Michelle G Brown | Mixed Media Art

Review of Janelle Nichol’s online mixed media class “Fashionista”

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This article was written by Anjuli Johnson

Mixed Media class, Fashionista

I wanted to give myself a big break before writing this review, because I find when I allow myself time, I hold on to the main parts I took away from the class, and forget the rest.  What did I really learn from Janelle Nichol?  Was it more than just a fun class? Is it something that I’ll continue to draw on as I keep creating?  Giving myself a month to write this has made me understand that yes, it was more than a fun class.  Her techniques and instruction have influenced my work and made me a better artist.  I go back to what I learned often and am so grateful I took this course.

mixed media art background with flourish stamping and calligraphy from mixed media class.

The main thing I took away from the Fashionista class was how she pushed us to keep going, keep working and see what happens, especially when working abstractly and with backgrounds.  I tend to add two layers at most, because I get so attached to the elements I’ve added and I want them all to show on my pieces.  I came into this workshop with the same attitude.  I began by saying “Ok, this is more than I usually do, but I have to follow the directions…” which progressed to “Dang, this is a lot and I’m kind of tired of working on this background.  Can’t we just stop now?”  to finally saying “Wow, I can’t believe how awesome this looks… I need to do this more often!”  I found that when I followed Janelle’s instructions to keep working, my backgrounds took on a depth that they’ve never had before, and that experience has carried over into the work I’ve done since, including some commissioned pieces.

mixed media class review, using layers of paint, stamping, text, calligraphy, and stencils.

I loved this workshop because it was detailed, encouraging, and Janelle was very knowledgeable; but I especially loved how it pushed me to do things I was uncomfortable with.  It’s a long class, but Janelle has split it up into several parts, so it’s easy to take breaks and come back if you need to.  She gives a full list of supplies and carefully explains what she’s doing and using, which makes it easy to follow exactly, or substitute other supplies in if you don’t have something or want to use something else.

hand written calligraphy as an added layer in the mixed media grunge background for Janelle Nichol’s mixed media class, “Fashionista”.

I would definitely recommend Janelle’s classes.  She’s an artist that I am proud to have learned from.

You can find Janelle’s Fashionista Class here on SkillShare

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Anjuli Johnson is a Mixed Media Artist from Raleigh, NC.  She began her art career as a scrapbooker, and it’s been an evolutionary process every since.  She loves all things mixed media- paper, glue, paint, canvas, pens, wire, gears… the list goes on and on.  She is constantly trying to push through her fears to discover and develop her talents, meet new people, and learn from and inspire those around her. Facebook.com/TheFarPavilion

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Disclosure: Access to this course was supplied by Janelle Nichols for the purpose of review. All opinions are that of the MixedMediaArt team. Some links on this page may be affiliate links and any purchases help to support the ongoing work by MixedMediaArt.
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Using Nature as a Substrate

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This article is written by Sandee Setliff

Looking for something different to use in your art? Then why not try substrates nature has provided for you.

Displaying art on a bark substrate.

Substrate is just a fancy word for the underlying material on which you choose to work on, like paper, canvas, wood or in my case…a piece of bark that had fallen off a tree.

Sometimes my art starts with a walk in the woods, picking up bits and bobs from nature that inspire me. It can be a shape, or perhaps a texture that captures my imagination or just something I like to collect, like leaves and bark.

I brought home this odd shape piece of bark and it sat in my collection bin for awhile before I finally knew what to do with it, for you see, the pieces need to speak to me too. Originally I was going to do this piece on a large leaf but when I began to plunder around in my bin, the bark remnant stood out, like it was calling to me. I already had painted my (self portrait) caricature of an artist, cut out the butterfly and laid out a twig to use, all that remained was printing out a daily affirmation and arranging my elements on the bark to see if everything fit.

Arranging the elements on the substrate to be glued down

Tip:

Once I had arranged everything I began the gluing process. Gluing on an uneven surface can be a bit tricky and one of my go to glues is from Helmar called Liquid Scrap Dots because it conforms to the bumpiest, roughest surface you can imagine and creates a smooth base for even the thinnest of papers.

Using specific glues for specific needs will make the project easier to complete and will make your work more professional.

The last thing to keep in mind is that when using nature for your art also means that the art work will not be permanent but can decay over time unless you preserve it.

