Creative Gym - Exercise #7

Dear Mixed Media Friends and Fans!
We are really excited to present another one from our series of creative challenge exercises.

This time we will stretch, bend, jump and do push-ups. :) The idea came from Gayle and we're very curious to see your creations! We called it:

The Power of One

The rules are simple:

- use 1 stencil;

- 1 stamp;

- then pick 1 colour - and you can use paint/mists/inks/pencils/beads/glitter/embellishments etc in your chosen color, plus black and white everything as well (for example when choosing a photo).

Gayle says:

When restricted to using a limited range of materials you have to explore other ways of adding interest to your work. So what could you do?

You can use varying SHADES of the one colour you choose, going from dark to light. You can add PATTERN by way of the stamp you choose, patterned papers, chipboard and the stencil you choose. You can also add detail with TEXTURE by way of pastes and gels, fibres, beads and embellishments.Once you start you will find you are not really that restricted, and many creative ideas will become evident.

A funny coincidence - all our DT members decided on blue tones in their artworks. :)
But obviously, you can choose any color you wish, but remember - just one...

I have worked on a large chipboard tag. Bold black and white patterned papers have been used as well as Finnabair’s beautiful, richly patterned stamp from the cling stamp set “Trust The Magic”.

Texture has been created using scrunched up tissue, stuck down using Art Basics Soft Matte Gel.

The stamp was used twice and embossed in white. Some paper strips in varying shades of Teal Blue were added.

Some more texture by way of 3D Matte Gel through a Tim Holtz “Doily” Stencil. Colour added using Distress Stain in Peacock Feathers.

The metal ‘handle’ was primed first with White Gesso, then painted with teal colored acrylic paint and when dry, rubbed with Inka Gold in silver to ‘soften’ the colour and highlight the metal detail. More “pattern” added at the top with a folded white doily, and of course a little fussy cutting of flowers and bird.

Materials from Mixed Media Place:

Some years ago I used to make plaster sculptures.
There were a lot of them, most were sold but I left a couple at home and here's my Venus.

I had a lot of fun altering this one.

I covered my sculpture with a layer of White Gesso and then, using a sponge, I applied Gesso mixed with Bolivian Blue Silk paint.



The whole sculpture was sprayed with a mix of Blue Mica Powder and water to achieve a shiny effect.

I used a stencil to create a floral pattern on the back and a round stamp on the front of my Venus.

I also used some blue shades of Gelatos, Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays and alcohol inks - I sprayed all of this with water and let them run to create interesting stains.

I used the same technique for the hair, this time applying Silks with a lot of water.

I added some pieces of torn gauze that I also colored with my sprays.

Materials from Mixed Media Place:

We all have periods in our lives when we fear the unknown ... but we know in the bottom of our hearts that it's just a bad moment and if we just take one step, one little step, we will be able to move forward.

That's what I tried to express in my art journal.

Materials from Mixed Media Place:

I’ve been craving for a mixed media styled phone case for some time. So what better to do than to make one myself!

So I bought a cheap case and then primed it with gesso. My first idea was to have something 3D in there, but then I came to my senses and realized that the important part of the phone is to be functional as well. So I didn’t use Mechanicals and gel medium, but instead made layers with different paint mediums.

As the challenge states, I chose one color (turquoise) and then used one stencil and stamp also.
First, I added some Glimmer Mists on top of the Gesso and dried them.
Then, I used an 'Alpha' stencil with acrylic paint and Stamper’s Big Brush Pens. I also added some pencil doodles in there and lastly shaded the edges using a PITT pen.

After doing all the layers I lastly coated the case with a coat of Soft Gel to seal everything in.

Materials from Mixed Media Place:

I love creating tags. They are a great way to learn new techniques.

For our current challenge I had to use just one color - so I have chosen blue - one of my very favourite colors.

I could use only one stencil and one stamp - I have used a stamp from 7 Dots Studio Destination Unknown set and a stencil from 7 Dots Studio Soulmates collection.

Materials from Mixed Media Place:

We received so many beautiful entries for our Typography Exercise from last month...

We'd like to thank each and every one of you for sharing your projects - it was a huge pleasure to go through all of them.

This time our Design Team was unanimous - this month our winner is...

... Arantzazu ...

with this absolutely magical piece...
Make sure you go to Arantzazu's blog to see more photos!

Congratulations!!! Please, contat us at: store(at)mixedmediaplace.com to claim your prize.

We hope our Design Team Artists made you feel like exercising with us. :)
We can't wait to see your 'Power of One' realizations!

You have time to present your works until May 15th. Simply add a link to your work using the inlinkz tool below.
Our Design Team will then choose their favorite piece and its author will win a discount coupon to be used in our Mixed Media Place Store.

An InLinkz Link-up