Mixed media – where do I start?

Today, I will be writing a bit about mixed media. Mixed media is something a lot of crafters have tried. Redesign is definitely a hit at the moment, so mixed media should fit right into that. In this article you will get some tips and tricks in how to start or develop your mixed media skills.

What is mixed media?

Mixed media is a project made with different medias. In other words, it needs to be more than paper, card stock and glue. You can really mix what you have like paper, fabric, metal, plastic beads, card stock and make a layout, tags, cards, ATC or decorate something. Very often, the projects are being painted, misted, spray painted or coloured in other ways..

READ ALSO: FOIL – HOW DO I USE IT?

Here are different type of Finnabair projects from  Creativation in 2019.

What do I need?

Metal and plastic parts

You can get metal things that have been made for mixed meda. You can also find lots of interesting stuff inside old computers, sewing machines or large clocks. This box is full of metal from old sewing machines. Perfect for mixed media.

LACE AND FABRICS

You can find a lot of stuff on jumble sales or second hand shops. Old lace curtains are fantastic for mixed media. Use them as background or use small pieces here and there behind things.

PAINT

It’s  important that the paint covers well, and it sticks to your medium. Sometimes, you want to cover everything, other times you just want to cover part of your project with paints and mists. Metal and plastic should get a cover of gesso, spray paint or something that will make mists and paints stick to the metal or plastic, if you wish to paint it afterwords. You can also use colour pigments and spray water over the pigments afterwords. This creates a nice effect.

STENCILS

Stencils are nice to create some background structure. To create structure, use a thick medium or add sand to your paint. If you add thiner paint over the stencil, you can use the background colour first over the stencil, before you add the colour you want. In this way, you don’t get the paint bleeding through the stencil. You can get stencil from most craft shops. You can also make your own stencils with a digital cutting machine, die cuts or punches.

DIE CUTS

Die cuts are are fantastic to use in mixed media projects. You can get ready cut paper die cuts, or you can cut out motives from paper. If you use patterned paper, you can often get lots of die cuts from one page, and it’s a cheap way of getting some elements for your project. 

BEADS

You can get micro beads and beads from craft shops. You can also use beads from old jewelry or bits from styrofoam. Go to second hand shops and jumble sales to find old beads you can use.

PAINT BRUSHES

You need good brushes, but they do not need to be expensive. You do need paint brushes that you can use for dry painting.

GLUE

Get proper glue. Don’t save here. I use a lot of Liquitex heavy gel, but there are good alternatives. For heavy things, I use superglue or two-component adhesive. You can also use textile hardener or Powertex to make lace or fabric hard and shape it before it hardends. 

Remember

There is really no right and wrong in mixed media. But as with all art, there are some things to remember to make your project a little bit better. This has to do with composition, colours and techniques.

ADD THINGS ON TOP OF EACH OTHER

A lot of beginners want all the things they have used should be seen. But don’t be scared to put things on the top of each other. This makes your project “come to life”.

THE RULE OF THREE

This has been used  a lot in architecture, photographing and art throughout the years. Think that you split your project in three parts horizontally and vertically. Then you decorate along one or two of the imaginary lines. If you an image, make sure the person or animal looks into the middle of  the picture from one of the imaginary lines.

DARKER SHADOW FROM BEHIND

Try to have darker shadow in the base of your project. Try to have a look through some of the videos under, and see how the darker shades are made in the back of the art piece.

FEW COLOURS

Only choose a few colours. Don’t use all kind of colours. This will make your ar piece look very messy. Maremi his showing some tips here:

Where can I get inspiration?

There are lots of places to get inspiration. Try blogs, Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook groups and You – tube. Take classes, but it might be useful to have tried a bit of mixed media before you take a class in real life. Then it would be easier to follow.

MIXED MEDIA CLASSES ON YOU TUBE

You can find lots of tutorials on You-tube. Try to copy. Learn, and use what you have learned in your own way. You don’t need to use all the same things that they use in the video. Be creative and use what you have.

 

MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOPS – PAYMENT CLASSES

Andy Skinner is a well known artist. He has some good classes, for instance the Book of Ruination.

You can find Andy Skinner’s classes here:   Online Workshops

Good luck being creative with mixed media!