ArtTrader Magazine

ArtTRADER
m a g a z i n e
PUTTING THE ART IN TRADE
Issue 4 - Autumn 2008
PAPER
Making
WAX ART
Thread
Painting
Whimsy
People
All about trading
Journal page by Kristy Christopherson
ATCs, Altered Art, Art Journals, Chunky Books & Creative Inspiration
Art TRADER
m a g a z i n e
Table of Contents
3
Art Trader Contributors
5
Editor’s Note & Letters
6
Design 911: Composition
9
Hooked on Crayons: Wax Art Techniques
Autumn 2008
Page 9
11
Gallery: Colorful, Funky Portraits
13
Postcards: The New Mail Art
15
Rocking Rolo Cards
18
Artistic Journeys: Homemade Paper for Mail Art
23
Gallery Skinny Pages: Colorful Mixed Media Trees
25
Easy Whimsy Art for People Who Can’t Draw
(Yet!)
29
Featured Artist: Tabitha Ladin
32
Gallery: Design-A-Pony
34
Art of Darkness: Exploring Darker Themes
Through Art
36
Thread Painting: Techniques & Tips
44
Readers Gallery
47
Silk Art Paper
50
Petite Artiste: Ian El-Habre
51
Vlogging with Ela Steel
53
Autumn Rolo Contest Winner & Entries
56
Advertisers’ Ads
57
Call for Articles & Artwork
Page 13
Page 36
CHIEF EDITOR Dana Driscoll
COPY EDITOR Meran ni Cuill
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS Cathy Green
Kati Barrett
Martha Lee
Rochelle Greene
Tracie Rozario
Andrea Melione
Sal Scheibe
Dana Driscoll
ART DIRECTOR Sal Scheibe
ASSOCIATE DESIGNERS Brittany Noethen
Andrea Melione
PUBLISHED BY IllustratedATCs.com
ArtTRADER Magazine
www.arttradermag.com
Editor: editor@arttradermag.com
Advertising: ads@arttradermag.com
Submissions: content@arttradermag.com
Call for Entries: www.arttradermag.com
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Art TRADER
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Contributors
Sal Scheibe works as a creative designer for print and web and also as a freelance
illustrator. Her designs and artwork have appeared in books, CDs and DVDs,
brochures and posters. Sal is currently working on a number of large canvas
paintings for art shows. She also enjoys trading ATCs and is an administrator at
IllustratedATCs.com. Sal’s favorite artists and illustrators include Joe Sorren, J.C.
Leyendecker, William Bougereau and John Singer Sargent. Her favored mediums
are acrylic paint, colored pencils and markers.
• www.slscheibe.com
• www.flickr.com/photos/amerasu
Andrea Melione is currently a full-time student, planning on eventually earning a
Master’s in Library Science. She loves all types of art, but is fond of the Surreal
and Symbolist movements. Her favorite artists are Michael Parkes, Daniel
Merriam, Aubrey Beardsley and her buddies at IllustratedATCs.com, where she is
a Moderator. She mainly works in watercolor, colored pencil, acrylics, markers and
gel pens, though not all at once. She lives in NY (cow country, not the city) and has
difficulty writing biographies in the third person.
• artpfunkcentral.blogspot.com
• www.flickr.com/photos/littleboots
Dana Driscoll is an experimental artist working in a variety of media including
watercolors, mixed media, oils, clay, book arts, hand papermaking, and altered
art. She is currently working on several artistic projects, including painting her
way through a 78-card tree tarot deck and combining her love of pottery and
bookmaking. When not avoiding the perils of pursuing her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and
Composition, she can be found frolicking in nearby forests or hanging out with
her nerdy gamer friends. Dana’s work can be found at her blog: artisticjourneys.
blogspot.com and she can be reached at adriayna@yahoo.com.
• www.artisticjourneys.etsy.com
Brittany Noethen is an artist living in a tech manager’s body. She would rather be
decapitated than give up making art, trading ATCs, or stop thinking that the phrase
“Muffins or Bust” is hilarious. She currently lives in Iowa with her partner Cat, her
12 year old pit bull, Maggie, and shelves full of art supplies.
• www.bnoethen.etsy.com
• arty-iowa-girl.vox.com
• www.flickr.com/photos/arty-ia-girl
Meran niCuill Fascinated by nature and science, Meran ni Cuill attempts daily to
translate her passions into art. Sometimes she feels she even succeeds! And then
something else will catch her attention and off she’ll go! Chasing another ideal.
Meran enjoys gardening, sunsets, dogs, birds, and just about anything as long
as it’s not endless crowds of people. When those present, she’ll retreat to a quiet
place and read a book, or cut some glass, both of which she finds therapeutic.
• www.meran.etsy.com
• atcs2008.meran.fastmail.fm
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Contributors
Abi Aldrich is an K-6 Art teacher in Wyoming. She sells oil paintings professionally,
makes pottery because she likes to play in the mud, and generally makes text
based sculptures and installations because that is her true love. Beyond that
she loves printmaking, drawing, and graphic design. In all her massive amounts
of free time, Abi hangs out with her menagarie, including several rabbits, a
chinchilla and a large bearded dragon. She also calls West Africa every night to
talk to the love of her life, Gee. So in a nutshell she is a nut who likes to make a
mess in art!
• www.abigayle.etsy.com
Kati Barrett was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. She now resides in northern
California with her 2 kitties and mountains of art supplies. Kati was exposed to
art from birth on, one of the blessings of having an artist mother. “I am a fulltime
social worker who longs to be a fulltime artist. Collage is my medium. I love
being able to take completely unrelated images or items and make them relate
by positioning and color usage. I see art as my spiritual path and I work out my
questions about god and the universe through my pieces. I am also a jokester
and I like to throw in unusual and odd images. Give me a cutesy theme and I am
bound to make a quirky or dark piece about it!” If Kati could give one piece of
advice to new artists it would be to practice their craft everyday, no matter what.
Ang Westermann A nurse by profession, she is also an artist of the heart and
.
soul. A transplant from the U.S., she moved to Ontario, Canada in 2000; she lives
in a little green house with her husband, her dog, cat and art supplies. A collector
of pens, markers and anything that writes, this artist began her quest for Heart
Art in 2002 and found the world of ATCs. Shakepeare once said “Give sorrow
words. The grief that does not speak whispers the o’er-fraught heart, and bids it
break.” After a personal tragedy, she needed a voice and art became that voice.
Six years later, her art is whimsical, fun and funky. With no formal art training, she
creates straight from her heart. She is a woman on a mission to leave a Legacy
of Love for chubby girls, and to let every woman know that she is loved and
beautiful, no matter her size.
• altermyworld.typepad.com/ang
• www.flickr.com/photos/25943881@N00
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Art TRADER
m a g a z i n e
Letter from
the Editor
When I think about my own work as an
artist, I think about milestones. Artistic
endeavors that I take on that are difficult
to complete, but once completed, present
much satisfaction. Milestones with my
own skill, milestones with techniques,
milestones with projects. My most recent
artistic milestone has been with my handpainted tarot deck, the Tarot of Trees, and
finishing the second suit of four.
As a
mail artist, I also see finishing up swaps,
or sending all of the envelopes back to the
players, as milestones themselves. There
is a great satisfaction to be had when you
walk into the post office with 40 chunky
book-filled envelopes, and walk out empty
handed, knowing they are going back to
their owners to be treasured.
Milestones have been very important for
our publication and family of sites recently
as well. This, our fourth issue, marks a
significant milestone for ArtTrader Magazine. We have now been in publication for a year! We have decided to create
a print-on-demand book for you to purchase of our first four issues. Partial issues will remain free online, of course,
but for those of you who want to put Art Trader on your shelf, you now have that option. [ed. - There will be a nominal
fee for the full version]
IllustratedATCs also recently released two publishing milestones of their own, The Best of Illustrated ATCs 2007 and
Color: A Collaborative Perspective. The Best of Illustrated ATCs 2007 is a full-color, beautiful book jam-packed full of
ATC-sized eye candy arranged by theme (www.lulu.com/content/3202513). Color: A Collaborative Perspective was
a group art project focused on color as a unifying theme (www.lulu.com/content/2689642).
We are also proud to announce that ATCsforall.com is also accepting submissions for a book of their own, as of yet
untitled. Every member at ATCsforall.com is eligible to submit and everyone who submits will have at least one piece
of art in the book. So check it out! www.atcsforall.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5537
We have also just released www.mailartportal.com -- a unifying site that links our three unique communities, the Art
Trader publication, and the books and group projects we have available for people to purchase. So many milestones,
in such a short time.
In closing, I’d like to dedicate this issue of Art Trader Magazine to A.C. Buchanan, who died of complications with
leukemia this past summer. Lisa, his wife, is a pillar to our mail art communities and we would like to reach out to her
during this difficult time.
Happy creating everyone!
Dana Lynn Driscoll
Chief Editor, Art Trader Magazine
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Art TRADER
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Design 911p
By Andrea Melione
f
Hi and welcome to Design 911!, an article series that helps you develop your design and composition skills!
Composition is basically the arrangement of elements within a space. How you place your elements is important;
are you creating harmony? Rhythm? Balance? Likewise, creating a space in which you put elements will make
these elements more interesting to look at.
My goal in this series is to provide readers with an introduction and overview of concepts from composition. It is
not meant to be exhaustive. For a more extensive treatment, you can check out the following books: ‘Pictorial
Composition’ by Henry Rankin Poore, and ‘Introduction to Two-Dimensional Design: Understanding Form and
Function’ by John Bowers. This article specifically addresses creating space with elements, and the importance
of the placement of a single element. I hope to address more aspects in future issues of ArtTrader.
Once you place an element on your card, you instantly create space, which is the area around the chosen
elements (like a herd of rabid bunnies or a moldy bread loaf.) To show you what I am talking about, I will
introduce you to two families: The Symmetrical Family and the Asymmetrical Family.
The Symmetrical Family is a little dull:
They stand like soldiers dead center within the card.
The horizon line behind them is also dead center.
