book review Archives - Mixed Media Art

Book Review: Creative Girl – Mixed Media Techniques for an Artful Life

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This article is written by Teresa Abajo

Hello! Teresa Abajo here and I will be reviewing Danielle Donaldson’s book Creative Girl – Mixed Media Techniques for an Artful Life. It was published in 2015 by North Light Books, who bring us a number of other wonderful art related titles.

Danielle Donaldson is a graphic designer and has focused her artistic efforts on watercolour and graphite drawing techniques. Her work is wonderfully colourful, with lots of details she adds with pencils and markers.
The introduction invites us to discover our very own creative happy place by organising our time, personalising the process, creating stashes and sorting supplies. Throughout the book, the emphasis is on staying active creatively – never on productivity or creating to a particular standard.

We start (as many art books do) with a list of all of the supplies Danielle uses to create. I’m happy to say there aren’t too many specialised materials required. In fact, you’ll likely find you already own most items, or can substitute with the brand you already use. There are many household items she uses too – things like glass jars, salt, pins and old books.

In the first chapter, Danielle talks about where much of her crafting takes place – on her couch surrounded by distractions I for one would find too much to bear! She puts together handy little stash stations containing creative tools and materials and she indulges in small snippets of creative time throughout the day. Again, the emphasis is on crafting often, rather than crafting for long periods of time. I found I could very much relate to that – I certainly find it easier to steal moments from my day rather that schedule a huge block of time for crafting. Organisation is key, and Danielle explains how she uses and collates Inspiration Folders.

The next couple of chapters focus on watercolour specific techniques and contain lots of ideas for mini projects and art exercises.
In Chapter 5 Danielle covers developing your own signature style – putting ‘you’ into your art work. She walks us through the creation of various girl figures in very simple, well photographed steps. Here’s where I am with these lessons:

The next part of the book gives us lots of examples of “hot mess solutions” or how Danielle fixes components of her work with which she isn’t happy. Cover ups, work arounds, walk aways, let it go – simple self explanatory terminology.
The last part of the book has a beautiful gallery of Danielle’s work. Now that I’ve read her book I feel inspired to deconstruct a piece and have a go at replicating the components that appeal to me.

Creative Girl – Mixed Media Techniques for an Artful Life is part drawing and watercolour play manual and part realistic guide for those of use wanting to inject a little more art into our daily lives. It’s a beautifully presented book, written in simple and encouraging language and I’m sure you’ll be as thrilled as I was to add it to your craft library.

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Filed Under: Review Tagged With: art, art work, book review, crafting, Mixed Media, Mixed Media Techniques, Teresa Abajo

“Knit the sky” by Lea Redmond – Book review

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This article is written by Catriona Laing

Having read many knitting books in the past, I thought I knew what to expect from ‘Knit The Sky’. If I turned to a random page, I would find a photograph of a finished project, and the precise instructions for how I could replicate that same item. This, however, was not the case. You will find very few definite instructions in this book. Instead, Lea Redmond places an emphasis on creativity, spontaneity, and fun, which is often lost in other, stricter, patterns, as well as mindfulness of the world around the reader. Projects include a purse made from several hexagon shapes, to resemble honeycomb, each of which the knitter is only allowed to make after going outside and smelling some flowers, to remind the knitter of a little worker bee, or a throw rug constructed from many small postcard-size sections, each made after visiting a new place.

The book itself is a beautiful piece of work. Not a single page is without one of Lauren Nassef’s colourful illustrations, complementing the text on that page excellently. Redmond has succeeded in creating a most inspiring book, which any knitter would do well to own. I myself, for a long time, have been very much a slave to the strict instructions of the pattern before me, though I did not realise it at the time. Now, however, I am looking forward to the new things I can create, with this book as my inspiration.

You can learn more about Knit the Sky on the book’s website www.knitthesky.com

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My name is Catriona. I am currently in my third year of a Biomedical Science degree, and hope to one day go on to study medicine and become a doctor. However, I’ve got a long way to go before I get there, so in the mean time I enjoy hobbies such as knitting, crochet, playing far more musical instruments than are good for me, and I’ve even dabbled in cosplaying. But knitting is my favourite. Obviously. I really enjoy finding new and interesting patterns to try out, and my all-time favourite thing is when I find someone who likes receiving knitted objects as much as I like making them.

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Disclosure: This book was provided by R&M West Coast Enterprises for the purpose of review. 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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Filed Under: Review Tagged With: book review, knit, Lauren Nassef, lea Redmond

Book Review: 101 Mixed Media Techniques

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This article is written by Barbara Rankin

Mixed media is really hot right now, and whether you are a novice or a skilled mixed media artist, this book would be a wonderful addition to any artist’s library.

The book is a compilation of a myriad of mixed media techniques by several artists, and is published by Walter Foster. It retails for $19.99 in the United States. I particularly like the way it is spiral-bound, allowing it to lay flat while referring to a particular technique.

