Round Robin Painting Prompts

I had comments and a bunch of emails requesting the prompts from the Round Robin Painting Project and so I am just going to post them here. Print these out and cut them up and place in a jar or bowl. Pull them out RANDOMLY and do as you are told. Interpretation is good, decide what you think is 'big' or 'oval' or 'long.'

There are three prompts that are not in the list below that I used to get everyone started. I had each person to sign the BACK of their canvas. Then each person drew two lines on their canvas to divide the space and painted each area defined by the lines a different color or shade of colors. I instructed them to paint thin, so that the next person can work over the area.

Also, we set up each work area with a 11x14 primed canvas, a bit of gel medium, waxed paper, two paint brushes and a cup of water. We started out the night by having each person choose 3-5 colors of paint and put a nickle-sized dollop on the waxed paper. We used acrylic paints and had blow dryers so that folks could dry their work between turns if necessary. We also had hole punches of various sizes, scissors and a pile of magazines and books to cut images and words out of.



The prompts:
Make an odd number of squares on your canvas

Tear three strips of paper from a magazine and glue them down

Draw 5 long lines on your canvas

Make a triangular shape on your canvas and paint/shade it in

Make an even number of dots the size of pennies on your canvas

Make an odd number of overlapping ovals on your canvas-do not color them in

Make a thick line along one edge of your canvas

Make a square on your canvas and paint/shade it in

Find the bottom of your canvas and make an odd number of triangles along that edge

Draw stripes in one area of your canvas

Draw small polka dots in one area of your canvas

Tear five small leaf shapes from paper and glue them down on your canvas

Punch out an odd number of dots and glue them down on your canvas

Punch out an even number of dots and glue them down on your canvas

Make a large circle on your canvas. It is o.k. if it ‘runs off’ the edge

Make a large square on your canvas. It is o.k. if it ‘runs off’ the edge

Draw an even number of small squares (less than one inch) on your canvas

Draw an odd number of small ovals (less than two inches) on your canvas

Draw an odd number of small squares (less than two inches) and paint/shade them in

Draw a line of polka dots on your canvas

Draw three long lines on your canvas

Make a swirl on your canvas

Steampunk Lovelies and this week's project

We just refreshed the front of the Ornamentea.com page and it is all filled with steampunky goodness...well, I say 'we' but I really mean 'Sandy' as I don't do any of the webby stuff. We have even collected all our mechanical, vintage-y goodies on one page for enjoyment, see Sandy's lovely work here.

To make this fabulous watch parts charm bracelet you will need
4 antique brass round cabochon settings, 25 mm
antique brass box chain, 7 inches
1 antique brass lobster claw clasp, 6x9mm
6 small jump rings (I used 5 mm round)
1 larger jump ring (I used a 9mm round)
a few watch parts
glitter (I suggest some Rare Metals glitter but you could use fine mica, too.)
5 filigree drops (I suggest these but you could use others or mix them up.)
Diamond Glaze
resin

Tools:
2 chain nose pliers
tweezers
waxed paper or scrap paper for work surface

Resist the urge to shake your Diamond Glaze. This fills the resin with air bubbles. If you do accidentally shake the bottle, allow it to rest overnight and the bubbles will rise to the surface.

1. Lay the bezels out on a sheet of waxed paper. Coat the inside of the front of each of the bezels with a very thin layer of Diamond Glaze. Sprinkle the glitter onto the wet Diamond Glaze. Extra glitter will shake off later, don't worry about it now. Using tweezers place the watch parts inside the bezels. Set aside and allow to dry for at least one hour.

2. Carefully apply a second layer of Diamond Glaze over the glitter and watch parts. If you notice air bubbles and they bother you, simply pop them with a pin. Allow this second coat of resin to dry overnight.

3. Lay out your chain and the charm dangles and note where you will attach the dangles to the chain. With your chain nose pliers carefully open a 5 mm jump ring. Thread it through the loop on one of the filigree dangles and attach it to the chain. Close carefully. Repeat to attach all the filigree dangles and the cabochon settings.

4. With your chain nose pliers open the remaining 5 mm jump ring and thread it through the lobster claw and the end link of the chain. Close securely. Repeat with the 9mm jump ring to finish the bracelet.

Variations:
Add beads or other charms, or use charms instead of watch parts in the cabochon settings. Don't be afraid to mix metals; try a sterling chain bracelet and a mix of antique brass and copper dangles. Or try adding bits of ribbon or fabric in between the charms for a fuller look like this charm bracelet.
And thanks to the folks who emailed or commented to let me know this bracelet was designed by the lovely Emily. I nicked the photo from our website and for some reason, we couldn't find one with a person's name attached. Voila, mystery solved! Merci to all you eagle eyed folks!

Round Robin Painting...

So last week I did a fun thing with a group of friends. We did a prompted round-robin painting, with each of us starting with a canvas and then passing the canvasses around the group. We had a series of prompts that we followed, suggestions like "create an odd number of circles on the canvas" or "draw three straight lines on the canvas." Since our group included some visual artists and some who are, say, a bit more paint averse this was a great technique for us. If you look carefully at the picture above you can see that we had lots of snacks and wine and that our water cups (for washing the paint brushes) looked exactly like our wine cups. That was a mistake.

We made some really great paintings, and it was nice how the best ones went home with the folks who were the loudest about 'I can't paint!' when the project got started!

If you want to do this with a group, send me a note and I will send you the prompts. My friends complained a lot about mine, but they did them anyway. Ha. I have to say, it was lots of fun. Get a group together and try it.
(I actually led this activity. I learned it in an art therapy class I took long ago at Ohio State. It was supposed to be good for breaking down barriers in a talk therapy group. I didn't tell this to my friends until the night was over. I didn't want them to think I thought they had ANY problems talking, because, trust me, they don't.)