"Industrial chic" mixed media canvas

 Hello everyone I hope you are all having a great week so far. Its finally October! yaay! The smell of apples, and the sound of crunching leaves. Love.It.All. Cant wait to get the Halloween decor out. I haven't done any Halloween crafts yet apart from the ATC I created for the Vera lane Studio swap. For that I dressed Clarence up as a pumpkin. Good fun.x

Ive still been tinkering with my found items and err, junk. I feel like each piece i create i learn something new to bring into the next one. I'm constantly learning, and  Art is incredibly organic in that way and I cant get enough of it.

This canvas I made more recently combined pretty floral accents with heavy metal industrial pieces. hence why I have given it the name "industrial chic". Here are some pictures in all its glory:

And here are a few during the process:

Again any questions feel free to ask in the comments.

                                                              Thanks for reading,   Always, -Kass

Second mixed media assemblage canvas: Im on a roll!

For this second mixed media assemblage canvas I decided to go with warmer colours. I really had autumn in mind whilst creating this. I picked up some long canvases at the works recently and I wanted to use them. They really do a great job of drawing someones eye from top to bottom. Especially if you add some leading lines.

 Here it is all finished. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I have already been tinkering with my next one. Again, any questions just ask!

                                                                           
                                                                      Always, Kass

Finnabair inspired mixed media canvas

Just wanted to share a mixed media project I made recently using found objects. I honestly feel like I've had a light bulb moment. Ive been collecting objects, loving rust, and broken stuff for years. Yes, I love rust. I said it.

Ive just never figured out how to really incorporate it with my art. I wasn't even sure what it was called. Assemblage is the word I was missing. Assembling items to form art. Another important word/name in this field is Finnabair. Anna Dabrowska is the creator of gorgeous, inspiring, works of mixed media assemblage art. Check out all the work from her and her amazing creative team at her website here.

So armed with some inspiration and a lot of mediums and objects I set to work. There are many different techniques to explore when working on a project like this, and easy to get carried away. I had to really think about  how certain products would work with other ones. There is nothing worse then having something close to how you want it and then using the wrong spray or something and turning the whole thing brown. unless of course that's what you were going for. My first project I used cool colours:

So now I am completely hooked on this kind of art. I have also done another canvas using warm colours. But that is another post, for another day. I hope you all are having a great day and enjoying the fall colours outside. Give it a few weeks and it will look spectacular. Please if you have any questions about this project ,just ask in the comments box.  Thanks for reading.x

                                                                               Always, Kass

#Savesyriaschildren

I am an immigrant. I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and ended up immigrating to London in 2008. I am lucky though. I grew up white and privileged and when it came time to immigrate it was easy as filling out the necessary forms and pay the fee and I was over here.

For the people fleeing Syria for a better life at the moment it is such a different story.  First of all they are desperate and fleeing for their lives . I know nothing of that.

We have all seen the and horrifying images of toddler Alyan's lifeless body washing ashore in turkey. My heart breaks reading his father speak of the moment his son slipped away. Like every parent it makes me want to hug my daughter tight. Whilst these images are disturbing it is important we do not just dismiss them and walk away. They have already begun to change some political minds about how we are handling the refugee crisis. It has been tragic photos like these that have been the turning point in a lot of wars and unsettling times.

 I woke up this morning wanting to do something, Anything, to help these people out. I came across a local mother and daughter pair on facebook who are making the trip to Calais, France to help the refugees however they can. I immediately wanted to get in touch and know more. I noticed on the list of things they were looking to bring they had written basic art supplies. That resonated with me me. "I have that, loads of it" I thought to myself. I gave the number on the ad a ring and spoke briefly with the lovely florence. She said that art supplies would be gratefully received. They are hoping to use them with some of the children. Presumably to give their minds a respite from the horrors of the situation they are in.

I gathered a box with  boxes of crayons, oil pastels, and coloured pencils. Also a mens coat we had in the under stairs cupboard. When I gathered it into the box it looked so measly and small. 

I drove it to the address on the advert and was greeted by a kind woman by the name of Wendy. She led me to the big shed out back of their house they are using to hold the items to bring over.

Looking at all the bags filled with very basic essentials and some childrens toys really brought home the situation the refugees are facing.

She told me the story of the morning her daughter woke up and said "mom, I HAVE to do SOMETHING. " and she agreed. She shared that she was a bit nervous about the trip . But was quick to add that the refugees were faced with challenges a lot more nerve wracking then hers. I am grateful to meet such a selfless, kind, individual and I wish her and her daughter a safe journey.

