Creating Art With Alcohol Ink - Book Review

Title: Creating Art With Alcohol Ink; Complete Guide to 12 Easy Techniques, 17 Spectacular Projects

Authors: Laurie Williams and Sheryl Williams

Publisher: Design Originals

Publication Date: January 17, 2023

Length: 144 Pages

About the Authors
Laurie “Trumpet” Williams is a mixed media and alcohol ink artist, instructor, and influencer. 
An award-winning artist in watercolor, alcohol ink, oil, and charcoal, Sheryl Williams loves to teach. She teaches her skills online through the CreateSmArt Academy, offering an online Alcohol Ink Master Course that starts at the very beginning and works all the way up to advanced representational art.

Great Resource for Artists Are you interested in alcohol ink art?

This resource provides a list of tools and supplies, safety considerations, twelve alcohol ink techniques, and an inspiration gallery that features completed projects.

The book is appropriate for beginners as well as experienced alcohol ink artists and crafters. The detailed instructions and color photos lend themselves to an excellent learning experience.

My Thoughts I chose this book because I have dabbled in alcohol ink art and I am interested in learning more methods and techniques. I was not disappointed...this book provided some techniques that I was familiar with and many new methods to try.

I was pleased with the way a detailed list of the supplies was listed at the beginning of each new project. The color photos are helpful in understanding the techniques. I am very impressed with the clarity of the instructions.

Alcohol ink is best if used on non-porous surfaces. It can be used on treated canvas, Yupo paper, glossy photo paper, jewelry, candles, switch plates, tabletops, ornaments, glass bottles, and even musical instruments.

There is an informative section on how to seal your alcohol ink projects so they won't scratch or fade.

I highly recommend this book for inspiration and instruction. You can never have too many art books! I have included one of my alcohol ink paintings below ( 5" by 7" on Yupo paper).

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley.

Alcohol ink art by Janette Fuller

 

Collage Your Life; Techniques, Prompts and Inspiration - Book Review

 

Title: Collage Your Life; Techniques, Prompts and Inspiration for Creative Self-Expression and Visual Storytelling

Author: Melanie Mowinski

Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC

Publication Date: June 21, 2022

Length: 224 Pages

About the Author
Melanie Mowinski is a professor of art at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and founder of PRESS: Letterpress as a Public Art Project. She has maintained a daily practice of collage and creating with paper for more than 10 years.

Practice Takes Practice
Melanie Mowinski shares basic collage techniques with beautiful color photographs. She includes the selection of tools, materials, and adhesives. The book features 55 prompts to jumpstart your practice. The prompts feature basic projects that inspire you to exercise your creativity and uniqueness. 

There are profiles of collage artists that include their backgrounds and their artistic processes.

The last part of the book features instructions for creating handmade collage books and journals.

My Thoughts
Collage is my favorite kind of art so I tend to gravitate toward books like this. This is a gold mine of inspiration for collage artists at all skill levels.

The author believes a successful art practice takes "commitment, regular preparation and rehearsal, and focused attention on continual skill refinement." You should strive to create a piece of art every day. Practice takes practice.

If you commit to making one collage a day using the techniques and prompts in this book, I guarantee you will see great improvement in your process and the end results of your efforts. 

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital review copy of this book from NetGalley.

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Gelli Arts Printing Guide by Suzanne McNeill Updated and Revised

TITLE: Gelli Arts Printing Guide; Printing Without a Press on Paper and Fabric Using the Gelli Arts Plate

Author: Suzanne McNeill

Publisher: Design Originals

Publication Date: May 31, 2021 (Updated and revised edition).

Length: 88 Pages

Color Illustrations

About the Author
Suzanne McNeill is the woman behind Design Originals, a publishing company dedicated to all things fun and creative. She is a designer, artist, columnist, TV personality, publisher, art instructor, author, and lover of everything hands-on. 

Discover the Wonderful World of Gelli Printing!
This is a revised and updated version of a book the author published in 2014.
Printing with a Gelli plate is a process that results in beautiful, one-of-a-kind papers with amazing colors, layers, and textures.

This book presents basic information on supplies, the best techniques, and projects. There is also a Gallery of beautiful art made by Gelli plate artists from around the world.

My Thoughts
I have a Gelli plate and have made some prints with acrylic paint and distress oxide inks. I am definitely a beginner and still have much to learn about the Gelli printing process. I found this book very informative and inspiring.

The color illustrations are outstanding. The directions for different techniques are brief but adequate. I really enjoyed the section on using found objects for different textures. 

The author includes a collection of projects that could be made with Gelli prints on paper and fabric. Some of these projects are; Abstract collage art, quilts, greeting cards, totes and bags, gift wraps, and journals. 

This is a short reference book that should be included in your art book library. 

MY RATING: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

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Book Review: Doodles Unleashed; Mixed-Media Techniques for Doodling, Mark-Making & Lettering

Doodles Unleashed: Mixed-Media Techniques for Doodling, Mark-Making & Lettering
By Traci Bautista

North Light Books, 2012 

About The Author 

Traci Bautista is creative director and owner of treiC Designs—a business endeavor that's entering its tenth year. She is the author of Collage Unleashed, and her artwork has been featured in over 15 mixed-media books and 40 craft magazines.

The Joy of Doodling

"Doodle" is defined in the Webster Dictionary as "an aimless scribble, design or sketch". Doodling is an art form that many of us have practiced since we were young, either intentionally or subconsciously. The purpose of this book is to provide inspiration and instruction in the art of doodling.

The author begins the book by listing many inexpensive and common items that she uses as art supplies. She instructs the reader on the types of paper, pencils, markers, paint, paintbrushes and adhesives that she uses.

Ms. Baustista begins the drawing section of the book with very basic "doodle prompts." These prompts are illustrated with color pictures that show you exactly how to design your own doodles. The author always encourages the reader to be creative in finding their own unique doodling style.

The author shares more advanced doodling and mixed media instruction as you progress through the book. This book is appropriate for artists of all skill levels and backgrounds. There are many online videos, articles and downloads that support the information in this book. 

My Thoughts

I have been scrapbooking and card making for several years, but I have very little confidence in my ability to sit down and draw a picture from scratch. I thought that doodling might build my confidence and get me started in the right direction.

I found this book to be very inspiring. The prompts are great and I love how the author starts with very simple projects and then progresses to more difficult techniques.  I experimented with some of the projects at the beginning of this book and was very pleased with the outcome.

I read the Kindle version of this book on the Kindle for PC Application. I enjoyed seeing large color photos on my laptop screen.

This book provides enough inspiration and information to keep a "doodling artist" busy for a very long time. I was amazed at all the ideas and projects that were presented here. Highly recommended for those who are ready to take their "doodling" skills to the next level.

My Rating:  5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I checked-out the digital copy of this book from my public library.

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