Saturday, 21 November 2020

Exploring Mixed Media - Inspiration

I recently took part in an online mixed media art workshop with Laly Mille.  I really like her mixed media work and this was an opportunity not to be missed.  It was a free course to celebrate her ten years as a mixed media artist. 

 The first thing we needed to do was to create inspiration pages in a book - either a sketchbook or journal.  The pages could be filled with images from magazines, colour, our own pieces of art work, images that we liked and which appealed to us in some way.  My pages came together really quickly and I was surprised at the amount of images I found with a similar theme - in this case, colour.  I raided my scraps box and also my gel print stash.  

I knew there were certain colours I was drawn to, but hadn't realised how many things I had which were these colours, collected without thinking about this. Above is the teal/blue page . These colours have been a favourite of mine for many years.

The next page was all about the rich jewel colours - pinks and purples.  Again, another favourite but also a surprise at just how many images and pieces of gel prints and papers that I had already got in these colours.
The third page was one I was more concerned about - neutrals.  I am not really a 'beige' person and have no clothes in these tones.  However, again I was surprised to find lots of images with these colours, beige, grey, cream and some light purple, which appealed to me and which I had kept, thinking they would come in handy.  The owl feather was sent to Chris from someone in America, as part of sendsomething.net.

So far, just three double pages, but they were so enjoyable to put together.  

The next part of the workshop moved on to using the inspiration pages and finding small bundles of collage to add to four small pieces of art work.  More to follow... 

18 comments:

  1. Your pages are beautiful, Ellie! I'm glad you got the chance to take part in the workshop. I have never heard of this artist, so I will have to check her out. Thank you for posting her link. ~Andrea xoxo

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    1. Thanks, Andrea. I was really pleased to take part in the workshop - I think it has now become part of a much bigger workshop (which was out of my price range) but she is one of the tutors on Wanderlust 2021, so you'll see her in action then. She lives in France and has a very calming way of teaching.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  2. What a wonderful (and exciting) workshop. I love that it gave you a new perspective on your own collections and am looking forward to seeing more of the work that your broadened perspective triggers.

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    1. Thanks, EC. It was a really interesting and inspirational workshop and has made me try some new things. It has also made me think of myself as an 'artist', which is something I haven't done before - somehow I didn't feel worthy of that title. However, as I am creating art, I am an artist!
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  3. I love your pages. I have recently thought more about mixed media and adding other things to my work rather than just wool and fabric. I did use my ink pens on my mirror work and it worked well.
    Look forward to seeing what you create next.
    Briony
    x

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    1. Thanks, Briony. I am loving using mixed media but haven't added that much collage, so it is good to introduce something different (and I have a huge paper stash, so it will also be good to use some of it up!)
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  4. A very enjoyable way to spend some downtime I would say. They are lovely. Jo x

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    1. Thanks, Jo. It was really enjoyable putting these pages together and they seemed to come together quite easily. I need to keep going and choose some more images/colours etc.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  5. Mille is a talented design illustrator.
    It's great to take such online training and you have chosen the right program.
    Greetings from Indonesia.

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    1. Thanks, Himawan. I am looking forward to completing this workshop.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  6. What a great workshop and you've created some lovely pages. I'm drawn to the first and the last.

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    1. Thanks, Jo. I found it so interesting that I had been collecting all these things with colour groups but not consciously. I am thinking about a blue and white page next...
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  7. So pretty. I love the many colors and patterns. Happy Thanksgiving.
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. Thanks, Amalia. I have the rest of the sketchbook to fill up - it may take me some time!
      Happy Thanksgiving to you too.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  8. These are wonderful, there is something rather eye-catching about everything being a similar colour isn't there. It is very pleasing to the eye, I think my daughter would love this.

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    1. Thanks, sustainablemum. It is a very enjoyable activity and one which will be useful for future projects, I think.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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  9. They are incredible!! How wonderful that you can use some of the images you had already and they fit perfectly.

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    1. Thanks, Maria. I must have been collecting them subconsciously, I think. We are all drawn to particular colours and images. I need to complete a few more pages, I think.
      Best wishes
      Ellie

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