Without Rules. . .

From day one I have always said
"there are no rules" and I can
honestly say that with this
"new" art form, it still holds true.

I can pretty much do anything that I want on
a journal page and be happy with it.
No one is judging me or telling me that
it's done incorrectly.

It could also be called "adventure art" because
each page is an adventure or exploration into
the unknown. I certainly do not know where
each page is taking me, nor do I know where I will
end up when I am finished.
Most times, I am not sure if I am finished with
a page as it could be incomplete for days,
weeks, or months until some other inspiration
pops into my artistic mind.

It may need more words, like this page, or more lines
or more color. This may not happen until the flowers
start blooming in my own back yard before I get
inspired. I may see a journal page from
someone else and be inspired just like the one above, that
I created.... in several stages.
Marianne VanWingerden
showed me some of her beautiful pages that she
did with washes of watercolor, outlined flowers & little details.
After seeing her work, I was on my way.
This page... not done... yet... maybe tomorrow.

Rusty Bits...

Don't you just love rust? And why is it that
rust is so awesome?
This piece above is the inside of some rusty circles
that are from a die cut that I did with rusted wholey paper.

A length of natural twill was coated with my
iron product, then dried and then a solution of
instant rust was added. Love it!

This is probably one of my favorites and it
started out as white leaf ribbon, probably a poly
blend type ribbon. It is easily dyed but I thought
that it would be amazing if it was rusted. Trish Baldwin
bought some of this ribbon from me in Ohio a couple
of years ago at Artiscape and rusted it too and used
it in her Encuastic Mixed Media book along with
some of my Wholey Paper.

Another item that I have sold in the shop is a
lace eyelet tape in a natural color. Again, after
a coating with the iron, dry time and a
coating with instant rust.... Voila! it's rusted!

I bought several spools of 2 different widths of
this once white felt die cut floral ribbon. One is
1-1/2" wide and the other is about 2-1/2".
The iron coating adheres really well to this felt
and it becomes stiffer after the rust is applied.
So cool.... This too was used in Trish's Encaustic
Mixed Media Book.
I've put all these rusty bits together in a 3 x 10 glassine pack
available for $4.95. Each one is different but you can view at least 10
of these on my Etsy site. Random Arts.
Thanks for looking
Rusting is so fascinating especially when you can
attach a magnet to it when it's complete and see it
stay right there on your fabric, or paper or cardboard.

Encaustics at Random Arts

Mary Powers created this
encaustic piece in the
workshop with Trish Baldwin.
I just love the colors, design and composition.

Sandra Macklin used a photo transfer technique
to create this encaustic piece.
I especially love the simplicity
and the contrast of colors.

Robbie Decker from Michigan,
attended the encaustic workshop
and created several great pieces.

Rusty Bits seemed to be the most popular
items that were used in the encaustic
art work today. Ribbons, felt and
wholey paper have been rusted,
and packaged especially for this class.
A favorite of Trish Baldwin.

As we started this workshop the pots
of encaustic medium and luscious colors
were full and ready to go.