Assemblage practice

Happy Tuesday everyone!  It won’t be Monday for another week.  :)  Yay!

So in celebration, here is my latest piece.  I wish I had a video to go along with this one, but to tell the truth, it confounded me for a long time.  I’ve actually been working on this one for the past couple months.  It’s a pretty small canvas- only 4*12 inches, but because I didn’t have a clear idea of what it was going to look like when I was finished, I struggled.  I’ve never really done assemblage type works of art before, and so it took awhile before it began to take on a life of it’s own, and there were several moments I had to simply put it aside and work out my frustration on something else.  But in the end, I got there.

My first few layers were tissue wrap covered with modeling paste I had applied over a gear stencil.  I had colored some modeling paste with some gold paint for a different project, and I had a lot leftover that I couldn’t just put back in its’ container.  So I pulled the stencil out, grabbed this canvas, and applied the paste to one of the corners, knowing that I’d come back to it later and figure out what to do with it.  When I did come back to it, I added some tissue wrap and more modeling paste along the other corner, than some black india ink to highlight the gold.  Yes, this project was once very different in color.   I darkened some cheesecloth and began to add metal and chipboard embellishments.  This part was the funnest, actually- taking all the random parts I could find and piling them on the surface.  That was the point where the canvas really  began to develop on its’ own.  Once I added the layers of ink sprays, it was finished and completely different from what I thought it would be.  

There are so many exercises that can increase your skills as an artist.  I think this may be one of the more difficult exercises- working on a piece bit by bit without any idea of what it will turn into or what it means- but it definitely stretches you and your abilities. I’ll have to keep practicing my assemblage techniques and see where they take me.

Supply list-  (this list contains affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase through one of these links I will receive a commission.  It does not change the price or experience for you.)

Tim Holtz tissue wrap

Liquitex modeling paste

crafter’s workshop stencil

cheesecloth

UmWow Studio chipboard

metal findings

tattered angels ink sprays