Process.
One of the things you will find as you read through my new book is a collection of canvases that open each chapter. While I was working on them early last year I took some photos of the process so I could share how they all came together.
I started with blank 8x10 canvases that you can get at any craft store (your local scrapbook store may have some too) and a bunch of different colors of acrylic paint and some foam brushes.
There were a few things I knew from the beginning:
1. I wanted to work on them all at the same time - meaning I wanted to see them all as individuals and as a group. The dining room table turned out to be the spot I could spread out best.
2. I knew that each one would have a theme and that I wanted to have some consistency between them (ended up mainly being size and a bit of color). I also knew that I wanted the creation to match the theme at least a bit.
3. I knew that I was going to need to be flexible and open as I worked through the process - experimentation was the name of the game. That some of them I wouldn't like as I was working on them and I would need to be ready to change, adapt, or start over (on top of the same canvas).
I started off by painting each of them a base color - two coats. An easy first step. And as you can see above I like to just pour some right out onto the canvas.
Next I started working on the individual canvases. Most of them came together in bits and pieces. I would work on one, adding this and that, and then switch to another one. I liked that movement.
For some of the canvases I used found (junk) pieces to create patterns. This is a left-over after a print job that I picked up at a store in Vancouver, Canada.
I also used scrapbook items such as a Heidi Swapp mask or circle punches with patterned paper.
For the patterned paper (and paper such as this below) I used gel medium to adhere it to the canvas. Here's some info about using gel medium. I first learned about it from Claudine Hellmuth's book Collage Discovery Workshop
I liked having them all laid out together and working on them all at once. I think it is similar to why I like to stand-up to scrapbook - I like to look down on the work at hand and have a view of the whole from above.
In addition to paints and papers and templates and masks I added rub ons, letter stickers, acrylic accents, stamps, and handwriting with black and white pens. I kept things consistent from one to the next with bits of color added here and there.
Lots of layers. Lots of moving from one to the next. Loved the process. Hope to do some more again sometime.
In the meantime I am super inspired by this guy: Rex Ray
And finally, I loved one of the comments yesterday on the really long word post about taking all those words + using them as the basis of some sort of project. Maybe a journal, a word of the week, a prompt for something creative. Definitely something to consider.
Ali - thanks so much for the great entry. I really appreciate the insight into your creative process... it helps me get over my hump and delivers me to the zone (if that makes any sense). Even if I'm not going to start art-ing right away, I find that when I'm in the "zone" (the creative space that makes me feel centered, present, open, enough), I am capable of living in the present, accepting life as it comes and I am more motivated to move (instead of thinking about moving.) When I say "move", I don't mean get up off of the couch, but rather jump into my life rather than observe and direct. I loved the simplfy blog link. I'm inspired and encouraged!
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I am reading thru your book right now Ali, and LOVE the canvas's! It was so cool to see how you made them! I just hung the poster that came with your book! It is Super cool! Do you have your canvas's hanging in your studio?
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thank you for sharing this information.. i love knowing how to do it on my own.. thanks for the tips!
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Love how how you showed us how you did this. I want to make some canvasses that I bought a few months back and I like the idea of doing them together!
Great ideas!
Kristen
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Love how how you showed us how you did this. I want to make some canvasses that I bought a few months back and I like the idea of doing them together!
Great ideas!
Kristen
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Needless to say you've inspired me to make my own canvas (see blog)....
and as for "tunes"...
check out Missy Higgins... I may even just send you her cd!
:)
Anne
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so lovely to see this.
xo
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This is great--I've really been thinking about branching out but have been too scared to start something new that I haven't even been able to purchase the canvas yet! Now that I see what you did, I'm a little less intimidated! Thanks, as usual!
Lindsay
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I love seeing your creative process... thanks so much for sharing it! I loved your book!
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I think it's really cool that you're sharing your process with us! Love those canvases, that poster that came with your book is definitely going up my wall. :) Thanks for the daily inspiration, Ali!
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I got your book before Christmas and have been loving it. Thanks for sharing your process. Brilliant!
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You are a true artist, Ali. Thanks for the inspiration!
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Simplicity is a great rule and mindset for us all to be in especially for the state our world is in right now. I wonder if you have ever heard of the gorilla girls. They are a group of women artists who defend the notion and power of art in the midst of global warming and other national crises. It may seem at times that these things make our tiny things seem so miniscule and unimportant but as they stated art is what we look at when we study cultures from centuries ago. I wonder what else you would add to that list?
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by the way...I didn't meant to say that global warming is a national crisis. I DO understand it is a GLOBAL crisis. :)
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The photos of your process alone are inspiring, thanks so much for sharing all of them! The canvases are fantastic, I'm going to pick up a copy of your book this weekend...I'm hearing too much great stuff about it not to!! :)
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Really enjoy the pics of your process. I made a canvas before christmas, I meant it to be more like yours but it changed as I played with it. All in all, I liked the end result. http://picasaweb.google.com/conkrotwife/Canvas
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Thanks for that first picture Ali! That is the EXACT word I chose for this year...I'm expecting my second child in June and I'm on a DT and I work out of my home and from my home and still try and maintain my sanity, so I thought simplify was a good choice! Thanks for the inspiration! Also, I (along with three other girls) have a dare blog and we are going to do a WORD dare this week....
http://circleofscrappingfriends.blogspot.com/
We hope to do you proud! Thank you for all your inspiration...I LOVE those canvases you are creating...you have a truly amazing talent. Kudos to you! Thanks! Amanda
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Ali, I'm a fan of yours too. Thanks so much for the links you've given me over the last couple months, and the nice comments you've made about Zen Habits.
You should write a guest post for Zen Habits sometime ... maybe "How to Create a Simple Scrapbook, for Novices"? :)
Keep up the great work! You have amazing stuff.
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JACKSON rocks...never fails to improve my mood and sing along. GREAT song (although I tend to listen to the Walk The Line version - have both though!) I just finished reading the new biography of June Carter Cash by her son - think you would love it.
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I totally dig the photos of all the canvas's laid out on the dining room table.....way cool, I gotta create in collections like that sometime very inspiring. I am still enjoying your new book tons! have a wonderful day. tena
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I admire those canvases every time I open your book. Love the design of each one.
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Thank you for the 4 laws of simplicity article. I am in the process of decluttering my house and this article is perfect!
Kate
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Thanks so much for sharing your "process" and showing the step by step pictures of how you created these canvases. They are definitely one of my favorite parts of your book.
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The "words" would make an excellent basis for a 7Gypsies ATC holder!
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You are amazing! I loved those canvases in the book - so cool to see how you made them . . .
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