I Need a Hug...

It's been 9 months since my dear husband, Richard, passed away.  I'm still struggling with my grief.  I cried while I created this mixed-media piece.  It helps to keep busy.

9x12 mixed media on wood board (acrylics)

inkjet transfer printed on deli paper

the end...

 Finished this spread in my COVID journal. Inspired by a poem written by Harold Adamson.

"Time on My Hands"

Mixed media - Micron pen, watercolor, ink, image transfer

Mixed Media Layers

I haven't worked on a journal page in ages - today is the day!

Using cheap acrylic craft paint - brush, dab, smear on

 Heavy acrylic paint applied with fingers

 Mark making with 9XXB pencil

 Stenciling and rubber stamping

 Image transfer using liquid matte medium - I find it helps to apply matte medium to the journal page as well as image - let dry completely - sprinkle with water and rub gently - once all paper is removed, apply more matte medium to image

This is as far as I got before running out of steam.  I plan to get back to this tomorrow.  It's going to be fun to see what happens next.

Linking to:

Inspire Me Monday

Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday

Freiburg - The Sun At Last!

An absolutely gorgeous day.  The sun was shining and clear skies.  We walked along one of the many bike paths near the university.

We also took the tram to a very interesting area of Freiburg - Vauban.  (I did not take any pictures here - don't ask me why!)  The Vauban was built as a "sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base, and is named after Sebastian Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th century French Marshall who built fortifications in Freiburg while the region was under French rule.   Construction was begun in the mid-1990s and by 2001, 2000 peple had moved in.  All houses are built to a low energy consumption standard.  Some buildings are heated by burning wood chips while other have solar panels on the roof.  It is the first housing community world wide in which all the homes produce a positive energy balance.  The solar energy surplus is then sold back into the city's grid for a profit on every home.  Transportation in this area is primarily on foot or bicycle.  I hope to go back another day - this time with my camera!

I'm happy to say that my lecture to the students went very well.

A Project Using Image Transfer

I've been experimenting with image transfer techniques - now what do I do with all these images?  

I chose to display photos taken on trips I made to Europe over the last few years.  

Materials Used:

3x3 and 2.5 x 3 canvas frames

18x5 wooden trays

French dictionary pages

vintage fabric tape measure

rubber stamp

found objects

E-6000

How I did it:

wooden trays, backside of canvas frames

front side of canvas frames one coat of gesso

experimenting with placement on trays

wooden tray primed; dictionary pages adhered with matte medium

 tray painted gold; papers "aged" with water color, rubber stamped

measuring tape adhered to back side of canvas frame

  (dictionary papers were inserted into the frame later)

Different image transfer techniques were used.  

flowers transferred with DASS SuperSauce and DASS transfer film; doors transferred with Lazertran turpentine method

hardware found on Ebay; images transferred using DASS method

button sewn to canvas frame; images transferred using Lazertran turpentine method
adhere frames and found objects using E-6000

This was a fun project.  I think it's a really cool way to display the photos.  What do you think?

Check out the other  Pink Saturday blog posts - you find lots of interesting things there!