Indulging in the Process!

Process versus product...an age old discussion, with folks firmly entrenched in one camp or the other, at least for the most part. I happen to love both; I enjoy getting a product, but honestly, even if the product is a complete and utter flop, I enjoy the process.

Especially if it involves paint and collage.

I always end up with a paint filled canvas on my hands, and this time? Well, this time, I even sported several bright green streaks in my hair, which made me smile each and every time I caught a glimpse of them. I just may put a colorful streak in on purpose the next time I get my hair done. Who knows?

Seth Apter, an utterly awesome teacher out of NYC, taught two marvelous classes at Artistic Artifacts in Alexandria, VA, this past weekend. I absolutely loved both of them, but I have to confess that Sunday's was my favorite, by just a wee bit of an edge.

Saturday's class involved making grids for book pages, and then, as Seth puts it, breaking the grid.

I love grids, and you'll find grids on many of my inspiration boards/pages. I found out though, that I don't much care to make them, ending up getting a bit bored with all those tiny pieces and making them fit together without gaps. More pieces seem to end up stuck to me than to the book pages.

Don't get me wrong, I love my book; it uses old book covers in a very cool way, and there's no sewing involved. I will confess that I will grid one of the pages, (probably one of the smaller ones!), and then do my own thing on the others, and Seth would be the first to tell you that he's cool with it.

Sunday's class ....well, that's when I ended up sporting a green streak in my hair. Sunday's class was all about layers of paint - brushing it one, stenciling it on, blobbing it on (How's that for art lingo?), spritzing it, flicking it, and spattering it, plus so much more.

If you make a "mistake," paint over it.

Layer after layer after layer of paint, both on the cards and on me.

It's a great exercise in not getting too attached to your product, because most likely, you'll be covering at least part of it up with a new technique.

And, I'm good with that.

The cards you see above are just a small part of it; they entered this world as a cheap deck of playing cards.

Yes, I gessoed and painted 52 cards. They are in various stages at this moment, with these 8 being the furthest along in their journey.

After the paint, comes collage, and somehow, fitting them together is this very ungridlike way floats my boat.

I don't get frustrated; I love it, in fact, and I spend countless hours playing with the variations.

I need to work a bit more on painting the backs, and I'll be journaling on them, basically a card a week. 52 cards = 52 weeks, an ongoing project.

In the end, they'll become an artist's book, bundled and tied between two covers.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got more collaging to do!

Comments

[Bev]

Love your cards! I'm working on a set (slowly!) - they are fun to do for sure.

[Seth]

Looooooove the cards Paula. All 8 are masterpieces and I cannot wait to see all 52 :-)