Collaging Merrily Down the Stream.

Hedgehog pixie collage.

Another art experiment was had in my lovely room. First I made a small collage on canvas over hard board, and although I wanted to have a quick image, of course it took on a life of its own and became a story. 

Hedgehog pixie dreaming merrily down the stream, with her fish companion. 

I added lots of different media; handwritten pages underneath, gesso, magazine papers, water-colour tree, black ink stamps, acrylic paint, white gel pen and permanent markers.

Collage finished with 2 layers of wallpaper sizing.

 When it was done, I wanted to try out an encaustic layer, or beeswax melted over the top.

Problem no.1 my beloved people kept saying, but you might ruin it, and it is really nice!
Problem no.2 acrylics, including gesso, don't mix with wax, it won't keep sticking. So I can't use an acrylic sealer over the top. And if the magazine papers don't get sealed the wax will penetrate and show what is on the other side of the paper.

Solution no.1 make photo of unwaxed pixie. Ignore all other comments.
Solution no.2 make up jar of wall paper sizing, which is made from some kind of flour, and dries clear, but is not plastic. Brush on 2 good layers.

2 layers of encaustic beeswax .

When it was good and dry, I started playing with the hot wax. I mixed beeswax (from a candle) with 10% paraffin "drops" to make it a little tougher. That's my own experimental idea.

I melted it in a chocolate-fondue set ($5 opshop) with a little tea-candle underneath. It smelled lovely!

After warming up the artwork with the heat gun, I brushed on a layer of wax with a wide brush, then used the heatgun to warm it up again, so it glistened, but didn't run off.

And again with another layer, more on the sides then in the middle.

I used the heatgun to smooth out the irregular areas, it was fun!

As you can see, there is some darkening in patches on her dress and neck, so I think next time another couple of layers of wallpaper sizing to seal it a bit more.

I like the way the wax has created deeper layering and made the picture look more "dreamy".

I will definitely play more with this medium!

Bellbird at the nectar bowl.

Managed to take a sharp photo of one of our neighbourhoods' bellbirds, I think it is a female, the male has a darker throat. Such a gorgeous colour green, and yes, they have ruby coloured eyes. Bellbirds are quite shy and move very quickly, always on the look out for that rascal tui, that thinks it owns this nectar bowl.

Treasure Hunt Showcase ;

Pip-studio cups found in opshop.

Could not believe my luck! Staring at me from a shelf of ugly mugs and stained teacups, were these 2 gorgeous red and pink Pip-studio cups... I snatched them up! I already had the blue one at home, an expensive purchase a few years ago from Wellington.
Not a chip off them, ooh pretty, pretty! Just $4 together....
Can I bring myself to drink tea out of them, or will I only admire them in a spot where I walk past every day....

$5 worth of vintage linen and napkins.

So how does that work, when you have a colour co-ordinated thrifting spree?

All these sweet lollie colours go together, they will all be dunked into a bucket of nappisan and ironed, and remade into cute things.

These are the kind of opshop finds that make my day, my week even, and have me going back for more treasure thrills.

Some people get their thrills bungee-jumping, or binge-drinking.

Well , I go treasure hunting for sweet bargains, never knowing what I might find!

Aah! It's the little things...