Technique: Image Transfers

When I started art journalling and collage, I was at a loss as to how I could create pages with lovely images.  I had not picked up a pencil to draw anything in years and I was hesitant to "mar" the pristine pages of my chosen art journal with them.  I didn't want to use mostly magazine cut-outs (though there is nothing wrong with using these -- I just prefer to use them less) and neither did I want to go through the trouble of scanning actual photos. Digital art? Hah --  my 3 year old niece knows more than I do about that. 

There were also some images that didn't look good just cut up and glued to a page.  I wanted images with attitude. LOL.

And then I learned that there was such a thing as "transfers".  

I first came across the term while surreptitiously browsing a book on collage.  Intrigued, I sought out tutorials and information on how to do image transfers.  Here are some of the transfer techniques I use often.

Gesso Transfer

Yup, you guessed it. Gesso, that white substance you use to prime your substrate, is a great transfer agent.  Just slap the gesso on the image, put the image face down on your page and rub over it with a bone folder. Or, if you are like me and you like to find substitutes for tools, in place of a bone folder, you can use the back of a spoon, your fingernail or an old credit card or ATM card.  Gesso transfers, done properly, can give you a pretty crisp image.  Here's one I did using an image of a young mestiza.  The image was printed out on matte photo paper on a colored printer and transferred to a page of an old book I had converted to an art journal.

As you can see, the image did not transfer fully but such is the nature of gesso transfers -- there are good ones and then there are the not-so-good ones.  It all depends on the look you're aiming for really.  This particular transfer I categorize under the good ones because I was really aiming for the worn out, distressed look.  There was a bit of red paint smudged on the page but I like it - I think it gave the image more "attitude".  

Tape Transfers

If you want a more complete transfer you can try the tape method.  A roll of clear packing tape (yes - packing tape) about 2 inches wide is all you need for this.  Cut a piece of tape large enough to cover the image you want to transfer and lay this over it. Here's a couple of images already covered with my trusty clear packing tape.

That's my trusty roll of 2-inch clear packing tape at the back

Make sure you rub that tape onto the image well with a bone folder, the back of a spoon or in the case of these two above -- the rounded end of the pair of scissors I had on hand (yeah, yeah -- too lazy to get up and get my bone folder).

Again, there will be peeling and rubbing involved -- not THAT kind so please wipe that dirty smirk off your face.  Wet the back of the paper the image is on and rub the excess paper off gently with your finger.  I say gently because rubbing too firmly will most likely lift the entire image off leaving you with a blank piece of soggy tape.

Starting to peel.  (Please excuse my self-healing  cutting mat  - it is well-loved and used much lol)

A tape transfer will give you an almost sheer image and these are great if you want to layer images.  You can just cut off the excess tape (I usually cut around the image loosely), apply watered down glue to it and put it down on the page.  

Here are the two finished transfers.

I put this over a page with colored images so you can see how transparent the image of the girl is. 

See how the print on the page is coming through the image?

Acrylic Gel Medium Transfers

This was the very first method I tried and I happened to learn it by accident.  

I got some acrylic gel medium on one of my images by accident and as clumsy as I am, I also got it stuck to a piece of cardstock. Realizing my mistake, I pulled the paper off the cardstock and noticed that parts of the image had been transferred to the blank card stock.  You can bet I never looked at my jar of acrylic medium in the same way after that. 

Simply apply some of the medium onto your image (I sometimes apply some of the medium onto my substrate as well) and slap the image face down on the page.  As with the gesso transfer, use a bone folder or an old credit card to rub the image firmly onto the paper.  Lift one side of the paper and peel the excess off leaving the image on your transfer surface.  To get more of the excess paper off, dampen the back of the image with water and rub gently with your finger.

This image was transferred onto a page I tore out of one of my altered book journals

You can also coat your image with the acrylic gel medium.  Just slap on at least 4 layers of the medium (make sure each layer is completely dry before you add another on top), turn the image over and gently peel the paper at the back of the image after getting it wet with water.  This results in what I call a "skin" -- an almost transparent image on a very, very thin sheet of medium.  It is quite fragile so I keep these sandwiched in between pages of an old book to keep them from tearing.

This is what it looks like while the acrylic medium is drying ( if you are not the most patient person in the world, a hair dryer set to the lowest setting can speed things up)

Here's the little girl on the image -- she's starting to show through!

And here is the finished "skin"

So now you're probably asking yourself -- what am I going to do with these? I'll give you a few suggestions in the next post.  And I promise it won't be months from now. :-) 

Little Ladies

A good friend once asked me why I tend to start things small - or expect to stay small.

