“Never lose a holy curiosity.” - Albert Einstein
Have you tried Art Journaling on playing cards? I enjoyed
it so much I decided to continue with the project. I suppose my curiosity got
the better of me.
Inspired by the saying “In The Moment” I found printed in
a catalogue I made it my goal. I prepped the cards by lightly sanding them and
then giving them a coat of gesso. I placed all of the cards face up on my table
and began randomly layering acrylic paint. Whatever colours came to hand I
used. Once dried, I flipped to the back and began working. I love the new Tibet
Series by Artistcellar. I wanted to incorporate the Eternal Knot stencil in
some way. Although too large to completely fit on a playing card, when dropped
here and there on the cards the stencil certainly added interest.
It’s been a long time since I looked through my
collection of rubber stamps and clings. The Curious Possibility clings by Tim
Holtz was just perfect for what I had in mind! Combined with a few images I had
in my collection I got just the right Victorian vibe I wanted.
Many artists like to cover the images printed on the playing cards completely. I like to allow the flavor of the card to show through where possible, lending interest additional design elements.
To complete this
series I highlighted portions of the back design with Tim Holtz Distress Crayons and
DecoArt Crackle Paste.
One word of advice: I used my heat tool to get the layers
to dry faster. I believe I got a little too close as one of the cards “popped”
and buckled. My guess is the plastic coating just didn’t like the heat.
As artists curiosity is the force that inspires us to create
new work. Journaling was always a bit of a mystery to me. I suppose for me it’s
“in the cards” using this technique. My question to you: What are you curious
about?
MATERIALS USED:
STANDARD PLAYING CARDS
ARTISTCELLAR STENCILS: Tibet Series, Traditional Japanese
Series, Marked Series, Block Series, Halftone Dots Series, Sea Foam
TIM HOLTZ VISUAL ARTISTRY CURIOUS POSSIBILITY Rubber
Stamps
STUDIO G Alphabet Rubber Stamps
HAND CUT STENCIL: Diamonds
PUNCHINELLA
ELMER’S RUBBER CEMENT
LIQUITEX WHITE ACRYLIC GESSO
LIQUITEX MATTER MEDIUM
DECOART Crackle Paste
MEMENTO DYE INK Tuxedo Black
PLAID ACRYLICS: Blue Sapphire, Amethyst, Blue Pearl, Pure
Orange, Perfect Purple, Violet Pansy, Sunflower, Metallic Rose, Bright Red,
Aquamarine, Pure Gold, Plum
DECOART: Splendid Gold, Sunny Day
DINA WAKLEY: Lime
NATURAL SPONGE
SANDPAPER
TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS CRAYONS
DYLUSION SPRAY: Bubble Gum
POCKET PAGE PROTECTOR
VARIOUS EPHEMERA: Paper, Rubber Stamps, Dover
Publications Images, Rub-On Lettering
