Baby Steps

So now the final instalment of my blog about my arts & crafts workshop in Rijssen last Sunday.  Like Born to be Free, this session, also instructed by Alice Huisman, is about creating pretty backgrounds.  This time, we didn’t use Gelli Art.  We were instead given a thin wooden board on which we glued on some printed paper as background.  They could be for instance, part of some wrapping paper.  After that, we would be given a choice of worded stickers and cute pre-printed illustrations to colour in and add on top of the background.

Unfortunately I didn’t have the chance to take a photo of the background as I was so immersed with the workshop!!  The provided background is the blue part with the red and pink flowers, whilst the crab is a pre-printed illustration as is the “Baby Steps” sticker.   During the workshop, we painted in the illustration using watercolour pens diluted with a wet brush.  I added some flowers and squiggles on the left-hand side with a Uni Posca white marker.  As we were running out of time and I felt I was not yet finished, I decided to continue the rest at home where I have more materials at hand.

This morning, I continued where I left off, using pens and markers  It’s kinda nice not to have to get my brushes out for a change. Just sit down and redesign.  Here I used the acrylic markers by Molotow and Amsterdam along with white Uni Posca.  For the red and pink flower, I added some glitter using Jane Davenport’s Glitz Markers but unfortunately it is not visible in the photo which is a pity.  Another thing I added are some glassy effects around the piece, mainly in blue and red.  Also some green on the crab for texture.  These were from the Nuvo Drops I had purchased at the shop that afternoon.   They take a while to get used to and some practice needed for that perfectly spherical shape.  Adding further details like I had done certainly gives more flavour to the piece!

I certainly enjoyed the session.  Too bad we had little time to complete it on the day but then again, I didn’t have all my stuff with me so just as well to continue at home.  I’ve never worked on a wooden panel before which was quite interesting as I normally use paper.  And earlier in the day, we used canvas boards which was also my first time.  The only thing I may change for myself is to draw my own illustrations rather than use pre-printed ones, as said in my previous blogs.  Best to develop my own style.  Nevertheless, it was a wonderful introduction to doing something different again.  And I would most defiantly like to go to more workshops like this.  Meanwhile, I shall be incorporating these ideas into my work and creating some more kawaii stuff!  Thank you, Alice, for the inspiration.