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Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Paper Mosaic

21 Jul

Mosaics are a beautiful expression that can use re-purposed pieces of just about any material and paper is no exception. For years, I’ve had quite an extensive collection of paper. Swatch books, scrapbooking prints and bits & pieces that were either left overs from other projects or were even purchased with the idea of including them in some cool new piece.

This time around, I decided to put a new face on a scruffy looking table in my office. I doodled out a design and started snipping pieces, using Tacky glue to adhere them to a black piece of base paper. Using the age-old technique of hand cutting each piece to fit, the “tile” shapes, while similar, are also somewhat irregular. In case you’re wondering, the shape in the middle is a spinal column since it is in a chiropractic office!

Paper mosaic

When the tiling was done, I cemented the mosaic sheet to the table with contact cement, then gave it a couple coats of Mod Podge to seal it and give it a tile-like glossy surface. The results were fantastic!

Paper mosaic on table

What mosaics have you done with scrap materials?

 
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Posted in Mosaic, Recycled and Re-purposed, Uncategorized

 

When Trash Meets Vision, Art Happens

27 Apr

No mascara needed!

Our modern life creates a constant stream of refuse; some is recycled, some is buried in landfills, some sits at the bottom of the ocean. And some, the truly lucky bits, are re-purposed into new things: things of usefulness, beauty and inspiration. This is what I love to do.

Please enjoy my blog, and be sure to visit my gallery. Drop me a note, or email me pictures of your own inspired creations. And remember, it’s not always what meets the eye!

 
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WORLD STEAM EXPO 2011

01 Jun

Those of you able to attend this year’s World Steam Expo found an exciting and visually impacting show, filled with outstanding costumes, great breakout panels and skilled artisans. The picture immediately below is but one example of the attention to detail paid by those in attendance. For more photos, see the Expo page here.

Fantastic costuming

I personally conducted two panels on Building your own Airship, using Airship Kits that I created and sold. These kits are small and easily assembled even by kids, but are structurally significant enough to detail paint as showpieces. (These kits will be available for purchase from this site very soon!). If participation is high enough, we plan to hold a contest via my Facebook page, at this link, in which you can photograph your finished airship kit and post it to Facebook, then tag me in the photo so it comes to my page and it will be judged for prizes. Below are photos of the kit materials.

Gondolas ready for assembly

Airship Kit bodies awaiting packaging into kit bags

Airship kit parts ready for packaging

Completed and detail painted Airship Kit

Finally, the large airship that I have been posting the construction progress of, made its debut at the Expo to the delight of all that saw it enter the front doors and be majestically carried through the hotel as if flying in the aether. Many photos were taken (post them on FB and tag me please!), many delightful ramblings were made and lots of “ooooh’s and aaaah’s” were heard. Thank you all for your kind words and encouraging comments! This piece is for sale and you can contact me via email (artsmithcraft@yahoo.com) or watch for the link from the gallery showcase page.

The Diabolus flies at World Steam Expo 2011

The Diabolus aloft on the second floor of the Dearborn Hyatt

Thank you to Salathiel Palland of Off the Beaten Path for her guidance and encouragement. Thank you also to Arica Jones & Morgan Kollin who helped make the Expo fantastic this year! All comments pertaining to the show and my airships are welcomed and encouraged! More photos of the event can be seen on my World Steam Expo page here.

What kind of airships would YOU like to see in the future from me??!!

 
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Posted in Papier-mâché, Recycled and Re-purposed, Sculpture, Steampunk, Uncategorized

 

Fin supports

17 May

Now as I continue work on this papier mache airship, I need to add spacers for the back of the fins to attach them to the propeller hub and join them behind the propeller. Because of the multiple angles, I need to cut pieces and glue them to match the contours of the fins and the propeller hub. I would have preferred to use something light weight, but I felt I needed something with a lot of strength in all vectors, so I elected to use scrap repurposed wood.

Cut wooden fin support pieces

Once put together, the wooden pieces take on the shape and angles needed to support the fins.

