Recently picked ip a couple of freebies at outdoor stores. They’ll be used for collage words and images, though the NC Wildlife mag is full of good info.
This is an American Woodcock, the bird that walks so funny. Not to be confused with a Wood Duck!
I have two collages accepted for this exhibition! I almost chickened out. It’s my first time submitting!
I’ve shared this one several times. I finally named it, Bound for Glory, as in 🎶 “This train is bound for glory, this train!”🎶
The second one is a result of the #makerscollagechallenge2026, from Makers of Mixed Media Art/Artists, a Facebook group created by PMartist Studio. The collage prompts are selected by Eddie Reyes and Darcy Sanders, two of PMartist’s designers. One of the prompts was, “Hometown,” so that’s what I named it!
That’s what I call this collage, but I have just finished, “The Glazing of Gutsy.”
I used my favorite satin gel medium and a wide foam brush. Foam brushes introduce bubbles so you have to really watch and smooth them out. I started in the middle and worked out and around counter-clockwise, beginning and ending with Gutsy.
If I ever make something like this, again, I will make sure I glaze the images under the frame before I add it. I couldn’t remember doing that, so I worked some into the openings in the wooden frame, being wary of bubbles.
This collage was in response to the #makerscollageprompt2026 for January. The prompts were bird, mushrooms, eyes, lyrics and frame. The photos are mine, except for the adult birds which were used by permission.
North Wilkesboro, today. I finally finished my popcorn collage
and delivered it to my friend, Junior Ayers, at the Liberty Theater.
Junior immediately hung the collage on the back wall of the concession stand, near the popcorn machine. I should’ve taken his photo, but I was in a big hurry to get to the library!
At the library, there was a free presentation by Liz Z Purdue. The title was
It was great! I had lunch at the Cinder Bistro. I went shopping across the street at Carolina Treasures on Main. I ran in the wine shop for another bar of lavender blueberry infused chocolate. I’ll have to share photos, tomorrow. The day has gotten away from me but it really was wonderful!
It’s an oxymoron, right? My recent shower head purchase came with some useful packaging.
Look at that teeny tiny box that held the plumber’s tape! The main container is nice and sturdy with a hinged lid. It’ll bee great for storage! Maybe, I’ll cover it with gel prints!
I have no idea why that piece of cardboard is shaped like a cutting board, but it should make an unusual sign or collage backing.
There are two big sheets of tissue for gel plating or stamping. Even the strangely shaped pressed paper liner has a sculptural quality!
And oh! Here’s the little spool from the plumber’s tape. It can be used for mark making on the gel plate or in polymer clay. I can even wrap leftover threads or cords around it!
My husband has learned to ask, “Is it for art, honey, or can I throw it away?“
Yes, it’s June 1, but I got it finished and posted to Makers of Mixed Media Art/Artists late last night. I’m just now blogging about it.
Prompts were food, label, arrow, scribbles, branches. The optional theme was still life. I call this, “What a Sandwich Needs.”
I spread that mustard yellow paint with a plastic knife!
The collage prompts for May, in “Makers of Mixed Media Art/Artists,” are
Branches A label
An arrow Scribbles
Food
Now, I have an idea in mind, but last night I was playing with an app called, “Pages.”
I set it to graphics and searched for each of the prompts. I chose the first result that appealed to me.
The optional theme is, “still life,” so I chose a table to put things on. Then I chose a background.
The app layers things in the order you choose them. Moving things is easy. You click on the object and dots appear in the corners. You can use them to move objects and change their sizes.
To change layers you click the object, choose the paintbrush icon at the top, and a slider appears. I needed to move the background to the very back, of course, so I slid the slider all the way to the “back.” I “layered” all my objects using the slider.
This is what I arranged:
I saved to photos and used photo editing to crop and add my tiny signature:
This may be the app I need to replace Microsoft Picture It.
The big screen is a large tv from my friend, Laura. We love You Tube art and craft videos, and when we’re at my house, in the den/study, we’ve been watching on a very small tv. We might as well set up an iPad.
Froyle is Froyle Davies, the first gel print artist that I ever watched. She turns her gel prints into fantastic collages!
She is a joy to watch! She is animated and full of laughter. Her New Zealand accent is icing on the cake.
I watched this episode first, today.
She compared three weights of Gelelf’s new image transfer papers.
They all worked beautifully.
To learn how to transfer images onto the gel plate, be sure to watch this episode. Warning: she makes it look easy. It’s not! I’ve had two successful image transfers. I’ll share them another time.
I’m going to try, again, and send you all good wishes if you decide to give it a go!
Not really, but I did spend the day cleaning and packing and driving back to Charlotte.
I was anxious to get back to seal and finish this big collage:
There’s a whole story behind this collage. It’s my entry for the January Collage Challenge at Makers of Mixed Media Art/Artists, a group sponsored by PMartists Studio. I’ll share more in the future.
My favorite sealant is Liquitex Satin Gel Medium. I have 2 containers and both are left at home. I’m off to the web to see if Michael’s has any in stock, or order more for here. 🙄
I attended a slow stitching class today, with my friend, Connie, at Tripp’s Mercantile. https://www.facebook.com/share/1ak3r4FAe1/?mibextid=wwXIfr
After class, Connie and I walked down to the local library to check out the new podcast studio. Interesting possibilities, there, and people, too!
Laura and I had a facetime create date in the afternoon. I stained a board for backing my collage that was due today at Makers of Mixed Media Art/Artists. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18QHvnhTGp/?mibextid=wwXIfr
I didn’t trust the stain to be dry enough to seal and glue and glaze, so I went ahead and posted this photo.
The prompts were hometown, scales, beverage, graffiti and feather. See if you can find them.
#the100dayproject2026/blogrevival