Recycled Gift Ideas

We all find ourselves in that seasonal rush to scramble and find Christmas gifts for the family in time for the big day. Sometimes smaller, hand-made gifts hold more meaning, though, so when you have the time to sit down and get a little artistic, it can be a lot of fun. 

One artsy gift idea is making fragrant oil infusers out of used tea bottles. I peeled off the outer wrapper of a clean, empty bottle, and filled it about halfway with vegetable oil (the carrier for the essential oils that give it its fragrance), and put in about 40 drops of pure orange oil and 3 drops of peppermint extract per bottle. 

Then, using old scraps of colored paper, ribbon, string, and twine, I decorated the outside of the bottles. Tape is sufficient to hold the paper to the glass, especially rolled into a circle so it doesn't show, but yarn or twine is what you'll want to use to hold the ribbon to the bottle. You can also cut out some decorative paper and cover the cap, as well.

Then, for the infusion sticks, (which are traditionally long wooden rods inserted into the open bottle, which absorb the oil and disperse the scent in the air,) I used 6 unused chopsticks from take-out Chinese restaurants and bundled them up with string, attaching them to the outer bottle. To use, simply take the cap off and place the sticks in. Unlike a candle or lamp, do not light or use fire around these. Whenever the bottoms of the sticks are thoroughly soaked in oil, (a few days) flip them around to keep the aroma circulating.                              

Another creative gift idea is crocheting or knitting drawstring pouches and filling them with a loved one's favorite soap. (I like the organic, hand-crafted types.) Knit or crochet a 5 in. x 7 in. rectangle, and "sew" the edges together using the same yarn you used to make it, leaving one end open. Then finger-crochet a 1 ft. chain and weave through the fabric near the opening, about one inch down, making sure the two tails come out level on the front. You can then insert the soap (or other gift of your choice) inside, and pull the cord taut, and you've got your drawstring bag. :)            

                                                                       I hope these gift ideas help everyone have a      wonderful holiday; and a Merry  Christmas to  all.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Monarch's Journey

The painting is finished, and it's truly been a great adventure. Each time we produce a new painting, we learn a little bit more about art, so I really enjoyed this project, even though it was a commission, and not my own idea.

The butterfly is the final detail here; the colors I used on his wings were various blends of peaches, white, orange, yellow, and brown. The borders are black with pale bluish-white spots. Overall, I'm happy with how it turned out!

The Flowers

After pulling out the shapes in the background, I started building layers in the foreground, namely on the flowers and the butterfly. I haven't finished the foreground yet, but you can see the beginnings of small brushstrokes with magentas and blues on the flowers. Generally speaking, you can capture a sense of shadow by the use of violets, which I placed on the left side of the flowers, since the light source is on the right side. The part of the object that faces the light source is more white. Anyway, this is just an update on how the painting is going---I'd recommend looking back at the photos on the past few posts to see the journey it's undergone, and how it's coming along. The artistic process truly is an interesting thing. :)

Until next time!

Butterfly Painting

The painting is definitely starting to look more like a painting now! (By the way, this photo was taken under florescent light, which is why it has a yellow glow; in reality, it's a more "green" green.)

So, you may be thinking, how do I start? How does the painting get from point A to point B? A teacher once told me that if you're near-sighted, you can squint at an image (such as the photograph I'm using as a reference for this painting) and separate in your mind the areas of light and dark. Then you "blob" on those general areas, and after time, and layers, you refine them. Well, I may not be nearsighted, but I mixed a dark green and painted on the blotches you see in the upper right, a dark brownish-green for the "stripe" that follows, and a dark green, nearly black, once more for the floral leaves at the bottom right (and on those I used a sponge brush---it's great for capturing the cluster shape!) Later, I overlapped lighter greens, turquoises and yellows over these with finer, more whimsical strokes to capture the leaves that are getting sun exposure. This is where the medium green of the background comes in handy, because you just "pull" these 3D shapes out with different tones and shades, without having to paint texture over 100% of the surface.

One thing to keep in mind is that the colors don't have to be completely mixed for this sort of grassy background; a little variation is nice. If you've ever seen Durer's "The Large Turf," you'll know what I mean. So, for all my perfectionist friends out there, if you over-mix your paint, it may not have the same complex subtleties. This is especially true for the grass blades: layers of pear-greens, evergreens, browns, yellows, blues, and violets, semi-blended, make the grass look more real, along with varying values (darkness).

