"Ashes"

($100.00......6" x 6".....Kiln Formed Glass Collage.....Presented on an Easel)

"Rise up out of the ashes and trust again." The texture and color of this glass very much reminds me of ashes. And since we are now in the season of Lent, it seemed very appropriate. The truth of the matter is that there are times in everyone's life when it seems as though everything has turned to ashes. Stay hopeful, trust God, and rise up out of the ash heap.

As I have explained before, three layer glass collages are very much like mixed media layering. The advantage of glass is that true transparency can be achieved quite easily. It is the combination of texture created with glass powders/frits combined with other glass that creates fantastic depth and complexity. It's a classic case of one medium playing off of another and vice versa.

So, in mixed media, I create that transparency with silk tissue paper and rice papers along with revealing bits of the previous texture. A very good exercise is to study textures that you see in walls, ancient looking photos, etc. and try to figure out how the texture was achieved. One thing I do know is that it is not created with one layer of paint.

Try diluting one color of acrylic paint with water or Fluid Acrylics and brushing a glaze over the paper. After that dries, choose another color and do the same thing. Only this time, blot or brayer parts of the paint off to reveal the first layer. Let that dry and do it again. After you've had experience with this type of layering the paint, you will begin to see textures you never thought you could achieve. 

Also try throwing alcohol into the paint (about the third layer) and brayering over it....wiping the brayer....more alcohol....more brayering...wiping off and you will be stunned at the texture you can achieve. It's a wonderful way to experiment and if you look closely at old walls with peeling paint, you will figure out what color to lay down first. All very exciting! And there you have it....just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.