Monday, June 14, 2010

it's the magic

acrylic paint, colored pencils, oil pastels, inktense pencils, misc. bits of collage stuff in muslin journal

this is my piece for the 2nd chakra... it wasn't an easy one. it's the chakra for self love, self acceptance. for joy... once i 'got' this, one thing led to another and i decided on a mandrake root for the body, and then the words "it's the magic, baby" came to me and have stayed...

lydia ~ colored pencils, oil pastels, collage papers, matte gel medium in muslin journal

before i did the 2nd chakra piece, who should show up but guy's wife. yes, guy, in the last post - his wife! side by side (as they are in the journal) they look so happy... quite in love, they are...

oil pastels, colored pencils, acrylic paint on watercolor paper

and in the 4" x 4" journal, i've done a couple more faces. the watercolor face below this blue acrylic went so wrong i covered it up (not that there were any mistakes, mind you). but! imagine my delight when i dug into the paint to find the orange on the left side of the face! this watercolor paper is holding up beautifully to a lot of, uh, use...

watercolor and acrylic paint, colored pencils on watercolor paper

she hasn't told me her name, but she was at one time a he with very pronounced ears. hair can be so useful!

i've had several people ask me how i add plaster cloth to the pages in my muslin journal, so i'm going to paste here the info that goes out with my muslin journals re: adding plaster cloth...
  • To add plaster cloth to a page, simply cut enough pieces to cover your page. I hold the page next to the roll of plaster cloth and cut a piece approximately the same size as the page. Then I cut this up into three or four smaller pieces – it's easier to lay down that way. I dip each piece of plaster cloth in warm water and lay it on the page, smoothing it down with my fingers. Once all of the pieces are down I smooth a little more more, and make sure that I smoosh some of the plaster off onto the muslin; my thinking is that this helps it stick to the page better. When you're done, lay the page on a flat surface to dry. I like to lay mine on a piece of glass from an old picture frame. All of my plaster cloth pages are one layer thick (with some extra bits on top to create more texture). If you're putting plaster cloth on the back side of a page that has already plaster cloth on it, put a layer of gel medium down first so the moisture doesn't go through to the other side of the page.
  • Here's what I do to paint/draw on plaster cloth: I brush a light layer of matte gel medium or acrylic paint on it and let it dry. I do this because it keeps the plaster from falling apart if I get it too wet as I start to work on it. After I've done that I treat it as I would any other surface – drawing, painting, and adding papers; I usually have at least three or four layers before I'm done...
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask... sometimes, if i've gotten really vigorous with spraying and wiping paint off, a corner of the plaster cloth will start to separate from the muslin. when this happens i just stick some gel medium on the back of the p.c. and carry on. i buy the 8" rolls at michael's for about $10; the 4" rolls would work fine too, of course.


i tried the above today on a piece of 140# watercolor paper. here it is dry - the paper buckled a little, but not much. the p.c. seems well stuck on; i think it's easy as pie!


we started a small garden last week. chard, collards, kale, and beets... and sticks. i'm on a real stick jag at the moment...


blessing the chard...


tree love, left behind on a stick gathering wander...


the sun, the glorious sun has been shining... in the words of jimi,


"...excuse me while I kiss the sky"

~ jimi hendrix, 'purple rain'


XO

23 comments:

  1. Hello, I really enjoy your art, very inspiring, thank you.

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  2. Hi Lynne,
    it was very interesting to read about your use of plaster cloth and so on. Thank you for sharing.
    I like the fourth picture with the woman a lot, the others also but this one is my favourite.

    Wish you a nice day

    Nicole

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  3. The Mandrake root made me smile. I remember them from Harry Potter. Your drawings are wonderful as always and they make me just want to study them up close. How sweet of you to share how you create your plaster pages. It's what makes me LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my fellow blogging artists. They share things with each other. It's rarer than you think. :)Bea

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  4. It is the magic! You are magic!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  5. Thanks so much for the info on the plaster cloth. I will try it soon. Its summer for me (away from teaching) and time to try new ideas that I can use with my students and me!

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  6. Oooh! I love your faces, and your sticks, and your veg patch. You have so much space! I too will kiss the sky :) xJ

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  7. wonderful chewy post! am in love with your second chakra piece just fabulous, the mandrake root is really inspired! and the unnamed one looks like inanna to me, she is pretty goddessy.. love the jimi quote, and it is perfect for my day too!!!

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  8. it is ALL just Fabulous over here today. Love the "Its the magic Baby". Love it.

