Friday, April 18, 2008

How Many Licks Does it Take to Get to the Center of a Tootsie Pop?

I have nothing to really say about this post title other than I have wanted to lead with that headline for as long as I have been blogging so I finally decided today was as good as any. Life seems heavy right now and I needed a little childhood skip-ped dee-doo.

I've been dabbling. Stretching. Exxxxxxxpanaaaaading.

The thing that I dislike about trying new things is that I'm not good it, until I am. I won't go into the torrid details but I can tell you that my pencils need sharpening, my middle finger is stained with ink at the nail and top knuckle, there is a 1964 photo on my desk wearing a funny hat, I don't understand noses and I sent Golden an email inquiring about their free lecture demonstrations.


sigh. I'm gonna get better - just you wait and see!

Maggie came by for a little show and tell - she is such a talented woman with the most incredible soul. I am so lucky to share creative passion with her. She was crazy about the book I made in Stephanie's class. I just new she would be. I do believe "Whimsy" is her middle name.




I showed her Paulette Install's classes and she wants to take them too! I have signed up for both. I just can't not take them.

I spoke to Corvus and she is in the midst of an art'ing bonanza. Transfers, gesso, cardboard - oh my! It sounds like she has created some amazing new treasures.

I'm getting the studio ready from summer classes. I have decided to leave the sewing machine up and to put out my painting stash. No point in keeping it out of reach, right?Aidan and I played with packing tape image transfers. He LOVED it! I let him pick out a couple of pictures from daddy's magazine, we put the tape on and he peeled the paper off under water. They turned out great!
I did a sheet of My Minds Eye heavy cardstock and an 8 x8 sheet of girlfriend paper. Rubbing the paper off reminds me of peeling the glue off of my hand when I was a kid (Ok - who are we kidding, I still enjoy doing it!)




Hi Cheryl,

Thanks so much for leaving a comment - . I use Dr. Ph Martin’s Bombay ink. Ali Edwards (sorry for the name drop -) and I chatted about the joy of nibb’ing at Inspired and she said that good ink is essential and that Dr. Martin’s was good. My friend Corvus, just used twinkling H2O’s in her nib (sparkling watercolor paint). She recommends licking the nib before you use it the first time – the acid ph in your mouth makes the ink stick better. Yes, the ink writes over pencil and surprisingly, oil pastels too. Happy Arting!

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4 comments:

  1. InspiredApril 20, 2008 at 8:05 AM

    Am loving your artwork. What brand of ink did you use with the nib pen and can you write on top of the pencil colours?
    Thanks,
    mobilenurse@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 20, 2008 at 5:35 PM

    I love how your journal turned out. The pages are beautiful. So funky – just the way I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousApril 21, 2008 at 4:10 AM

    Hi Jillian,
    We missed Stephanies' class (she hadn't arrived) and I was wondering about the packing tape transfer ...did she use a special tape (what brand? any tips? you seem to have it mastered!) Wasn't Inspired the best!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jilliene DesignsApril 21, 2008 at 10:03 AM

    Hi Paulette.
    Thanks for visiting my blog! Stephanie’s class was really different than I expected – how was Donna’s? What did you guys make? I just went into a trance in Stephanie’s – like a little kid – I just tried stuff without worrying about how it would look. It was very freeing. The tape transfer trick is really cool. Just use any kind of packing tape – she used OfficeMax brand. Your image needs to be printed from a laser printer or photocopier – not an inkjet because the ink will run in the water.. You can also use magazine images and photos. Here are the steps:
    • You cover the entire picture with a single layer of tape – (it doesn’t matter if there is some overlap).
    • Then you rub the tape with a brayer or the bottom of a bottle – just make sure the image is completely adhered to the tape.
    • Then soak your image in warm water (fill the kitchen sink or a Tupperware tub with water and submerge. If you use a sink, you want to either put a catcher over the drain or make sure you have a garbage disposal because the paper pulp will separate from the tape and could clog the drain)
    • After 5 minutes or so start rubbing the paper side of your image to remove the paper backing. Once you get all of the paper off, the image will have transferred to the tape. It should be translucent.

    Have fun and let me know how it turns out!

    ReplyDelete

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