The book begins with: “There are no mistakes in art.” I could not agree more. Every artist has their own style, and this book will help you evolve as an individual artist, in your own way and in your own creative manner. Next, there are suggestions for how to use this book, and it explains that with mixed media, the techniques can either be used individually or combined to create your very own masterpiece.

The topics covered in this book are painting backgrounds, gesso and mediums, found and re purposed materials, stamping, stenciling, altering photos, transferring images, encaustics, playing with paper, adding texture, and the ever-popular art journaling.

Each chapter addresses various techniques pertaining to the topic, with a list of supplies. For instance, under “Painting Backgrounds”, you will find techniques for dry brushing, rolling paint, scraping, washes, and so on. Each technique is presented with excellent examples, a brief explanation, and tips from the artist.

I like to compare mixed media artists with a scientist in a laboratory, one who is always experimenting, always looking for just the right combination of ingredients.

This book will definitely be on my desk at all times, not only for inspiration, but I will consider it my workbook, or notebook, of all things mixed media, only someone else did all the work of taking notes and writing them down for me. Even if I already know how to perform a specific technique described, It will be something I can refer to over and over again to either refresh my memory as to a specific technique, or to help me get my mojo back when it takes a leave of absence. You know those times when you have to walk away from your work because you are stuck for ideas. This book should alleviate some of that.

When it comes to mixed media, the most important thing to remember is that there are no rules. Try the techniques in the book, and experiment with them. You just might come up with the most amazing technique that will be your “go-to” for years to come.

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Barbara is a mixed media artist who loves to teach. She loves to learn new techniques and to share her knowledge with other artists. She is a contributing artist in a book: Make it in Minutes: Mini Albums, and has been published in several paper and online magazines. She is currently on two design teams, Sin City Stamps and Altered Pages, and has served as a design team member for The Robin’s Nest and Creative Paperclay®, as well as guest designer for Craftwell USA and the February 2015 issue of Unruly Paper Arts.

She lives in the Memphis, Tennessee, with her very supportive husband of 32 years, and her two Yorkies, Chloe and Zoe.

You can see more of Barbara’s work on her blog at Black Hole Art Studio or via Facebook – Black Hole Art Studio

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Filed Under: Review Tagged With: 101 Mixed Media Techniques Book, book review

“Joy of Zentangle”

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This article is written by Pauline Laing

Today we are going to review the book “Joy of Zentangle – Drawing Your Way to Increase Creativity, Focus and Well-Being” by Suzanne McNeil CZT, Sandy Steen Bartholomew CZT & Marie Browning CZT. This book was published by Design Originals, 2013.

Zentangles have been on the scene for a few years now. Created by Rick Roberts Sharon Lesh and Maria Thomas, the Zentangle method is a simple drawing technique that they claim can lead to creativity and a feeling of well being. I already knew that the drawings people produce can be very gorgeous, so I was enthused about having a go.

This book has left me a bit uplifted, and also a bit angry! Uplifted, because it led me to pick up a pen and draw in a new way, undaunted by the challenge of the white page. But angry because of all the “business” surrounding the process.

Let’s dispense with the business topic first. A whole page of the book is devoted to it, and the rest of the book is written mindful of the fact that Zentangle is a business. We are told to use the verb “tangle” to describe what we are doing. We are told to credit the Zentangle method if we use it to produce artwork. We are offered useful products for sale at the official web site. On one level, ten out of ten to them for turning a creative idea into a viable business. But on another, I’m very uncomfortable thinking that someone else can own this process. I’m just doodling with a pen, for heavens sake!

But that’s enough business. So, what do you get in this book? There’s a nice bit of background about how Maria and Rick created this method, and some genuine insights into the meditative aspect of drawing. Sorry, tangling. Then we get into a tutorial on how to create a basic Zentangle work. It’s nicely laid out, you’ll have no problem understanding. I enjoyed this bit.

Very soon we are into the juicy bit of the book, the directory of tangles! Definitely the best bit of the book, we get no less than 101 samples of patterns to use. And not just the pattern, but a step by step guide to how to produce them. Some looked really complex to me, but turned out easy to draw when I referred to the steps. I was delighted! Some pages also featured a photograph of a real life object that was the source of inspiration for the pattern. At least, I think that was why they were there. The book didn’t really make the connection here, and I thought that would have been a very useful aspect to add. These directory pages also feature samples of others’ work. I examined them to see the connection to the tangle featured on the page, but in most cases, there was none. A missed opportunity, surely! A few patterns didn’t really lend themselves to using in Zentangles, I thought. They looked more like just a drawing not a pattern suited to filling in a random area. I’d have preferred a little more guidance there. My complaints aside, this section of the book was so useful, I returned to it over and again.

And did it make me more creative? I spent an evening tangling, and finished my first Zentangle. I decided to try creating an original pattern for filling areas. I flipped through photos on my iPad for inspiration. I never did get to creating an original tangle, because it was sidetracked by a very fun calligraphy project I suddenly thought of. So, was Zentangle a failure, because I stopped? Or was it a success, because it warmed me up for a more personal project? I’m going to say success, and based on my experience wit this book, I’d do it all again. And I’d flip through my 101 tangles again too!