on a magnificent property on the coast of Maine.

 And i tried NOT to use birds in my tapestry - a sort of botanical frolic with butterflies and flowers.  But as you can see - one did sneak in.  But i should get extra credit for staying away from my typical robin's egg blue theme, choosing instead to stick with greens, yellow and orange!

 Working on 16" x 20" stretched canvases - i drew out a 2" grid to help the students with their placement.  I also created a bunch of templates in various sizes to help cut out their papers.

 Both ladies had some requests for additional papers and elements which i was happy to supply from my vast stash.  C. asked for something red - and i gave her a roll of two sided wrapping paper with stars on one side and boats and windmills on the other.  It could not have been more perfect ! She chose to create a band across the canvas with the stars.  She had fun adding  a few images of bathing beauties to evoke a fun summer time beach experience.

 Once all the papers and laid out the first coat of melted beeswax is painted on.

 Then a quilt iron is used to smooth the wax and give it a glossy shine, which we likened to Venetian Plaster.

 Here is my canvas all laid out  - "pre" beeswax and final embellishment.

Here you can see C.'s finished canvas with the addition of her chunky embellishments and oil pastel "grout" for the tapestry.  She chose a grey blue which worked perfectly with the blues in her piece.  The flash washes out the colour a bit - it was much more fabulous in person!

And here is mine. I tried a grey outline for my grid, which was interesting but too flat.  So i layered on some soft brown.  The results were quite pretty.

Here is J.'s almost done.

And the almost finished product minus the oil pastel outlines - which she chose to add later at home. Below is another shot without a flash.  She layered on some mesh fabric that creates texture without bulk.  All the elements she chose relate to her father's interests.  She gave it to him that night - and he loved it!

Beeswax Tapestry Workshop - Change of Venue

The Beeswax Tapestry class will be held this Sunday, June 19th in Novato, CA  - please contact me if you would like to sign up!  We'll spend time gathering papers and imagery to create your personal tapestry composition.  We'll create a grid on a large canvas being careful to balance the elements for weight and colour.  After a break for lunch we'll adhere the papers to the canvas and apply a coating of melted beeswax.  Finally we'll add three dimensional found objects.

This full day workshop is sure to provide you with all the skills you need to create many more personal collages to adorn you walls and give as gifts! 

Beeswax Tapestry Workshop

Please join me for an exciting new workshop at Liquid Marin, and create your own Beeswax Tapestry, Sunday, June 19th from 10 - 4.

This full day workshop includes creating your layout on a large format 16" by 20" canvas.  Next we'll select images, background papers and documents to create your grid.  You can incorporate personal papers and photos you bring along. Then you can layer on tissue paper and decorative napkins to create interest and depth.  A coat of melted beeswax seals in all this beautiful collage.  Next you add three dimensional elements and embellishment.  Finally black (or any colour) edging creates the final grid to seal your tapestry together.

Bring a brown bag lunch or visit one of the charming local eateries in downtown San Rafael.

Beeswax Collage Workshop with Lucie

My friend Lucie taught the first class at Liquid Marin in San Rafael, CA last Saturday.  14 delighted students created an 8 x 10 beeswax collage masterpiece under her guidance.  We have started a new program of craft classes and it was a great way to kick off the series.
This is my piece - using a combination of pinks and neutral papers for a background - i went with a couple of birds (what else?) on branches made from dark purple handmade paper.  I just love how Lucie's technique to add colour with solid tissue paper creates a colourful border.  And the two toned string created a striking counterpoint to the collage.

If YOU would like to take a class with Lucie or me - please check out the Liquid Marin web site for details.  The next beeswax class will be offered on Saturday, April 2nd.  If you would prefer not to wait that long for an opportunity to "get creative" with paper, there will be an Intro to Altered Books class on Sunday, March 13th and an Artist Trading Cards class on Saturday, March 26th. 

In my altered book class you will learn all about this exciting and often collaborative medium.  I will provide the vintage book and all the tools and materials to get you started creating collage inside a hardcover book.

 

In the ATC class Lucie and I will share our different points of view for creating these lovely mini collages - so you benefit from TWO instructors.  Hope to see you there!

Beeswax Tapestry

I created my second beeswax tapestry collage on Sunday, at a play date with my artsy play date buddies. My camera died and my phone camera decided to be petulant as well. So i only have mine to show you. Once the gals put their finishing touches on their pieces, i'll get a second chance to photograph them.
My tapestry came out of searching through my stash looking for inspiration. I planned only to NOT use any birds.  Yeah - i am trying to break out of my comfort zone! I originally planned to use a cabinet photo as the center piece.  But nothing, as they say, "spoke to me".  So i went instead to a drawer of vintage photographs and grabbed the three shown above. The church on the left is a postcard.  the woman and girl was from a book of victorians with their pets, and the couple in the car with a young boy was an actual photograph.
From there i thought ok, how about a house for this family?  How about a floor plan of the house?  I have several house plan books - i love looking through them and imagining i live there.  From there i thought some vintage ephemera - actual bills and legal documents (bought on ebay), one shows a jewelry store receipt.  Then i found the little book on marriage and ripped off the cover.  Then i saw the paris monuments book cover (a copy) and liked how the orange-y and reddish colour story came together.  From there i invented a trip through europe - perhaps on their honeymoon?  I added maps, monuments and postcards.
Once the entire piece was laid out, i trimmed all the papers and glued them to the canvas.  Then coated it with beeswax and added three dimensional objects like the old key, a little spoon, buttons, and lace.  A bit more beeswax, some black oil pastel to outline the patches and voila! A Family Beeswax Tapestry!!

