This article has been written by Linda Giese

Little boxes provide quick surfaces for a variety of techniques.  People like to collect boxes for storage and for gift giving.  So for those of you who have an annual sale or two, or make your own gifts, boxes are a great source of material.

No matter which techniques you’ve perfected, or want to practice, try it on a box.  But for wonderful contrast and creating interest, combine two techniques on one box.  Boxes are divided already for you into tops and bottoms – how convenient!

As I was prepping a box for painting or collage, I used white gesso as a sealer and undercoat.  Well, that bright white just called to me to zentangle.  I had Sandy Steen Bartholomew’s book “Totally Tangled”  handy and I’d always loved that face on the cover.

Now faces are not my strong suit, so I copied hers to have a successful outcome.  (Just remember to give the original artist credit.  I put this information inside the box lid.) I set the box aside for months not wanting to mess up that beautiful face by not so great art work.  Sometimes you just have to be in the right mood to create.

But now the sale was looming and I had to produce and finish projects I had started.  I came across this box.  It would take a lot of time to zentangle the whole thing!  I was going through my stash of napkins to share with a new student.  That’s what gave me the idea to pull out black and white napkins and tissues.

One of the secrets to combining two techniques successfully is to think of the color palette.  Since my box was white with black pen work for the zentangles, I had a natural fit. The same or compatible colors should work for a successful combination.  If I used the napkins and tissues to collage the bottom of the box, I could finish my project much quicker. I used DecouPage by Americana to apply the napkins and tissues.  I began with one napkin and tore it into pieces after separating out the white layers. I put the straight edges of the napkins along the straight edges of the box.  I applied the first pattern around the box on the four sides and the bottom.  Then I started with the second napkin the same manner.  I continued with the other napkin and the tissues until the entire box bottom was covered.

It looked so pretty. It reminded me of a dining room with chair rail separating the smooth painted upper wall and the textured wallpapered bottom wall. I was anxious to finish the zentangled top.  Nothing like a bit of excitement for inspiration!  I used some of my favorite patterns for each segment.   I used a micron pen for the zentangles.   The lid needed a border to make it look finished.  I drew a line on the top using a ruler to frame my woman.  The side still looked too plain.  The lace pattern was just the thing and tied it to the woman as I had used it on her dress.

I decided to use just a bit of color for the eyes. I used a green IDentipen on the smaller tip to make the lines for the iris.

I used black acrylic paint and a floating technique for shading.  I found to my dismay on another project that if you plan to varnish over your work, pencil shading may spread over the entire surface instead of staying where you want it. The top was then finished with two coats of Delta Ceramcoat Satin Varnish.  This is also why it is very important to use the right pens.  The Sakura IDentipens and Sakura Micron pens won’t bleed when you varnish over them.   If you are unsure about your pens, be sure to test them in advance on something other than your project.

As a mixed media artist, I’m sure you have several techniques in your repetoire.  How about combining them on a special box?  This turned out so pretty that it may not go into my sale.  If you are like me and sell or give away the majority of your art, every now and them you surprise yourself and find a piece hard to part with.  That’s when your art becomes a gift to yourself  or perhaps a favored family member.  Now go grab some boxes and start playing!

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Linda Giese has an altered book in the current issue of ArtJournaling, Autumn 2012.
She welcomes emails, questions and comments at linda.giese@yahoo.com

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