Also @ Creativity Portal

A Penny for My Thoughts
What's in a penny these days? Many don't think pennies are worth the trouble of consideration. Here's another take on this seemingly insignificant coin we use as currency. Read a view point on the money coin bearing Abraham Lincoln's profile. And while your at that, you'll learn some interesting aspects and tidbits about the 16th President of the United States.

The Tree-mendous Memory! Game
Sharpen your mind with a fun simple game that is available to everyone as a free printable download in PDF format. If you want to exercise your brain and you like board games, print the game out for your table top. Great fun for kids and family. Elderly people benefit too by strengthening their mind muscle with the "Tree-mendous Memory! Game". Be sure to check out the autumn version of this game.

The Anxiety Of Performing
A leading creativity coach Eric Maisel discusses "performing" as a classic anxiety producer. It consists of a great many different fears: the fear of being seen as flawed, the fear of criticism, the fear of disappointing people, the fear of being in power, the fear of embarrassment and humiliation, the fear of imperfection, the fear of loss of control, and even more dramatic fears like the fear of loss of love and approval and the fear of annihilation.

The better a job you do of detaching from outcomes, getting a grip on your negative thoughts, and approaching life philosophically, the more likely it will be that you will be able to perform.

Aging Techniques for Mixed Media & Collage by Tatiana Kuzyk

Aging Techniques for Mixed Media & Collage : Page 2 of 7

Simple Aging Techniques for Mixed Media & Collage

Initial Altering Techniques

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Burning of the Edges

I love using candle lighter to burn edges of various paper elements I work with. Not only does it provide a very genuine antiquated look when the burns meander in an irregular pattern, but also there are physical alterations to the material that are elements' (fire) induced. I burn the paper inside my kitchen sink with the water running and I try to put down those small flames with water and have an extra benefit of water marks on the paper. Always use caution when working with candle lighter, burn at your own risk!

Notice the antiquated look of the paper's burned edges in the above photograph. Those burn marks seem to whisper the details of a long and arduous journey the artifact must had traveled while being exposed to the harsh treatment of the elements. Another point to observe is the 'subtracting' method used to alter the elements.

Wrinkle & Tear

Just as time is not kind to a genuine antique, so we, as altered art creators, must emulate this chronological necessity in order to preserve the credibility of our artwork. I like to tear out various size pieces of paper and then wrinkle it a bit before attaching them permanently to the surface.

Sometimes I will make sure that few torn out pieces will be 'missing' forever and incorporate only selected elements in my artwork. If you'd like to experiment with this fun strategy, try to create an impression of 'putting all the pieces together' in your collage, that way the places with 'the missing pieces' will create a nice focal point in your design. Also, you will add, yet another, 'genuine antique feel' to the entire artwork. Here again, we can easily identify 'subtracting' of elements in the instances of 'losing' selected pieces of the composition.

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