Maybe because I don't think I'm good enough to make it big. Or maybe because I know I can and I'm afraid I can't handle what will come.  Or maybe because I'm afraid to make big mistakes -- because little ones are so much easier to correct and don't make me look as stupid as I feel.  Or maybe I don't really want anyone to see -- or maybe I do but I'm choosy about the people I want to share it with.  And I'm choosy about it because maybe I'm afraid of them judging me and calling me crazy to even think I can do anything amazing.

And maybe this line of thinking is going to get me nowhere.

And since old habits die hard, I started a series of small drawings using a set of aquarelle pencils I got for my birthday.  Really small -- about 2 inches wide by 2 inches tall.  I call them The Little Ladies.

Attempt No. 1

Here's No. 2

And No. 3

I liked that I could first lightly draw the image outline with a dry aquarelle pencil then run a damp paint brush over the lines to shade or lighten them as I pleased.  You do know how scared I am of watercolor right? So this medium gave me some control and was less scary for me. 

I like. :-)  Will definitely need more practice though.  And maybe I'll try to draw something bigger than 2 inches with these next time. 

Just So True

Handmade bath products are one of the sweet indulgences I allow myself.  Our skin is the largest organ in our body and it takes a beating from all the stuff that it absorbs everyday.   Feeding it with simple, pure, all natural products is one of the ways that I honor my body – and give a nod to Mother Nature as well.  One of my favourites is castile soap.

Castile soap, made from a base of saponified olive oil, is a rich, moisturizing bar that you can use on your body and even as a shampoo bar.   You can always tell if a bar of soap that touts itself as a “castile soap” is the real thing by the minimal suds you get when you wash with it - bars made out of olive oil produce less suds than those made out of coconut oil or other oils.  It is a mild soap and will not clog pores.  Castile soap also helps heal skin abrasions, rashes and relieve sunburn and may also provide relief for psoriasis and eczema.

My search for the perfect bar has led me everywhere and has resulted in many more misses than hits -  until  I happened upon So True Castile Soap.  And I tell you – I have never had a truer, purer bar of castile soap.  I have Mia Rocha-Lauchengco, the lovely, creative lady behind So True Castile Soap, to thank for it.

So True's Coffee Peppermint Soap Bars

 I hate slathering on thick, sticky lotions so it was great that So True’s soap helped me do away with them – my skin stayed soft and hydrated even when I was stuck in an airconditioned office all day.

And then there’s the scent – minty, cool, fresh with a hint of citrus and rich cinnamon that really woke me up in the morning.  Bathing with it was like stepping into an aromatherapy tent!  I have tried other handmade soaps before but the scent easily evaporates after the bar is exposed to air.  Not this one – the bar I am using sits happily in my soap dish as it has done so for more than a week and I can still smell how yummy it is when I enter the bathroom. 

So LUXE - Lavender Grapefruit

There’s another thing – castile soaps (the pure, real kind) are hard soaps.  They will not vanish into nothingness after a few quick dips in water.  My bar of So True Castile Soap has not shown any signs of melting away while I’m not looking.  I’m pretty sure the generous sized bar will be around for a few more weeks – and that tells me I’ve got the real thing here. 

My favorite - The Christmas Bar (can't it be Christmas all year long?)

If you want to give your skin a treat, hop over to So True Castile Soap’s page on Facebook and order online.  Her selection of handmade castile soap is dizzying, but don’t worry -  Mia is the nicest soapmaker I’ve met and I am sure she will be glad to help you out.  

Mia has also come out with a wonderful new product: The So True Repair Balm, a luxurious blend of olive oil, pure beeswax and fine essential oils guaranteed to moisturize your skin in the most delish way. 

Can't wait to try this!

She also offers lovely gift packs in case you would like to give these soaps as a gift.  

Lovely idea for a baby shower, don't you think?

Mia also sells her beautiful soap at the Alabama Art Fair which is held monthly - last I heard, the next art fair is set for April.

Five Minutes

It has been months since I last posted. It actually feels like years.

So much has happened since November and it seems that the avalanche of new things, new people in my life, new experiences and yes, even new hurts, is not about to stop or slow down. Overwhelmed, you ask? No -- amazed is more like it.

Because of this amazing avalanche, I had to put a few things I love to do on the shelf  for a bit.  But now they call to me and I am, once again, smitten.

But it still is a busy time so I promised myself to put in at least 5 minutes each day into doing something creative, something to feed that part of me that the avalanche of newness can't.  I missed it -- getting lost in paint and paper and pencil and glue and goop. I guess it missed me too.

Five minutes to create something. As usual, I made faces:

There. That's two days worth of creating.

My alarm just went off. Five minutes are up.  This blog post is today's 5 minutes. :-)