52 Weeks of Art: Week 25

Week 25: Needle Felting

Welcome to week 25 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

    So, this week we have needle felting. If you've never heard of needle felting, that's okay. I'll explain what it is. You take some wool, which is super soft (it's like petting the softest floof you've ever pet), and you stab at it a bajillion times with a barbed needle. What you're trying to accomplish is turning the loose, fluffy wool into a solid object. The barbed needle agitates the fibers and helps them to stick together.

     You don't have to create a 3D object by doing this. You can also needle felt some wool onto fabric. You can needle felt onto your clothes or whatever you want, really. I've seen some pretty amazing needle felted pieces of art on Instagram. I even saw some cool stop motion videos. So, needle felting is pretty versatile.

     I've needle felted a time or two over the years. My girls like to do it. The Oldest made Starry Night one time. I was going to take a picture of it... but I'm not sure where it's at right now. Use your imagination. The Little One made herself a pin cushion ring shaped like a narwhal. Do I have a picture of that one? Also no. It's in her room somewhere. I don't even know where the floor is in her room right now. Ugh. Kids, right?

     Rebecca came over and we pulled out my stash of needle felting goods and got to work. If you're thinking this will be a quick project, think again. When I said you have to stab it a bajillion times, I was not joking. Since Rebecca is afraid of 3D artwork, she decided to make an abstract piece on a scrap piece of fabric. I did a 3D needle felted sculpture.

     I tried to do a 3D needle felted sculpture.

     The supplies you need are simple, you need a barbed needle felting needle, some roving wool, and a piece of foam to work on. Getting stabbed with a barbed needle hurts, so having some finger gloves is helpful. I know from personal experience. 

Before I show you what I made, let's take a look at some real needle felting artists. They are truly amazing what they can create with just a loose ball of fluffy wool. Serious.

Click here to see some seriously amazing works of needle felted art.

Found these adorable little guys here.

This is NOT The Oldest's, but it is Starry Night. Found it here.

Needle felted painting found here.

     I don't think that fiber art gets the credit that it deserves. I mean, look at those! They're amazing! People are still stuck in the thought that fiber art isn't really art, it's just a crafty thing to do to pass the time or something. It's not. It's art. We need to start thinking about fiber art differently. 

     If we can call this art...

     Then why can't we call this art?

     If you're putting just as much time, effort, and love into creating your fiber piece, it should be considered fine art, not just a craft. Sorry about the rant. I just get frustrated with people who think fiber art is just a crafty way to pass the time. Something to really care about.

    Alright, now I'm done going on about that. Here's my needle felted sculpture:

Here's where I remembered I need to take pictures of the process.

Here's where I started adding legs.

Here I started adding some details into the wings. I decided I didn't like it and pulled it all out.

Here's Ted. He's a friendly little guy.

Here's Ted from the side. It's not his best side.

Here's a slightly better picture of Ted. Let's just say that Ted isn't the most photogenic of dragons.

          

On to rating needle felting...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for needle felting, my rating is: 16

Ease of use: 3

 It's not hard to stab something over and over. It is hard to try and shape a shapeless ball of fluff into something, though.

Affordability: 4

     Pretty affordable. You can get an entire kit of everything you need to get started for $20. With that kit you can make several small needle felted sculptures or paintings.

Accessibility: 5

     Needle felting is pretty popular right now. You can get supplies at arts and crafts stores or online.

Fun to Use: 4

    It's fun trying to turn something into something else. Especially when it really doesn't look like it'll turn into anything to start with. Just don't stab yourself. Ouch.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 24

Week 24: Scratchboard

Welcome to week 24 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     This week's medium was scratchboard. I haven't done anything with scratchboard since high school. My Little One LOVES doing scratchboards... but she just scratches everything off. I think she just enjoys the scratching part. 

     If you don't know what scratchboard is, it's a board that you can get in white, gold, silver, multicolor, whatever, and it's covered in black India ink. You use a scratch tool (or you can use a toothpick, a paperclip, something sharp and pointy) and you scratch off the black - CAREFULLY - to reveal the color underneath. You're really gonna want to do it carefully, otherwise you end up with scratch marks on the color underneath. Not pretty.

     If you don't want to buy scratchboard, but still want to try it, you can very easily make your own. Will it look as nice as a store bought scratchboard? No. Will it still be a fun art project to do? Yes. For this simple DIY version you need some paper - cardstock works best - some crayons, and some black tempera paint.

