Tag: mixed media

Arc Planner: My Daughters Point of View

Hi! Hello! I’m AdaLee, and I’m writing a guest blog post for my mom about our Arc Planner!!

Recently my mom and I both started to get more organized and we got ourselves an Arc planner organizer and notebook.

AddiesplannerAddiesplanner

The Arc planner is disc based, not three-hole-based, which means that instead of the normal three-hole rings, they have 11 discs as the binding. We both have a faux-leather cover arc filled with dividers and paper and what nots of our choice.

Addiesplanner (1)

Mine happens to have normal three-hole-punched college-ruled paper, graph paper, and even some blank paper. Since these papers are not already compatible with the Arc because of their inferior three-hole-punches, the Arc planner has a punch system that makes pretty much any kind of stationery into something that can be put into the arc!

arcplannerpunch2

I love this thing. I honestly do.

I had a super lame three-hole binder that had d-shaped clips instead of the default O shaped or C shaped ones normally in three-hole binders. What the meant was that papers in the binder would be incredibly difficult to maneuver without putting unnecessary stress on the punched holes. This resulted in a lot of torn paper, including some that was (or would be) important to class.

Addiesplanner (6)

 With the arc, I can now not have to worry about any paper tearing too much, for the way the Arc punches the paper that fits in it, individual papers put under too much stress simply pop out.

 Addiesplanner (4)

No worries. No damage. Just pop them back in again and
***ta da!!!*** you’re all good!!

On top of that, having to repunch and reformat all of the paper that I put into this thing requires me to be more organized about my schoolwork. My failed organizational days are gone!

Thank you Arc!!

 

 

 

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Ice Resin Play: Molding Putty Part 2

So last time we found out what molding putty is and the very basics of how you use it. Now let’s get a little more in depth.

How can I make the molding putty into something I can use? How does the molding putty make a mold?

Well…let’s see…we left off with mixed molding putty ready to go so say hello my zoo…

my animal zoo

I’m starting to hoard small cute plastic animals. Yes, I can’t help myself. But they make the perfect molding subject matter…let’s start with the big piggy there on the left…

pig ears and molding putty

Now you have to work pretty fast but you also want to make sure that the parts of the animals, the ears and snout in this case, are covered well to get a good mold. The molding putty will adhere to itself as you go but, again, you have to work quickly.

pigs ears covered

Here is Mr. Piggy with his whole head covered and ready to cure.

whole pig head covered

 …and my sheep was done in the same manner.

sheep head covered

Now comes the hard part…you have to wait. Only about 15 minutes or once you can’t leave an imprint with a finger nail pressed into the molding putty. He’s curing so leave him alone!

After the time has passed just gently wiggle the molding putty to loosen it around the head. If necessary pull it back from the sides and slide it off around the ears and nose. Careful! You don’t want to tear the mold. I’ve done that from being too anxious to see what I’ve molded. And here is what my sheep mold look like!

sheep mold

See all that detail? All the fur swirls and eyes? Next time we will pour some resin in it!

Happy cre8ing!!

 

Part 1 can be found here:

https://www.susansartcircus.com/ice-resin-play-molding-putty/ ‎

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Ice Resin Play: Molding Putty Part 1

Have you played with silicone putty or molding putty? Do you know what that is? Ooh…you’re in for a fun surprise!

Silicone putty comes in two parts that you mix together to make one uniform color putty.  Sometimes it’s dark and light purple labelled part A and part B. Or it’s yellow and white like my favorite molding putty from Ice Resin.

molding putty

What you do take equal parts of the each color, no need to measure just eyeball it, and mix them to make a uniform blended color. It only takes about 30-45 seconds.

mixing the putty

Once the molding putty is blended together you can press just about any object you want into it…buttons, small dolls, utensils, vintage parts, beads, your finger, use your imagination. Wait 10-15 minutes and you have a mold that is an exact replica of whatever you stuck into the putty. Really…it’s that simple.

IMG_1621
The applications for this stuff are crazy! If you’re a mixed media artist your head will swim with ideas. I swear the first time I was introduced to this stuff I ran around the house and tried to mold everything that wasn’t alive!

If you haven’t tried it you need to! Come back by for another step in molding putty and see what I’m molding!!

Until then!

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Ice Resin Play: Casting Resin Into A Zoo

During this last few months I have literally been casting a resin zoo.  I’ve shown you guys with my posts resin and casting materials. This is the culmination of some (operative word some) of the cast pieces.

Needless to say I keep a bowl full of small plastic kids animals that are my casting resin muses. There’s just something about them…

Piggie

I can’t get enough of these…

Hippo

 And you’re saying to yourself…”so this is what you do after you cast a zoo!” I (I feel like Dr. Suess)

Horse

My absolute favorite…the Rhino!

Rhino

 There are only about 100 more to make into something.

resinanimaltray1res

Don’t ask how many other animals are around the studio. It would take me an hour to show them all to you. Once you start casting resin it becomes obsessive. Oh well…it’s fun…

Here are the links to my series Ice Resin Play and casting resin:

Molding Putty: Part 1

I’ll be back with more resin adventures soon…

Until then,

Susan

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Show Ready: The Season Of Crazy

So it’s October. The days are getting shorter and the nights have a certain chill in the breeze that wasn’t noticeable a month ago.

For me this time of year means it’s  almost show season…the season of crazy and high gear! 15 hour days. 7 days a week. All the way through December.

I thought you might like a peek into how I get show ready and how crazy it can be. Let’s start with the state of my studio…

Seth Apter messy worktable 1
So. I feel the need to explain. When one tries to be show ready several things seem to explode. The most common occurrence happens all over the flat surfaces. Things seem to multiply. Procreate. This area is actually 2 feet wide and 8 feet long. Guess how much of it I can work on right now? Um. Yeah. None of it. Moving on…

Seth Apter messy worktable 2
This is my main work area. Yes. I still have a 12″ square to work in. Really! I do. A square foot. Yeah.

Seth Apter messy worktable 4

My resin area. You get the idea. Show ready means every surface is covered in something that needs to be beaded, wired, coated, sanded, tagged, cured, colored, painted, glued, left alone, cast, patinaed, ground, sawed, polished, sealed…and or finished in some way. Otherwise show ready would just be a myth.

More to come…

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