Step 3, class sample 2-17-10

Here is the next step in this abstract that I am working on for class next week. My papers were chosen with a mood that evoked warmth and fire. Next the papers were coated with Golden Polymer Medium, several coats, on both sides and allowed to dry. Finally they were fused to the substrate using a tacking iron. This is essentially Jonathan Talbot's method. In my class, however, we use soft gel matte medium to adhere our papers and this works quite fine. We get messy, but that is OK. I have a good working relationship with Jonathan's method. I often revert to it because I am a stickler for getting my papers to lay perfectly flat for certain works. I have, on occasion used both the Polymer media and the soft gel matte and this of course depends on what I am doing. The one thing that keeps me from spreading the message of Talbot's methodology is the cost. If one is a serious collage artist then the expense is not as bad as one might think. But regardless, when students are first exploring mixed media and collage, soft gel matte media and a cheap sturdy brush is the way to go. OK so back to my work. I want to add a couple of glazes to the work to unify it a bit and then I must add a focal image. The piece is the fire element so there will be a flame involved :) Aren't the papers neat? I love the texture of some and this is so my color palette!

k