Mixed Media for the Soul

When I was in art school my main stay as an artist was oil on canvas. As I have matured as an artist, I have found myself gravitating towards mixed media. I find it fulfilling in many ways. It allows for experimentation and it is always full of surprises. This piece was created using kitchen vegetable and fruit scraps from the juicer to make handmade paper. Materials were added to make it able to achieve archival quality and to be permanent. Then twigs were added in and found paper scraps. I call this "Ghost in the Frame."

This next piece was created in much the same way as the one above it but it does not have the prominent element of assemblage through twigs, instead it is more of a painted collage. It combines the same type of handmade paper and found paper with water-based paints like gouache and plaka with natural inks. It is an abstraction with landscape elements and its title is "Mixed media Landscape."

I am an eclectic in my pagan, earth-based spirituality and also in the types of materials I use, as well as the application of those materials in my visual art. This is another handmade paper piece made from vegetable and fruit pulp with found objects such as coins and cowrie shells added. Called "Mixed Media with Cowrie Shells" this painting brings together my interests in Traditional African Religions, Hoodoo, folklore and fine art, in one piece.

I plan to continue this series once it is warmer outdoors. (Yesterday it snowed here!) I typically like to create these pieces, with all the water they require, on tables outside. It also helps them dry faster. I find the combination of being outdoors, warm weather conditions, the marriage of materials with mixed media and the inclusion of my literary and spiritual interests, to be meditative and relaxing to my soul.



A to Z Challenge--M is for Mixed Media