Here is a much nicer picture of the beeswax collage tapestry i did a few weeks ago. You can see all the lovely birds!

Photos curtesy of Lucie Duclos.

Anyone local to the bay area?  Lucie will be teaching beeswax collage classes at Liquid Marin in San Rafael.  Please check out their website for information about upcoming classes.

Grid Collage with Beeswax

 I had the pleasure of spending Sunday afternoon with two girlfriends for a crafty play date.  I made a nice salad with toasted almonds and dried cranberries, Z. brought BBQ chicken pizza, and K. made these delightful strawberry cupcakes - complete with pink heart shaped marshmallows dipped in white chocolate.  Aren't those lace-y paper cups adorable?

 We each created a beeswax coated collaged canvas in the style of Lisa Kaus's "gridlocked" workshop.  It was challenging to get the grid going - but once you had it all laid out - it came together beautifully.  This is K.'s canvas board - her theme was her husbands vintage Dodge and all things automotive.  Isn't it fun how found objects can "represent" other things?  Like the black checkers evoke tires.  The yellow playing pieces could be traffic cones.  Fuzzy dice?
Sorry about the bad camera phone images.  My real camera chose to be uncooperative.  The canvas was not as dark as it appears in the image above.

This is Z.'s canvas with a theme of family.This one still needs the coating of beeswax - which will smooth all the sharp edges.
Also - she might add more colour with some oil pastels. The flash card was altered to read 2 + 2+ 2 which equals 6 - a large number 6 will be adhered on top of the sea glass tiles.  That's for the 6 people in her family.  Actually only 5 - but one on the way!

And this is mine. I went with a lovebirds theme.  Yes - i am obsessed with birds, but i also added a few images and some dictionary pages to represent my husband. I think the central section - underneath the 3-d Victorian window, needs something stronger. there is a page from a book about Mozart and his love for his wife Costanza.  But the skeleton leaf on top is a little pale - maybe a touch of aqua oil pastel will bring out the texture...?
I especially love the effect where i layered napkins overtop of text.  Even the birdcage is from a napkin.  The bird inside - from another paper.  Please click images to enlarge. 

Be sure to check out the world wide web for other examples of Lisa Kaus beautiful work with paper, paint, wood and wax.  And even artwork from students who have taken her workshops and posted images on their blogs.
I'll be doing another one of these collage grids next week with my altered art group.  I wonder what i should do?  How about a moratorium on birds and robin's egg blue...?!

The Perfect Sunday

After a perfectly icky rainy Saturday, Sunday dawned dry and warmer. A group of co-workers met at my place around 10am for a day of shopping and crafting. (My two favorite pastimes that don’t include my husband…!)

First we went to the Rose Bowl Flea market. Let me tell you – if you want bargains, go to the flea market the day after a blinding rain storm, with the risk of rain the day of the sale. I can only assume that is what kept people away. It was deadsville. The paid parking lots were empty. Or maybe it is just the time of year – most people were at the mall or toys r us. Vendors were begging for sales. Right off the bat they would say everything is 50% off. You would have been SO much better off at the flea market.

I picked up a bunch of hand written letters and envelopes from the 30’s for $2 bucks.

And some modern postcards with vintage images - 3 for a buck. This guy was giving stuff away. I could have bought so much more.

Another booth had piles of ephemera for a buck. I got these old contact sheets of family photos.

I just love this sentiment - apparently Ruth will "stir up memories of bygone days"!

The autograph book, plus this 1935 yearbook from a LA association filled with cool old photos and advertising – all for $10.

I picked up two packs of interesting buttons for a dollar.

This heavenly 3" ballet pink satin ribbon was only $4.

And finally a vintage silver Christmas tree stand like this one, but not shiny. I just love the design, it was $10.

– all for $28. So what am I missing? Oh yeah – I picked up a mahjong tile for a dollar. That adds up to $28.

After exhausting ourselves at the market, we had a nice pot luck lunch of empanadas, orzo salad, broccoli quiche and a green salad with cranberries and almonds. I made cookies with a recipe that uses a cake mix and leftover Halloween candy. I used Butterfingers. So sweet – but good.

The group I had over is very creative and not intimidated to dive into my supplies and get started. We did mostly collage gift tags that could be used as ornaments, which we dipped in melted beeswax.

For these tags I used bird patterned napkins over script printed paper. The beeswax makes the napkin translucent, adding depth.

Here are the backs - just wrapping paper.

Here is a promotional CD folder that i covered with striped paper and coated with beeswax. I just gesso'd the CD. Once i decide what to do with it - i'll decorate the CD. It could make a cute card.

Here's the front.

Then I started these larger collages on sheet music as a base. I used female models from a fashion brochure. I plan to add more stuff to these – especially to make them more interesting clothes – maybe in fabric, or decorative papers or fibers. But I only had out all my Christmas themed stuff to work with.

It was a fun day and my first craft gathering here in So-cal. I hope to have many more. My white wall to wall carpeting survived thanks to heavy duty plastic drop cloths. See here to read why that is significant. Who puts white carpeting in a dining room?