There is no excitement, no joie de vivre, and no
escargot. It is no wonder their ATC looks like this:
If we divide the card down the center vertically, you
may notice that both sides look nearly the same, right
on down to the fruit. This is called symmetry. There
is total balance. It is not too bad, but it is not very
interesting either.
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Art TRADER
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The Asymmetrical Family eats their Wheaties:
Extra Tips!
Cropping: Try cropping your
figures! Cut off the side of the
head or body (the famous painter
Degas is famous for doing with
figures in his paintings)
Scale: scale is a good way to
create a dynamic composition.
Use small images and large
together. the smaller an object is
further away it can look. Larger
images appear closer.
They like excitement and escargot! This family
stands over to the left of the card. The little ones
are not of equal size, and the horizon line is a bit
lower than dead center. This is called asymmetry.
If we divide the card vertically down the center,
both sides are not similar at all. Their ATC ends up
looking like this:
f
Color: You can indeed boost your
composition by using bold color
schemes! Try complementary
colors - orange/blue, red/green,
yellow/purple. Black, white and
any color is also very striking.
And look! They gave the horizon line in the back a bit of a slope! How much more interesting is that?! Even the
fruit is pleasingly off center.
Because ATCs are so small, we have to make the most of our limited space. We can do this by using asymmetry
to create an ‘illusion’ of greater space: remember the area around your herd of bunnies or moldy bread is just as
important as the elements themselves.
Another thing to keep in mind when dividing your ATC space is the Golden Ratio or Golden Section. The Golden
Section is like asymmetry perfected and is approximately 1.618 to 1. The Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle
discussed the subject extensively. Try making an internet search for either term to learn more.
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Art TRADER
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Now that we’ve learned about making use of our
space, let’s discuss placement, specifically of a
single dominant element. The following feature
strong and successful examples...
This card is by Leah Budin. It features an
imprisoned clown. Take a look at where I have
divided the card. The red lines cut the card in
perfect half, both vertically and horizontally.
What makes this card pleasing is the fact that
the clown is shifted to the left of the center. The
dark blue line represents how the card would be
divided according to the Golden Ratio. Notice
how the chin of the clown falls exactly on this
line.
f
Leah Budin
Another successful card featuring a single
dominant element is by William Gridley:
This card is in fact quite symmetrical looking.
This card works, though, because of the bold,
strong color scheme; the figure has an almost
religious icon feel and communicates a sense of
power. Even so, if you look at the dividing lines,
you’ll see that the figure is not perfectly centered.
The circled halo in the back is a pleasing shape
and again is slightly off center. The border and
lettering at the bottom create a visual weight that
keeps the figure from looking top heavy.
Composition can usually make or break a card;
the best way the strengthen your ability is to
actively think about composition from the very
beginning. When you look through your collection
or past work, try to analyze the work you like and
find out why the composition works!
Next time we’ll be looking at Tangents, Ambiguity
and Negative Space.
William Gridley
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Art TRADER
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Hooked on Crayons:
Two Wax Art Techniques
By Martha Lee
This article describes two melted wax techniques using crayons
that can be applied to any form of mail art! The techniques are
creating a multicolored wax background and combining stamping
with crayon wax.
Technique One:
Making a multi-color background
1. This demonstration is to do a basic multi-color background.
Choose the colors for your background; you may have some
favorites. I use mostly primary colors.
While you are choosing, plug the small
iron in and wait for it to get hot.
2. Start to melt the colors using the iron
from light to dark.
3. After you have some melted wax on
the iron, spread the colors on the
cardstock. Leep a paper towel handy
to clean the iron between colors.
4. Cover the card completely with wax.
5. Placing the card upside down, lay it
against computer paper.
Required Materials
• Mini iron
• Craft iron (any iron will
work)
• Paper towels
• Crayons
• Printing paper
• Non-stick craft sheet
• Smooth card stock or
Bristol board
• Images to be stamped or
printed
• Embellishments
Optional Materials
• Wax-based color pencils
• Gel pens
• High gloss glaze
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Art TRADER
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1. Press the card with a hot iron using a circular motion. This step
will remove the wax leaving the only pigment. The printing paper
will absorb the wax.
2. Turn the card stock over and wipe the wax as much as you can.
If the card stock shines there is some wax left over. Repeat this
step until the colors look dull and smooth to the touch.
3. Stamp your favorite image. Add color and detail with colored
pencils, gel pens and embellishments. I colored her lips and used
the white gel pen for her eyes.
Technique Two:
Using a printed or stamped image before coloring
1. Repeat the steps as technique one. This time the image gives
you some guidelines as to where to place the colors.
2. If you add too much color or put color in a spot you don’t want
to be colored, you can correct it using colored pencils. I put too
much green on her arm, so I am going to correct it with a peach
colored pencil.
3. When you are finished coloring, you can use a high gloss glaze
to seal the cards and make the colors shine.
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Art TRADER
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Colorful Portraits
Portraits
Colorful
People come in all different colors, but some
artists like to push the human envelope of skin
and hair tones to new and exciting chromatic
heights. In this gallery you’ll find a pleasing mix
of all the colors of the rainbow, human, and other
worldly!
Tabitha Ladin
Next time you create a portrait,
try using blues or purples,
make those shadows funky and
green. Don’t be afraid of color!
Lisa Rigsby
Shelli Heinemann
LeAnne Iverson-Wilson
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Andrea Melione
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Joy Saethre
Rosanna Johansen
Brittany Noethen Sarah Zamora -12-
Sal Scheibe
Art TRADER
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What is Hot
in Mail Art?
POSTCARDS!
By Tracie Rozario
The latest obsession making a wave at Mail Art
World (www.mailartworld.com) and, indeed, the
whole Mail Art community, are postcards!
Whether they are hand-drawn, fabric, collage, digital,
or mixed media, there is something romantic about
sending a fragile piece of artwork on its adventure
to distant locations. These miniature pieces of art
are sent out into the world braving all types of ‘mail
system’ abuse. They arrive at their final destination
with the added ‘altering’ that only a well-travelled
letter presents.
The post office defines a postcard as a card that is
rectangular, thin, and to be no smaller than 3.5 x
5 inches and no bigger than 4.25 x 6 inches. The
postcards that are generally traded among artists
are usually 4 x 6 inches which allows for a greater
scope in artwork than an ATC.
Postcard by Roc Nicholas
Basically, there are two main rules to trading
postcards. First, there must not be any bulky
embellishments so they remain true to the thin
postcard form. Second, the layout of the card should
have art on one side and a divided area on the other
side for a small, hand-written message, postage,
and the recipient’s address.
COMPETITION!
Mail Art World will be running a postcard competition
for its members this October! For further information
on the contest and how to apply to the site visit our
home page at: http://www.mailartworld.com
These little gifts of art can be mailed as is or mailed
in an envelope.
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Art TRADER
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MORE
MORE
POSTCARDS!
POSTCARDS!
Stuart Nash
Tanya Whitley
Janet
Dickenson
Wanda Edwards
Cathy Parmelee
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Art TRADER
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ROCKING ROLO CARDS
b y
R o c h e l l e
G re e n e
Did you ever say to yourself, “What did I do with that piece
of paper with the address for my trade?” How DO you
keep track of your trading addresses?
Roxanne Nicholas (rocnic23) thought up a bright, colorful
answer. Decorated Rolodex cards, all kept together in
one place. What a concept! A Rolodex is really akin to a
flexible address book; cards are easily taken in and out.
Usually Rolodex cards are very small, more the size of a
business card. It would be hard to put on the necessary
information and still have room for any kind of fun
decorating.. So the decision was made to use the 3x5
inch Rolodex cards. More room, but not too big! Then
they could be kept in a file box or on a Rolodex holder.
There even is a circular holder that spins around. (Geat
for ribbons hanging off the side.) Others have even
created their own decorated boxes to accommodate their
collections.
Rolo Card by Andrea Davis
Of course, it does take time to decorate those cards, and
who has all that time? So the Rolo trade was created!
Now each of us makes our own Rolodex cards with our
own addresses and trading information, and we swap
with the other people we like trade with. No more lost
addresses! Our storage boxes have become works of art
themselves.
The Rolos are NOT limited to just address information.
Members of the Rolo trading group at atcsforall.com are
now making cards that represent a letter that can be used
to separate sections. We may actually add Months for
birthday card dates. Who knows where this may grow?
So let me tell you how you can get started too!
Vintage Rolodex of Wanda Edwards
Rolo How-To:
The Rolodex blanks can be found in most office supply
stores in the 3x5 size. The actual Rolodex holders for the
3x5 size cards are a bit more difficult to find. They are
often found on-line, including some neat older ones at
reasonable prices on ebay. If you live in the US, you can
often order them from a catalog of the major business
supply stores like Staples and Office Max. Others have
chosen to make their own holders out of a sturdy wooden
box with two appropriate dowels in the bottom to fit the
holes. Then they have decorated the outsides to reflect
their own art. Truthfully, a file box will work; it just won’t
have the same flavor as a Rolodex.
Altered Rolodex Holder by Lisa Buchanan
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Art TRADER
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Rolo How-To (Continued):
To keep the format of the Rolo cards uniform, we use
Rolodex cards that are the 3x5 size. However, they are
very flimsy, so most people adhere 2 or 3 together for
added strength. Others choose to use the Rolodex card
as a template and make the actual cards on watercolor
paper, or other sturdy cardstock.
The format for the address information should also be
fairly uniform. The information belongs on the FRONT of
the card. The username should come first and on the top
of the card somewhere. Next, real name, mailing address,
and then telephone and/or email are optional. The back
of the card is reserved for changes in information. It
should be nicely covered, but not overly done.
Altered Rolodex holder by Dana Driscoll
Now the holes! If you don’t use Rolo blanks with the holes
already cut for you, you will need to cut them out with
an Exacto knife or fine scissors. There is a Rolodex hole
puncher available in stores, BUT it isn’t the RIGHT size.
