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This article was written by Michelle G. Brown

Mary Beth Shaw has put together “Flavor for Mixed Media – a feast of techniques for texture, colour and layers” with the mixed media artist who loves to get stuck in and set her hands dirty in mind. Published by North Light Books in 2011, Mary Beth brings her talents and those of 15 of her artist friends together for this feast of mixed media projects.

The key theme of Mary Beth’s book is to combine the skill and flavours of cooking with those of art, highlighting that “Art and food: Two of life’s most sensory pleasures and certainly two of my favourite things”. As I am NOT a particularly skilful cook, I did find the two themes clashed a little awkwardly at first but as I continued to feast on the wonderful colors and layers in Mary Beth’s projects I began to understand how the two themes could be used side by side.

The chapters run us through Preparation and making sure our artistic “pantry” is properly stocked. Then we run through Color, Texture, Layers, Flavors and Combinations. Each chapter includes three guest artists and three projects, so not only do we hear form 15 very different mixed media artists, we also have 15 projects to sink our teeth into. Mary Beth also offers alternatives to consider when one of the key “ingredients” is missing. Many of the guest artists also provide real recipes which adds a real element of tying the cookbook and art book together.

My attention was captivated by two projects; the “Painting without Paint” piece (p.16) and the “Clayboard book” (p.38). I loved the colors used and the texture and depth of layers in the final pieces. As I had actually bought some clayboard on a recent trip to the US, I was eager for a project that guided me through how to get the best out of the product and not just use it as another variation of canvas.

Claybord(™) is made by Ampersand and has a wood backing with a “Ultra-smooth clay surface” across the top. Mary Beth had us start by sketching out a rough layout and then scratching into the clay surface to add the first layer of texture. Mary Beth put her Dremel to good use here; I used an awl and stamp carving tools (probably not the proper way to use them!) to make my marks. Then I used Impasto medium with sequence scrap to add the circles. I used post-it notes to mask the areas around where I wanted the texture added. Mary Beth used Glass Bead Gel to add more texture – I added some seed beads into the Impasto medium – not quite the same effect but in the spirit of “making do” I ploughed on! I left the piece to sit over night so the Impasto medium could dry completely.

Next I combined the “Painting without Paints” technique with the Clayboard project colours by using artist pastels and chalks. I really had no idea how these soft mediums would go onto the clapboard but I was very brave and kept going! It was BLISS! The chalks went on SO smoothly and they were easy to blend and add depth and shading. It was easy to remove some of the colour as well. Some of the lines weren’t as fine as I would have liked as the pastels were thick, but I liked the end result. I used the Golden paint teal to add the color that goes so well with the earthy browns.

I highlighted the “Now” letters with a brown marker and added highlights with gold acrylic paint on a dry brush. Once the paint was dry I coated the whole piece with spray glass varnish. When this was dry the pastels and chalk were sealed and now won’t rub off.

I was very pleased with the results.

Overall Verdict

Overall such a fun book, especially for those ready to advance your mixed media skills or those fearless artists who are quite willing to jump straight into the deep end of the mixed media techniques pool. The combination of 15 artists and 15 projects certainly provides a wide range of different styles.

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Michelle G. Brown is passionate about mixed media art and enjoys sharing her knowledge and techniques with you to allow you to express your own creativity. Michelle understands that many of us have an inner need to create. By learning a few basic techniques the amazing world of mixed media art is accessible to everyone!

Michelle lives with her husband and two boys in Melbourne, Australia.

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Disclosure: This book was bought with our own money.  All opinions are that of the MixedMediaArt team. Some links on this page may be affiliate links and any purchases help to support the ongoing work by MixedMediaArt.
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