    Color your paper with whatever colors you want. You can go with just one color or a rainbow of colors. It's your art, who am I to tell you what colors to use? Brush off any extra crayon crumbs. Then paint the black tempera on top. This is the most important part: wait for it to dry! When it's dry you can use any of the previously mentioned tools to scratch off the paint. 

     I think of scratchboard as like reverse pen and ink work. Instead of putting down the ink, you're taking it away. Here's some examples of scratchboard art:

Found this little guy here.

Found this beauty here.

And, here's my finished scratchboard artwork. It was very difficult to take a picture of it because the color underneath is silver - it's like a mirror. I did the best I could.

Silver Tentacles 

Silver Tentacle.

          

On to rating scratchboard...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for scratchboard, my rating is: 19

Ease of use: 4

 This is a fairly simple medium to use. The only problem with it is the fact that it is so easy to scratch off. It's easy to accidentally scratch something off you didn't want to scratch off.

Affordability: 5

     Each scratchboard costs about a $1.00. I'd say that's pretty affordable.

Accessibility: 5

     You can get scratchboards at an arts and crafts or at any art supply store. Or, again, I'm a huge fan of Amazon.

Fun to Use: 5

    I like this medium. It's just fun to scratch the ink off.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 23

Week 23: Cyanotype

Welcome to week 23 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     

     This week we did cyanotype. Now, you might be wondering what that is. Cyanotype is a 170 year old photographic printing process that produces a cyan blue print. It was used mainly to reproduce notes and diagrams - aka blueprints. The whole process uses just two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide.

     I don't know about you, but I don't really like the idea of working with chemicals. I don't know anything about chemicals, so not using them sounds good to me. I Googled how to make my own cyanotpye. It sounds easy, but again, I don't like the idea of mixing chemicals I don't know anything about. 

     So, instead of making my own, I bought some special paper that's already been treated with the chemicals. I headed to Amazon - the best place to buy anything - and searched for cyanotype paper. It's also called sun print paper, sun art paper, solar paper, etc. For a relatively low price, you can get several sheets of paper. 

     Alright, so how does this fancy cyanotype paper work? It's simple. Place an object, or anything you want, on top of the paper and place it in the sun for a few minutes. Its really fascinating to see the whole process. The paper starts out as this muted blue color. When it's exposed to the sun it turns almost white, except the parts that were covered. You bring it back inside and rinse it in some water. The water turns the white parts blue and the blue parts white. When it dries the blue gets much darker, darker than it ever started.

     I Googled some cyanotype images. I absolutely love the nature prints - leaves, feathers, shells, etc. However, it's winter here right now. That means no leaves. We had to get creative with what we used. Here's some nature prints using cyanotype.

I found this beauty here.

These amazing pieces were found here.

     And here's the whole process:

This is the paper before being exposed.

This is the paper after just being exposed. This pattern was made using a bubble wand.

This is the paper after being rinsed in water. 

This is the paper after drying - the final product. For this pattern I used my nephew's puzzle pieces.

Here's the finished print using the bubble wand.

On to rating cyanotype...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for cyanotype, my rating is: 19

Ease of use: 5

 This is probably the easiest medium we have used. It does not get simpler than this.

Affordability: 5

     For about $11 on Amazon I bought this package of  cyanotype paper. It has 40 sheets of paper. That is about $0.27 for each piece of paper. That's it. No other supplies needed!

Accessibility: 4

     I'm not sure about arts and crafts stores carrying this paper, but you can get it at an art supply store. Or from Amazon.

Fun to Use: 5

    This was fun to do. I don't know that I would actually try to make art out of this, but it was fun to just experiment with. I found the whole process to be fascinating. 

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 22

Week 22: Clay

Welcome to week 22 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

     This week's medium was clay. There are so many different types of clay. Since we don't have access to a kiln, any type of clay that needed to be baked in a kiln was off the list. That left oven baked and air dry clay. 

     Air dry clay is easy to use and it doesn't require any baking - hence the air dry name. The downside to using air dry class is the quick dry time. While it doesn't dry completely solid quickly, it does dry out enough to make it unusable in a short amount of time. Storing it is also a challenge since it dries out. 