The spaces between holes are measured for the little
business card size Rolodex, and the spaces in the 3x5
card are further apart. Some people have purchased the
puncher and chopped the whole thing in half. Then they
had two separate single hole punchers. They can then
position the holes where they need to be, and give the
other half of the puncher to a friend. Cutting out those
holes on regular papers just isn’t that hard!
Tabs on top are optional. Some people like to put the
first letter of their screen name so it stands out. Please
remember that when you do add a tab, don’t make it too
tall. Different Rolodex boxes and other storage boxes may
have covers! If you choose to add some embellishments,
the same rule applies. Just nothing too thick or your card
will take up so much room that there won’t be much left
for anyone else.
Rolo Card by Sandy Broschat
Rolo Cards from the holder of Wanda Edwards
Blank Rolo Card
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Art TRADER
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Types of Rolo Holders
As mentioned before, there are two categories of
holders: flat and circular. You need to be aware of the
type of holder your trade partner is using. If it is flat, the
front and back will both have the holes on the bottom
of the card. If they have a circular Rolodex holder (one
that spins around), the backs flip over. In that case the
front will be over the holes and the back decoration
needs to be upside down with the holes showing at the
top.
If a trader is just using a plain file, or keeps the cards
together in some alternate way, they might request a
card WITHOUT any holes at all.
Flat Rolodex Holder
Deciding on a Theme
Possible trading themes are endless. They often range
from Artist’s Choice, all the way to the interests of the
ultimate owner of the card. When traders sign up on
the Rolo thread at Atcsforall.com, people can specify
what themes they would like to receive. Then it is up to
the trader to create a Rolo that reflects the interests of
the Rolo’s new owner, or to make a card that reflects
themselves as an artist. Just like ATCs, all types of art
supplies are used to carry out a theme. Paints, markers,
collage, and fabric are just some of the media used on
Rolodex address cards.
a
Well, that’s about all there is to making wonderful Rolos.
I mail them out as I do my ATCs - enclosed in a nice,
sturdy greeting card and they always seem to arrive
okay. They are beautiful to look at, and I don’t lose my
addresses anymore! Try one yourself! Better yet, come
join us at Atcsforall.com, the Rolo-Redux thread.
Rolodex images above from www.rolodex.com
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Circular Rolodex Holder
Common Rolo Themes
◊
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◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
◊
Flowers
Birds
Gothic
Fantasy
Circus
Vintage
Animals
Travel
The Sea
Artist’s Choice
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Artistic Journeys:
Handmade Paper for Mail Art
By Dana Lynn Driscoll
Handmade Paper – Mail Art Style
Learning to make your own handmade paper is amazingly
beneficial for any mail artist. First, your handmade paper has
unique texture and appearances that you are unable to find
anywhere else—giving your art a funky and personal twist.
Second, handmade paper is made from paper scraps that you
already most likely have in abundance as a mail artist—not
to mention old envelopes and packaging materials that you
normally throw away. Third, handmade paper can be made very
thick for chunky books, ATCs, and other types of art requiring
some sturdiness. Finally, recycled handmade paper is very cheap
to produce and getting a papermaking setup can be done for as
little as $20.
Papermaking Supplies
You can get started making handmade paper for a $30 or less
investment. Here’s what you’ll need:
1) A blender. I have a blender just for papermaking, but
its possible to use your regular blender if you clean it out
sufficiently after use (and if you are not using any additives
or chemicals). I recommend picking up a used blender at a
yard sale or thrift store.
2) A mould and deckle. The mould and deckle is the part of
the process that allows you to form sheets of paper from
a vat of pulp. The mould and deckle are two frames with
an inside diameter of whatever size of paper you want. I
have moulds and deckles in 8.5x11” and 11x17”, but you
can make them of any size. Embroidery hoops and picture
frames can both work for this purpose. One of them should
have a screen (window screening is fine) stapled to them.
To do the pour method (see below), you need a special
larger deckle that is 3” high.
3) Couching sheets. You can use any type of cotton fabric
or unbleached muslin to hold your paper. The reusable
paper towels also work really well for this process. Felt
also works, but it makes the paper take longer to dry. Cut
your couching sheets larger than your mould or deckle.
4) Sponges
5) Materials to create pulp: old office paper, envelopes, bills,
dryer lint, old clothing, plant materials, etc! Paper with text
or writing is fine and will give you neat effects. I do not
recommend using newspaper because it has a high acid
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Short History of
Papermaking
Papermaking is an art that is over 5000 years
old. The first papers in recorded history were
papyrus (ancient Egypt) and tapa (China).
Both were used in recordkeeping and both
were made of plant fibers local to the area.
In AD 105, the Chinese created our first
“modern” paper from waste rags from fabric.
Within five centuries, the Arabic world had
developed fine papers and exported these
all over the eastern hemisphere, including
parts of Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Italian papermakers picked up on the Arabic
techniques and improved them, creating
the first papermill. In the early 14th century,
paper was becoming more and more
important to European societies—in both the
public and intellectual spheres. Because of
this, papermills spread throughout Europe
during the Renaissance and later to the
Americas. Jumping toward the 21st century,
concerns about whether the information
era will cause an end to paper as we know
it have surfaced and the art of handmade
papermaking continues to be one practiced
by a select few.
Art TRADER
content and will deteriorate faster. You can also purchase
commercial cotton linters or abaca fibers—but I find these
expensive and not necessary for successful papermaking.
6) Paper additives (optional) – Paper additives come
in two forms: Those that you add to the paper for a
functional reason (such as paper sizing) and those you
add to the paper for effect (such as cold water fabric dyes
sprinkled over the top, dried flowers, confetti, glitter, etc).
7) A basin or sink in which to work. I recommend using a
sink if you have a garbage disposal—the excess pulp can
then go through the disposal. If you don’t have a garbage
disposal in your sink, I would use a basin instead so that
you don’t have to sieve the pulp out of the sink before
releasing the water down the drain.
What can go in
handmade paper?
You can put all kinds of “inclusions” in
handmade paper. Here are a few of my
favorites:
• Bits of fabric and yarn (cut up
small)
• Scraps from collage
• Tea bags (used or unused)
• Dryer lint
• Dried leaves and herbs
• Cut grass
• Copper leaf/gold leaf
• Confetti
• Dryer sheets (used)
• Coffee filters (used)
• Paper towels used (with paint, not
food!)
• Scraps from watercolor paper
• Potpourri
• Bits of letters
• Book pages (removed from books
to be altered)
• Tissue paper (recycled from gifts)
The sky is the limit. For things that are
thicker or harder, soak them at least 24
hours before you put them in your blender.
I advise against anything super-hard
like pinecones or very hard seeds or nut
pods—they simply won’t blend well and
will cause you problems in your paper.
Additional things helpful to the papermaking process:
•
•
•
•
Easy access to water and electricity. For papermaking,
having your blender close by and a sink is very necessary.
A workspace that you don’t mind getting wet. I’ve
made paper in kitchens, garages, and outside in the sun.
All are good choices. Papermaking is VERY messy, so
choose your workspace carefully.
Old Towels: For cleaning up your mess. Trust me, it will
happen!
A sunny day with little wind: Your paper dries quickly
outside in the sun (2-4 hours). In my part of the world, it
takes 2-3 days to dry indoors due to our high humidity
level.
Stages of Papermaking
Prepare your stock of recycled materials and paper additives
Begin by tearing up the paper you want to recycle into 1.5”
squares. I stress that tearing is important because you want to
retain as much of the paper fiber as possible (if you cut it, you’ll
cut the fibers and end up with weaker paper). Tear up a good
bit, and then place them in a bucket or large bowl of water. Allow
the fibers to soak at least an hour (for standard office paper) or
much longer (for heavier stuff such as mat board or cardstock).
I recommend soaking thicker papers like watercolor paper, abaca
fibers, and so forth overnight.
If you are using flowers, tea, or plant matter with your paper
and don’t want them bleeding into the paper (can look cool, but
not always what you want), you’ll also need to boil those for
10 minutes or so. This keeps the pigments in the flowers from
spreading into your paper, creating small halos around the plant.
Personally, I like the effect but not everyone does.
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Art TRADER
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Prepare your work area
Set your blender up as close to your sink/vat as possible. Fill your sink/vat up with enough water to completely
cover the mould and deckle when they are placed inside (about 1-2” over is a good amount).
Prepare a place to lay and press the paper after you create it—take
an old towel or other absorbent surface and lay it near your work
area. This is where you will transfer your freshly couched sheets.
Your couching sheets should be damp before use, especially if you
are using a thicker material like felt. You can soak them and then let
them sit out, or even hit them with a spray bottle before use.
Create your pulp
Once you have soaked your pulp, grab a decent handful of it and
place it into the blender, filling the blender up about 1/3 of the
way. Fill the blender to the top with water. If you use too much
pulp you’ll stress the blender, and if you use too little, you’ll be a bit
inefficient in your pulp production. Give the pulp a good blending –
for a solid pulp, 30-40 seconds is sufficient. As you are blending,
watch to make sure all the fibers are spinning. If they aren’t, then
you have too much pulp in the blender—remove some and add
more water.
Note: How much you blend the pulp can affect how your paper
looks. If you blend the pulp only partially, you’ll end up with a much
different effect than if you blend it completely. For a complete blend,
you’ll want to start on low for about 15 seconds, then move to the
highest setting for another 15-20 seconds.
Method 1: The Pull Method
The first method of papermaking (and the way it’s traditionally done)
is to pour your pulp into a large vat of water and pull sheets from it.
The Pull Method allows you to create many sheets of paper similar
in appearance. The paper from the pull method is also thinner
than that of the Pour Method (discussed below). Both have their
benefits.
To get the right consistency of pulp in the vat, you’ll probably need to
add three or so blenderfuls of pulp to your vat.
Once you have added the pulp, swish it around with your hand to
get any that may have settled, and then slip your mould and deckle
into the pulp. Hold the mould and deckle together, making sure that
the mould (the part with the screen) has the screen facing up. Pull
the mould and deckle straight up (moving the mould and deckle
together back and forth a bit to swishing around the pulp and water
a bit to even it out as you pull). Stop moving the mould and deckle
once most of the water drains out.
