Spread Your Wings Academy vol.7

Hello lovely Friends!

In this month's edition of our Mixed Media Academy we we'd like to talk to you about mistakes.

We had some really interesting conversations about them in our Finnabair Creative Team group and we thought we'd share our thoughts (and art accidents ;) ) with you. :)

We all agreed that mixed-media is one of the most forgiving art fields. It's really liberating when you think of it. There are so many possibilities, mediums and techniques, you can use certain tricks to cover the bits you hate or... pretend you actually meant it that way. ;)

After all, it's just a piece of paper or canvas, keep going, love what you make.

And if you still don't, toss it away and start anew. Most of all, don't give up!

And please remember, like Miles Davis said, -

"Do not fear mistakes. There are none."

Mistakes (or happy accidents if you will) happen to everyone. What true experts do, is they don't let it stop them! Here are our Teamies sharing their personal thoughts and stories. Enjoy! :)

I have a funny story to share with you! When I was making a video about a layout, while making the background I used a stamp backwards! Oh yes, I placed the stamp with the design facing the clear base, lol! So, I had to deal with a pretty big and ugly smudge on the middle of the page!

First I thought 'what's wrong with this stamp'? I was pretty sure that I had done all in the right way. But when I realized what happened, I ended up laughing and feeling a little dumb. :)

Of course I wasn't disappointed and didn't worry. With a little bit of Heavy White Gesso everything can be fixed and that's why I have it on my 'must have' list.

It's the easiest thing to do and then you can use anything on it, like paints and embossing powders like I did.

You can watch all this fun happening in the video below. If you are interested to watch the whole layout click here.

For me there are no mistakes in mixed media art. And if any, you should try to make these work for you.

What I normally do, is I try to fix the piece somehow so that I can leave my craft space with happiness in my soul and the second reason why I do that is the super feeling I had not wasted any of my precious scrap materials. ;) Or... you can always pretend the "mistake" was actually intentional. ;)

When it comes to fixing, my magical helpers are Gesso (White & Clear), scissors, time and wet baby wipes.

First I have to say since I love spraying the colors on my projects what sometimes happens are unwanted drops here and there. I´m a bit impatient when creating and have no time and nerves to cover certain areas of my piece to avoid staining. And here comes the first helper – the Gesso.

When I create, I usually start by applying the gesso on my piece. This stops the paper from soaking in too much color and if you happen to make unwanted stains, you can easily wipe them off (when still wet) with a baby wipe. However, this does not work for Ecolines! Another option is to cover your mistake with more gesso.

I love creating mixed media backgrounds but from time to time I find it´s not what I had planned.

I usually give it some time and then work on it. If I still don´t like it, my scissors gets into action.

I realized that what doesn´t work on a big format, may be super cool on a smaller area. So, my second advice is to change the size of your masterpiece.

You know, they say time heals everything and it´s the truth. Remember you should be enjoying yourself when creating. It´s no good to lose your nerves due to a „spoilt“ project. Just relax, put it away, do nothing and just wait for the inspiration to hit you. It may or it may not but who cares... ;) We´re just human and some mistakes are pure beauty!

Well, nothing I make is ever planned, there is never a preconceived picture of what it will look like finished, so I guess in a way that means I "can't" make a mistake.

I worked intuitively and I do really believe in art there are no mistakes... Every mark, every colour, can be a thing of beauty to someone.

So just relax, trust yourself, listen to that voice inside you and enjoy the process!

I think stamps are the best thing to hide too much color (the orange blob) or too much white contrast. (the white strip of paper)

Here are the before and after shots of using the Bubbles and Notes stamps to add, cover up light area, or break up a mass of color.

The sepia ink adds warmth and the black ink creates contrast.

This technique doesn't "correct" a problem, it just "enhances" the process.

No beauty is perfect. Ideal forms are usually the most boring ones. Art which is free from errors and mistakes makes the viewer humbled but doesn’t grab his emotions. Art is giving yourself a permission to make mistakes. They are part of the process and one of the factors which makes your art as unique and true.

I would like to share with you my solution in case of mistakes or little disasters. Some time ago I had one of my journal spreads torn apart. In order to make it look right again, I fixed the page with washi tape.
Then I put a generous coat of Heavy White Gesso to cover the line of fixing.

When it became dry, I sprayed it with blue and green Mica Powders mixed with water.
To blend it more into the backround, I used a few stamps and black india ink splashes. The spread was repaired and in one piece once again.

 

When I heard about this month's theme I could not think of an easy answer. Mistakes, how to deal with them, how to cover them up ?
Well... maybe this will sound strange but I never see mistakes in my projects... It does not mean I love all of my makes... but certainly I do not consider happy accidents as mistakes. :)

Instead of seeing negative in my art I try to turn it into positive. I do not drop a project and move on to the next one but I keep on creating around what I have already done.
My best advice: don't stress while making art, enjoy every single step and learn through the process even if it's not what you have imagined in the first place... Experiment and let go!

We are really curious to hear you thoughts!
How do you deal with your art mistakes? Do you have any favorite tricks up your sleeve? ;)
Leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you!
Finn & The Team