Another look...

at brayer paper (aka leather paper, gesso paper) seems to be in order.

I uploaded a video on making this luscious paper in my last post, and that engendered a good deal of interest.

The papers can be incredibly rich,

simple and chic,

double sided,

or painted on one side only.

 What can they be used for?  Anything!

Beautiful as a background start, marvellous in collages, wonderful focal points in a painting, elegant as a wrapping paper

and oh-so-delicious when you need a colour hit in the middle of a snowy day.  I must admit to keeping a stash just for that very purpose!

Thanks for stopping by, and please do tell me what lifts your creative spirits in these winter days? And Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers - may you be enjoying an excess of turkey and gratitude!

The No-Fear Gang

Fear?  No such thing in The Arts Station this past weekend!  Those ladies took to the playbox like they never got out of their childhood.

Jordana and Kathleen tear into it

Becca and Anna are intent on their play

The floor of The Arts Station was covered from one end to the other with a stupendous range of starts,

Clockwise from bottom centre - plastic wrap, music skin, plastic wrap, alcohol drop, who know's what, more alcohol (can you see a pattern emerging? - wine was a big topic on the weekend) and a UFO on black.  In the centre, an artist's 'sandwich' made with mulberry paper and strips of painted dryer sheets.

each one a uniquely different interpretation of the techniques covered.

Love that blue/green tartan start and the beginning of something fishy!

I know I added 15 pounds to my weight with all those colour calories exploding in the room.

Every time I turned my back there would be another layer of mouth-watering colour on something,

 or another start (or ten),

or someone praying for release from the agony?

Becca gets right into it - on the floor!

Want to see some close-ups?

Luscious, mouth-watering brayer paper (aka leather or gesso paper)

Oh those palette paper transfers!

Drywall compound goes upscale

Plastic wrap technique

Another version of brayer paper

And a version of the drywall compound that happily repeats a complex pattern

The artist tissue technique goes soft and abstract

Layer upon layer - one technique over the other

Plastic wrap technique, with a palette paper transfer over top

Doesn't this say jazzy to you?

Collaged mammoth meets tea and coppers

The palette paper transfer on a start just energizes it all

I suspect that their mixed media play days will not stop here - they're all too much addicted to the 'What if?' possibilities now!

Kathleen, Jordana, Anna and Becca display a small amount of their weekend output

Of course it wasn't all fun and games - I had to eat real calories in Fernie too!  If you're visiting there, I highly recommend the Tandoor & Grill Restaurant at the Stanford Inn (The Arts Station had arranged my accommodations - lovely place)...the food is beyond amazing;  I'm now totally addicted to their mushroom pakora and the vegetable curry, along with the chicken tikka masala I had the last time I visited.  It would be impossible to recommend this restaurant highly enough!

So here's to lack of fear, and calories in Fernie - bless them all!

Put a little leather in your...paper.

A favourite paper-making process is that of leather (also known as brayer paper, or gesso paper), and it's dead easy to create.

Start with a brush, gesso and sheet of acid-free artist tissue paper (available here in Canada from Opus) along with a a palette paper support for easy lift-off.  If you have a textured brayer, that will be handy later on!

Paint the tissue with gesso (when I'm painting a large sheet I start from the centre and move outwards to prevent tearing), let it dry, and then paint the other side in the same manner.

Once both sides of the tissue are painted with gesso, you can add colour.  Note here that if you want a thicker, more leathery-feeling paper, you can paint each side again with gesso - the more layers of gesso, the heavier the paper.  You can see my usual subtle colour below on the second side of this sheet.  Don't worry about any transfer of colour to the back - it will just get painted over.

Once the coat of colour has dried, you can add a contrasting colour with a textured brayer (I've made my own in many different types of texturing, but you can easily wrap elastics around a 'normal' brayer to add some texture to your work).

It makes a lovely pattern doesn't it, and,

with both sides of the paper painted in complementary style/colour, it makes a wonderful folded piece as well.

Do be forewarned that over time (months and years) this paper will become dry and somewhat brittle - I recommend using it as soon as possible after you make it, especially if you're looking to achieve a soft folded look.