Mixed Media Workshop

I went to a 2 hour Mixed Media Workshop with Kari Foteff from Strathmore today.

Dancing Lady - by Florence Turnour
Steve said, "Are you sure she's dancing? She looks like she's waving off a bee."

She gave us a multimedia journal and guided us to use wet and dry media with the thick paper. She had us use gel medium as a glue, which was enlightening to me. Gooey stuff. I applied a wet wash on the paper, which didn't wrinkle, as advertised. Then I cut out and glued this gal on top. I used a stencil and dry brushed the background with paint Inktense block. When I got home, I outlined her with the Glaze gel pen that I discovered when I made Frog III.

Letter Man - by Florence Turnour

This is a Letter Man that I also made at the workshop. The point of this activity was to attach heavier elements to the paper, which, as advertised, didn't bend. I also used gel medium through an alphabet stencil, which worked nicely.

The Inktense pencils and blocks might have been my best discovery (I was already sold on the paper) in this workshop. They work like watercolor pencils, except when they dry, they are permanent, and do not re-wet.

When I came home from the workshop, the kids were at the Columbia Memorial Science Center, so I settled in with my iPad to watch You-Tube videos of people drawing with Inktense blocks. I was still doing this when the kids came home, and they watched with me for a while. One gal made a background. Stuart said, "That looks like Mars." Benjamin said, "Yeah, it really does. I want to do that."

So out comes the gesso and acrylic paints for a background (sponged). Out comes the light table to trace some bits and pieces of the Curiosity Mars rover. I cut out the pieces for Benjamin because he liked them so much he didn't want to cut them out himself, "You know, in case I cut the wheel off or something." He used white Distress ink to make the dust, and then he glued the rover on top.

Mars Lander by Benjamin Turnour

The multimedia paper stood up well to this treatment as well.