Tissue Paper Textures Delights...

Two days ago my last 'installment' of company for this summer left.... all I can say is ~ glad they came, glad they left - long distance, trans-Atlantic relationships are my first choice as a hostess.

Last weekend I went through a training for Wheaton Park District ahead of my workshops ~ now I know what to do when the sky is overcast or if I'd notice a fast-approaching cloud funnel.... good thing it's a paid 'event' in the middle of my weekend!

I will have my little artwork show at Caribou Coffee house in Glen Ellyn, IL for a month, beginning Monday September 14, 2009...

But let me get to the most fun part of my life ~ artmaking.... I've been reading a great book on acrylics', water color and mixed media textures and projects titled 'Celebrate Your Creative Self' by Mary Todd Beam ~ what a feast of inspiration!!!

I invited my starved creative Self for a shopping spree to Dick Blick and took a HUGE advantage (my receipt can attest to it!) of their back-to-school sales event and my 20% OFF the entire purchase coupon! I walked to my car with a very heavy bag of various Golden Liquid and Heavy Body acrylics' colors and a 3-canvas pack.... later on I set out to PLAY at my table... I decided to experiment with gesso, gels and tissue paper drawing on some ideas from the book. Couple of years ago I intuitively worked with tissue paper, but this time I added more mediums and more layers thanks to some very cool tricks from the book. As of writing this post, my canvas is dry enough to introduce a bit of underpainting colors, but I'll share couple snapshots from background building below....

On a side note, in the meantime, I begun my work on my Master's Creative Project which is a pastel on paper drawing ~ the outcome is to express one's personal spirituality creatively through a chosen medium (art, poetry, music, dance, creative writing etc.). So far, the background is mostly in place and I have few design elements written out on my dry eraser board as a brainstorming ~ you can see my project's background building in the picture at the top of this post...


... placing and adjusting tissue paper sheets against gesso-ed canvas....

I used palette knife to apply a generous layer of acrylic gesso to the surface of tissue paper and fixed against the canvas.

... more gesso~tissue paper layering....

A plastic fork can add an interesting texture to a Golden Crackle Paste Application...

... more of Pumice Gel and Fiber Paste sporadic applications throughout the surface.... FUN!

.... may look boring, but do not be deceive! Abundance of textures and tactile stimulation awaits you!....