     Oven baked clay - polymer clay - is a good combination of both air dry and kiln baked clay, I think. It's easy to use like the air dry clay without the worry of it drying out. It bakes in your home oven, no kiln required. If you have never sculpted anything before, I think polymer clay is a good choice to start with. Air dry clay is a good start also, but you have to work quickly with it.

    So, we chose the polymer clay to work with. Since my youngest is a huge fan of sculpting things, we borrowed all of her supplies. Thanks, Little One. Since the kids were all out of school for the Thanksgiving break, we had lots of people collaborating with us this week. 

     We used Sculpey, which is available in a wide variety of colors and found in any arts and crafts store. It is a name brand polymer clay, but I think it's worth it. The Little One has used several different types of polymer clay over the years and we've found Sculpey to be the best. There are other good brands out there, but I wouldn't recommend getting anything cheap and generic, they don't usually bake well.

     My kids used different colors of clay to make their creations, I used one color. I planned on painting mine with acrylic paints when I was finished. I've only ever sculpted things with polymer clay a few times with my Little One. So, this was the first time I've really tried sculpting something. Here's what I came up with. His name in Gnorman. Gnorman the Gnome. This is him after I baked him in the oven.

     

Gnorman the Gnome.

Gnorman side view.

     And here's Gnorman all painted up. I've released him into the wild so he can live the gnome life.

Gnorman in the wild.

         

On to rating clay...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for clay, my rating is: 19

Ease of use: 5

 I think polymer clay is something that is easy enough for anyone to use. Trying to get the exact shape you want in 3D is a little more difficult, but I think it's definitely something that everyone can do.

Affordability: 4

     For $25 on Amazon you can get a pack of 50 colors of Sculpey. They are small amounts of each color, but if you're making something small, you don't need a lot. Or, if you'd like to sculpt and then paint, you can get a large one pound block of clay for about $15. You don't need any sculpting tools, you can use things you have around your house - pens, toothpicks, plastic utensils, etc. If you would like to buy some sculpting tools, you can get a large set of 42 tools from Arteza for about $25. So, overall, I would say that if you're just trying out clay you can do it very affordably.

Accessibility: 5

     Any arts and crafts store will have polymer clay. It's available just about everywhere.

Fun to Use: 5

    I used to not like 3D art. But doing this 52 week art adventure has really made me stretch my artistic muscles. I enjoyed sculpting Gnorman, and I think he turned out pretty okay.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 21

Week 21: Oil Paint

Welcome to week 21 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

         So, this week we are using oil paints. When I think of oil paints, I picture all the old masters of art. I picture all of these amazingly talented artists from the past. Oil paint always reminds me of "fine art". I don't imagine modern day artists using oil paint - which I know is ridiculous. I know that people still paint with oils! But I still think of it as an old world art medium. I know, I know, it makes no sense, but it is what it is. Here's some examples of amazing oil paintings.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

Ballerina by Edgar Degas

Irises by Van Gogh

     For our collaboration we used water based oil paints. Water based oil paints work just like the classic oil paints, but without all the hassle. Like the name says, they are easily cleaned up with water. Also, there's no paint thinner which means there's no chemical smell. You don't need to be painting in a well ventilated area. You want to thin the paint? Just add water! You got paint on your hands? Just use water - or baby wipes!

     I'm not an oil painter. I have only ever painted with oils once before - years ago in college. When Rebecca suggested we use water based oil paints I was skeptical. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I thought for sure the paint would not be at all like your classic, smelly, oil paints. But, to my surprise, it was exactly the same. They paint the same, they look the same. I'd say you'd have a hard time telling the difference between water based and non water based.  

     I have mentioned this before, and I will most likely mention this again, but I am a very impatient person. I hate waiting around for paint to dry. That's probably why I like pens so much - no dry time! So, painting with oil was a study in patience for me. I had to paint wet on wet. I had to carefully plan out my painting. It was a lot more than I'm used to for painting. 

     We had our collaboration on Wednesday. Today is Friday. My painting is STILL wet. I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures of it. I was worried about ruining it, so I didn't move it. 

     

Here's my STILL WET oil painting.

     Overall, I really enjoyed painting with oils. Will I do it again? Yeah, I think I will. I'll have to work on my patience, though.

