Blank Page - One Palette - 4 by 4's

In July I did several posts on using One Palette. I even left a blank page for you to copy and use any way you wanted. I thought you might enjoy seeing what I did with that blank page. First I cut it up into four 4" by 4" pieces. I had one thin and long piece left which I turned into a book mark [see previous post.]

I enjoy working in this small format. I find it is a good way to warm up when I first come in to my studio, a good way to use up some of the smaller scraps that seem to build up on my work table. The collage process seems to go quickly on such a smaller piece.

I have a cigar box that the 4" by 4" fit into perfectly. For the past couple of years I store what ever I have made in that box. At the end of the year I make a cover and bind them all into a chunky book. It always amazes me how many pages I have. It is a good way to sort of see where and what you did through the year.

Some 4 by 4's

Some days you feel like creating, but you do not have time for something big. That is where these 4 by 4's come in for me. I like to keep several pre cut shapes - 3 by 5, 2 by 2, an inchies or two, some 4 by 4's and some postcards in an envelope on my work table. When I have left over paint on my brush I slap it on some, or left over scraps I randomly glue them on. Then when I need a quick something to start my creative juices I turn to these to get flowing. Simple but satisfying.

Warm ups - 4 by 4's

These are today's project warm up pieces. On the last two I used some new decorative tape. I am sort of experimenting with it right now. I will share more about it later. The top 4 by 4 my printer was running out of ink and all my images were that sort of ghostly purple. I decided to go with it and compliment it with the yellow. I have always found that image to be haunting.

Graffiti 4 by 4's

I have not spent any time in my studio that is worth mentioning lately. I can't really tell you all I have been up to, because I turn around and another week is gone. One thing I did this week was drive the last chick around to work and school. His car was in the shop and he had places to go and things to do.

I am one of the few people who really enjoyed driving the kids around. It was like having them totally to yourself with out all the distractions of home. I learned a lot about my kids in the car. They seemed to open up and talk. This week was no different.

Classes are in town and this means I can take a quick jaunt to the river front. My camera always is happy at the river. This week I found a lot of graffiti which then sent me on an internet search and to various web sites. I was trying to figure out what some of the signs and "tags" mean. Some were incredible. I especially liked a kid from London who calls himself "Jef Aerosol". The stencil of the boy is one of his.

The 4 by 4's are watercolor paper painted, stamped and collaged with various images and pieces of old mail. Something to warm up with so I can get motivated to finish off a few projects.

4" by 4" Collages

I have been avoiding my studio like the plague lately. I have had so many other things I needed to do that I was afraid I might not leave if I got started in there. Tonight I ventured in and made these little collages.

A few weeks ago I finished up the second round of 120 4" by 4" technique samples for the yahoo technique group. I always make extra background papers when I do a big project in case I mess up or miss count. This time I made some really gross papers.

The papers were 140 lb. watercolor paper with red acrylic paint spread all over them. The paint was just sucked up by the watercolor paper. The paper looked almost pink or maybe a water downed watermelon color. I decided that every time I used some ink or acrylic I would just rub a bunch on the paper and see if that would improve it. It did.

Tonight I took a few of the 4 by 4's and some left over scraps and made these collages. I was warming up for a couple of big swaps I am in. I find if I do a couple small things - 4 by 4's or ATC's it is a breeze to figure out the bigger stuff. How do you warm up?

A Couple More - 4 by 4's

These are a couple more all finished.

4 by 4's

These four by fours were made from scraps from other projects. I decided to start making these four by four's when I realized the journal paper backgrounds I was making were going to have a large piece of leftover scrap when I cut them down to size. Now I get one journal page and two four by four's. I am going to use them as inspiration cards, probably with just a word or quote on them. The background paper was from some journal pages, the images were from one of Teesha Moore's collage sheets I was using on a friend's Zetti pages. I am taking them on my road trip to see if I can't come up with the word or quote I need to complete them.

Collages in Five Different Sizes

It has been a collage sort of day. I am in a swap in the Gluebots Yahoo group where we have to make a set of collages. They are to be a 4 by 6 inch collage, a 3 by 5 inch collage, a 4 by 4 inch collage, a 2 by 2 inch collage and an ATC. There is no theme. I worked on my set yesterday.

I have many of these sizes already made, but decided that I would start from scratch. Once you sort of get started you just sort of let it sweep you away. I enjoy this type of collage a lot. It is always interesting to see the results. I routinely cut up my "already read and won't look at again magazines". Yes I cut up my art magazines, too.I have a box that I store the images in and another I keep text and words in. This makes things move very fast. I see this as a great way to recycle my magazines. The pages that are not all cut up I use to glue on. You can never have to much scrap paper to glue and paint on.