Laura McHugh Squared: Art Every Week in 2012: Mixed Media Collage Self-Portrait

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Mixed Media Collage Self-Portrait

The idea of making a self-portrait was very daunting. I put it off all week then decided to do it at Bad Art Night to relieve the pressure of doing something perfect and "right."

I found it more fun as I got into it and used it as an opportunity to "wear" things I never would in real life.

I started with the traditional approach for self-portraits - I used a mirror to see myself and sketched my face on watercolor paper with a loose Pentel gray pen. Then I glued a piece of pink tissue paper over the whole page using a glue stick.

The sketch showed through enough to start embellishing the portrait with pastels, watercolor, glued bits of paper and small objects people at Bad Art Night kept pushing my way.

The "badge" photo, baby sticker and sardine tin red label are from Sue Tinker in Chicago who is doing the ephemera trade with another group of friends.

The butterfly is a beautiful embossed stamped image from a new member of Bad Art Night, Kelly, as are the little things on my cheek - suns and rosettes.

I'm not sure who handed me the fortune cookie fortune, but I like what it says:

Here are more detail shots:

My friends know I don't like to wear things in my hair, but here a large butterfly seemed to be just the thing.

I have no idea why I think putting this baby sticker on my cheek was a good idea. The tissue paper ripped while I was applying pastel, so I had to put something in there to cover it up.

My name badge, made from a photo of a woman I will never know, given to me by Sue as part of someone's photo album of a trip to the "Barbary Coast" (SF) back in the 1930s.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

I am Laura McHugh West. I am in Half Moon Bay California, which is about 30 miles south of San Francisco, right on the Pacific Ocean.

A friend of mine was reading the magazine Cloth, Paper Scissors and stumbled on an article about Laura McHugh East. She told me about it and after checking out Laura's blog, I decided to contact her. We have so many things in common. We've been "internet" friends for several months and thought an art challenge in 2012 would be really fun.

Try as I might, my work cannot be contained to a single medium. If I had to narrow it down, I would describe it as the delicate and loving expression of ideas on or with paper. I work with ephemera - found paper such as old magazine ads, postcards and photos. My favorite go-to is the Sunday New York Times magazine. I like the graphics and the weight of it.

I work in encaustic wax, acrylics, oil and watercolors and make one-of-a-kind prints called monotypes on my printing press.

I have done commissioned pieces for clients and they usually cry - joyfully - when they get their pieces.

I take photographs as a way of exercising my creative eye and also as a source for my other artistic interests. Participating in photo challenges is a way for me to improve my photographic skills. Click on my photo to be directed to my art website.

Hello My name is Laura McHugh East....I live in Matawan NJ which is about 37 miles south of New York City. I cannot get enough of art and like Laura McHugh West I can't say that I work in just one medium....I love it all and love to learn and experiment with them all....

I guess people know me best for my Jewelry making but, Painting and drawing was my first introduction into the arts. My parents saw I had a eye for drawing and quickly put me in every art class they could find. I continued enjoying and learning about art in school and studied and graduated from The School of Visual Arts in NYC.

I first worked as a colorist in the garment district and designed prints for the home Textile Market as well as the fashion Industry. I loved designing and creating and color was my passion. I started my own textile design business and was busy designing and creating for many top design houses both in the home market and fashion lines. 7 years ago I decided to stay close to home and stop with the crazy commuting. I wanted to be close to home for my 2 sons and husband. I became a middle school art teacher in my town. I love my job and only wish I had started down this path years ago....I love sharing my passion for art with my art students. I get to be creative all day long, and this helps calm my busy hands....I have to create some form of art everyday. Art makes me happy.

I had a very interesting and productive 2011 and I am hoping to make 2012 even better. I am so happy Laura McHugh west found me, and we were stunned by how much we have in common besides our names.... So I am hoping that you are interested in following us on our creative journey for 1 year and see where this artistic road takes us. Thanks for stopping by...wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy 2012....