A Great Read

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Do you know what I love? I love books containing recipes or interesting ideas.
Well, today we're featuring one with both good things combined, which was written by a well known mixed media artist for Quarry Books.
For those of you new to the genre of mixed media, meet artist/author Karen Michel.
This woman can make art out of just about anything. And she does it with style, wit, clarity, and a real sense of the beautiful.
While she has contributed in some pretty big ways to our known art and crafting universe, I want to focus on the beauty of today's featured volume, Green Guide For Artists. Co-written with her by Kristen Hampshire, this book grabs the brass ring for being an innovative, easy-to-access guide that even a beginner may find uses for.
What really pleases me is how many recipes there are for all manner of paints, mediums, glues, pastes, and so on. The directions are easy to understand, and, while some of the recipes seem a little bit odd at first, they look simpler and more clear than the average baking recipe. Personally, I can hardly wait to try on both her Milk Paint and Egg Tempera Paint recipes. There's just no limit to what you can do with a little creative gumption.


So you're reading along, and find that you are are perhaps a little outside your comfort zone with some of her terms. Don't worry! The artist includes plenty of guidance to help the fledgling Green Artisan get started. Check out all the added excellence in her "Resources" guide near the back. It's packed with info on where to find everything listed in those recipes. Not only that, but there are plenty of ways listed for using every kind of these concoctions--some of which are literally so old, their roots go back to medieval or even cave painting times!--in the pages of this book.
And you'll find lots of lively, fresh photographs throughout the book to help you along.
Features also include precautions for safe use of the products listed, along with some added inspiration in her "Green Projects" chapter.
And Hampshire's gathering of brilliant photo essays for the "Artists' Gallery" chapter is so stunning we couldn't wait to get our feet wet using this new genre.
For me, there is just no question but I want to get started right away on creating my own "artist kitchen" here at our home office (you don't want to do this anywhere near food due to a few of the ingredients not being food grade or entirely safe for children).
A Confession
Okay, so I like going Green. Who doesn't if it helps us all keep a healthier environment? And this book's sparked some interest here at the office that can only build with time. That being said, I simply cannot imagine life without my full body acrylic paints. And don't get me started on my PVA Glues! All of these contain large amounts of ingredients toxic to our ground water and air.
Does Karen Michel have an answer for this?
You bet! And you can find her answers within the pages of this truly inventive and fascinating book. Our Studio group awards Karen Michel and Kristen Hampshire our version of the "thumbs up": our 4 Paws Up Award of Excellence.

Happy Green Arts Creativity, everyone!

Rose

P.S. This article will be the first of hopefully several to be included here. But for more info on this up and coming new art genre, you can visit this website.