    The one without a name reminds me of Madonna type statue. She so tranquil in her little tilted depths of contemplating Us, it seems.

    .

    what Chakras r your blog dancing?
    all those "greens" in the garden. Greens are good for u, no? My fav is mustard greens.

    .
    blessings and sunshine.
    we r in a heat wave already three days... i like it!

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  9. It the magic, yay.

    Might have to give that plastering ago, I know I've got some somewhere. Thanks for the inspire.

    Gxx

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  10. I always thought Jimi said, "S'cuse me, while I kiss this guy."

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  11. Aahhh the soft serenity of Lydia...I love that painting Lynne.
    Always amazing art, loving the colours, that blue is lovely and thanks so much for more on the plaster pages.

    Great quote from the Jimi Hendrix song...you just feel like doing that sometimes dont you? We had the bluest winter sky on Monday...just glorious.

    Have a wonderful week.

    Jacky xox

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  12. Your heshe drawing has an expression like my mom used to have when I had done something idiotic and she just couldn't believe she had produced this child.

    Purple Haze-Jimi
    Purple Rain-Prince.

    sorry, I am so pedantic

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  13. Another beautiful post! I love your work on the chakras...and to boot a quote by Jimi Hendrix...awesome!

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  14. Hi Lynne! Lydia is so beautiful, no wonder Guy loves her. I'm liking your chakras, well the art chakras 'cos I can't see your real chakras from here, but anyway they're amazing. Keep up the good work!
    Your cheerleader,
    Joanie
    p.s. What a day, not so good until I saw a Great Blue Heron fly over the road. Feeling kind of silly today. I know you don't really need a cheerleader.

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  15. hi pablo, thank you... i love your art as well...

    nicole, thank you... that woman has A LOT of layers on her, that's for sure. ; )

    bea, i forgot about the mandrake root in harry potter; in fact i only vaguely remember it now... the sharing thing... it sure varies from person to person... xo

    hey janine! blowing you kisses, sweet woman! (and hoping you have sunshine now)

    you're welcome dellarae! yes, give it a go!

    jasmine, we'll kiss the sky while we talk to the veggies... ; ) xo

    cat, that must mean that you're having sunshine too! it feels great, doesn't it? xo

    lol, m.... yeah, she's in her tilted depths for sure... hmmmm.... what chakras r my blog dancing? wow, gotta be all of them, but i'd say predominantly 4th and 5th (heart and throat). seems that way at this minute, anyway... heat wave?! yes that is nice. no heat wave here... very cool again today, but sunday and monday felt downright warm. XOeXO

    g., give it a go... it's sweet to work with... xo

    ha, jan!

    jacky, i love lydia too... i was so surprised when she showed up in all her soft femininity. xo

    jan, do you know that when if first heard about 'purple rain' i thought it must be a mistake? i thought that surely the person was referring to 'purple haze'. really!!

    thanks, cynthia... you know, i was a little girl when jimi was alive, but he still touched me deeply...

    joanie, you're a very good and most welcome cheerleader. : ) a great blue heron... what a beautiful gift... xo

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  16. for some reason I can't get your blog to be in English?? It's in Afrikaner...what do do? Love your art offers though..as always..j

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  17. I love how you left this post "excuse me while I kiss the sky"!
    I love that you are exploring the chakras and their gifts, I can feel that your own are blessing you with insight intimacy and also as a muse. I love the roots in this piece.
    Thank you for your generosity in sharing your plaster cloth recipe. Surely generosity will be yours in return... wonderful post Lynne~

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  18. Love the second chakra piece. I need a little of that self love today.
    Lynne... thanks for sharing your technique with the plaster. It's very cool!!
    Btw... i never got around to saying anything about your profile pic but I want to tell you that I adore it!!

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  19. How beautiful is the nameless one and I'm rather fond of Mr Mandrake root too. The texture of the plaster page is mouthwateringly wonderful!I'm hoping I will be able to find plaster cloth here. Is it a pharmacy thing or a hardware shop thing?

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  20. It's been a bit of a downer of a day for me, so thank you for a post that made me happy...it is indeed the magic, baby!

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  21. Oh Lynne, I love how you spend your days... making these so beautiful faces, soaking up the sun and a new garden. I especially love lydia, so full of wonder and peace... And the plaster cloth, I have to try this... happy sunday to you. roxanne

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  22. chard, collards and beet...my favorites. I made a yum-mo collard pizza for our lunch today, sooo good and earthy and wholesome.
    You are still astounding me. I read your blog last, as it is like a prayer for me...
    X0X

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