I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Wednesday 18 November 2015

Mixology II - Andy Skinner

Hello all, I'm back again to share what I made in Andy Skinner's fabulous class on the second day of the Ministry of Mixology workshops the weekend before last.  I did mean to share all this before, but things got a bit busy blog-wise as well as in the real world!  You can check out the results of Saturday's class here at Mixology I - Michelle Webb if you missed it.

With Andy we got rusty and industrial...


... and I loved it - no surprises anywhere there, I suppose.





We altered some notebook covers which must have been specially designed for the Mixology weekend, judging by the words pre-cut into their edges!

Again, I'm not going to share all the ins and outs of how it was done - though Andy has Youtube videos available of quite a few of these techniques...












For instance, here's how to do the Mega-Crackle which forms the main background effect.  And there are lots more great DecoArt tutorials by Andy if you take a look.











I'm really excited that he's going to be one of the teachers on Wanderlust 2016 next year... looking forward to seeing what he comes up with for that!

I was a bit of a naughty child again about colours, opting out of the bright red and yellow he was encouraging us to use for the undercoat and sticking to my blue and green guns.











But both Andy and Michelle (see yesterday's colour-naughtiness!) are fantastic teachers who, as well as sharing their in-depth knowledge and amazing techniques, want to encourage your individual creativity - so I think they welcome the maverick approach (within reason!!).













When it came to adding the colour washes at the end, blue/green/brown was also where I ended up.  I know... one day I might push the boat out, but at the moment what makes me happy is what makes me happy, so I'm sticking with it.












We had lots of fun altering cogs and nuts and bolts from the new Andy Skinner Industrial Elements kit from Tando using DecoArt paints and mediums.












You can hardly believe all of this started out as plain old chipboard, can you?
















Rusting...















Weathering...












Chipping...














Distressing...















And all done with paint (and a bit of Andy knowhow!).











You end up with something that could have been retrieved from a forgotten attic or that's been sitting neglected out in the garden for an age.













I do love the font of the pre-cut words.















I hope Tando will produce something similar to this for sale.  Or maybe they already do - must check.  UPDATE: They do now!!













I spent quite a lot of time adding shading to bed the cogs and other elements into the background, and still had time to seal the whole thing with the Ultra Matte Medium, so none of that crackle is going anywhere, I'm happy to say!












Huge thanks to Andy for another inspiring day and another brilliant project.  And of course to Di and Tando for organising the whole event.  Hopefully there'll be many more Ministries of Mixology to come!

Thanks to all of you too for stopping by, and for your always much-appreciated comments.  I'm still in Norway, but hope to do some more visiting in between workshops (voice/text work, not craft).  Happy Crafting all!

We travel to ancient times by reading history books.
Lailah Gifty Akita


47 comments:

Barbara said...

Love so much this rusty look! as always a wonderful work! barbarayaya

mark gould said...

A beautiful visual treat as always x.

brenda said...

Just awesome Alison, always love the way you achieve such wonderful crackles and the whole rustic look you achieve with the embellies and textural interest on your pieces of artwork.

B x

chrissie said...

Wonderful techniques to arrive at this amazing end result. So many books end up being sols for 10p or thrown away and they could be made into beautiful works of art as this one has been

Love Chrissie xx

Astrid Maclean said...

Wonderful crackle and rusty effects!!! Great (very Alison) colours too! Those words on the covers really add to it also. Looks like another wonderful workshop!!

mamablitger said...

Alison your journal turned out fabulous !! Love that you chose alternative colors.. And I love the crackles and the way you added the chipboards after altering them in such an awesome way. I'm really impressed with your work
Thank you for sharing such a lot of great close-up pics. It was such a pleasure seeing all elements close up to enjoy the rusty surface..waw..
Hugs to you... Monica... Spain

Deb said...

What a gorgeous album cover Alison, delicious crackle and your colour palette is perfect, lovely copper patina comes to mind. Amazing ageing/distressing/altering on the industrial chipboard, looks exactly like rusted metal. Thanks for sharing your wonderful book and hope you are enjoying Norway! Deb xo

Cocofolies said...

Absolutely amazing art Alison, a pure delight. How lucky you are, I envy you!!!!
Hugs, Coco xxx

froebelsternchen said...

Gosh this is a glorious project! AMAZING!
oxo Susi

Sarah B said...

love this - as a bit of a crackle fan this is right up my street - with you on the blue and greens....stick to what you like xx

Gitte said...

Beautiful creation.

Pamellia said...

Wow Alison, I am blown away with this one!! Your mega crackle turned out fantastic...I have had varying results with this technique but you sure nailed it!! Love the colours and all your rusted metal gears!! Amazing!! hugs :)

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Lucky you! I LOVE this little gem! Great crackle and rust!

Redanne said...

It certainly was a great class and I love the book covers that we did too. Tando do have the cogs and washers that we used for sale but not the book covers - I guess they might just be for his classes... Anne xx

SewPaperPaint said...

Looks like so much fun to make! Love the color mix and the great textures!

Lisa Minckler said...

I've been in some pretty dusty and cobweb filled attics and I've never retrieved something as groovy as this! the rusted ambiance of gears really has my imagination wheels turning now. So happy to know that the crackle won't be leaving anytime soon either!
It's wonderful and even though you're busy, thank you so much for sharing all your talent too.
hugs,
Lisa x

experiments in paper said...

