Week 4: #100daysoftags

 

Week 4! 

Lots of yumminess this week, incorporating bits of papers that normally would be thrown away and dollar store finds into my collaged tags. I have also ventured further into the realm of clothing tags to create an interesting "Book of Love." A paper napkin, a total bear to adhere to the tag without tearing, made a beautiful flowering oriental tree tag, offset with a smudge of vine leaf charcoal and some tan acrylic paint applied with intentionally visible strokes. 

"Be still" has to be one of my favorite creations of the week. A gesso square on the tag became the background for quiet colors encouraging the motto's directive. I had fun incorporating some woolen threads with a beer bottle cap I found on the sidewalk onto the round tag. Many different collage elements found their way into "Little Things": tissue box cardboard, a colored pony from a children's book, gelli print scraps, text, and a ticket.

My final piece for the week used a folded clothing tag wrapped completely in text and layered with several elements on the front fold. Inside, a Stabilo drawn flower with contrasting stripes of paint to bring it to life. Here I also used some Washi tape for the bird and the base, visible when the cover is closed.

Week 3: #100daysoftags

Here we are into week 3 of the 100 Days Project and my #100days of tags, and I have been having a blast. So much so, that I wish I had selected a larger substrate for creating, but then that might have jeopardized my completion rate. As it is, yes, I am sometimes cheating by catching up a day or two. Life is just busy! 

So, as you can see, I have been doing a little experimenting. On Day 15, I played with splatters, molding paste and gelattos. On Day 16, I had a visual of God mending my broken heart. I wanted to actually sew it together, hence the black Posca pen mimicking the stitches, but I really like the staples! Day 17, I decorated a simple flower motif with some glittery glue. Day 18 is my multi-colored abstract. On Day 19, I searched for a different kind of tag out of my stash bag, a clothing tag, and thought a lot about Matisse as I lovingly applied saffron acrylic to that long, thin tag. After it dried, I painted dots in Indigo, covered them with black Posca and decorated with yellow Posca. Still thinking about Matisse (and reflecting on a study of Matisse taught by Jeanne Oliver), I created the red and white flowers on a black gesso background on Day 20. And finally, on Day 21, a bit of ombre background behind the stencils, with red acrylic for a pop of color and a message to "imagine what the future holds." 

Are you creating regularly? I encourage you to play as often as you are able. You might just find you enjoy it.

 

Week 2: #100daysoftags

Week 2, #100daysproject

Yesterday ended Week 2 of #100dayschallenge and my #100daysoftags. I decided I would use some of the exploratory concepts being presented in Wanderlust 2022 for my tags. The first two tags were inspired by Jeanne Oliver's lesson using charcoal and gesso. The ideas were not new to me, but it had been so long ago that I had played with them that I found a kind of childlike wonder all over again. The first was a botanical drawing using chunky Derwent charcoal, activated with water, followed by adding highlights with white gesso. The second tag was a reminder that there is simple beauty in using staples not only to adhere layers to a tag, but also as a form of mark-making. Both were very satisfying activities. 

Day 10 involved collage using torn scraps (yes, this is the hoarder's heaven) from magazines, water-stained handwritten recipes, teabags, and other ephemera, which I entitled "beneath the golden sky." Days 11 and 12 were more collage. on Day 13 I decided to play with acrylic paints. And I ended the week with a round tag where I played with Conte crayons (new product for me.) While they felt and acted like pastels, a quick Google search revealed they are somewhat waxier than pastels and therefore less "dusty" and somewhat more controllable. 

What materials have you been playing with this past week? I'd love if you respond in the comments below. Can't wait to see what this week will bring.