Take one of your dampened couching sheets and place it over the
freshly pulled piece of paper. You can use a sponge to get off a bit
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Art TRADER
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of excess water, then take the sheet to your absorbent cloth and flip the entire mould over. The paper should
come off the mould and stay on the couch sheet. Sometimes it is a bit stubborn, and I find that if you pull on
the edges of the couch sheet away from the mould, it helps get the paper unstuck.
You can continue to pull sheets of paper, couch them, and lay them on top of each other (creating a stack) until
you have created all that you want to. After you pull 5-8 sheets of paper, you’ll notice that your pulp will thin out
considerably. Continue to add new blenderfuls of pulp (and additional water) as necessary as you go along.
You can subtly change the color of the pulp as you add blenderfuls by changing the types of recycled papers
you put into the pulp.
Method 2: The Pour Method
This is a method I developed to allow me to create marbleized
paper techniques and also to create thicker papers. It also
allows you to experiment with different recipes for paper, one
blenderful at a time. I highly recommend it for mail art, as
you get thicker papers which are useful for sturdy bases and
backgrounds. For this technique you will need a larger deckle
(3”) high.
Place your mould and deckle in the vat of water. The top of the
deckle should stick out of the water, preventing the water inside
from flowing out.
Create your pulp as normal in your blender. Instead of pouring
the pulp directly into the vat, pour about a blenderful into the
inside of the deckle. Swish it around with your fingers until you see the pulp spread evenly within the deckle.
Grab the mould and deckle and pull the whole thing out of the water—and you have your sheet of paper!
You can experiment with all sorts of techniques with this method including combining two different types of pulp
or making layers of color.
Drying and pressing your paper
Once you have a decent-sized stack of wet papers, take your stack outside. I find the easiest thing to do is to
press it by using a piece of board on the sidewalk or driveway. I stand on it for about a minute, allowing much of
the water to be removed.
Size
Matters!
Blending time and speed will determine how quickly your papers
turn to pulp. When using recycled papers, you may consider
blending them less to give you a neat effect. Blending them for
only a few seconds will leave portions of the text readable and
give you very unique sheets of paper with flecks of text that can
still be read! You can combine different colors of paper for a
confetti look too. Here is an image of a piece of freshly pulled
paper with text bits combined with some purple pulp.
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Art TRADER
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Give it a little color!
Next, I remove each sheet, keeping them
on their couching sheets still, and lay
them in the sun to dry.
Some of the sheets in my
examples have been treated
with a powdered cold water
fabric dye (such as Dylon or Rit
dye). I find that the dark blues,
purples, and greens produce
the best results. You can do
one of two things:
Often, I will mist them and iron them to
get them completely flat once again.
Alternatives to pressing include using
a larger commercial press overnight, or
even using a vintage laundry press to
press your sheets dry faster!
While the paper is still wet (just
after pressing), you can take
the package of dye and sprinkle
some of it on each sheet (as
shown in my pictures of my
paper drying). This gives you
a speckled effect, and is really
quite stunning.
Mail Art Projects
There are just so many things you can do
with handmade paper. Here are a few
recent things that I made with papers I
made this past summer:
You can also add dye to your
paper while you are making
it. Add a few tablespoons to
your pulp in your vat—and use
gloves to pull your paper!
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Art TRADER
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o
Skinny Pages:
Colorful Mixed
Media Trees
These 3” x 7” beauties
can be bound into a tall
chunky book or used as
bookmarks.
o
Made by the artists of
ATCsforAll.com
Susan McDonald
w
Carole Cadek
Jeanette Dimock
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Debra Leach
Natasha Dennis
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Tammy Frieborg
Andrea Melione
Lisa Manyweathers
o
Katie Vlasov
Annie Yu
o
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Dana Driscoll
Art TRADER
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Easy Whimsy Art for People Who
Can’t Draw (Yet!)
By Sal Scheibe
This little how-to guide is for people who just can’t draw (yet!). If
you’ve already mastered funky, whimsical art, then catch up with me
next issue. This one is for the absolute beginners who really want
to draw, but have never been able to match what is in their heads
to the paper. By the way – every artist knows that feeling! We’re
concentrating on whimsy, cartoony style art for this tutorial simply
because it’s easy. If you can draw a circle and make squiggly lines,
then you’ll ace this art lesson! While there are all sorts of styles of
whimsy folk art, we’re going to tackle some beginner tricks. Most
whimsy art is actually quite simple. There is often a simple drawing
that’s accented with bright, wonderful colors, with a bit of shading
and lots of fun lines and shapes.
Exercise 1: The Funky Stuff
s
Grab a piece of paper and start practicing the basics! I’ve doodled
lots of silly things in Figure 1 – lines, dots, hearts, squiggly bits,
flowers and swirls. These little lines are going to be the highlight
of our whimsy art. With them, you can create all sorts of funky little
things and they’ll look good! Try to emulate my squiggles and lines.
See if you can keep them tight and neat. It may take a little bit of
practice, but keep going until it feels right. At this stage, you might
want to make yourself a whimsy squiggle / swirl Pictionary on a
piece of paper or in a sketchbook. Make up your own odd little
shapes and lines. Before you know it, you’re going to have a super
visual reference of some funky add-ons for your art.
Figure 1
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Exercise 2: Putting it Together
All of those squiggles and lines look a bit
silly on their own, but they come in very
handy for making your art look good. Try
putting some of the funky stuff together to
create images. As you can see in Figure 2,
I’ve just made a simple circle of squiggles
and stuck them on top of some lines with
swirls. But it looks fun! On the right, I
added some yellow coloring and then an
orange-yellow color around the edges to
add some depth. And now I have some
decent looking flowers.
Figure 2
In Figure 3, I’ve put more shapes and
lines together to create some silly trees.
Practice putting together some flowers and
trees on your own. Feel free to copy mine
as well. Add these trees and flowers (and
whatever else you come up with) to your
visual library paper or sketchbook so you
don’t forget. You’ll be able to refer back to
your drawings and doodles and use them
on future ATCs and chunky pages.
s
s
You can see that I’ve added some very
basic shading to the trees in Figure 3.
All I’ve done is taken a darker tone of my
original color and added some shading
on the left side. I’ve decided that my light
source is coming from the top right so I
want to be consistent and add my shading
accordingly. Very easy, right?
Exercise 3: Making a Whimsy
Person ATC
Don’t panic! I’m going to make this very
easy for you. If you can draw an oval and
a couple of lines, you’ll be fine. Feel free
to copy what I’ve done or dive in and attempt your own version if you’re feeling
adventurous.
Figure 3
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Step 1 This is pretty easy, isn’t it? An
oval and two almost straight lines – yep,
that’s easy. Add a small border too and
round the corners a bit.
Step 2 I’ve added some Zetti stripes to
my lady’s neck and given her a lovely
beaded necklace.
Step 3 I’ve drawn on some ears. As you
can see, they’re just half circles stuck on
either side of the oval. I’ve added some
hair and used a squiggly line to make it
look a bit funky.
s
Step 4 I know, faces are hard. Do your
best to draw in your basic face shapes. All
you need is two ovals for the eyes, a little
rounded line for a nose and some lips.
You can do lips! You are welcome to copy
my example or even trace it if you want.
After this exercise, I’ve provided some
information on face proportions that will
help you to get it right in your oval shape
Step 7 Here I have added some very
simple shading. I’ve added it to the trees,
the hills and her Zetti neck. I have also
added a dash of pink of her cheeks.
Step 5 I’ve added in an outdoor background
here. A couple of hills (simple lines) and a
couple of trees. You’ve had plenty of practice
with trees, so go crazy here!
Step 8 Squiggly lines in the hair, circles in the
sky (and some clouds), swirls and hatches
in the grass. Now we’re starting to look a
little funky! Ok, you’re not Picasso or Teesha
Moore yet, but you’ve done pretty well so far,
haven’t you?
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Step 6 I’ve blocked in my basic colors in
this step. It’s very basic – just like a kid’s
coloring book.
Step 9 VOILA! Add in a few last minute
touches. I added some earrings, a tattoo,
a few swirly grasses, and some batting
eyelashes and she’s ready for the party.
Art TRADER
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Figure 4
Facial Proportions
d
Whimsy art is all about having fun. You don’t need to get everything spot on and there is absolutely no realism
involved but you don’t want your people looking wonky. When a face is out of proportion, it throws the whole
image off. I won’t go into too many details here, just the basics, so you can make your whimsy people look
good.
Here are the guidelines for facial proportions. See Figure 4 for an example.
1.
A head is basically an oval shape.
2.
About halfway down is where the eyes are positioned.
3.
The mouth is normally about two thirds of the way between the chin and the eyes.
4.
The nose falls about halfway between the eyes and the mouth.
5.
Ears are found between the eyes and the bottom of the nose.
Get your proportions right and your art will look much better.
And there you have it - simple whimsy people for the beginner artist. I hope I made it easy for you. Next issue,
we’re moving on to the intermediate lesson in funky folk art.
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Featured Artist:
Tabitha Ladin
Interview by Andrea Melione
Tabitha Ladin is an extremely versatile Illustrator and graphic
designer. Her work encompasses exquisite studies of nature,
and highly detailed fantasy structures and figures. Her colored
pencil drawings are vibrant with color and style. In this interview
Tabitha discusses her inspiration and shares a few tips.
How did you become interested in art? Have you had formal
training?
I was born interested in art! I’ve been drawing since I could hold
a crayon. I had art lessons as a kid which focused mainly on oil
painting but the instructor was a bit rigid in his approach. Although,
looking back, I suppose it was a bit like a music teacher making
you practice scales: boring and tedious, but part of the learning
process.
I also took a few classes in pottery and drawing as a kid. My mom also had many art books lying around that I would
look at frequently. I think she had one of those Time-Life sets on the Masters or something. After a failed attempt as
an engineering student, I went to school for advertising art. The courses covered Design, Illustration and Production.
