Secret Sunday 18

Do you want to know a secret?


Welcome to the fourth edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals.


Over 150 (!) artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented as a series of online and print projects. And the first continues right now! If you have missed any, no worries. You can find links to all the secrets on the sidebar of my blog.

Today's secret.......Supply & Demand!
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Dina Wakley
Blog: Ponderings

http://dinastamps.typepad.com

My latest secret is Global Art Handmade Watercolor books....they're fantastic to journal in and they're worth every single penny you pay for them.

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Kerin Gale
Website: Remnants of Olde
Blog: Remnants of Olde
NING: Mixed Media Art
Etsy: Remnants of Olde

I use a lot of pigments - metallic and otherwise. My absolute favorite is Doc O'Brien's Weathering Powders - I mix these with paints, inks, acrylic matte glaze and even water. Because it is self adhering, I also use it all by itself with a paint brush (on non-wearable pieces only). It comes in so many colors and the only place that sells it is Micro Mark.

Here is a photo of "Charley's Claw" which is just made of polymer clay and an old camera flash bulb. I think it looks so much better because of the Weathering Powders.
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Becky New
Website: BeXarts
Blog: Windows Wide Open
Etsy: BeXarts Art at Etsy

Ooooo…. I like art secrets! Mine… hmmmm….. I would say finding the *right* pen is BIG on my list. I think I’ve tried every pen under the sun… and always come back to using the Uniball Vision Elite in black. LOVE. THIS. PEN. It writes over paint, pastels, etc. without issue! Also, Elmer’s Painters! They are THE. BEST. PAINT. PEN. EVER! I know that many folks swore by the now nearing extinction Sharpie Paint Pen, but this one is SUPERB! There are different tips available, and depending what I am doing depends on my choice. For my art journaling I use the ultra fine points, but for my handwriting over acrylics I almost always go for the bigger tips. These things rock!

Here is an example of writing onto images in an art journal.
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Kristy Christopherson
Blog: Kristy's Musing

Baby wipes - use them a lot in my artwork and cannot live without them :) Do lots of scrubbing and distressing with them.

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Robert Stockton
Artist Portfolio: Robert Stockton

A recently discovered art “secret” is the use of a product called NEVR-DULL Magic Wadding Polish. It is made for polishing automobile chrome, or silverware, and you buy it at a hardware store. The product is cotton wadding impregnated with a metal polishing agent, and comes in a dark blue can which costs about five dollars.

This is how I use it: Take any printed image from a magazine or other source (incidentally, black and white or color copy machine images do NOT work), such as National Geographic, old postcards, pictures from books, etc. Over areas that you wish to preserve in their original color and brightness, brush on two (or more) layers of acrylic (polymer or matte) medium, allowing the first coat to dry before applying the second. When the acrylic medium is completely dry take a small wad of the Nevr-Dull material out of the can, and rub it on to the surface of the image. You will notice that the polish in the wadding material soon begins to make the unprotected portions of the image (those not covered with acrylic medium), fade and begin to disappear. You can easily control how much the image “fades” by how much pressure you apply, and the length of time that you apply it. If you want a slightly more textured image, you can squeeze Elmer’s glue directly on the image, in place of the acrylic medium. It works equally well, and gives a different look to the image. The only negative in using Elmer’s glue is that since the glue is much thicker than acrylic medium, it takes considerably longer to dry, before you can rub the image with the Nevr-Dull wadding material.

This is an ATC I created using it. The white areas, both inside and outside the figure, and around the camera and tripod, are the areas that were unprotected, where the impregnated cotton wadding was used. The remaining black, white, and gray image (man and camera), were protected from fading/disappearing with (in this case), Elmer's glue. The elements with color, were attached, later.

It's a fun product to use, however it has a very strong odor, and needs to be used in a room with very good ventilation. Also, used cotton wadding material can be kept from drying out (and from being an odor problem), by placing it in a small ziplock bag for reuse, later.
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Michele Jackson
Blog: Digital Dissonance
Etsy: Digital Dissonance

My only art secret is Perfect Paper Adhesive. It does everything Mod-Podge does, but does not feel tacky when dry. It comes in flat and gloss.
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Frances Pullara aka Redondowriter
Blog: Sacred Ordinary

I'm kind of a novice, but I learned two things from Teesha Moore this summer when I took her Play workshop in Pt. Townsend. She recommends Tombo Mono adhesive runners for art journals and I have grown to love them. I've tried other brands, but this one is the best. Also, she recommended Portfolio oil pastels which have become a mainstay in my own art projects
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Regina Dwarkasing
Blog: Mostly Turquoise

Photography: Whenever I visit a Starbucks, I take pictures of the art and wallpaper, that is always there. I like to use these pictures and combine them with my own ones for digital collages.

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Today is the last day of Secret Sunday. A big thank you to each and every one of you for spending the last 18 Sundays with me.

And Sundays at The Altered Page continues uninterrupted next week. Stop by and join The Book Guild, premiering here next Sunday March 28th!