On to rating oil paint...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for oil paint, my rating is: 13

Ease of use: 3

  I won't say that oil painting is hard, but I won't say it's easy either. I think if you are interested in trying out oil painting, you should definitely find someone to show you how to use them. Find a teacher or find some YouTube videos. It's really easy to just turn your painting into a big mess if you don't know what you're doing.

Affordability: 2

     You can get a cheap set of water based oil paints for $20. Artists quality paints are going to be a lot more. Then you need brushes and canvas. I would say that if you're buying all new supplies to try out oil painting, you're looking at spending around $50. So, no, getting in to oil painting isn't cheap.

Accessibility: 5

     Water based oil paints are a lot easier to find these days. You should be able to find them in your local arts and crafts store. And, of course, you can buy them at any art supply store or online.

Fun to Use: 3

    This was a fun medium to use. It would have been more fun if I was a more patient person. I think if you really want to feel like a "real artist" you should give oil painting a try. Just remember, no matter what medium you use, you are always an artist.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!

52 Weeks of Art: Week 20

Week 20: Alcohol Ink

Welcome to week 20 of 52 weeks of art! What are we doing this week?

         Well, it finally happened. I found a medium that I did not like at all. I didn't like anything about this whole process. This week we had alcohol ink. This isn't just something I had laying around the house. I did some research, off to Google! I looked in to buying some inks, but I wasn't about to spend $4 on individual colors. A cheap set of 9 colors was $35. This was something I didn't want to invest a lot of money in because I wasn't even sure I would like using it. Good thing I didn't! I do not like it! So, off to Google again to discover a way to make my own alcohol inks!

     Because Google is amazing, I was able to find out how to make my own. Super simple. Markers + rubbing alcohol. I have a large collection of sharpies, and sharpies were the number one recommended marker for this, so I used sharpies. Now, I read that the more alcohol the less vibrant the color. So, here's what I did:

Sharpie in a small container with a tiny amount of  alcohol.

A rainbow of sharpie colors.

     After hours of the sharpies sitting in the alcohol like this, I decided that wasn't going to work. I pulled them apart and pulled the tip out to soak in the alcohol. After two days of soaking in alcohol this is what I ended up with. Not very concentrated. I was very disappointed.

Here's the sharpie tips soaking in alcohol.

     Here is my attempt at using my homemade alcohol inks. The colors are so very pale. I was actually worried they wouldn't show up in the photos. They did, but just barely. I used photo paper, because alcohol inks work best on no porous surfaces - glass, ceramic, photo paper, etc.

Here's my attempt with homemade inks.

      Since the homemade inks weren't working so well, I colored on the photo paper with the sharpies and dropped some ink onto. That sort of worked. The only problem with coloring on the paper was the fact you could see the lines from coloring.

Using sharpie ON the paper THEN adding the alcohol.

     Then I decided to try coloring with the sharpie so it didn't really LOOK like I colored it. If that even makes sense. I dropped the alcohol on it again. Then I used my finger to try and spread it around. Those colored spots were NOT going anywhere.

     Here's some examples of what REAL alcohol ink looks like:

Found this here.

Found this here.

On to rating alcohol ink...

     Just a reminder on the criteria for rating each medium.

Ease of use: How easy was this medium to use.

Affordability: How affordable supplies are for each medium.

Accessibility: How easily accessible supplies are for each medium. Example, are specific tools required that are hard to find?

Fun to Use: How much enjoyment I got out of using this medium

     So, for alcohol ink, my rating is: 11

Ease of use: 4

  Honestly, I think if the colors were better, this would have been incredibly easy to use. Basically, you drop some ink onto a surface with a small dropper. Done. Super easy.

Affordability: 3

     Alcohol inks are not cheap. You can go the DIY route and save yourself some money if this is something you want to try. However, I can't say the DIY route turned out all that great. I'm sure I must have been doing something wrong, because SO many people out there make their own ink.

Accessibility: 3

     I'm going to say that the supplies are only mostly accessible. If you buy the alcohol inks you'll have to get them from an art store or online. Not every arts and crafts store is going to carry them. However, sharpies and rubbing alcohol are available at your local grocery store.

Fun to Use: 1

    Nope. This was not fun. This was frustrating to me. I think I might have enjoyed it more if the inks had worked out better. Even if they were better, I don't think I would have liked this medium.

     If you would like to go on this epic art adventure with me, next week we will be doing...

     If you choose to follow along, please post your work using #52weekartadventure!