We didn’t really go too in depth in any one area. I later took a course at the same school for Computer Graphic
Design. This is where I learned the joys of Photoshop. I never had any training in “fine” art as an adult.
What media do you normally work in?
Right now I usually work with colored pencils and Micron pens. Since I have four young kids, I need a medium that I
can put down or pick up at will. Also I can’t spread out too far or they will be into my projects and ruin them. Ahh, the
joys of kids. I will do watercolors sometimes when I feel I can block out enough time. I also like to work with markers,
although the cost of a decent set of markers is prohibitive at this time.
What is some of your favorite subject matter?
I love doing animals the most and fantasy subjects as well. I have always drawn birds and horses and dragons. I
have some from when I was a small child that are hilarious. I do get bored doing any one subject too much and that
is why I enjoy the Pick-A-Theme Swaps. I get thrown into the deep end with subjects I would normally shy away from.
I still always come back to the animals, though.
You also do Graphic Design; has that helped how you see things in your traditional media artwork, and
ATCs?
Absolutely. I think of design as a very strong emphasis on composition and flow. The first thing I see when I look
at art is the composition and the use of colors. Since I had training in Advertising Art, I am always thinking about
impact. How can I make the piece more dynamic visually? Advertising is all about getting people’s attention and I try
to incorporate that into my art. Ultimately I want it to jump off the page and grab your eyeballs and say “Look at me!”
I don’t always accomplish that, but it’s the goal. My favorite pieces that I’ve done are the ones with the most visual
impact.
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Who has influenced you creatively?
My aunt has always been a fantastic painter. When I was a child, she was focused
mainly on wildlife painting. She used to enter the Duck Stamp contest every year and
I always thought she would win. Her paintings are beautiful and I’ve always looked
up to her talent, still do. If I had half her talent, I’d be excited. The other person that
inspires me is my sister. She has an entirely different style than I do, much more
surreal and weird. I love her art. We joke that she wishes she could draw more like
me and I wish I could paint more like her. She is much more wildly creative than I am,
so sometimes when I’m stuck I think, “What would Wendy do?”
You’re very skilled in nature art; do you spend a lot of time observing nature?
Back before I had kids, one of my favorite pastimes was bird watching. I don’t get
out with nature directly the way I used to, but I still try and observe nature around
my house and backyard and teach the kids about animals and plants. We also have
a lot of books on nature that they all enjoy and of course the TV lets us experience
nature in the way of shows about animals and such. Observing plants and animals
and sunsets and mountains is so second nature I forget I’m even doing it. My kids
and I will discuss the colors of the shadows on clouds and mountains. I try and get
them to see things artistically.
Have your travels or your local area inspired you at all? What museums have
your been to? What local places inspire you?
I am always inspired by the desert around me. It is beautiful in a way that people not
from here sometimes have a hard time appreciating. I moved from back east when I
was a teenager and it seemed horrible and dead, but after being here for so long, I
can now see it for its charms. It’s a different color palette. Any place I go is inspiring
in its own way. Las Vegas was inspiring in all its brilliance and sparkle and over-thetop colors. I haven’t been to any art museums here in years, but I am always inspired
by art museums. Recently I was in London and visited the Tate Modern. That was
fascinating in that much of the work was fabulous and inspiring and a lot of it was
completely dumbfounding. I do not understand some modern art and it can sometimes
make me question how these “artists” convince people that what they have done is
art. They must be better salesmen than artists. We also went to the National Portrait
Gallery in London and that was fascinating in that it was all portraits, but the range
of styles was huge. It made me want to try so many things. London in general was
inspiring because it’s so much older than anything here in the States. It has so much
history. There is just a story behind everything. I wish I could have spent more time.
Even the architecture was worth just standing and staring at.
Do you have any tips to share?
Don’t be afraid of contrast! Get jiggy with perspective. Know when to stop. Try new
things. I haven’t got time for classes, which I could really use, but I look at other
people’s art and try to dissect what they did. Critiquing other peoples work also helps
to improve your own. It helps to learn to “see” what’s good about a piece and where
it could improve. Also, don’t take yourself too seriously. Ultimately, yours is the only
opinion that matters when you are doing art, unless you are going to sell it. If you like
it, it’s good.
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How did you find out about ATCs?
My mother was trading online and after months of trying to get me into it, I finally
relented and made a card of a red dragon. It got a fairly good reception when I
uploaded it so I was enticed to try more. My first couple hundred cards were done
by drawing ink lines and scanning them in and coloring in Photoshop. I think it was
a bit of a novel approach when I first started making cards.
Has Mail Art been a positive influence in your creative endeavors?
Yes, it has expanded my circle of like-minded people. I’m not terribly social in real
life and I don’t know too many artists outside the family. I also don’t have much
time for such frivolities as museum and gallery visits so the Mail Art community has
been fabulous in that it exposes me to so many great people and so much art of
all types and mediums and styles. I am constantly inspired to create better things. I
love collecting art from so many different people and different places. I enjoy being
part of a community that lets me connect with other artists.
Is there anything that you haven’t tried yet, but want to tackle?
I would like to try something BIG! I have always been a small art kind of person.
The level of detail I like to do would be hard to pull off at a large scale. I think the
biggest painting I’ve ever done is about 12” x 16”. That’s huge for me. I would like
to try and do a mural or something really big where I would be forced to loosen up
a bit. I think sculpture would be neat also. Especially metal sculpture where you
have to weld stuff together or melt things. That will have to wait until the kids are
grown. Little children plus blow torch equals ER visits.
Visit Tabitha Ladin on the Web!
website
http://members.cox.net/tladin
email
tladin@cox.net
TabLynn at Deviantart
http://tablynn.deviantart.com
TabLynn1 at Flickr
www.flickr.com/photos/tablynn1
TabLynn at etsy
www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6195014
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Design - A - Pony!
Provided with line art drawn by Andrea Melione, A.K.A
EraserQueen, these artists rose to the challenge of creating
customized ponies incorporating their own personal style and
using themes that either meant something to them, or which
they found creativly stimulating. From Ancient Cave Art to
Kristi Zoebelein
Kandinsky, there’s something for everyone.
Desiree Kern Ang Westermann Anne El-Habre
Emma Hollerhead
Judith Metzger
Dina Haskins Dorinda Skains Meran ni Cuill
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Joyce Ripley
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Rebecca Wood
Tracie Rozario Pam McVay
Tabitha Ladin
Marjee Zeier
Melisa McCurley
Sue Jorgensen -33-
Lisa Winter
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Art of Darkness: Exploring
Darker Themes Through Art
t
By Kati Barrett
While wandering through the gallery at ATCsForAll.com (AFA), I
am amazed at the lovely pieces of art on display. So much pretty
finery to gaze upon as collages and hand-drawn pieces fill the
pages. But then—my heart skips a beat—I spot a piece of
art that features a grotesque portrait of the Mad Hatter! Its
face is skeleton-like and the expression quite angry. I am
fascinated! What is this allure I feel toward darker pieces?
Why am I, and other artists, pulled to make art that is
deemed scary, odd, or shadowy? We play with images
of death, of bugs, and of stunning women—juxtaposing
the beautiful with the ugly. I can only answer this question
for myself, and the truth is, mine or anybody’s answer is
both simple and complicated.
I have been a collage and mixed media artist for years. In fact, I
was raised on art, as my mother—an artist—introduced me to this
wonderful expression of self at an early age. My affinity for darker
art, however, only manifested recently, as I attempted to work out my
own conflicted feelings with my art. Suddenly making a piece that merged a
skull with butterfly wings made more sense to me than either of the images did on their
own. Confession time: I live with Bipolar Disorder and therefore struggle with extremes of mood more than other
people do. It feels natural for me to live out that struggle artistically. It is also healing to be able to express what it’s
like to live through my illness. But there is more to it than that—nothing is ever quite so simple. I also live in a world
that can feel simultaneously scary and wonderful. People hurt each other all the time, and yet they are surrounded
by beauty. These conflicting images naturally show up in the art that I create. What better way to “process the world”
than to create a work of art about it?
When speaking to other artists about ‘dark’ art, I received responses similar to mine. But there were differing
responses as well. One that seems significant, but also frightening, is that this is an opportunity to bring taboo
subjects into the light. There are topics in this culture that are deemed “NOT okay” to talk about. When a piece of
art is made surrounding a taboo topic, it actually empowers it by bringing it out of the shadows and into the light. For
example, victims of abuse often find making art about the horrors that happened to them not only healing, but also
awareness-raising. What remains hidden can continue to haunt—but when brought to the surface—removes fear.
I had these thoughts in mind when I decided to host a Darker Art Swap at AFA. There were so many fun swaps
being offered, but none seemed to ask the artist to dig a little deeper into their own psyche. I have, and will continue
to have, fun joining swaps with lighter themes, but I found it disappointing that there were no darker or openly
introspective themes. What better way to remedy that than to host such a swap myself? I chose American poet
Anne Sexton as inspiration for the swap theme, because her poetry immediately addresses those fearful places
in the human mind. Sexton herself lived with her own psychological demons and subsequently ended her own life
rather young.
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Art TRADER
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Creating
Darker
Art
So you want to make dark art and don’t
know where to start? It’s less scary
than it seems, although it does require
willingness to look deeper and to be more
open. Here are some tips on how to get
started in creating your own dark piece:
• Read, read, read! The works of Anne
Sexton and Sylvia Plath are gold mines
of dark imagery.
• Use your own ideas! Look through
your journal and find a time when things
weren’t going so well. What images come
to mind as you read your words?
I chose to leave the theme open to artist interpretation—participants
could make art based on Sexton’s life story or her work, or they could
face their own psychological demons head-on through this venue. I
was happily surprised when the swap filled quickly. It seems that I
am not the only one aching for the opportunity to make art that’s of a
darker nature.
