Mixed Media Artists Archives - Page 4 of 10

Tracy Greer and her Button Art

Tracy Greer first shared her colourful artwork on our Creating Mixed Media Facebook page and we wanted to hear more about the story behind the colourful button collection.

Tracy is originally from London, England and now lives in sunny Brisbane Australia. She has been interested in art since she was a child and tried her hand at all kinds of art through the years.

The button art idea came about because Tracy wanted the hair to stand out in her art. She wanted the hair to be the stand out feature. So Tracy decided to give buttons a try.

Tracy prints the faces and edits them to add her own personal touch. She then uses acrylic paint and pen to highlight features such as the eyes and lips. Real jewelry pieces are used for the earrings and piercings. It worked beautifully and Tracy enjoys making her button art so much. It’s a joy 🙂

And it is certainly a joy to look at! You can find out what Tracy is currently up to over at her Facebook page – Tracy Greer Artist

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Coming Full Circle with Laura Heilman

By MMA Team 1 Comment

This article is written by Laura Heilman of Wildwood Mama

When I was in high school, I entered an art contest. I remember sitting on the floor upstairs, with all of my supplies and whatnots around me. I drew an owl flying over the moon, an image I had seen on the cover of one of my favorite novels. Then I got creative and free and had fun with it. I glued on fabric for the owl’s body. I did some pen and ink, some watercolor. Who knows what else…I don’t have the piece anymore. Then I entered it in the contest, sure that I would never win. Turns out, I won first place. How did I feel about it? Embarrassed and insecure, which galls me now thinking back. I didn’t think I deserved it. The other pieces in the contest were sharp, finished…glowing with technique and artistic prowess…so much more advanced than my amateurish, childish effort.

It took me a long time to get back to doing mixed media art like that… free spirited and fun and devil may care. It wasn’t a conscious thing, I’d forgotten all about that contest until I started hand sewing again. Even though I had the complete and utter support of my artistic parents, I did what a lot of people do, in a lot of different ways. I devalued my natural talents and yearned for what I didn’t have. To be fair, it does take some of us longer to figure these things out. Maybe I’m just a late bloomer.

I suppose that was part of my journey too. I needed to walk a straight line first in order to walk any which way I pleased. You see, now my free spirit yearns for change, flexibility and spontaneity in art. That is exactly what mixed media allows me to explore. The imperfect symmetry of nature is my inspiration where mistakes become new pathways to self realization.

My favorite medium is fabric…I can paint on it, glue things to it, stitch it up and then glue it down to just about anything. A thread gone astray becomes a wild stalk of grass. When my daughter bumps my hand accidentally as I’m painting, the mistake can be transformed into a bird or a pathway or maybe even just a random blob. I have come full circle with my art, I have learned to let go. As I sit surrounded by paint bottles, brushes, muslin, scissors and thread, I wave merrily to that teenage girl I used to be, the one who made art with such abandon, such free spirited creativity…but she is too busy creating her masterpiece to pay me any mind.

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To see a step-by-step tutorial, pop over to this tutorial on Laura’s blog – Mixed Media Textile Art & Sewing Tutorial

You can also see more of Laura’s work over at her blog ~ Wildwood Mama and her Etsy store ~ Wildwood Family Studio

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Filed Under: Mixed Media Artists Tagged With: fabric art quilts, mixed media fabric art, Wildwood Family Studio, Wildwood Mama

Mixed Media Artist Christine Marshal

By MMA Team 1 Comment

Christine Marshal was born in England and now resides in Boston, and is a self-taught artist. Here she is to tell us a bit about herself – take it away Christine …

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I am a self-taught, abstract artist, originally from Manchester, England but been living in Boston, Massachusetts for almost 11 years working with teenage youth with learning disabilities/mental health problems. Qualified as a Reflexologist in 1999 (no I don’t have a foot fetish, but I do believe in holistic therapies:) Also enjoy black & white photography and I’m a crazy “MANCHESTER UNITED” fan. My friends call me Rooney’s Girl :p

I started painting in Jan 2013 when I couldn’t find a wall art that I liked for a big wall space at home….I thought, “I bet I could do one myself”! I practiced on small canvas and discovered a talent I didn’t realize I had and I absolutely love, love, love it now !!!!. I’m constantly thinking about my next projects and it’s keeping me awake at night. agghhh. My friends nicknamed me Picastrokes (hee hee)

Although a perfectionist, art has given me the freedom to embrace and enjoy my mistakes in a fun and exciting way. I’ve always loved texture and shimmering objects so you will see these in lots of my artwork. I especially revel in metallics, gel mediums & embellishments that add structure and interest. Many of my favorites include:-

Jewelry
Mica
Beads
Metal
Wood
Words/Lettering
Thick gel mediums
Glass beads
Broken ceramics
Steampunk
Candle wax
Sequins
Driftwood
Glitter
Buttons

I never ever plan what I am going to make. I just like to experiment and see where it takes me. I have a large selection of paints, embellishments and found objects surrounding me ready to throw in the mix… I like to call my work “creative accidents”

This year (without any experience or help) – I created my first online gallery shop on Etsy, called “Key2MyArt” as well as creating a Facebook page “Key2myart – Christine Marshall“. Please feel free to post your pictures of YOUR art on my page…Would love to help independent artists share and sell their work!