Glued together wooden fin support

Now I add recycled fiberboard to the ends and add paint rivets…which looks like this…

Fiberboard on the ends, with painted rivets

Next, we paint the pieces with the brass paint.

Painted supports in place holding the fins

This thing just keeps getting better and better! What detailing would you add to make this zeppelin more realistic?

 
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Posted in Papier-mâché, Recycled and Re-purposed, Sculpture, Steampunk, Uncategorized

 

Fin attachment

14 May

Now that the fin struts are attached, I add the fins. This is a HUGE step since I have so many places where the fins have to line up, plus drilling out the fins to accept the strut pin, gluing, etc. The effect, however, is quite dramatic!

Fin mounting close-up

There are three places where the fin mounts to the papier mache airship body, then two places aft.

Whole body view of fin attachment

You’ll notice that at first, the aft positions of attachment have a gap to be filled, but you’ll see the reason as we go on.

Aft view of fin construction

Next time, I’ll show you the construction of the aft fin struts and the tail hub. Again, the pieces are recycled/reused/repurposed items of plastic, wood and cardboard, painted with patina antiquing to look like aged brass. We’re in the homestretch of this cool airship now, so stay tuned for more!

 
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Posted in Papier-mâché, Recycled and Re-purposed, Sculpture, Steampunk, Uncategorized

 

Propulsion continued

06 Apr

Now we are going to look at how the propeller itself is constructed. Again, I chose a plastic laundry cap as the central hub of the propeller. The blades are factory scrap dense foam from some punch out process. I cut the foam to shape with my band saw and cut the contours the same way, then smoothed them with sandpaper. I sealed the foam blades with white latex primer, drilled pilot holes in them and in the sides of the laundry cap. I then used wall anchors and hot glue to secure the blades to the hub. To finish the shape of the prop, I used half of a plastic easter egg and the hollowed out lid off a spice bottle.

The next step would be to add rivets and brass paint… but not today. Stop by again soon!

Assembled propeller

Propeller top

 
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Posted in Papier-mâché, Recycled and Re-purposed, Sculpture, Steampunk, Uncategorized

 

Airship Propulsion

02 Apr

Now that the fins are completed, the next step is to prepare the airship for its “propulsion” components. The propeller mount and propeller make up the bulk of this unit and as always, are made from everyday materials, recycled and repurposed into something cool instead of going in the trash.

Though it’s not apparent here, the propeller mount took a bit of figuring out. I had to take into account the shape and diameter of the end of the airship…based on how far out on the tip I wanted/needed it to go. Then the end diameter of the propeller mount had to be determined and that was based on the piece that was to be the hub at the end. I wound up using a laundry detergent cap…can you believe it? Here it is…

Laundry cap hub

This plastic laundry cap was about the right size, so I placed a wooded disk on the end, glued it then drilled out a hole that fit the diameter of the steampunk airship’s central dowel. This hub piece was then glued into the end of the propeller mount. Below is the mount, which is just heavyweight fiberboard…heavier than cereal boxes…which is cut, scored with an xacto knife, folded, glued and painted.

Propeller mount - painted; rivets added

Here is the cap glued into the end of the propeller mount.

Propeller mount with cap inserted

Next post, I’ll show you the construction of the propeller itself… Again, it’s all about turning “stuff” into cool art. Stay tuned!

 
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Posted in Papier-mâché, Recycled and Re-purposed, Sculpture, Uncategorized

 

Green aging the airship

25 Feb

The next step in the building of the new airship was to make it look a bit aged and to add some tint. I did this by airbrushing a dark green color on the “envelope” and the copper edging.

Green patina aging

Patina detail

Next, I’ll start showing the pieces that will make this look like a lean and mean airship! Stay tuned!

 
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Posted in Papier-mâché, Recycled and Re-purposed, Sculpture, Steampunk, Uncategorized

 

Hello world!

09 Nov

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

 
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Posted in Uncategorized