Tyvek

If you have ever built or remodeled a house, you are no doubt aware of the material Tyvek. It is a moisture barrier house wrapping material which is applied under exterior siding, etc. It is also the stuff many mailing envelopes are made of. It is also a superb art supply.

I have used it with great success at a surface to paint on. It is slightly textured and doesn't wrinkle or soak through, regardless of the viscosity of your paint. Others use it in heat applications--it tends to bubble and shrink when heat is applied, so very cool effects can be achieved. Dupont, the makers of Tyvek have realized that artists are using it in various applications and have actually developed an art supplies line. It is archival-safe, pH neutral, so it is okay to use with photos and in scrapbooking applications. It can also be sewn--it is actually used to make clothing and for quilting. It is highly durable. It is a wonderful art supply.

I am currently working through a leftover roll, inherited from my dad after he built and addition to his house. It is also great as a birdcage liner, as it is moisture resistant.

Knitting

I have been knitting like mad with the Knifty Knitter tools. I have made 3 scarfs, 3 hats, and a couple of bags now. I am getting a bit more adventurous with the devices and have made some really quality stuff. I am thrilled with the Knifty Knitters!

I found a way to create your own durable and reusable plastic grocery bags by knitting the ones that you get at the store. This blog has steps for making plastic bag yarn: http://hellejorgensen.typepad.com/gooseflesh/2007/02/plastic_bag_yar.html while others still have instructions for using heat to fuse bags into a durable fabric.

Plastic bags are such a wasted item in our culture, and I am pleased to see so many people joining the movement to reuse the ones that are already out there as well as use more sustainable alternatives so that we will not be adding more to the world. I am excited to experiment with such alternatives.

Hometown Holiday

Our town is really lovely in the holiday season. Since I was visiting my other hometown for most of December, I didn't really get to appreciate it until the last couple of days. We have a misshaped Christmas tree downtown that looks beautiful, in a Charlie Brown sort of way. All of the trees downtown are adorned with white lights, the lampposts in the Cone and Kimball plaza are wearing ribbon and light-up wreaths and store fronts are painted with holiday scenes. We were around for the Christmas parade, and that was great--the theme was The Twelve Days of Christmas, and so many groups really took it to heart with their entries. There were several musical groups, and even the low-rider car club entered. (Note: Photo is from www.downtownredbluff.com)

The season of mass consumerism has, for the most part, passed. I am interested in and pursuing a movement called "the Compact" through which you make the pledge to avoid buying anything new for a whole year. It has been neat learning of people's creativity with gift giving and their ingenuity for necessities. Of course, a variety of items are excluded from the Compact; food, of course, toiletries, and medicine. But even in little ol' Red Bluff there are a plethora of second hand stores and antique shops that can yield a variety of necessities throughout the year. I don't know how true to the compact I can be, but it will be interesting to try. It is an especially nice way to encourage myself to be crafty.

Speaking of crafty, I have begun using the Knit Wit and Knifty Knitter knitting devices, and so far love them. I have recently learned how to knit traditionally, but find it frustrating and tedious. I am using the Knifty Knitter loom to make a scarf for my brother (he got to be my new "technology" guinea pig) and while the weave is really loose, I am enjoying the process. I made one Knit Wit rosette, and it turned out poorly, so back to the instructions I will go, hopefully getting the hang of that.

Prisma Colors

So, I love prisma colors--they are the greatest colored pencils ever. I've never used their markers, so I can't say how great they are (hey, folks at Prisma Color; if you are reading this I'd be happy to review your markers--just send me a set!) The colors are so true, they lay down very smoothly, and blend nicely. They are definately a splurge--I bought a set of 48 for about 50 bucks, but it is one thing I will spend the money for. I do hate that they come unsharpened, and if you are doing work that requires a high color saturation the soft pencils are best but you go throught them quickly.

I'm not so picky about my liquid acrylic paint. I'll use about any brand. I do prefer 2 oz. bottles (except for high use colors like primaries and white & black. I'll buy big bottles of those). I always keep on hand a variety of reds, blues and browns as I work a lot in those colors. I also generally will buy 2 shades of yellow, one regular and one more mustard. I don't buy a lot of pinks and purples; I don't use them a lot, and I prefer to mix my own. I do try to avoid air and water contamination as the smell of paint mold gags me.

I bought floating medium on the recommendation of a tole painting website. I'm not sure if I am using it right, but it did give me some interesting results. It made the acrylic more blendable as it stayed wet longer. The liquid acrylics actually behaved more like oil paint. Unfortunately, in the piece I tested it on that was not a quality I wanted in my paint--I wanted to stipple a spray of orange and yellow fire on a black background and wound up with a very muddy result. If anyone can school me in floating medium, I'd much appreciate it.

My goal is to try a variety of supplies and techniques and give you a novice's review of them. I will post photos as is appropriate.
Love,
Tina