Mark-Making Alchemy: Mixed-Media Magicians & Masters
I kicked off my latest Virtual Mark-Making Class, Mixed-Media Mark-Making Mastery with a Free Lecture, Mark-Making Alchemy: Mixed-Media Magicians & Masters, which was open to anyone, whether taking the class or not. Once again, I’m thrilled by the interest in both the class and in the lecture. It seems that many see the power of marks combined with materiality, experimentation and mixed-media.
The replay of the lecture is now only available for members of the Mastery Class, but I’ve compiled a list with links of the artists included in the talk.
I will be making Free Lectures like this one a regular event. If you would like to be in the know as to what’s coming up next so you can register early, sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of this page.
A Little About the Mixed-Media Mark-Making Mastery Class
You’ve all heard that there is nothing new in art, I don’t believe this is true to begin with and especially as it pertains to these Materials. There is so much still to explore for artists who choose to take the leap and dive into something new. Artists are innovators and pioneers, there is still so much to discover.
The course is set up to be experimental, to allow you to take many avenues to see what each material can do and how it can contribute to your current work and studio interests. Because there is so much information, I’ve split it up into 3 modules-Surface, Structure, and Sculptural-and the lessons in each module reflect those titles. You can choose to take 1, 2 or all 3 modules. There are technique variations listed for each lesson as well as what I call Challenges-prompts that are a bit more in depth to get you thinking a little deeper about the possibilities. Last, there are mark making and written exercises that can work alone or together with the challenges. For your inspiration, included at the end of each lesson are images of samples and artist works to give you a sense of the possibilities for each material and technique. This talk expands on those inspiration sections to include contemporary artists who transform these materials to work within their conceptual ideas.
The Course is now open for Registration and all lessons are accessible for a full year. If you would like to learn more, the Introduction Video is available for viewing here. Registration for this course closes May 31.
Introduction
I have structured this talk in accordance with the way the course is structured, just to keep it simple and easier for you to see what it’s all about. I think its important to discuss materials in art in conjunction with the conceptual ideas behind the work. It’s not just about using materials for materials sake. It adds to the meaning of the work when there is a conceptual reason driving the use of that material or technique. Each of the artists in this talk has found a symbiosis between their process and the inherent properties of the material and because of this a unique language is formed between the artist and material. Whenever appropriate I speak to this symbiotic relationship during the talk.
I’d like to begin with a little history of my interest in these materials and subsequently how the mastery course was developed. My second year of teaching at Tyler school of Art, I was to develop several new classes to add to the Fibers department roster. I developed what was called Alternative Materials-a mix of innovative, non-traditional materials and techniques involving lots of experimentation and mark-making. It turned out to be one of the most popular classes at the school and my most favorite to teach. In the few years since my retirement from academia, I’m happy to say that I’ve taken the materials and techniques taught in the course to new audiences through my in-person workshops and now through this virtual course.
Module 1: Surface
The lessons in this module are Branding & Pyrography, Rust Printing and Compost Printing on Fabric and Paper.
Branding & Pyrography Intro
Branding is a scorch mark created by a heated piece of metal or tool. I call it branding, but it’s also similar to pyrography, where instead of a heated piece of metal, you’re using a heated pen to create marks. Many different patterns can be achieved through branding depending on type of tool, the object being used to brand and the substrate being branded. Colors range from yellows to rusts to browns and blacks.
Rust Printing & Compost Printing
Rust printing is basically creating a rusty stain or print on fabric or paper using the natural process of oxidization.
Compost Printing is a term I coined during grad school which is to create a print on fabric or paper using the natural process of decomposition of organic material. Although it is a similar process, this is not eco-printing or eco-dyeing. That process is a lot more involved and in many cases yields a darker, more crisp print than compost printing.
Module 2: Structure
The lessons in this module are Soy Wax & Bleach Discharge, Ink, Transfer Paper, image transfer and collage using both encaustic and acrylic. This module focuses on line, repetition, layering, chance and composition.
Soy Wax & Bleach
Most of the techniques in this module are self explanatory with the exception of this one. Discharging involves the use of chemical agents to deactivate or remove the dye from specific areas of the fabric, resulting in a pattern or design. There are many different ways to discharge depending on the fabric and the original dye used. In the course,
We’re simply focusing on black fabric discharged with bleach. The use of soy wax adds another interesting opportunity for layering as it creates a barrier for the bleach, keeping those areas black while the areas around it are discharged. You can see the wide variety of patterns and designs created by bleach and discharge here.
Module 3
The lessons included in this module are Hot Glue, Polythermal Materials (materials affected by heat) and water soluble embroidery stabilizer- the brand name of this product is solvy. This is likely the module that will be most surprising in the work made using these unusual materials.
Hot Glue
Pretty self explanatory, this is just the hot glue you get at craft stores, but it’s a very interesting material to create sculptural work or at least sculptural studies as this material will yellow and disintegrate over time. This is something that all of the artists who use it embrace and allow this idea to contribute to the work.
Polythermal Materials
This next group called polythermal materials are those materials that respond to heat by bubbling and becoming malleable. These are products like polyester, Tyvek and plastic shopping bags. We will be primarily focused on Tyvek in this course.
Tyvek is normally used as housewrap for insulation purposes, but artists are constantly rediscovering new ways to use it. When it is not heated, it is tear and water resistant which makes for strong paper like material for installations.
Free Motion Embroidery/Solvy
The last material we’ll look at today is Solvy. It’s use is to stabilize fabric that is difficult to sew-something stretchy or silky, for example-this product is attached to the back of these fabrics to give them extra stabilization and when the sewing is finished, you put it in water and the stabilizer dissolves away. Many artists use this product without the fabric, meaning you just sew on top of the solvy with free flowing, criss crossing stitches. Once you’re finished sewing, you rinse away the stabilizer and you’re left with the a Lacey, spider web of stitching. The possibilities for artists is endless.
Student Work & The Underlying Theme: Layers & the Stitch as Mark
In addition to the material lessons, Mark making is at the core of this class as everything we do as artists begins with the mark. With every material and technique introduced the idea of the mark is referenced as a place to begin to explore.
Because the course is experimental, participants have the option to keep a swatch book of ideas-similar to a sketchbook, a swatch book contains recipes,, images, sketches and samples of the lessons and ideas for further study. When I’ve taught this course as a workshop, some participants continued to contribute to their book and for many, it became a work in and of itself.
In most of the artists work I’ve chosen here, you’ll see underlying themes of piecing, layering and the mark, a drawn and/or stitched mark. Most interesting is when stitch becomes a part of the work as line, text, paint as well as a functional part of holding materials together.
You’ll see a vast mix of all of the materials mentioned in the three modules in this work. Most of them are samples or have been created in a class, so there isn’t much to explain in terms of conceptual thought, I’ve included this work just for inspiration only. I’ll go through them rather quickly and explain some of the materials used.
See some of the slides mentioned in this section in the Gallery Section of the Mixed-Media Mark-Making Mastery Website.