Saturday, February 21, 2009

Another Fat Book and Recycling


I am participating in another 120 Fat Book (4 x 4 inch pages) swap on Art Techniques. It is just a technique swap with the theme of using cheap or recycled materials. I chose to make hand made stamps out of sticky backed fun foam. I used white Gesso to stamp the image onto upcycled "chip board" that I saved from cereal boxes, coke 12 packs, used Priority mail envelopes, etc. It absolutely amazed me how quickly the recycleables added up. We have been recycling aluminum cans and plastics for years, but saving all of this extra food packaging was new to me.

After the Gessoed stamp dried, I painted the entire piece with a liquid watercolor wash. The Gesso resists the watercolor, while the background absorbs it. I really like the rich tones that I got from painting on the brown chip board base. I added some accent dots using the eraser end of a pencil and some acrylic paint. I'm ready to send these babies off, and can't wait to see the other 119 techniques!

4 comments:

Judy Rys said...

I'm really looking forward to getting all the techniques too. Love the little books you made.

Michi Michaelson, Orange County, CA said...

Hi Elizabeth!
That is such a cool technique and I am so impressed with the recycled materials you used! I'm excited about receiving my very own page in the mail!!!!

Michi Michaelson, Orange County, CA said...

Hi Elizabeth!
I LOVE your technique and the fact that you used so many recycled materials for the project! I'm looking forward to receiving my very own in the mail!!!

Tangled Stitch said...

This is fabulous too. I wish you lived closer, I drool at the idea of what you could do with some of this stuff I have laying around my house. Beautiful.