Next step coming soon!

Painting with Acrylic

Recently I got a commission to do a painting, and made the choice to use acrylic paint. Today I realized, "Wait, I've been talking a lot about painting with acrylic on my blog, but it's been kind of sporadic, and I haven't specifically dedicated a post to it." So, I figured since I'm working on a project right now, I can sort of give a demo for each step of an acrylic painting---at least Joelle-style. 

I will warn you now, my way of making art is a little "all-over the place," and doesn't really look like art until the very end, when I tie all the loose strings together. So, if you're having trouble following the process, just message me or wait until the final post for the project is up and maybe then the "big picture" will help.

One technique a lot of art teachers recommend when using acrylic is blocking out the general shapes and areas with a base color. This base color is often light or medium in shade, because some acrylic paints are translucent when you coat a light layer over a darker one, and it can look tacky. If you make that mistake, it's not impossible to fix, but takes several coats of white to amend the problem.

Please take a look at the base layers I've painted, and I'll tell you what I've done so far:

Since this is based off of a photograph I took of a monarch butterfly, I have a very reliable reference picture, which can be seen below. I used a large (3/4 in.) nylon brush to paint a green background, avoiding the areas where I previously sketched the main components of the composition. This green is called "Roi Evergreen," and normally I don't use paint straight out of the tube, but it was a good medium grass-color that would be just the right tone for a base layer, not too light or too dark. This way, it will be easier to bring out the highlights and the shadows. Since the major color in the monarch's wings was peach, that was the layer I chose for that shape, and a light lavender for the flowers on the thistles. Base layers don't have to be perfect, even coats, but they should offer a good foundation.

Here's the photograph:

More to come!

Finished Welcome Sign- Plus extra tips!

The Welcome Sign project is finally finished, and it's great to see the piece in its complete form. It makes a nice, rustic entrance decoration for almost any home, and is just fun to make in and of itself. :)

As you can see, I added a twine flower and border to the piece, and glued the driftwood down. 

Any hot-glue or super-glue works; I used both. 

If you want to use a water-proofing agent to coat the piece, it's important to follow the directions on the can. You may choose not to water-proof it, since the stuff can be highly flammable; but, if you do, I'd recommend a heavy-duty version, like the kind used on shoes. You'll want to spray 2-3 even layers, going in rows, across the piece to give it a good coat. The purpose of this is to prevent the chipping of the acrylic paint with weather/age, so spraying the twine and found objects really isn't necessary. 

Enjoy!

Welcome Sign Continued...Almost Done!

As the title indicates, our welcome sign is almost complete. I've painted on the daisies and blue-sky pattern letters, and it has an over-all welcoming outdoor feel. After painting the surface, I also chose earthy colors to cover the sides with, although you can't see those in the picture. I would choose colors that compliment the overall composition, but some nice earth-tones for outdoor artwork are muted greens, reddish browns, and dark golds. I would follow the same general rule for painting the back, which may or may not be visible depending on the owner's choice of display.

After painting the surfaces, it's time to place your found objects and play around with a composition that is aesthetically pleasing. I still intend to add twine and other stones to this piece, but here's what I have so far:

The two pieces of drift-wood on either side, and the stone at the bottom-right, all help give the piece balance and an earthy feel. This is important criteria to consider whenever you're arranging a piece of artwork: go with your gut, and if something feels/looks off, it probably is. 

I decided to use a strong super-glue to attach my found objects, and am debating between glue or nails for attaching the twine. Nails would look more rustic, but it's also important to be cautious and not damage the work. If anyone has suggestions, let me know! The piece should be finished in the next post. :)

Follow-Up on Welcome Sign

The next step in crafting a Welcome sign is coating the board in gesso. I start in one direction, such as portrait orientation, and brush a single layer on. Then, after it dries, I brush on a second layer in the opposite direction (landscape.) While the layers of gesso are drying, I dab the edges of the board, which are more spongy in texture, to fill in the craters. Once dry, you can flip the board over and cover the back in the same manner as the front. (I'd recommend doing the whole process over several layers of newspaper.) 

