Playing With Paint: 2012-08-26

Hello everyone! Welcome to my brand new blog! I have a lot of interesting projects coming up.... so keep checking back.

READY TO PLAY WITH TAPE?

This is a continuation of the previous post. The previous post provided instructions for making your own tape. For this portion of the lesson we are going to make "She Art" girls, Julie Nutting style, by either using tape that we made, store bought tape or you can even use cut strips of paper and glue. You choose!

What are we going to make? We are going to make a "She Art" girl and dress her in a skirt made of tape. So let's get started!!!

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare substrate: Prepare a substrate by using your media of choice. Use stencils, spray inks, watercolor, or even add collage ephemera, etc. to your background. If you choose to collage material to the background, be careful that it does not compete with your girl. I collaged book pages to mine......very subtle.

Draw girl: Next draw your girl in pencil on a separate piece of white paper. Use sketch or printer paper if you plan to use prismacolor pencils or watercolor paper if you plan to use water based paint. Once you have obtained the desired look, outline your girl by using a black or sepia color ink pen.

Color girl: Using the media of your choice, color the girl from the waist up. Do not color the skirt because we are going to apply tape to it! Also, if you have details positioned in front of the skirt like a purse or flower, it is a lot easier to add them separately after the skirt is layered with tape. Do draw and color arms and hands that are located in front the skirt.

Cut out girl: After girl is colored, carefully cut her out. Cut around any arm and hand positioned in front of the skirt and bend them out of the way.

Glue girl to substrate: Glue girl to the substrate except for the arm and hand that you cut around (the one that is in front of the skirt). Just kind of bend it back out of the way. We will glue it down after the skirt is completed.

NOW.....Let's make skirts by using tape! This is where you need to make a decision. Which tapes will you use? Use washi or handmade tapes made with Sookwang and tissue paper for a soft almost chiffon look, use opaque tapes for a striped effect or a combination of the two? How many different tape patterns and colors will you use? (I only used three different tapes patterns for the green skirt and four different tape patterns for the girl with the teal and magenta skirt.)

I have included pictures of the skirts made with seni-transparent and opaque tape to help you make your decision.

Made with semi-transparent tape: This skirt was made by using semi-transparent tape made with Sookwang tape. Notice how the overlapped areas create another color and pattern? This skirt almost has a chiffon look. Store bought washi tape and cut strips of semi transparent paper will give a similar look.

Made with opaque tape: This skirt was made from tape made with the Ace Hardware and Walmart brand tapes. It is opaque and has a striped look. Can you see the difference?

Once you have selected the tapes you plan to use, prepare them by cutting strips 1/4 inch wide by the longest length of the skirt. Give yourself a little wiggle room and cut them a bit longer. Once they are positioned into place you can cut them along the bottom edge. (Wouldn't it be cute to make a short skirt with a handkerchief hem?) Tip: If you are using Washi tape or a tape that does not have a paper backing, first stick the tape to wax paper and then cut it into 1/4 inch strips.

Now.... lay the tapes side by side to determine the order in which you are going to use the tapes and let's start sticking them down. Starting at the outside edges of the skirt, stick down the first pieces of tape. Next, stick down the one in the middle and the one in the middle of that. Continue sticking down tape until all the white space is filled. Tip: If you are having a problem with getting the tape to separate from the paper backing, use a craft knife to peel the back the edge.

ADD THE FINISHING TOUCHES:

Once all the tape is stuck down it is time to glue the hand and arm that was folded back and any accessories to the skirt. Then complete your page with beautiful embellishments and lettering. Add tape to the background if you wish to do so!

There you have it! A "She Art" girl with a skirt made of tape.

THE COMPLETED "SHE ART" GIRLS:

The squares in the background are doodled homemade tape made from Sookwang tape.

The tape on the right side of the page is stenciled and made from the Ace Hardware tape.

USING TAPE TO JOIN JOURNAL PAGES:

Here are a few more examples of how to use your homemade tapes. Remember the journal that we made in Joanne Sharpe's Letter Love 101 class? (If you haven't taken the Letter Love class yet, see what fun we had?) I have made several journals using Joanne's method of taping different sized inky pages together and plan to make many more. I just love how the tapes coordinate with the pages and this wasn't planned. It's just that I have made lots and lots of tape and now have a huge assortment in which to choose from. Wouldn't these make nice gifts for your art friends?