Friday, November 6, 2009

Mixed Media Eco Art & Project Fail

Here is my latest eco art project video! It is in a much more primitive style, but only because the handmade paper I recycled from junk mail was realllllly hard to draw and paint on. To make the picture I used charcoal from the wood stove, poke berries, coffee grinds, nasturtium flowers, yellow dock leaves, magazine clippings & pine sap for a 'glue'. The project was already difficult because the paper could break easily if pushed on hard (and i get a lil' rough with my art)- but in the end the project was a total FAIL because i coated it with an oil and wax mixture! The oil turned the paper dark and gray and bled the other forms and colors into each other. I do think wax would be great alone though for the stiffness and lasting quality- especially to seal in magazine collage pieces, which were only stuck in place with the pine sap. :)



XOXoxo

6 comments:

Kittie Howard said...

You went to an incredible amount of work, fantastic result, even though the sealant didn't work -- what are yellow dock leaves -- when I lived in Kenya, they ironed wax onto the back of batiks...anyway, love the colors, please don't give up on this project.

Miss Voodoo said...

Hey Kittie H!
I won't give up- this is an ongoing thing, I am trying to find out exactly how many colors and supplies i can add in, till finally i can do a larger scale painting with a large intricate variety of natural supplies.
Yellow Dock is a native plant here- i think the root is yellow (and long like a carrot or burdock) - but i squeezed up the above ground leaves and they gave a really good green. Ya can't see it in the pic because the oil completely covered it. :(
The Batik sounds neat!

Anonymous said...

That video is SO COOL!!! I love your art work! I couldn't believe when the reds were added what it did to it...it's beautiful. What a great video. Thanks for putting it together- it was fun and surprising to watch- the picture became more alive from frame to frame.

mara said...

The next time you make your own paper, grind the pulp finer, and press the water out with fabric on top screen on bottom using a sponge, that may help with paper surface...also maybe add sizing , starch or some kind of glue to strengthen the paper. You are such a trooper Leslie, I love that you so so much with so little. You are a constant inspiration to me!

Blair said...

the drawing on the upper left hand corner of the cardboard box is pretty awesome, too.

Miss Voodoo said...

Amstress - Thanks so much! I love your videos too- they are raw and real.

Mara - I loves ya! Since you are one of my fav artists I take that as a high compliment. Didn't you do paper making in ya'lls class at NOCCA?

Blair- Ha! That drawing was my quick pic of a figure drawing.