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A little about Sandee Setliff:

Since childhood, I am happiest when I have paint and glue on my hands! Playing with new products and getting messy is time well spent in my book. I create a variety of mix media signs, cards, and altered art, and my creative style ranges from cute and fun to clean and simple which I sell in a local gallery called the Art MoB. My latest passion is art journaling, typography and making hand made paper.  When I am not crafting, I am photographing wildlife and hiking through our lovely North Carolina mountains.

inthehillsofnorthcarolina.blogspot.com

www.facebook.com/Sandees-Artful-Words

www.youtube.com

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“Knit the sky” by Lea Redmond – Book review

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This article is written by Catriona Laing

Having read many knitting books in the past, I thought I knew what to expect from ‘Knit The Sky’. If I turned to a random page, I would find a photograph of a finished project, and the precise instructions for how I could replicate that same item. This, however, was not the case. You will find very few definite instructions in this book. Instead, Lea Redmond places an emphasis on creativity, spontaneity, and fun, which is often lost in other, stricter, patterns, as well as mindfulness of the world around the reader. Projects include a purse made from several hexagon shapes, to resemble honeycomb, each of which the knitter is only allowed to make after going outside and smelling some flowers, to remind the knitter of a little worker bee, or a throw rug constructed from many small postcard-size sections, each made after visiting a new place.

Lea Redmond knitting book review

The book itself is a beautiful piece of work. Not a single page is without one of Lauren Nassef’s colourful illustrations, complementing the text on that page excellently. Redmond has succeeded in creating a most inspiring book, which any knitter would do well to own. I myself, for a long time, have been very much a slave to the strict instructions of the pattern before me, though I did not realise it at the time. Now, however, I am looking forward to the new things I can create, with this book as my inspiration.

You can learn more about Knit the Sky on the book’s website www.knitthesky.com

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My name is Catriona. I am currently in my third year of a Biomedical Science degree, and hope to one day go on to study medicine and become a doctor. However, I’ve got a long way to go before I get there, so in the mean time I enjoy hobbies such as knitting, crochet, playing far more musical instruments than are good for me, and I’ve even dabbled in cosplaying. But knitting is my favourite. Obviously. I really enjoy finding new and interesting patterns to try out, and my all-time favourite thing is when I find someone who likes receiving knitted objects as much as I like making them.

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Disclosure: This book was provided by R&M West Coast Enterprises for the purpose of review. All opinions are that of the MixedMediaArt team. Some links on this page may be affiliate links and any purchases help to support the ongoing work by MixedMediaArt.
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Review of Janelle Nichols’ “Little Birdie” Online Class

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This article is written by Ann Strecko Koeman

A while ago I got the opportunity to review Janelle Nichol’s Mixed Media class: Little Birdie. The class is available at “Skillshare”.  Being an avid maker of all things, and a lover of learning new techniques I was very much looking forward to testing out this new to me format. I can honestly say that I was pleased.

Ann’s project

For one thing, going on the Skillshare website was easy.  Second,  finding the class by Janelle was simple.  All that was required of me were a few clicks on the keyboard. Easy peasy! The hard part came when I began to doubt my own abilities to create something as pretty as the teacher herself had made. However, it did not take long for the soothing voice of the teacher to ease my concerns.

Janelle takes the time to explain all the steps involved in making the project. She gives a lot of information and goes into quite a lot of detail on how to accomplish each step. My favourite aspect of taking the class was the ability it gave me to stop, pause, go back to any part of this video class.  As my own life got quite busy all of a sudden. I needed to take a long break from completing the class.  However, when I returned I was able to just replay the video and begin anew.

Ann’s 2nd project

I enjoyed taking a class in this format because of the flexibility it allowed. I also appreciated the extensive notes and lists that accompany the class. It was a pleasure for me to create two projects over on my Youtube channel Annmakes that were due in part to the influence I got from taking Janelle’s class. The links to the two examples I made are here:

 

 

You can view the introduction to the Little Birdie class on Skillshare here.

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Ann loves to collect and organize as many tools and supplies as possible because she is always making things.  Incredibly she finds a use for most of her collections.  She enjoys making Mixed Media Art because it allows her to use all her skills and collections.

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Disclosure: Access to this course was supplied by Janelle Nichols for the purpose of review. All opinions are that of the MixedMediaArt team. Some links on this page may be affiliate links and any purchases help to support the ongoing work by MixedMediaArt. 
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Filed Under: Mixed Media Project Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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