The swap is still in progress as I write
this, but the returns I have received
to date are stunning not only in their
expertise,but also in their variety. For
example, Amy Sargent’s work is very
layered, where lines of Sexton’s poetry
(“you are beautifully insane”, “your dear
nylon-covered legs are the horses I will
ride into eternity”) lies over random text
and stamped images and is then covered
with alcohol-ink-colored transparencies
that portray Sexton in different poses.
Nancy Zarling took a different approach,
one that is very literal.
Lines from Sexton’s work come alive on
her ATCs in a very visual way by using
collages made with bubble wrap, text and
fabric. And Katie Vlasov used one poem
as inspiration for all of her pieces, Letter
written on a Ferry while Crossing Long
Island Sound. Her work is a beautiful
collage using maps of the ocean floor,
text, ink and embossing. Vastly different
works from artists on the same dark
theme, all of them hitting home in their
own unique way.
• Juxtapose! Add wings to skulls, bat
faces to nude women, spiders with
children. Forcing two opposing images to
relate to one another is a great way to
explore shadowy realms.
• Add text to your art. A seemingly
innocent picture takes on a whole new
layer of meaning with the right phrase or
word added.
• Don’t know where to get these creepy
images? I have found mine on etsy,
ebay, National Geographic and other
magazines. Other places to look are
medical dictionaries, encyclopedias,
children’s books, and Dover publications.
The internet is filled with copyright free
images; use Google to your advantage.
All of these ideas are great starting points,
but the real work is within you. Being
open to what scares you and willing to
talk about it are paramount. Incorporating
dark themes into your art may be scary at
first, but it can be surprisingly cathartic if
you dare to go there.
Amy Sargent
Nancy Zarling
The reasons why we are attracted to darker
themes in art are as varied as the artists
and their styles, but one common factor
remains - it is an outlet to express the ugly
and unsafe side of life.
b
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Katie Vlasov
Art TRADER
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Thread Painting: Techniques and Tips
By Ca thy Gr e e n a . k . a . “ b ar ef o o t ch ef ”
INTRODUCTION
Mail Art is all about trying something new, and fabric art is no
exception! My approach to sewing and art is non-conventional. In
my nearly 45 years of sewing, when it comes to art and ATCs, I don’t
live by rules. Making art with sewing techniques is much different
than garment sewing. Always remember, if it works, it’s right. If you
make a mistake, it is proof that you tried. This article provides an
introduction to what I call “Thread Painting”, including a discussion
of the materials you need, a description of how to make ATCs with
single fabric backgrounds and multiple fabric backgrounds, and a
list of resources for more information.
WHAT IS THREAD PAINTING?
USEFUL BOOK RESOURCES:
Quilt Savvy, Simple Thread Painting
Nancy Prince
What I describe in this article is called many names: thread painting,
free style sewing, free-motion embroidery, free-motion machine
embroidery, free machine embroidery, painting by needle, freemotion stitching, etc. All descriptions are of the same thing. I will
be using the term “thread painting.” I use this term because your
needle and thread act like a brush and your fabric is your canvas. To
me, it seems the most appropriate term that describes the process.
It is the freedom in the process that makes the end result possible.
Thread painting is the design created when you drop your sewing
machine feed dogs and use a darning/free embroidery foot. When
you drop your feed dogs, you have total control over your fabric
and can sew wherever you want on your fabric. Your feed dogs are
located under your sewing foot on the bed of the machine. They are
the “teeth” that you see, and they pull the fabric towards the back
of the machine. You can check out sewing terms online. Visit www.
sewingweb.com for more information.
What we will be doing is not bobbin work or machine embroidery.
Bobbin work is when threads are used in the bobbin case. These
are threads that are too thick to use in your sewing machine needle.
In bobbin work, when you sew, it will be the backside of the fabric
that becomes the front.
This is also not using an embroidery machine that does the work
for you. What we will be doing is using a common sewing machine
and the stitches that it is capable of to create a picture that you
personally design. Your machine may or may not have decorative
stitches that can be used to achieve your desired effect.
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All About Machine Arts, Decorative Techniques from
A–Z
Sew News, Creative Embroidery and C&T Publishing
Coloring With Thread, A No-Drawing Approach To
Free-Motion Embroidery
Ann Fahlr
Beautifully Embellished Landscapes: 125 Tips &
Techniques to Create Stunning Quilts
Joyce R. Becker
Thread Painting, Simple Techniques to Add Texture
and Dimension
Leni Levenson Wiener
Luminous Landscapes: Quilted Visions In Paint &
Thread
Gloria Loughman
Thread Magic, The Enchanted World of Ellen Anne
Eddy
Ellen Anne Eddy
Threadplay with Libby Lehman, Mastering Machine
Embroidery Techniques
Libby Lehman
Beginners Guide to Machine Embroidered
Landscapes
Alison Holt
Beginners Guide to Machine Embroidery
Pam Watts
Landscape Quilts
Nancy Zieman and Natalie Sewell
Art TRADER
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WHAT YOU WILL NEED
SEWING MACHINE that allows you to drop your feed dogs. If your sewing
machine doesn’t have this capability, try setting your stitch length to 0, and
cover the feed dogs with masking or electrical tape. Some older machines
have a darning plate that came with the machine. It is used over the feed
dogs to keep them from touching the fabric. These machines usually only
sew a straight stitch.
Left to right: open-toe embroidery
foot, darning foot, open-toe applique
foot. These are the feet I personally
use to do my work. The feet for
each machine might vary, but still
function the same.
• Darning foot, free embroidery foot or spring loaded foot – if you don’t have
one of these, try an open-toed foot or no foot at all.
• Overcast foot (optional) for zig-zagging the edge when finished.
IRON AND IRONING BOARD. You might want to lay a piece of muslin over
your board to protect it while working.
FABRIC of your choice. An open weave, silky or stretchy fabric might be
difficult to work with at first, but you can always fuse interfacing to the back
to stabilize them. You will need fabric for the front of your card and if you like,
fabric for the back of your card. I like to use a corresponding fabric for the
back if I have it on hand.
THREAD. Always use a good quality thread, not the stuff from the 4/$1.00
bin or Serger thread. To start out with you would like to use an all-purpose
thread. Later on you can work up to a decorative rayon or metallic thread,
even a clear or smoke colored thread so stitching is barely visible if seen at
all. These are specialty threads and require special needles and handling.
Bobbin thread is helpful to keep from getting a thread buildup on the bottom of
your design. If you can’t locate bobbin thread, a fine embroidery thread (extra
fine) will work. There is a website with different threads under a microscope
so you can see the comparisons for yourself: http://sewing.about.com/library/
weekly/aa102100a.htm
TEMPLATE for an ATC-sized piece. I personally work with 4 templates. Two
are the traditional 2 ½” X 3 ½”, another is 2 5/8” X 3 5/8” which is just slightly
larger than a finished ATC, and lastly one that is 3” X 4”. The first one is cut
the size of an ATC. It is used to determine how big a piece of fabric I need.
The rest are reverse templates. They are used as a stencil would be used. I
cut out an opening out of a piece of cardboard with an X-acto knife. It looks
like a picture frame in that it has an opening in the center. The first I use to
make sure that I am staying within my ATC border as I go along; the second, I
use to draw a border on my card where I know I need to sew and stay within a
small margin of the edge; and the last one I use to audition a piece of fabric to
see where I want the ATC to fit into the background. If I don’t have a piece of
cardboard, I make my templates by gluing 2 pieces of cardstock or greeting
cards together and then cut them to size. I find these sturdy and helpful.
PENCIL, PAPER AND RULER to draw out your design. If you have access
to a light table, they are very helpful when you need to trace your reverse
pattern. If you don’t have a light table, you can place the design on a window
in daylight.
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Art TRADER
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HAND SEWING NEEDLE if you are going to hand sew on embellishments or do decorative hand work.
FABRIC GLUE like ‘Jewel It, Embellishing Glue’ by Aleene, if you don’t want to hand sew beads or embellishments
on. If you want to glue on things like ribbons, trim or other fabrics, Aleene’s ‘Ok To Wash-It’ works well. Both dry
clear. You can also use the squeeze bottle fabric paints which will give a dimensional effect. When using your glues,
make sure to put a good amount of glue down before placing your beads or ribbons, and then press what you are
attaching firmly to your fabric. Let fully dry before going further.
STABILIZER: (choose one):
• Stitch-N-Tear, paper that is torn away after the work is complete.
• Cut Away, paper that is cut away after the work is complete
• Interfacing (sew in or fusible), comes in different weights
• Buckram (what I will be using in this example) Buckram is a stiff, heavy woven cloth used to cover books, and
also in hats and leather goods to create a stiff shape. It can be found in fabric stores in the interfacing section.
• Freezer Paper – can be ironed on to your fabric for stability. Use a dry iron and place the wrong side of the
fabric to the shiny side of the freezer paper. Iron for a few seconds until freezer paper adheres to the fabric.
The freezer paper can be torn away when thread painting is completely finished.
• Totally Stable – similar to freezer paper and can be ironed onto your fabric and removed when your thread
painting is complete.
This list is not all encompassing. There are many products out there that can serve the purpose of a stabilizer.
o
Buckram Inch - This is a picture of two different
pieces of buckram. I have measured off a 1” section
of each to show the difference in the weave of the
two. When you have a choice, the one on the left is
preferable because the weave is tighter. You don’t
want to clearly see through the weave. If you can
see through it, your iron on adhesive will go through
it and you will need to place a piece of aluminum foil
underneath to keep it from sticking to your ironing
board. It will also leave a ‘grid’ mark on your fabric
and doesn’t work as well for a stabilizer.
SCISSORS AND CUTTING: (regular scissors, and then choose one of the following for best results):
• Double curve*
• Curved tip*
• Embroidery*
• Rotary cutter with ruler and rotary board (if available).
*These are curved blade scissors that are small and light . They enable you to cut the threads flush on the fabric at
the exact point you need so your work is clean of any thread tails.
PAPER-BACKED IRON-ON ADHESIVE: (choose one):
• Wonder Under – follow manufacture’s directions
• Steam A Seam – follow manufacture’s directions
• HeatnBond Lite – make sure not to heat too long. Doing so will melt off the adhesive and fusing will not occur.
