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Hey there! Welcome to "Earth & "Sky" :O)

You know all of those packaging papers you've been hoarding? It's time to collect them together and create something beautiful with them!

We'll be transforming tissue paper, recycled brown packaging, maps and prescription papers (lol) into two 'sibling' collages.

You can bring any paint to this project: Watercolour, Gouache or Acrylic. We will be sealing our papers, so Acrylic would work best, as it doesn't 'lift'.... I'm allergic to acrylic paint, so I will be showing you how to use watercolour.

Gel Medium does go over any paint well, apart from thickly laid watercolour or gouache. I found the more diluted lighter-value watercolour behaved really well under gel medium.

Let's look at what we'll be doing in class together:

This class is for those:

Who may be new to collage
Who are looking for a warm up/cool down project
Who want to create a meaningful project, which can be for yourself, or as a gift.
Wanting to explore how to create easy collage papers
Wanting a recycling project (and get use all of the papers you've been collecting!)

What we'll be doing in class:

Using a limited palette
Using Acrylic, watercolour or Gouache
Playing with Asemic writing, or words from your favourite poem, and cool techniques to create texture and movement like paint platter, simple wet into wet circles, brush marks and ripped up paper.
Exploring mark-making with Pigma Micron pens, graphite pencils and mechanical pencil to carve words into wet paint.
Creating collage shapes by ripping up maps, pages from a book, or prescription information leaflets like me :O)
Connecting with gut feeling and intuition when choosing how to arrange our shapes.

So how about we do some flinging, scribbling sploshing and ripping together? You game?

then let's begin!!!!!

Allergies/Asthma: Most people do not have any problem and happily work with acrylics/oils/mediums etc with no ill-effect

But, as your resident canary in a cave, if you want to go for them, Matte and Gel mediums have quite a strong vapour. A few suggestions for my Chronically ill friends:

If you're going to be using gel mediums/acrylic paint for future projects, you could wear a 3M mask? Vapour mask
Open a window nearby if possible
Invest, if affordable, in an air purifier for your work space... a good strategy over all.
Store your 'smellier' art supplies in a place away from your immediate work/sleep space.

Best solution, in dealing with allergies, would be to use a Glue stick, although we're all different. I know friends who still suffer after using PVA/Mod Podge glue. Pritt stick seems to be most tolerated. The only disadvantage is that you can't use a glue stick to create a seal over the top of the collage papers. But then, if you're going to frame it with a glass/perspex front, you won't need to. The only other suggestion I have if you want to seal it, is buy some fixative spray or use hairspray, and spray in a bathroom/shower area or outside, if that's accessible?

I would welcome your tips and suggestions about what has worked for you :O)

Materials:

Fabriano Student Hot Pressed paper. Use any paper you have, ensuring that it is a thick enough surface to 'hold' your collages.

Papers to rip: Maps, pages from a book, newspapers/magazines etc

Packaging Paper: I saved some brown tissue and thicker packaging paper, and had some white tissue paper in my craft supplies.

Nature images: I printed off a tree photo of mine. But you could print off your own images, or again, rip out of books, magazines or newspapers. (I've left files of tree images, for you to download)

Gel Medium: I used Liquitex. You could also use Matte Medium, which is runnier, Mod Podge or PVA Glue. (I prefer Gel/matte medium, as Mod Podge/Pva glue can retain a little tackiness) or a glue stick.

Something to smooth over with the Gel Medium: I use a Wedge: Catalyst Wedge 01 which is very handy, but you could use something like a silicon cooking utensil or bank card. A large brush would also work... but keep in awareness that Gel Medium will ruin your brush if it's not washed frequently throughout the process, and not allowed to dry. :O)

Pigma Micron 005 and 01 in Sepia

Graphite Pencil: Pencil set

A brush for smaller details and mark-making: I used a size 2 and 4 filbert

A brush for mark-making. I used a Size 2 & 4 Filbert

A brush for splattering and laying down thicker paint for our inscribing technique; I used my Jackson's 1/4 inch Kite, but a flat brush would be fab too.

Van Dyke Brown: I used Holbein Van Dyke Brown

Payne's Grey: I used Holbein Payne's Grey

Mounts (Matts): Mount Boards

Masking Tape: Tape

Silja

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