'Magic Mix Con Art' ... by Amanda Pink

Hi Everyone

Welcome to my Thursday weekly post. Today I am sharing a textural piece of 'art on the round' that has a kinda grungy feel and holds at its centre a salvaged badge from a well worn and much loved pair of my old Converse sneakers!

After trialing 13Arts Magic Powder for the first time last week on my 'Heart and Soul' tag I fancied experimenting with it a little more, this time mixing it with 3 different colours and 3 different mediums. I figured working on a round would be a good way to give each of the 'magic mixes' their own identifiable place within the design as I could divide the round into 12 equal segments giving 4 segments to each 'magic mix'. So it began with a visit back to my school day maths to calculate the size of each segment of a 6 inch greyboard round.

The formula you need to calculate is π x d / by 12 (pi(3.142) x diameter divided by number of segments). I'm a bit of a maths/number cruncher fan but if you aren't then you can always use good old string and a ruler. 

Gesso the round. 

Measure, mark, cut and on the reverse of each segment write a number 1-12 

This will help ensure accurate 'fitting' when you are reassembling the circle.

Now for the 'magic mixes' - here are the recipes for the 3 mixes: 

Pot 1: Magic Powder+Tumbled Glass Distress Paint+ Texture Paste 

Pot 2: Magic Powder+ Broken China Distress Paint+ Sand Paste 

Pot 3: Magic Powder + Mermaid Lagoon Distress Paints + Crackle Paint 

How much of each medium you add is up to you. I didn't use any precise measurements I just went with how it felt and looked when I was mixing. I can tell you though that I did add a generous amount of Magic Powder to pot 2 as I wanted to test out its claim that it will crack when drying if the paste is powder heavy.

Apply the 'magic mixes' directly to the segments with a palette knife to create a repeating pattern of colour and texture. Eg: apply pot 1 to 1,4,7,10, pot 2 to 2,5,8,11 and so on. 
Whilst the paste is still wet lightly sprinkle it with embossing powder. Melt the EP with a heat gun. The heat will also kick start any cracking and then either continue to heat dry or leave to air dry. 
The claim that a powder heavy mix will crack as it dries is true! 

Here's a close up of pot 2 to show you ..

  

...and a close up of pot 1- although the mix was smooth my rough application with the palette knife has created some texture lines and marks. There's a few small bubbles too from holding the heat gun close when melting the EP ...

...and a close up of pot 3 - this was the crackle paint 'magic mix' that's created not only a rough texture but super sized cracks aswell! Impressed?  I certainly was! 

Edge each segment with acrylic paint and adhere to a pre-painted 6in MDF round arranging them in accordance to the numbers you wrote on the reverse. 

Here's a close up of the 3 different textures and tones when set side by side. 

I created a focal feature which is the sum of a few parts. From the bottom to the top

a painted card die cut,

a painted 2.5 circle/ ATcoin,

a stacked die cut circle, crackled and tinted with Distress paint

an ankle badge salvaged from a pair of my much loved and well worn old sneakers that has been waiting to be used in my art for some time now.
Finally it found its place!

A capped hex nut dipped in alcohol ink decorates the Converse All 'Star' and the red font prompted me to add some red paint splats.

All the layers give great dimension to the focal feature

and indeed the finished piece.

Products used:

That's Crafty! Surfaces MDF Round: 6 inch 

That's Crafty! Greyboard Round: 6 inch 

That's Crafty! Greyboard Round 2.5 inch - I used one from the pack of various sized rounds but you could use one of That's Crafty! New Release ATCoins as they are the same size

White Cardstock 

Gesso: Black and White 

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paint - Midnight - Any acrylic paint will work

Tim Holtz Distress Paints - Mermaid Lagoon, Broken China, Tumbled Glass - Any Acrylic paint will work

Red Acrylic Paint - any brand 

That's Crafty! Texture Paste 

DecoArt Crackle Paint 

DecoArt Sand Paste 

DecoArt Matte Medium

13Arts Magic Powder 

Baked Texture Embossing Powder - Deep Sea

Tim Holtz Alcohol ink - Poppyfield 

Seth Apter/ Spellbinders Loop de Loop Die 

That's Crafty! All purpose Adhesive 

Palette Knife

Cut n Dry Foam 

Heat Gun 

Tim Holtz Splatter Brush 

Extras from my stash:

Circle die

Capped Hex Nut

Converse Sneakers logo badge

Plastic pots and lollipop sticks for mixing paints/pastes

Pencil, ruler 

I hope you have enjoyed your time here with me today and that maybe my Art on the round has offered you some inspiration

Thanks for taking the time to stop by

Wishing you all a great week and hope to see you next - same time same place

Take Care

Amanda 

(ink-a-pink)

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