• HeatnBond Ultra. This iron-on adhesive makes fabric stiffer, and takes a bit of care to sew through. This is
when your thread/needle lubricant comes in handy.
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NEEDLES (type of needle for thread painting is extremely important):
• Microtex Sharp - Has sharp tip to pierce through several layers easily.
• Quilting - Has sharp tip to pierce through several layers easily.
• Topstitch - Has a larger eye. Helps keep delicate thread from fraying.
• Embroidery - Has a larger eye. Helps keep delicate thread from fraying.
• Metallic – For use with metallic threads. Size 80/12, 90/14, or 70/10 for intricate work.
The Microtex Sharp and Quilting needle are interchangeable. So are the Topstitch and Embroidery needle.
LIQUID SEAM SEALANT: (choose one) Fray Block by June Taylor ( my preference) or Fray Check by Dritz. Use
sparingly on edges that you don’t want to fray. It will discolor your fabric slightly. I prefer to put some on my finger and
then place on the edge, cover with a press cloth and then press with a dry iron until dry. I have found that this process
seems to lighten the discoloration.
If you are going to thread paint your item/design separately on a hoop and then attach it to your fabric, you will
need one or more of the following: Organza, Solvy (a water stabilizer film) or Netting/tulle; the latter two are used
together.
If you want a quilted appearance, choose one:
• Quilt batting (called wadding in some areas). Iron-on or regular. Any type will work, just keep in mind, the thicker
the batting, the thicker the card in the end. Also, some machines will only work properly when using a lighter
thickness, so keep this in mind when choosing what you use.
• Therm-O-Lamb (comes in a fusible)
• Felt
You can buy the iron-on in these items, or even use the quilter’s basting spray to attach your batting to your fabric
card. If you want a quilted appearance, you will need a backing fabric, something cheap and with virtually no color
to it like muslin or a white or neutral-colored broadcloth. This is to keep your batting from getting stuck in your feed
dogs. You will end up with your top fabric, your batting/Therm-O-Lamb/felt and then your backing fabric.
o
EMBELLISHMENTS: (choose as many as you like):
Fabrics, Decorative yarns, Ribbons, Decorative jewels, Beads, Stamps, Foils, Embossing powders, Handmade
papers, kers/pens, Decorative threads, Paints/Watercolors, Glitter, Wire, Silk flowers/leaves, The list doesn’t stop
here, the sky is the limit, use your imagination! Look around your house and find something new to use.
NEEDLE/THREAD LUBRICANT: (choose one):
• Sewer’s Aid
• Lube-It-All
• Tri-Flow
These are typically used to prevent skipped stitches. I only use them on my needle. I find that if my thread tends to
fray when thread painting, this helps eliminate the fraying. What these do is to help the thread slip through the eye
of the needle easily. To use, put a small amount on your finger and rub on your sewing machine needle, especially
around the eye, taking care not to use too much. Depending on the fraying process, you will re-apply as needed.
MISCELLANEOUS/OPTIONAL:
• Stencil cutter or hot knife for cutting out design on hooped work
• Extra bobbin case when you need to change tensions. Leave your
original bobbin case in its original factory setting.
• Press cloth
• Hand towel
• Aluminum foil
• Hoop
• Spray starch
• Quilt basting spray
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Art TRADER
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LET’S MAKE A TREE
The journey of making a thread painted ATC
PART 1: When you drop your feed dogs, your machine has no control over the fabric and YOU have full control of
where your needle and thread goes. There will be a slight gap between the presser foot and the bed of the machine,
allowing you to move your fabric freely. Your thread painting design occurs when you run your sewing machine and
move your fabric underneath the needle. The length of your stitch will now be determined by how fast or slow you
move your fabric under your needle as you sew, as well as how fast your machine is running. To make small stitches,
run your machine quickly and move your fabric slowly. To make longer stitches, run your machine slowly and move
your fabric quickly. The slower you sew, the slower you move your fabric to create even stitches. You can sew up and
down and sideways on your fabric to create different designs and effects.
Step 1. Select fabric to be used for
the background
Step 2. Audition fabric with reverse
template 3” x 4” to determine where
you think the card would look best.
Step 3. Fuse a piece of buckram to
your selected background, using
one of the paper-backed iron-on
adhesives. You can first iron-on
your adhesive to your fabric, making
both the same size and then cut your
buckram a pinch larger, making it
easier when fusing, so you don’t get
the adhesive everywhere.
Step 4. Mark off where the ATC will
be. This will actually be slightly larger
than the card itself.
Step 5. Audition possible fiber
choices for tree leaves. Don’t always
consider one fiber. Sometimes you
can mix a couple together for an
interesting effect (top right). You can
also consider threads (lower right).
Step 6. Audition possible thread
choices for your background,
foreground, tree trunk and leaves.
For this card I am using a regular allpurpose thread.
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Art TRADER
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Step 7. With a pencil, lightly draw
where you want your tree trunk, if
you need to. All you need to do is to
simply outline your tree.
Step 8. Drop your feed dogs and
thread paint your tree trunk using a
straight stitch. You will notice that I
am using an open toed embroidery
foot for this process. I do this so I can
visually see where I am going. If you
have any pencil marks left showing,
you can use a fabric eraser to remove
them.
o
a
Step 10. Now I will add some grass.
For this, I will put my machine back
on straight stitch and I will go in an
up and down motion to create this
effect. Grass isn’t even so you don’t
have to worry about how it comes
out! Just make it high and low. Two
colors give a nice visual effect.
Step 11. Here is the fun part, adding
the fibers for the tree! I simply wad
up the fibers chosen, and place it
where I think I might like it on my
card. Then I switch over to a closedtoed embroidery foot for this process
because I have found that my fibers
get caught in the open-toe foot. I
carefully press the fibers under the
foot as I sew. I randomly go around in
circles to catch the fibers. Remember
that the more stitching that you do,
the flatter the fiber will become. I like
to leave some of the fibers loose.
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Step 9. I will use a zig-zag stitch
to create the ground. I simply work
my card back and fourth and up
and down to get the effect I want.
This is what the card looks like now
with my zig-zagging completed.
Step 12. You are now ready to
choose how you would like to back
your card. For this one, I am using
fabric, and have chosen one that is
light enough to see the writing on
the back when I’m finished.
Art TRADER
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Step 13. Cut a piece of the paper
backed adhesive to fit the back
fabric you will be using for the card.
Fuse these together by placing the
fusible side to the wrong side of your
fabric and follow the manufacturer’s
directions.
Step 14. Peel off paper backing and
fuse your front and back together.
You will be placing the buckram side
of the front to the adhesive side of the
back. What you will have in layers is:
front fabric (card), fusible webbing,
buckram, fusible webbing and then
fabric. The buckram gives the fabric
card the feel of a real card. I place
the fiber tree face down on a towel
now when I fuse all layers together.
This keeps the fibers from being
flattened out.
Step 15. You are now ready to cut
your ATC to size, finish the edges
and sign or stamp the back with
your information. It is at this point
that you decide how to finish off
your edges. The edges are now
sealed. You can zig-zag the edges
if you like. If you use HeatnBond
Ultra, the fusible web will usually
keep the card from raveling so
there is no need to zig-zag the
edges unless you just want to.
Sometimes the zig-zagged edges
take away from the card.
y
Finished Card with Zig-Zag Edge
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Art TRADER
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TIP: When your fusible web is larger than your fabric, place a large
piece of foil, shiny side up, on your ironing board. Place fabric ATC
face down with the fusible side of the iron-on adhesive on top of it.
In other words, the back of your ATC and the fusible side of your
iron- on adhesive will be touching. Place a hot iron until fused, about
12 seconds. Allow card to cool, then gently peel off the ATC from the
aluminum foil.
TIP: If you have funky edges that are ripply when you finish ironing
the front to the back, simply place the card on a hard surface and
press the edges together with your fingers while the card is warm.
Let card completely cool before cutting to size.
TIP: Recognize if you are using a cross-wound or parallel wound
thread. It makes a difference in how the thread comes off of the
spool. If you use your thread incorrectly, it will twist and break on
you. Thread is wound on a spool in one of two ways; parallel wound
or cross wound. The way the thread was wound on the spool is the
way the thread was designed to come off the spool. If the thread
isn’t “unwound” correctly, it can kink and twist, leading to fraying and
breakage or cause other problems.
A parallel wound spool is when the threads lay next to each other
(touching side by side) or are “parallel” to one another. This thread
should be used on a horizontal spool pin so the threads are pulled
directly off the side of the spool. An example of this thread is Dual
Duty by Coats and Clark.
A cross wound spool is where the threads cross over each other on
the spool creating a “criss cross” look. It is obvious to the eye. Serger
threads and many decorative threads are spun this way, as are the
all purpose European threads. An example would be Guttermann
or Metrosene. This spool can be used on a thread stand, where the
thread is pulled off the top of the spool or on a vertical spool pin on
the sewing machine.
This is an example of cross wound
and parallel wound threads. The
thread on the left is parallel wound.
Notice how the threads lie next to
each other. The thread on the right
is cross wound. You can see that
the threads criss cross over one
another.
Sewing machines either have a horizontal or vertical spool pin on
them. If your machine has a horizontal spool pin, you can purchase a
thread stand to use the cross wound threads, or adapt your machine
by placing a small dowel in an unused “hole” on the top of your
machine. If your machine only has a vertical spool pin, it is best to
pass up using a parallel wound thread, for the sake of aggravation
and your work.
Other ideas:
If you don’t have the color fabric you would like for your background,
consider using watercolors or acrylic paints to get the ideal effect.
Wash your fabric first to remove any sizing. You can use a muslin
fabric or even a print and add on color(s).
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Fabric that has been watercolored.
The fabric on the left is the original
and the fabric on the right is the
same fabric after using a light coat of
watercolor to get the desired color.
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Readers
Gallery
O
We receive a lot of great altered
art and Mail Art from our readers.
We want to show it off! Please
feel free to submit your own art.
