It's pouring...

Actually, early this morning it began as 'snain" ...snow/rain and some sleet. It's now pouring rain. But, that's not what this blog is about!

Yesterday I attended a workshop on "Acrylic Pouring." I did not really know what I was getting into, but it looked like it might be fun. The workshop was sponsored by Ben Franklin Crafts in Easton. It was delightfully messy so I couldn't take a lot of pictures during the process, but if you are interested in the seeing it in action, visit their Facebook page for some videos!

During the three hours we tried several different pours. On the first one, we prepared a board with pouring medium and then chose three colors. We poured the three colors individually into a colander or strainer, lifted the strainer and then tilted the board in different directions.

I used a red, blue and gray...

I thought this was really amazing!

The next pour was using acrylic ink and alcohol. (not vodka - although that might have been even more fun). We dropped ink around the board and used an eye dropper to place drops of alcohol on the inks. It was fun to watch the ink and alcohol react.

This didn't pour, but we did get an idea about moving the colors around. Not something I'm prepared to sign and put in a show...

The third project was another pour with a name that I don't remember - but, it had to do with putting layers of the acrylic paint in a cup. We put a board on top of the cup and turned the whole thing upside down. We left if for a minute and then picked up the cup. We picked up the board (like we had with the first project) and moved it around to get the board covered. 

This was my favorite! Apparently the colors I chose had silicon in them which caused all those bubbly effects. I had put green, blue, white, red and yellow in the cup (I think). 

A lot of paint ended up running off this one. I scooped up a bit and tried it on a smaller board. This is not as much poured, but just fun slopping paint around.

We still had time, so our instructor offered one more thing - marbleizing. There is a special liquid (I don't remember what it was called) that you can sprinkle on water in a shallow pan. We put in several colors and then carefully laid a piece of paper on top of the water. Instant gratification! 

I think the best part of all of this was letting go - we really had little control over a finished product. The paint has a mind of its own. I am loving the abstract quality of all this. I was truly playing and loosening up!