Creating with Kristen Robinson, Part Two: The Journal

Yes, I know. I need another journal like a hole in the head. But the journal being taught by Kristen Robinson was different from others I'd done -- and besides, it was Kristen's class, which meant it would be tons of fun!



Kristen's upcycled journal will be featured on her upcoming DVD so don't look for instructions here, but ideas. And the big concept was to use what you have to build something beautiful. Trust me, for every step, she had a rapt audience!

We started with cereal bags. Yup. Empty cereal bags! After the crumbs were removed we arranged items of our story -- whatever that may be -- on one half of the bag, folded it over and press it to seal the bag into a page signature.

This was WAY easier said than done for me!



You need to be careful that elements don't slip out of place when you are pressing it and turning it over (or else you will have, say, a tea bag paper covering Greg's face! above left -- oops!)



But the technique is pretty cool and a great way to see elements yet protect them.

Kristen's kits had everything we needed to make the project -- papers, music, the cereal bag (of course), charms, fabirc, music and printed pages. But of course, we all brought things -- photos and fabric and paint and embellishments!

She demonstrated and gave us art to create a gel medium photo transfer...



...and showed us how to burn felt for an aged, vintage technique.

We incorporated paper bags...

And sewed muslin to paper to make pockets filled with journal cards.

The idea of the journal was to leave room to write. I decided to use mine for family connections, so I had pages with my parents (I can journal on the painted parts or on the journaling cards)...

And places and people I loved.

I finished mine a bit more when I returned home, adding some embellishments I hadn't brought to class and fleshing things out a bit. Here are a couple more pages.

I'm probably not going to make another journal -- not that I didn't like making this one. I did. A lot. But I'm a bit overjournaled and don't put nearly what I should in them.

 

That said, I learned a lot of techniques I will definitely use again -- the transfer, felt burning, the cloth flowers in the photo above, right, and the idea of fusing the papers together. All of these will come in very handy in the future.

I leave you with a technique Kristen shared with us -- painting a surface and then using a tool (end of your paintbrush works fine!) to inscribe the piece. This one was by Amy -- I wish I could take credit for it, because it is a wonderful page and wonderful words.

Words to remember, no matter what the case -- a blank page or canvas. Or, a new step forward in life.

Creating Art with Kristen Robinson, Part One

As you may know from earlier posts, few things make me happier than when I can do creative things in the company of others. If I'm learning something new it's even better! So, when one of my favorite teachers, Kristen Robinson, comes to town, of course I'm enrolled!

Kristen taught three classes at SmittenDust -- I took two and this post chronicles the first. We made a small shrine/shadowbox and another flat piece using plaster, along with paint, fabric and ribbon, paper clay embellishments, buttons and whatever else we chose to bring to the table! This is her sample.

Kristen provided a wonderful kit and all the supplies, apart from things of our own we thought we might like to include. Dusty had large tables with good workspace and the company was terrific!



Kristen is including this project on her DVD and in her mixed-media book written with Ruth Rae, so I won't go into details on making it. But I will show you some of my photos during the process so you can see how it evolved.

We started with a square piece of matboard which was cut and turned into a box shape. Then it was covered in plaster -- big pieces and small strips -- to get the right texture and strengthen it.


We also added a small platform inside the box.

Then Kristen demonstrated different ways to move on, incorporating buttons, ribbon, muslin and embellishments to make the boxes unique.

We were all completely engrossed in learning the best techniques -- and she has plenty of helpful hints!



The longest part of this technique is the drying part, which gave us time to talk and grab lunch at the ice cream shop next door!

When it was dry enough, we began to paint. I kept mine with a pretty neutral cream/tan/aqua palette but lots of people went with more color. It didn't matter -- everyone's was beautiful!



Then we added embellishments and wax and more paint to age the box. Kristen's demonstrations (below) were easy to follow. The whole project was shaping up!



And finally, the finished pieces!

It was truly a remarkable day. Fellow teacher/artist Kari McKnight Holbrook was here for the weekend, too, so it was like getting a double dose of favorite teachers! And of course, both brought some of the things they make and of course, I shopped!

 

And, I had a big smile on my face when I left, eagerly anticipating the next workshop!

Stay tuned for her unique journal project!

House of Grace with Kristen Robinson

Dusty DeHaven, the Smittendust maven, has done it again -- she's brought in a four-star mixed media teacher to share her knowledge with mid-Michigan students.

Kristen Robinson is known for her work that is often featured in Somerset Studio. She taught a series of classes this week. I attended the one called "House of Grace."

This is a photo of Kristen's class example.

What a blast. Our kit included three small wooden houses. After we primed them, we got into making molds.

This is seriously easy, fun and therapeutic! (We used Susan Lennart Kazmer's molding materials.) We all had brought jewelry and other bits to mold with and boy, was it fun!

Then we turned those molds into embellishments with paper clay. Lots of embellishments!

Kristen was such a fun teacher -- she didn't just know her stuff. .She conveyed it well -- and along the way was just so darned delightful, by the time I left five hours later, I felt like I'd known her all my life!

After we painted our houses, we worked on painting our embellishment. The heart was part of our kit (we couldn't paint what we did till they dry.) And then we antiqued them and our houses, and added beeswax and resin.

Finally, they all went together. This is my almost-done house.It still needs a little love near the top and journaling on the sides.

And here are the works in progress.

Of course, classes like this are more than the learning. We get to see old friends. I've known Joanne (below) from close to my beginning blogging days.And I got to meet Jill, with whom I've been doing the drawing challenge (along with Joanne). Finally, a face with the name!

Who would imagine something so cute could come from pieces of clay and wood?

I also learned about a couple of products I've never worked with before -- these watercolor crayons (softer than watercolor pencils) and something called gel stain, which we used in the antiquing.

Thanks to Dusty, whose mission of bringing excellent teachers to mid-Michigan is her passion. 

She also makes one heck of a great name tag!