Yesterday, my friend Kathy and I played with wax on plexiglass. The November/December issue of Cloth Paper Scissors had a tutorial on this so we thought we’d see what we could come up with.
We started by gluing our focal or main image to the back of the plexiglass so that it could be seen through the front of the material. From there we added wax layers, imbedded paper and other items into the wax and added color with alcohol inks, pan pastels and gouache on to the front of the plexiglass.
I found this a difficult technique since it was hard to undo “mistakes.” We both agreed we were not making masterpieces – just having fun. I think Kathy’s turned out beautiful and it matched her outfit! I love the colors.
Mine was another story. Kathy was so good giving me suggestions and encouragement through the whole process. Here is mine.
We both agreed that I needed to add my woman’s face to the top of the plexi since it I had built up so much wax on the top that it looked weird. So here is a closeup of my project.
I liked embedding stuff in the wax. I loved the smell of the beeswax. The colors on my piece are made with Pan Pastels. When I added them to the wax it brought out all of the cracks and texture of the wax.
But it was challenging and I really was feeling way outside my comfort zone. Also, since plexiglass is clear whatever color is placed behind it will change the look. I have it sitting on a piece of white paper in the above photo, but I can change the whole feel of the piece by putting a different color behind it.
It was fun, but not something I’d probably want to do again. Well, at least that’s how I feel today. Although when I look at it, it is pretty neat and I know some things I’d do differently.
Kathy brought her basket of scarves over for me to pick one for my birthday present. Oh, my! What a decision! I picked this lovely burnt velvet one. My picture does not do it justice. Kathy has a lot of these available if you need a late gift or want to spend some of that Christmas cash. Here is a link to her shop.
That was a fun day spending time with my new friend – a real artist! Thank you Kathy for sharing the day with me.
Yep, adding the photo of the face on top I think really made a difference…nice! Oh you are just too generous and nice to me! I sent you some stuff email…I think you might have more fun doing this a different way than on the plexiglas. I have learned some things this morning and am going to order tools! I didn’t like the outline of the guy’s face on mine, so I wet and rubbed all the paper off that one…now it’s like a transfer and not so distinct…more of a shadow. I have some more ideas to do to this one.
kathy recently posted..December 31, 2011
Looks like you two had great fun! Your projects turned out beautiful and wow talk about beautiful, Kathy’s scarfs are gorgeous! You picked out a beauty, too. Kathy is so generous and yes you are right she is a real artist.
Jaime Haney recently posted..Purple Locks ~ A rather long tale of hair coloring under the influence of PMS
Playing with wax sounds like great fun. What a lucky girl you are receiving one of Kathy’s gorgeous scarves for your birthday.
Lucie the Happy Quilter recently posted..BACK TO NORMAL…………
I love working with wax and was going to try this next week. I like both your work, the first time you try anything is always the hardest isn’t it? Glad you had fun though.x love the scarf.
Wow you had a brilliant idea…I want to learn how to make this…Thanks for sharing your inspiring blog..
Wow! Both peices are fantastic! I LOVE the color and depth you got by using pan pastels and thought the process was trying I’d love to see you try it again. Great projects! Thank you for letting Gauche Alchemy know about them. We have a Flickr gallery available and would love to have you if you don’t mind adding them.
Thank you all on your nice comments and taking the time to comment.
Michelle, I’ve added it to your Flickr group. Thanks for dropping by.
Wowowowow, these are awesome! I really love how they turned out and you used the punchinella fantastically! Thanks for sharing this link with us!
Maggi recently posted..Happy New Year! A quick peek back at projects from 2011
Oh you really should do it again, just gorgeous. The texture is yum. I bet it’s just strokable up close. Love the smell of beeswax 🙂
As for the scarf – you lucky thing. It’s gorgeous.
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I love what you’ve done here – and I want to sniff it!! The shapes and colours are gorgeous.
And that beautiful scarf is de-lish :o)
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Love your project! Fantastic use of the Punchinella! That piece is gorgeous and is definitely “frame-worthy”! 😀
They both look like masterpieces to me. I’m so glad I stumbled onto your blog and found this post! Great job and thanks for sharing it!
Crystal, Thank you so much for your kind words.