Domesticated - Painted Plaster & Encaustic Art

I raised to respect and love the domestic arts - and I do with all my heart.

 My latest art piece, "Domesticated"  is an ode to one of my favorite hobbies - baking! 

Using my new favorite methods.. Layers of plaster on a wood plaque.. Shallow carved using Urban Threads embroidery designs.  Truly, there are soo many ways use to embroidery patterns beyond it's intended use. A fabric and lace apron dusted in chalk, stamped, and covered in beeswax...

A few more layers of paint - reminiscent of those fun, flour messes that build in our home after a day of baking cookies.

DIY Tutorial - Transfer Inkjet Image to Wood

I have been wanting to work with Tula Pink's Full Moon Owl that she created for Urban Threads. Since I've been working with pyrography and wax, I decided that I wanted to do something in mixed media rather than embroidery. This afternoon I purchased the pattern and printed it out. I had intended on transferring the image by graphite paper and stylus. Unfortunately, because this image is so detailed it was not going as smooth as imagined.

I refused to give up and began to search on the internet high and low for ways to transfer an inkjet image on wood. I found a couple that included glue, Mod Podge,etc but I would have to wait 24 hours. I don't have patience and I wanted it now. In the end I was able to complete the transfer with a wax paper method and here's how you do it!

Step 1.)
Tape a piece of wax paper to a sheet of ordinary copy paper. Be sure to print out your image on to the wax side - you will need to print out the mirror image. My inkjet printer is the worst piece of junk ever (see the awful ink lines?!) and I was able to do this, so I'm very confident that you will be able to as well.

Step 2.)
You will want to secure the printout on to your wood piece - image side down. Burnish the back with even pressure, making sure not to shift the paper. You will want to do this step fairly soon after printing the image out.

Step 3.)
This is how it came out. Now it's not a perfect, but it is exactly what I wanted and need. Now for me I will begin burning the outlines with my pyrography pen. However, if I wanted to I could leave it and cover it with varnish.

Such easy fun with unlimited possibilities!

Inktense Fun With Machine Embroidery

Earlier this week I really wanted to play more with the Inktense pencils. And as much I as enjoy free motion sketching, I really wanted to just focus on playing with the pencils and not get caught up in critiquing my  thread sketching. I decided I would use my machine embroidery for a quick and beautiful canvas. This deer head pattern was purchased from Urban Threads.

I originally had intended for this to be a masculine gift item, but after having fun with the Inktense pencils.. I decided to go down a more feminine route. I simply can't get over how the pencils come alive with a bit of liquid. Right now I tend to paint over it with a 1:1 mixture of water and fabric medium -- it gives me great control without any bleeding issues.

I decided to piece it into an tote with an improv quilt style. I really wanted to keep it, but in the end I decided to list it on Etsy. If you are interested it is $35.00 and listed here. I'm not sure how much I'll be making items for the Etsy shop, but by request I am trying to create more artistic works into an item that can be worn or used.