(Also, my brush had fresh gesso in it when I took this photo. I would not recommend letting it dry with the paint in it, or forgetting about it, during the process.)

I actually changed my Welcome-sign design since last post. Someone pointed out to me that "Welcome to my home" carries the connotation that the owner of the piece is single or lives alone, and changing the phrase to "our home" would have just the opposite connotation. To make the sign more versatile, I changed the phrase to "Welcome to this home."

Also, though still rustic, I decided to replace the chicken and tree with daisies (which only have stems right now), and to fill the font in with a sky-blue, cloud pattern. Most of what you see in the painting below are just base layers, meaning that I haven't gotten any of the details in yet, and the design is still a little rough; but the concept is present in that the warm colors help establish the mood of a welcoming, warm home. Here's what I've got so far:

This upcoming week I'll be cleaning up the edges, adding daisies, clouds, and maybe even butterflies, and also looking for found objects. My hope is to have some smooth stones and twigs to paste onto the surface, and twine to either crochet or line around the edges. If anyone has any questions about the painting process, (I'm using acrylic,) feel free to ask! Until then, have a great week. :)

The Welcoming Committee

Yesterday, while I was speaking to one of my mother's friends about a commissioned piece of artwork, the idea popped into my head of designing a piece that would not only be a fun project, but also compliment someone's home. After all, whenever people buy artwork for a home or business, they consider how it enhances the space. 

Growing up in the Midwest, I've seen a lot of cute welcoming mats in front of doors, a lot of decorative key-stones and garden-gnomes, and LOTS of signs that say phrases like, "Welcome to our home!" or "Mi casa es tu casa." I wanted to make a piece of art that would act as a welcoming committee for a house, that would combine found objects and natural materials to make the project meaningful and fun. 

Another part of the inspiration was the fact that I had three slabs of fine-grain, heavy-weight particle board that I thought of gesso-ing over and making paintings with. It soon occurred to me that even though they would make great "canvases," they were far too heavy to place hanging fixtures in, as they would tear the wall, or be torn themselves. So, I decided the boards will make a great sitting decoration, something that can lean against a brick wall on someone's porch. 

After coating the board with a layer of gesso, I plan on painting some background images (with acrylic paint) of flowers, trees, and a chicken—your basic rustic scenery. Then, in the foreground, will be the words, "Welcome to my home" in stylistic format. Once the painting layer is finished, I plan on applying bits of sea glass, stones, flattened leaves and flowers, twine, etc. onto the surface using molding paste or some other adhesive. After the colors and shapes are all in, the board can be sealed with matte medium or a water-proofer, since it will be outside. 

Here's a very basic sketch for the background-painting:

Hopefully it will be cute! This is a slightly long-term project in that it can't be done in a typical afternoon, so I'll be posting every few days to once a week on the step-by-step process as I complete it myself. Keep your eyes peeled!

Different Way of Using Oil Pastel

So, when getting a fundamental art education, they always say, "don't break the rules." I think it's very important to know the rules, for sure, because without them artistic techniques and proper use of media wouldn't exist. Nevertheless, great art wouldn't exist without breaking some of the rules---impressionism, modern art, abstract art, and other styles would never have come into being without some rule-breaking.

Now, I don't consider myself a "great" artist---I haven't lived long enough---but I have experimented with a little bit of tradition-breaking in certain media. Today I'll be talking about techniques I tried out with oil pastel, since it can be a frustrating medium to use at times.

The problem I encountered with oil pastel was the simple nature of it. It's sticky. It doesn't blend well. It doesn't build opaque layers on itself easily, and if you try to blend colors, you end up rubbing the oil pastel stick hopelessly on the other color, without any of it getting on the paper. Consequently, a lot of oil pastel pieces look streaky or patchy like this:

(I do not own this piece or the rights to it.)

There's nothing wrong with this patchy style, and I like this flower-piece, but I wanted my work to have a smoother feel to it. My oil pastel, called "Out of the Darkness," I completed using my fingers as the principle tool of pastel-application. Since your fingers have natural oils in them, they actually work really well for blending and smearing, where the sticks themselves can fall short.