The blogging community has started its own movement. The blog @mrandmrstplusthree  urges bloggers to post a black and white picture of their children holding a sign saying "It could have been me" with the hashtag #savesyriaschildren in an effort to raise awareness on the issue. You can also see dadbloguk's  post and picture . He speaks about seeing the camps grow huge in size over a relatively short period of time. I also urge to please text SYRIA to 70008 to donate £5 towards helping fund food, clothing, and shelter for the displaced refugees.

My hope is that maybe 1 child gets a piece of those art supplies and draws a picture, reigniting their battered imagination. Perhaps it may give hope that they can create a life for themselves wherever their journey ends.

                                                      Always, Kass


 

Childrens book: Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg

The other whilst drawing with Scarlett she scratched out something she was drawing.

 "oops" she said and crumbled up the paper to threw in the bin.

 "Oh Scar, don't throw it away" I told her

 " Maybe you could have used that".

 "Like how?" she asked.

  I did my best to try and explain that she could turn a squiggle into a cloud, or a smudge mark into different animal shapes.

 "yea, I know" she said (because of course she knows everything, shes 6).

Not sure what you would call this pose..

 I wasn't convinced she really got what I meant, and made a mental note to expand on that thought at a later time.

 I went on amazon later that night and I think I searched something like "kids art books" and after some scrolling through I came across Beautiful oops by Barney Saltzberg. It looked like what I was looking for so I bought it and with free next day delivery through amazon prime (can I get a hell yeah) it arrived the next day.

 We were not disappointed. At first glance its a very attractive book. (Attracted to books. Is that a thing?) I mean its pretty, colourful, and robust. When you hold it it seems substantial. However I would not recommend it to toddlers without adult supervision as the pages are pretty easy to grab at and tear.

 This book beautifully illustrates what I was trying so desperately to explain to Scarlett earlier. We all make mistakes. In art, as in life. Mistakes are not to be feared or ashamed of, but something to look at and learn from and in art even celebrate!

 This book gives you ideas of what to do when life hands you bent edges, torn pages, holes, and smudges

 

 It does it in a imaginative and very clever way. With bold, contrasting colours to catch the readers eye.

The author has actually torn the book and bent pages which makes it very 3-D and interactive.

 This is the kind of book kids will keep coming back to, wanting to explore and touch the pages. It is a great addition to any bookshelf and any budding artist.

 You can find the book on Amazon Here. 


                                                 Thanks for stopping by!

                                                   - Always, Kass

Mixed media card tutorial {feat. Dina Wakely stamps}

I wanted to share with you a card I made recently using mostly Dina Wakely stamps. I havent been purposely trying to use Dina products on everything lately. I have just been drawn towards her style. Its very free and flow-y and makes me think of summer.

So for this card I went for that feel and created different layers with contrasting colours.

The materials I used:

Stamps:

Script stamp from crafty individuals

Dina Wakely stamps : Scribbly birds, grunge circles from texture set ,star script, and tweet.chirp sentiment from the scribbly birds set.

Distress inks:

Antique linen, picked raspberry, old paper, broken china, and frayed burlap

Everything else:

Blue cobolt archival ink, grey archival, and purple archival

black onyx versafine ink

clear embossing powder, (its helpful to have a small pan for embossing)

 distressing tools and pads

Heat resistant craft mat

Heat tool

double sided tape

 Navy blue base card with envelope 6" x 6"

white top card for stamping 5 1/2" x 5 1/2"

colouring pens (I used grey and yellow copics)

scissors



Method:

1. First I used my distress tools to cover my white peice of paper with antique linen distress ink.

2. Then I went over the bottom half of the card with old paper distress ink and the crafty individuals script stamp.

3.Then I took the grunge circles stamp,used the broken china ink, and stamped it three times. I only inked it once though. The 2nd and 3rd stampings are a bit lighter and called ghost prints. This really helps give it dimension.

4. Now stamp a bird in black versafine ink, emboss, colour and cut out. set that aside

5. Now put down some picked raspberry distress ink on your craft mat, spritz with water and just run a little through on the other side of the card from the star.  This will add some compositional intrest to put the bird in front of. Now dry the card completely.

6.Stamp the script star in the upper right hand corner

7. Take a small bit of sheet music and rip a tiny bit to stand your bird on. Distress the edges with  frayed burlap ( you could use any brown or tan colour. i just had this handy) mount that where you plan to place the bird.

8. Now stamp your bird straight on the card (only his legs matter here). Take your cut out bird and cut off his feet (I promise it doesn't hurt him). Paste his body over the body of the one you stamped. Now  he has legs without having to fiddly cut all around the legs. Alternatively, use a craft blade to cut out feet. 

9. After that take the "tweet.chirp" sentiment and stamp somewhere on the card

10. Now just mount the white card to your navy blue base card and your all done.

Heres another look:

A sweet little bird card fit for any occasion, really. Really fun to make as well. No off to do the school run. We have rainbows tonight. Speak soon.

                                        Always,- Kass