Tutorial: Area 718 TagPads!

Completed Area 718 TagPads

Last month, my Australian artist and designer pal Holly Eva posted a tutorial on her blog about using simple materials to transform notepads into works of art. This week, I decided to do a graffiti fusion spin on the same idea, after my kids came home from Lowe's with another paint inspiration card to add to their collection:

I loved the details, the graphic lines, and the contrast of light and dark, particularly in the middle image.

So, I set to work combing through the previous Sunday's newspaper, looking for interesting images that reminded me of the inspiration card, and adhering them with Aleene's Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage.

I covered a few sections with painter's tape...

...and painted them with acrylic glazes.

Next, I stenciled, blotted the glaze, and removed the painter's tape.

For the next layer, I adhered some old collage scraps left over from other projects and doodled some more.

To cover the backs, and the inside cardboard covers of the TagPads, I used sheets of duct tape in various colors and patterns.


I'd been wanting to mix metal and fiber in a project for some time now, and this seemed like the perfect time. Metal chain + carabiners + fringy fibers and ribbons + charms + shoelaces = textural bling with a cool, urban feel.

Practice your tag. Write random, rambling thoughts. Sketch something, tear it out, and hide it in a library book as guerrilla art. Jot down a shopping list. Use it as a cat toy, even. Pick up an Area 718 TagPad at Art Carnage Saturday night at The Soundry, from 6 p.m. to 12:00 midnight.

Tutorial: Easy Graffiti Canisters

If you're looking for a way to bring a bit of organization to your studio without losing any of the creative chaos, try this idea. It's quick, inexpensive, and a great way to leverage your artwork, upcycle something you may already have, and personalize your workspace.

One of my favorite -- and most useful-- things in the studio is a wooden lazy susan from IKEA. On it sit a bunch of old baby formula cans, which hold many of my paintbrushes, beloved Sharpie poster paint markers, brayers, and whatnot. One of these days I'll get around to painting the lazy susan, but figured I'd tackle the cans first.

For this project, you will need:

• Old canisters (from coffee, baby formula, Costco-sized cans of veggies, etc.) 
• Photocopies of your artwork. Try enlarging sections of your original work for interesting effects.
• Aleene's Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage or other paper adhesive
• Ruler
• Scissors

1. Look through photocopies of your work and decide which would go well together. Don't be surprised if it's a combination you never thought would! This is also a great way to use up paper scraps. 

2. I love the look of alphabet stencils, and wanted to incorporate the one on this enlarged photocopy of my original work in this project. Because the canister I was working with was large, it was easy to work with a large photocopy. Wrap the photocopy around the canister to get a better idea of which areas you'd like to highlight, and other areas you may want to cover. Then, measure the photocopy and cut to fit. 

3. Apply Collage Pauge or other adhesive to the back of the photocopy and spread with a foam brush. I preferred using Collage Pauge for this project because it has a thinner consistency and quick drying time. 

4. Wrap the photocopy around the canister and smooth. Because I wanted to add texture, I chose to leave the paper "wrinkles" in. 

5. Rip pieces off other, contrasting photocopies of your work and collage them onto areas of the canister.  Experiment with different textured looks and colors. When you are happy with your new design, finish by sealing entire surface with Collage Pauge.

***

Here's another example. For this one, I chose another background derived from the same original work. However, I'd photocopied it in a different color. To provide contrast, I incorporated brightly colored scraps of graffiti.   

Done, and done! 

Handmade Business Card Tutorial

Handmade business cards are a great way to put your art into the hands of potential buyers. They're relatively easy to make, totally customizable, and worth the effort. Although I'd used traditional business cards before, they really didn't communicate graffiti fusion, at least the way I wanted them to. If people ask what kind of art I do, usually their next question is, What's graffiti fusion? I can describe it, but the better option is showing them an example.

So a few months back, while doing an exercise for Traci Bautista's Discovering Y.O.U. Art Marketing Course, I decided to play around in the studio and make my own with materials on hand.

For this batch of business cards, I first made layered graffiti backgrounds on manila folder. It's one of my favorite materials to paint on, and provided a large surface area for this project. These backgrounds were still in work at the time this photo was taken.

On the reverse side of the manila folder, I glued a transparency I'd painted previously, then added accents with colored tape. This shot shows both sides of the folder. Inspired by something I'd seen around my neighborhood, I bought some "Hello" labels and found a free urban font online, then printed out my business information onto the labels.

Front and reverse of finished cards. Although they're slightly bigger than traditional business cards, each one is a unique piece of art.

I also experimented with different textural backgrounds. This photo shows the labels on dyed paper towels, which were adhered to the manila folder.

For this batch, I stuck labels on a collage of Citrasolv-treated paper and dyed paper towels, backed with manila folder.


If you're looking for a different option than using original backgrounds for your business cards, the following instructions may be a bit quicker.

It's helpful to take digital photos of both your finished work and works in progress. Make photocopies of your work at the copy store. You can then use them for a variety of projects. For this batch of handmade business cards, I adhered a photocopy of my original work with Aleene's Collage Pauge Instant Decoupage to cardstock.

On the reverse, I adhered a black-and-white copy of some original work, and then collaged color copies over it for contrast.

Use colored pencils to highlight a few areas.

Add the labels and maybe a few embellishments...

Then cut them out.


Try making your business cards on a variety of surfaces, incorporating different looks and textures. The idea is to have fun communicating who you are as an artist through the cards. Since making these, I've also designed other reversible business cards that double as ACEOs, using a deck of playing cards. They're just big enough for the Hello label on the front and an original background or photocopy of my original work on the back. Look for these ACEO business cards in The Soundry's Baddie Bags, for the first 25 people to enter Art Carnage this Saturday night.