Check our website for details on
submissions
Black & White Portrait ATCs
by Mellanie Collins
Journal Pages by Kristy Christopherson.
Kristy’s beautiful art is also featured on
our cover this issue.
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Readers Gallery
A work of art is like
a person: it has
more than one soul
in its breast.
- Alfred Brendel -
ATC made with air dried clay, ranger
inks and a painted paper tree
by Linda Donnelly
Altered Shoes
by Britta Waag
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Readers Gallery
Art is not about thinking
something up. It is
the opposite – getting
something down.
- Julia Cameron -
Collage Art
by Donna Hall
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Collage ATC
by Jean Disher
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Silk Art Paper
By Ang Westermann
I love making silk art paper; its fun, messy, very artsy and creative. Once silk art
paper is created, you can sew on it, paint on it, cut it,
distress it—just about anything. You can also use it to
create your very own artistic masterpiece. It’s quite easy
to do. However, you will need a few materials.
Materials Needed:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Two pieces of tulle netting
Silk roving/fibers (must be silk) or silk hankies. Hankies should be sheer lacy square layers of silk. Separate them into cobweb-like layers to make your paper
Matte Gel medium (diluted 1/3 gel medium to 2/3 water); Mix in a spray bottle
Tray
A second small spray bottle of water with a dab of dishwashing detergent
Additional materials to add to the paper: glitter, thread, dried petals, gilding flakes, etc.
Method:
Lay a sheet of tulle netting flat in the bottom of the tray. Gently
tease away a tuft of the silk fibers and begin to lay each fiber on
top of the tulle. You should lay one thin layer horizontal, the
other vertical, back and forth, until you achieve the thickness
you want; the more fiber, the thicker your paper will be. Usually
2-3 layers are enough for silk paper.
At this stage, you may want to add the decorative elements
such as glitter, gilding flakes, etc. Use these sparingly as you
want them to enhance, not overshadow the beauty of the silk
fibers.
Lay the other piece of tulle over the layered silk fibers, so now
you have a sandwich: tulle, silk, tulle. Using the spray bottle with water and dishwashing detergent,
start moistening the fibers. It is important that all the fibers are
wet so they will soak up the adhesive once applied. Thoroughly
wet one side and lift, then turn over the sandwich and wet the
other side. At this point, I use my fingers and my palm to really
work in the solution. Repeat this process a couple of times. You
may at this point detect holes in your paper; that’s okay, just lift
one side of the tulle and add some more silk fibers, filling in the
holes. Close the sandwich and continue wetting the fibers until
you are satisfied with the look you have.
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Next, take a dry sponge, or some paper towels and blot the excess water. It should now be damp, but not soggy
wet. Give it a once-over. Do you like what you see? (Figure 5) If so, it’s time to move on to “fusing” the layers
together.
Now you will switch to the adhesive spray. The technique is the same: start wetting the fibers with the adhesive
spray. First wet one side and then the other. Once you are sure all layers of the silk has been penetrated by the
adhesive, lift the sandwich out of the tray and let the excess adhesive drain back into the tray.
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Keeping the tulle in place, hang the
paper on the line to dry.
When completely dry, carefully peel
off the two layers of tulle and iron the
paper using the silk setting on your
iron.
Amazingly, you now have a piece
of silk art paper that you can do just
about anything with!
You can also make the paper out of
silk hankies. This will create a silk
paper that is white. (Figure 10) You
can paint on the white silk paper to
create the colors you want, as I did
with “Skellie Amulet Bag” and “Silk
Bookmarker- Blue flower.”
You have now learned the very Basics
of making luscious Silk Art Paper.
What fun, eh? We would love to see
some Silk art made by you!
Silk Hankies can be found here:
http://www.theyarntree.com/store/
fibersspinning/fibers/silkhankies.html
Silk fibers can be found on etsy—
search for “Silk Roving.”
http://altermyworld.typepad.com/ang/
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Ian is an eleven-year-old artist from Savannah,
Georgia. He has been interested in art since
he was five years old. Some of Ian’s favorite
things to draw include “cars, trucks, and
planes and also people.”
Coconut Island
Ian says he likes to use “pencil and colored
pencils” for his medium of choice. With all the
art Ian creates he says “I give it to my mom. I
have also traded ATCs with 2 people online.”
“Ms. Young was my art teacher in 5th grade
and my mom always helps me with my art
too,” said Ian. He adds “I won a competition
for Fire Awareness Month when I was in
second grade. I drew a fire truck putting out
a fire. It was chosen by the Savannah Fire
Department.”
PETITE ARTISTE
Ian El-Habre
Here’s Looking at You
Chameleon
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Vlogging with Ela Steel
By Andrea Melione
Ela Steel, known as ‘amillionfaces’ on YouTube, is a multitalented artist who paints, uses mixed media technique,
and sculpts her way through a fantastic world of brilliant color and boundless imagination. She vlogs about
solvents, sketches, stone sculpture, and more. A good number of her videos are time-lapse pieces that show
her creating her paintings and artwork or stretching a canvas.
What kind of camera do you use?
Ela: I use a Canon PowerShot SD750 and the built-in iSight on my
MacBook.
What editing program do you use?
Ela: iMovie on the Mac.
How many hours do you spend working on your Vlog?
Ela: Editing one video can take several hours for me. Recording
doesn’t take much time at all. It takes about 30 minutes for a vlog entry,
including setup. The time-lapse videos are easy for me because I just
set a camera up and forget about it as I work.
Have you found it beneficial in your marketing?
Ela: Yes. Within the first couple of weeks of vlogging, I sold a painting to a woman who would never have found
my work if it wasn’t for YouTube. It can also be really great for networking with other working artists from all over,
as long as you take the time to get to know the community. If you just upload your videos and forget about them,
never interacting with anyone on the site, you probably won’t notice as many benefits.
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Why did you decide to start a Vlog?
Ela: It was accidental. At first I didn’t have any intention of
speaking on camera. I am very shy, and that’s out of character
for me. I wanted to show my friends time-lapse videos of my
art. But then as I found more artists on YouTube, I started to
communicate with them.
I decided to post a video for the community where I explained
some of my art to them. I asked if they wanted me to talk
about my art, or they just wanted to see me paint. Their
response was overwhelmingly that they wanted me to speak
about my art.
Do you have any sound or lighting tips? Any advice for
new Vloggers?
Ela: Daylight is really good lighting. Just sit in front of a
window. if you have to use lighting, use the white or natural
daylight bulbs. Other bulbs can give you a nasty skin tone.
You don’t really need professional gear - just use what you
have.
I post-process my sound in iMovie because my laptop mic
is too quiet. Don’t let people cook while you try to film! The
background noise is distracting.
Just dive in. Plan a few videos to get the ball rolling because you might stall out if you don’t consistently produce.
You have to get involved with the other people on the site because otherwise no one will find your videos.
Comment on other people’s videos, make video responses. Just generally be interested in other people.
Visit Ela on the Web:
YouTube Channel: http://youtube.com/amillionfaces
Website: http://www.elasteel.com
Etsy: http://steel.etsy.com
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Fall Rolo Contest
Congratulations to Tracie Rozario
who was the winner of ArtTrader
Mag’s Fall Rolo Contest. Tracie’s
beautiful autumn entry was voted
the winner by the mag staff.
Tracie Rozario
Fall Rolo Entries
We received many gorgeous pieces of Rolo
art from our readers. We hope you enjoy the
Autumn eye candy!
NOTE: Some Rolo entries do not appear
here as we did not receive an artwork
release form.
Carla Hays
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Fall Rolo Contest
Darlene Mariano
Darlene Mariano
Martha Cohen
Martha Cohen
Wanda Edwards
Wanda Edwards
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Pam McVay
Pam McVay
Pam McVay
Mary Watkins
Mary Watkins
Mary Watkins
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Art TRADER
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Advertise in the
next issue of
ArtTrader Mag!
Please visit our
website for details.
www.arttradermag.com
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Art TRADER
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Call for Articles and Artwork
Art TRADER
www.arttradermag.com
Thank you for your interest in contributing to ArtTrader Magazine. ArtTrader
Magazine is a web-based publication (in PDF format) focused on Mail
Art for trade such as ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), ACEOs, art journals,
chunky books, altered art and altered books.
We are always accepting the following types of materials:
• “How to” or Step-by-step articles on artistic techniques. We are
interested in techniques that can be applied to any mail art. These include
illustrative techniques, and also works in fabric, digital, collage, mixed
media, and more.
• Articles on artistic journeys or experiences. Do you have an interesting
story that you would like to share? We would like to hear it.
• Artist Spotlight/Profile. Do you have a body of work you would like
share? We would love to feature you in our artist spotlight.
• Showcasing Art. We are interested in showcasing assemblages,
mixed media work, creative journaling, chunky books, fat books, inchies,
ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), post cards and more. These types of articles
usually have a small bit of background accompanying them but primarily
are visual in nature.
Article Submissions
Dana Driscoll, Editor
editor@arttradermag.com
Artwork Submissions
Sal Scheibe, Art Director
art@arttrader.com
Advertising Inquiries
ads@arttradermag.com
For additional details on our
submission and artwork guidelines,
please visit our website
www.arttradermag.com
• Product and Book Reviews. If you are interested in writing a review of
a new product or book that is connected to the Mail Art world, we would
enjoy hearing about it.
Submissions of Artwork
Almost all of our articles require artwork submissions. You might also want
to submit artwork to appear in our webzine galleries. Our call for artwork
is always open and we welcome your submissions of ATCs, ACEOs, art
journals, chunky pages or altered books. Everyone is welcome to submit
their art. You do not need to be a member of IllustratedATCs.com to submit
artwork.
You must submit your work to us in digital format.
• 300-400 DPI is sufficient. Do not submit artwork lower than 300 DPI.
• Acceptable formats include: JPG, BMP, TIF. Do not submit GIF files.
• Any submitted artwork should be at least 500 pixels wide and high
(they can be much larger than this, of course!)
ATC by Sal Scheibe
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