Out of the Darkness

Where you see the sky turning black, I got that sense of translucency by rubbing the oil pastel across with my index finger. On the grass, I applied several parallel curved lines about the same shape as the hills, and vertically dragged my finger down the lines from one end to the other, causing that rippling, billowing effect. Later I came in with straight white lines to give the scene a glowing appearance.

Where I didn't break the rules was in the water; it appears to have purple reflections, but that was actually pink pastel I was applying on top of the blue. As you can see, it didn't come off very well. The only reason I didn't try to make it more pink was that I felt the cool purple would better fit the color scheme.

Hope my "discoveries" benefit all you artists out there! If anyone would like to purchase this piece, they can contact me via my profile.

Fun Summer Art Project

In the past couple of years, my observation has been that more artists are producing pieces using recycled or found objects. Either they do it out of environmental concern, the desire to be frugally creative, or to simply impress the world with the art they can create out of every-day things that surround them. For me, all three motives tie into my recycled artwork, alongside my desire to use my craft skills in a non-conventional way.

Today I'll be focusing on hanging wall-art. Although most of us don't think about it, almost every frame has a sheet of cardboard in the back, pressing the contained piece to the glass. This is usually hidden from human eyes, and the old saying, "out of sight, out of mind" holds true. Sure, we could condemn cardboard as tacky, but I began to see hanging cardboard as an overlooked idea. Why not make artwork out of the frame?

       Some basic materials for this project include:
       -Smooth, undamaged cardboard
       -Old yarn, string, lace, fabric
 -Scraps of craft paper, plastic, old notebook covers, etc.
 -Tea wrappers & sterile food packaging                                            
 -Elmer's glue & hot glue
 -Scissors
 -Needle & thread, if needed
 -Butcher Paper
 -Acrylic paint & brushes


This kind of project is fairly open-ended, but one thing is sure: you'll want to try to form a balanced composition out of the objects you find. I spent the first few minutes of each project rearranging scraps over the work surface, cutting them, reshaping them, until I was satisfied.
Second, it's important to establish a slightly more professional quality to your piece, especially considering that it's made out of "trash." One way of giving it a clean edge--literally--is to cut the butcher paper into 1-inch strips and glue it around the sides of the cardboard to hide the corrugation. To avoid a wrinkly gluing job, I would recommend using a paintbrush to apply the glue and smooth it over. (Just remember not to let the brush dry with the glue in it! :) ) Once dry, the butcher paper blends in with the cardboard and you're left with a clean, smooth plane.

From here on out it's up to you to glue down the recycled elements carefully (and if you're using hot glue, quickly) and make sure everything is attached securely. If you're going to use acrylic as part of your composition, I would apply it early on in the layering process, unless you want it to overlap fabrics and papers.You can also sew, knit, knot-tie, weave, or do any other method of embellishing, if you want.

Lastly, it's important to fix your artwork to hang on a wall. Since this was a recycled-art project, I used a soda-can tab and gorilla glue as a fixture on the back. The glue takes about 2 hours to dry, so it's not a bad idea to check on the tab and make sure it's level during the process. Once it's ready, you can hang it on a nail in the wall!

Update on Painted Shoes

As promised, I've posted some pictures on how the painted shoes are holding up. The color is still bright and vibrant, most likely since I coated the acrylic with water-proofer, but there is some evidence of wearing. Where the natural creases form in shoes from walking, the paint acquires faint cracks and the fabric develops creases. Some people enjoy an aged look to their shoes, but if you're not one of them, you can always touch up the areas of trouble with a small amount of paint, and just re-proof the region. The only issue with that method is that you're left constantly revising the paint job, so I'd recommend it for painted shoes with a design that's difficult to replicate, or shoes that have some sort of sentimental value.

The Community Mural

The Fine Arts Academy ended on Saturday, and each of us artists dispersed in different directions toward our homes. We weren't left without a memory of the artistic community we had there, however, since the community mural was finished. I enjoyed the process of painting it, especially being able to collaborate with other artists, even if they didn't consider themselves painters. The 6 larger bubbles representing each artistic discipline from left to right are: creative writing, instrumental music, theater, dance, visual art, and vocal music. The large orange one has the Missouri Fine Arts Academy logo inside.