Fabulous, Alison!! Your crackle is awesome, and I agree with you - do what makes you happy! Love all the faux metal techniques - can't wait for Wanderlust!! Safe travels, and thanks for your visits in the midst of it all - xxx Lynn

Princess Judy Palmer said...

All those rusty bits and bobs. This project is definitely right up your alley. Love how it came out and love the words sliced into the covers. That is neat and I hope they sell them that way so I can see what great things you come up with using them.

Evelyn Walter said...

Alison, this cover looks absolutely gorgeous! I love the big crackles and the underneath colours. And the cogs with all the beautiful rust are wonderful grungy!
xxx Evelyn

Lys said...

A fantastic project with all these textures and rusty look! I love the words on the side.

klistersøster said...

WOW amazing rust and crackle. It looks like you've lots a fun making your fine project.
Hugs, Susan

Corrie Herriman said...

I did a workshop with Andy last year and I loved it. I can see al lot of the same techniques in your project.
Fantastic, Alison !
Corrie x

rachel said...

lots of wonderful pictures for me to drool over Alison! This looks amazing - the rust works so very well!!! Brilliant make. Hugs rachel x

Claire said...

Stunning work! Looks like you had a fab day - love that amazing crackle and all that beautiful rustiness :-)

Kirsten said...

Wow! That is gorgeous.

pearshapedcrafting said...

Rust + crackle +Andy Skinner all adds up to a brilliant project Alison! I am just a little bit jealous -Andy is a great teacher! My Tatton pass came from the local authority -at the time all teaching staff got one - it is life membership too so eventually I can be pushed around in my wheelchair!!!(the pass is for me and a guest - you can come and push me-lol! ) Hugs, Chrisx

Kay Wallace said...

What fun and what a beautiful outcome on your notebook cover, Alison! Thanks for the referral to Andy's "mega crackle" tute--enjoyed it! You are such a talented artist and I am privileged to follow you. Your generosity in sharing with us is seemingly boundless! Thank you!

Meggymay said...

Fantastic rusty, aged and textures on this awesome cover. Loved seeing the details on your photos.
Yvonne xx

Sue said...

It was a brilliant day wasn't it, so lovely to finaly meet you, and your book turned out perfectly xx

Lauren Hatwell said...

Loving the crackles and all that rusty metal. Who on earth would ever believe you could do so much with plain old chipboard. It looks like years of neglect. Brilliant! Lx

Adventures in Paperland said...

What a lucky duck to be able to take this class! This is amazing on so many levels-the crackle, rusty elements and overall awesomeness Alison. I just love this!!!

Jackie PN said...

Another stunning piece Alison!
I am so happy that you were the Maverick, as your palette is so refreshing in the industrial department!
It truly amazes me that yes, those chipboard pieces actually look real-fab job!
xo Jackie

Julia Aston said...

Wow - the crackle on this is just awesome! and that chipboard DOES look like heavily rusted metal pieces - you'd think that this cover would weigh a ton with all that metal on it LOL!!! What a wonderful class! Julia xx

craftytrog said...

A real treat for the eyes Alison! I love your blues and greens! xx

maria's knutselplezier said...

What a great project again dear Alison , so beautiful!!! I love the rusted things on your crackle background, fantastic!!

Have fun
Maria

Terry said...

Alison, this is one great mixology project! That giant crackle texture is gorgeous and all the rusty bits add so much awesomeness! Love this! Happy Weekend!

Margik said...

This is a stunning project, Alison. The rusty and crackle are really fantastic. Brilliant work!
Mar xx

Helen said...

What a fabulous time you had with this, Alison - I love it!! the rusting is so effective and you always get such great crackling.

Dorthe said...

You are just so lucky to be able to spend time with these big artists from around the world, Alison, creating and making friends!!
This one created in Andy Skinners class using his bigcrackles, tecnique is gorgeous, and the rust with the white and green looks amazing !!
Happy weeekend, to you!!
Dorthe, xxo

Juliz Design Post said...

Great to finally meet you at this amazing workshop. Roll on next years one.
Julie x

Hettie said...

What a fabulous journal you have made. I can see a whole lot of fun has gone into this. Brilliant.
Hugs
xx

Paper Profusion said...

This really is superb Alison! Truly does look like aged rust. Awesome work! Nicola x

Fliss said...

Wow! What gorgeous crackle and love the subtle contrast too (think I would prefer these colours too :D) Love those rusty cogs too.
Fliss xx

Mrs.B said...

Looks like you had another fabulous day . Texture and techniques look wonderful
Avril xx

sally said...

It's taken me a few days to find time to get to your post but I'm so glad I finally did! Good to see your safe colours too lol"

Sally

sarascloset said...

Alison, a little late to the party, but so happy it's still here for me to see. i love reading your posts and I so enjoyed seeing this wonderful journal you made. Big applause for a job well done on the mega crackle and those rusted cogs and nuts/bolts are simply amazing! great background color choice, if you ask me, you maverick, you! Hugs!

Pawsitively Creative said...

Ohhhhhh hot diggity dang girl! You so lucky! Taking and AS class is on my art bucket list! This turned out amazeballs and so fanfreakintastic!!! Loves everything about it and how you used the colors you wanted to use. Creativity as its best! The rust, the cracks, the weathering-huge sigh! Awesome sauce and WOWZERS! Loves loves loves it! Hugz. ~Niki