Bark 10

Finished!

New Bark Piece, Bark 10

This is the beginning of Bark 10.

I manipulated a photograph of bark from Yosemite and then used that photograph for every layer.

Surfaces from top to bottom:

The top 2 layers are lutradur that has been printed and then heat distressed

Next is canvas that is printed and cut across the diagonal

Then a layer is composed of a surface I made by using gel media, cheesecloth and inkAID semi gloss pre coat. This surface is cut in 3 rectangular pieces

The last printed layer is arial (ariel?) paper

After that-dyed cheesecloth and on the bottom - rug hook canvas that has been spray dyed

In order to assemble the cut pieces in several of the layers, I used gel media as I stacked the layers together.

Most of the time I use regular metal screen to assemble and sew the layers to a backing, but this piece just didn't seem right on that backing. I found some copper screen on the internet and bought some that is heavier then the regular scree I was using. I loved the screen, it is just beautiful behind the squares, so I chose to use copper wire to put this all together. I had to put 2 holes through each stack of layers in order to use the copper wire.

The finished results follow in the next post.

More Yosemite Falls Journal

Last month I posted a bit of my Yosemite Falls Journal. This mixed media journal is inspired by Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park. If you have never visited this incredible park, it should go on your "places to visit" list.

Words cannot describe the awesome landscape of Yosemite, or what it feels like to be in the presence of these natural monuments.

All of the pages have small compositions of Yosemite Falls that I digitally manipulated on my computer in Photoshop. For the top pages here, I printed these small compositions on water color paper. Once printed the images were torn and then pressed to the board book with gel media and pieces of painted cheesecloth to finish the page.

The second set of pages is a mirror print of Yosemite Falls when it was snowing and overcast. This was printed on cream mica crinkle from Creative Papers On-line. I love printing this surface, the mica makes it sparkle within the print.

The third set of pages has 2 small compositions. The left is a digital print that is torn and stacked like a paper quilt. The print is sewn in a tie through manner and then the assemblage is attached to the board with gel media. The opposite page has a print underneath and the top is a piece of rug hook canvas that was dyed. There are pieces of tree branches that have beads and wires attached on the top of the canvas.

As for the last pages- this is composed of a print of the water coming off the bottom of the falls. There is a nice little spot on rocks where the water sprays and you can take clear pictures. The print is on tyvec that is heated so that it curls and puffs up. These little pieces are connected with pearl cotton and then assembled and attached to the board with gel media. The freedom of the way the compositional elements resembles the water flow.

I will be teaching a digital printing class in Flagstaff Arizona at the end of July 2008. We will be experimenting with various techniques of creating and printing digital images.

Bark Series Continued

Bark 9 has just been completed. This is a continuation of my Bark series that is part of Sensual Surfaces. This body of work is about the Forests of Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park and the Waipoui Forest on the Northern Island of New Zealand. These forests are incredible and have inspired this exciting mixed media work.

Bark 9 is made up of small sections that include 8 layers per section. After taking a photograph of bark in Yosemite National Park, I manipulated the image in Photoshop. Once the image is ready and sized for the output, the surfaces are printed.

Surfaces from top to bottom are:

Cream Mica Crinkle
Lutradur, heat distressed
Silver Metalic Crinkle paper
Gel media/cheesecloth/semi-gloss precoat combined to make a printable surface
Arial Paper
Canvas
Lutradur, heat distressed
Dyed cheesecloth
Dyed rug hook canvas

I will be teaching a workshop of the techniques included in this piece. All the details have not been released, but you could contact me and I will advise you when all the arrangements of place and time have been completed.

Bark 8 Finished

Bark 8 22" x 30" mixed media digital

I printed 5 surfaces with the same digitally manipulated picture. Of course each of the prints look different since every surface will give a diverse appearance. The original photograph of bark was taken in Yosemite National Park.

Materials used in the layers from top to bottom

Lutradur printed and distressed

Canvas printed

My own surface created with a combination of gel media, cheesecloth and semi-gloss precoat from inkAID

Organdy printed

Dyed cheesecloth

Organdy printed and crinkled by wetting and drying

Dyed Twill

Fiberarts Magazine Artist Profile

The new FiberARTS Magazine has a profile on me! Thelma Smith wrote a wonderful piece, which is much appreciated.

The image here is small, you will have to buy the issue to read the article! An artist friend of mine, Michael Rhode, is featured in a Q & A article about his new direction. Be sure to pick up your issue!

And...thank you Thelma for your visit to my studio and your writing:)

Details of Started Study

Layers from bottom to top:

*dyed woven cotton fabric
*digital print on organdy that has been crinkled
*dyed cheesecloth
*digital print on organdy
*surface from gel media and cheesecloth
*digital print on canvas
*lutradur that is cut and heat distressed

This piece is still on my wall for the final assembling and finishing.

Surface Study

This is the start of a study for a piece that I am planning of Yosemite Falls. While I work on the digital print my thoughts are into "what if". Playing with surfaces of another print helps me to think about what happens when...

Sufaces from top to bottom:

*canvas coated with white matte precoat from inkAID
*lutradur coated with semi-gloss precoat from inkAID
*original surface created from gel media and white cheesecloth with a coating of semi-gloss precoat added once the first part dried
*tyvec
*bark picture from Yosemite that is the start of this work.

There are 7 surfaces being used on the study piece. There will be details pics in the next post.

Lutradur Print Collage

Dyed cheesecloth is pressed into acrylic paint before the paint dries. Next a collage of materials that includes; dye for the burlap, digital print on lutradur and metal beads is put together. The lutradur print is distorted with an embossing heat tool. Once you heat the lutradur too much it can be ruined, so just do short time periods with the heat. After the lutradur is altered and the burlap dyed, the materials are put together by sewing the beads to the layers that secure the surfaces. I used small amounts of gel media to adhere the collage to the book pages.

Working with Lace Paper

This section of the journal was created with lace papers. These papers are printed after being coated with semi-gloss precoat from inkAID. Several layers of lace papers, some geometric, some random lace have been put together for all the elements on these pages.

The papers are carefully coated with the precoat and once dry, carrier sheets are used to enabel the paper to be printed.