 Since I was part of the mural class, I was allowed to help paint the larger discipline bubbles--I primarily worked on the vocal music bubble with the mouth and microphone, on the far right--but each Academy-member was also given a smaller, individual area to work on. A lot of students painted encouraging phrases or images, and shared what they felt empowered them as artists. Since I feel inspired by nature, I decided to paint a droplet of water for mine, so the blue sky in the background could show through. 

This was a great learning experience, especially since it required more human interaction than most painters are used to. I benefited immensely from choosing to sacrifice certain ideas to the good of the group, and learning to appreciate approaches to art that are different than my own. I hope to participate in another mural project someday, and will never forget what each contributor, each artist, takes away from it.

Painted Shoes!

One typical day at high school, while sitting in my history class amid the boredom of names, dates, and places to remember, my eyes drifted toward the floor. I noticed my friend's knock-off All-Star shoes under the desk next to mine, and was enthralled by the star-burst pattern on their black background. After class I couldn't resist asking where on earth she got them, only to have my hopes of acquiring some galactic shoes of my own crushed when she said she painted them herself.

"Really?" I was incredulous. "You painted those?"

Well, being the curious artist I am, it wasn't long before I bought a pair of white shoes and got my acrylics out. Since the fabric was porous, I had to apply several layers of paint to gain good coverage, and work in small sections so I could blend before the paint dried. You may be able to avoid my mistake if you use a paint-thinner, such as matte medium, to slow the drying time. Nylon brushes were the best for this project, since they work especially well with acrylic.

As for the over-all composition, I blocked out the flower shapes and painted the background first, so I wouldn't have to worry about messy edges. Covering the elastic parts on either side also kept a clean edge. If you decide to paint your own shoes and find that paint drips over the rubber siding at the bottom, you can wipe it away with wet tissue before it dries and still have that clean craftsmanship. Once you're satisfied with the shoes' appearance, you can spray them down with some water-proofer in a well-ventilated area. The water-proofer doesn't alter the appearance at all, so the shoes can stay shine-free.

If anyone has any other ideas for water proofing or sealing, let me know--I'm always open to new methods!

Part of the reason some photos of art being posted have been delayed is because, ironically, I've been plunged into a world of artistic wonder in the past few weeks, with one week to go. I'm attending the Missouri Fine Arts Academy this year, an amazing program for high school artists all over Missouri to collaborate and produce fantastic work. Unfortunately, being away from home (and my laptop) has inhibited my blogging, but we can expect it to pick up in the next few weeks.

Some of these "works" at the academy can include the experience itself, because there's a concentration here of some of the most talented singers, instrumental musicians, visual artists, actors, creative writers, and dancers from all over the state. It truly is a privilege for me to be around so many other young artists from  different disciplines who appreciate what I do, and what we can do together.

One project in particular that I enjoyed was our community mural, which unites all the disciplines in a creative way. We decided to paint an image of a hand with individual and collective "bubbles" springing forth as a symbol of creative empowerment. The image also abstractedly depicts a tree, symbolizing our growth. The mural is still in the process of being finished, and has yet to have the discipline-specific bubbles painted in, but seeing the process is super exciting!

What's the Point?

Hi everyone!

Sometimes when our talents bring us to a point in life where we can do nothing but step forward, we feel the need to share our vision with others. This might be because the creative process drives us to seek and integrate imput from different sources, or to grow into the professionals we desire to be.
Either way, all of us desire a sense of community that serves as a wellspring of ideas, inspiration, and learning. Whether we're artists, teachers, innovators, etc., all of our thoughts are connected and can bounce off of each other in profound ways.

So, why is this community so important? Personally, I'm beginning this blog as an artist who would like to get her work out in the world and grow in her abilities, while also helping and inspiring others. I believe working together as artists is indispensable in this technological, fast-paced world, and consequently the primary purpose of this blog is to connect.

As a high-school artist, I've been taking several advanced art classes to improve my abilities, aside from working on personal projects. Most of my inspiration comes from my faith, Mid-Missouri's landscape--thus the blog name "Mid-Missouri Paintbrush"--and the people I know and observe. I hope my future posts inspire creativity in each of you and help us all grow into better artists and individuals.

More on my art later!