I was also very happy to sell numerous mixed media art at my first ever arts and craft show at ASSEMBLED in Somerville, MA. (with no experience in this field at all). This is all very new to me, as is learning about all the different art techniques available. I’m so eager to dabble in everything, but right now I’m hooked on mixed media and can’t absorb myself enough in all the beautiful art that I’ve viewed on so many websites recently. There are so many unique artists out there. I’d love to own a large castle to display all of YOUR work!!! I hope you enjoy my art as much as I enjoyed creating them for YOU !!

The Butterfly Effect- Used acrylic and metallic paints with gel mediums on deep gallery wrapped canvas and threw in some glitter and tiny beads to add sparkle & more texture. Finished with 3d gold foil adhesive butterflies.

Gimme Some Lovin’ – Acrylics on deep canvas. Ink stamped with love and face motifs. Adhered 2x glass beads and silver sequins to add a little bit of glitz.

Tealing Earth – This canvas art is painted in a teal and metallic bronze acrylics. I then carefully glued the following embellishments to the canvas:-

TURQUOISE and JADE STONES from a broken necklace,
OLIVE GREEN RIBBON
METALLIC OLIVE painted PEARLS
GOLD GLITTER PAINT
TEAL SEQUINS
FRAYED YARN
BURLAP
PENCIL WOOD SHAVINGS .. Yep I will use anything and everything in my art work if I think it will work 🙂

Mr Blue & Mrs Bronze- – Coated the canvas in turquoise blue acrylics and once dry added a copper metallic paint with a few dabs of titanium white. I then adhered buttons, tiny beads, sequins, broken ceramic, broken jewelery, blue glass, tiny square mirrors and copper colored foil from a chocolate wrapper.

Birds In Chaos – I wanted to create a modern crazy, mish-mash of shimmering embellishments with a mixed media 3D effect that would capture the viewers eye and pique their imagination with this shiny collection. I like to view this art as an exciting waterfall of objects that blend together perfectly and looks stunning when natural light captures it. I first covered the canvas in a very thin layer of gel medium and then dropped handfuls of embellishments upon it. Some objects need to be adhered securely with glue. When dry I dabbed a little black with metallic gold and copper acrylics to add more color, then drizzled some fluid paint across the whole project. Finished with a gloss sealant to add more shine and protection. Look closely to find all the embellishments. Can you find the birdies?? 🙂

Gallery canvas = 16x20x3/4
beads, buttons, metal and mirrors
shimmering mica
Metallic acrylic paints
gleaming broken jewelery
two purple ceramic birds
gold and red foil
sequins
stones
pearls

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Filed Under: Mixed Media Artists Tagged With: bronze, canvas, etsy, self-taught, teal, turquoise

Mixed Media Artist: Rachel Greig

By MMA Team 4 Comments

This week we have Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door to tell us about her meanderings into mixed media art.

Take it away, Rachel…

Hi! My name is Rachel Greig, I am a photographer, mixed media artist and proud owner and designer of Darkroom Door, a rubber stamp company based in Australia.

My journey into the craft world began in the 90’s when I was at university studying for my Bachelor of Visual Art degree. This course covered many different visual art mediums, including book binding, sculpture, printmaking and fibre arts. Photography was my major subject and after I graduated I began my career as a professional photographer. During this time I began using rubber stamps to create handmade cards and it wasn’t long before I started thinking about using my own photos to design my own range of rubber stamps. At first I licensed the designs out for other rubber stamp companies to manufacture. A few years later, my husband and I started decided to start our own rubber stamp company called Darkroom Door. The name is inspired by my love of photography and many many years spent in black and white darkrooms!

I’ve always loved mixed media, whether its in an art journal or on canvas or other surfaces. Rubber stamps feature heavily in my artwork. I love creating textures using rubber stamps and paints.

This butterfly canvas was created using Viva Décor Ferro texture paste and Darkroom Door rubber stamps. Ferro is a metallic paste that looks amazing when stamped into to create texture. Once it’s dry, I use Precious Metal Colour to highlight the texture. It’s a wonderful combination!

I’m fortunate to be able to travel around the world to teach workshops in mixed media and rubber stamping. I love meeting other artists, sharing ideas and making new friends!

I live near the beach with my husband and business partner Stewart, our two children Ethan (12 years) and Zoe (9 years), along with Sally our cute puppy dog, our pet guinea pigs and birds.

Blog: http://www.rachelgreig.typepad.com/

Darkroom Door

Website: http://www.darkroomdoor.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darkroomdoor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/darkroom_door

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/darkroomdoor/

Flickr Group: http://www.flickr.com/groups/darkroomdoor/

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/rachelgreig
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