Mounting With UGlu Tape

One of the questions that sometimes comes up about working with encaustic wax paintings on paper is how to mat the paintings when the artwork is soaked in wax? I usually simply use white painters tape to hold the back of the wax soaked paper works when the piece extends beyond the edges of the mat opening, but what to do with a piece that is smaller than the mat opening? I have been experimenting with buying different glues to find what works best for this task and just came across double-sided acid free UGlu Tape! Here is a tutorial on how to mount your encaustic wax on paper works with UGlu Tape to fit inside a mat opening...

Supplies needed:

Encaustic Wax Monotype or Painting on Paper

1 Roll Double-Sided UGlu Tape

1 Mat Mounting Board with Precut Hole (mine is 9in x 12in with a 6in x 8in hole)

1 Sheet Watercolor Paper the size of the Mat Board (mine is 9in x 12in)

1 Alcohol Marker (I used a Utrecht marker in a color to compliment the artwork)

1 3inch Piece of  Silicon Paper (the UGlu is on silicon paper)

1 Razor

Cutting Mat or Pad of Newsprint Paper

Piece of Waxed Paper

Step 1.  Using the chisel point tip of the alcohol pen, run it at an angle along the beveled part of the mat opening. I like to also run it slightly over the edge of the bevel to get an organic looking uneven line.

Step 2.  The UGlu glue strip is attached to a piece of silicon paper. To get a piece of plain silicon paper to use for this tutorial, unroll about 3 inches of the tape and fold it forward on itself so that the glue strip portion sticks to itself. Place the tape on a pad of Newsprint paper or cutting mat and cut through the doubled over tape section, making sure to cut where there is silicon paper both on the bottom and top, with a razor blade. Pull apart the silicon paper part of the strip and attach the doubled over glue to a piece of Newsprint so that it will come off and leave you with a 3 inch strip of plain silicon paper.

NOTE: You can not cut directly through the glue side of the strip as the glue will stick to the razor and bunch up. Also, I have tried to use Freezer paper and Waxed paper as a release paper for the glue and they do not work. Only silicon paper works as a release paper for this glue.

Step 3.  Measure a 6 inch strip of UGlu glue tape. Place the plain piece of silicon paper on the glue tape at the end closest to the tape roll. Using the razor on a pad of Newsprint paper or cutting mat, cut through a portion of the tape that has silicon paper on both the top and bottom about 1/8inch from the double silicon paper end. Remove the top piece of plain silicon paper to re-use for your next cut.

NOTE: You will have a little piece of silicon paper left on the top of the glue strip nearest the tape roll when you finish cutting. Leave this there to help you pull out your next length of glue tape before making your next cut. Be sure to remove this small strip of excess silicon before using this piece of glue tape. 

Step 4.  Cut another 6 inch strip of UGlu glue tape and two (2) 4 inch strips as in step 3 above.

Step 5.  Position one of the 6 inch glue strips, glue side down, in the center of a 9 inch side of the BACK of the mat board. Do NOT remove the silicon protective strip on top! Do the same for the other 9 inch side on the BACK of the mat board.

Step 6.  Position one of the 4 inch glue strips, glue side down, in the center of a 12 inch side of the BACK of the mat board. Do NOT remove the silicon protective strip on top. Do the same for the other 12 inch side on the BACK of the mat board.

Step 7.  Remove the silicon paper from the top of one of the 9 inch side glue strips, exposing the glue. Position the 9 inch x 12 inch watercolor paper with one of the 9 inch sides over the exposed glue and lay it gently on top of the glue strip. Press on the back of the watercolor paper from the center of the glue strip out to the sides to remove any air bubbles and attach the watercolor paper to the back of the mat board along the glue strip.

Step 8.  Lift the watercolor paper off the back of the mat board and remove the silicon sheets from the other 3 glue strips. Gently lay the watercolor paper over the exposed glue strips beginning from the already attached end, lightly burnishing the back of the paper with your hand to help it adhere to the glue.

Step 9.  Flip the mat over to the front.

 Step 10.  Position your artwork over the watercolor paper in the opening to determine where to put glue strips to hold the work in place and see how many strips you will need. Cut the strips as in step 3 above approximately 1 to 1 1/2 inches shorter than the length of your artwork. Place the strips glue side down on the watercolor paper inside the mat opening.

NOTE: I cut 2 pieces of UGlu glue tape to 5 1/2 inches in this example as my art paper is 7 inches wide.

Step 11.  Remove the silicon paper to expose the UGlu glue strips, position the artwork over top of the glue as desired and gently press the paper down onto the glue strips. Cover the painting with a piece of waxed paper and gently burnish over the surface, starting in the middle and working your way out to the edges, to assure the artwork is securely attached to the background watercolor paper.

Voila! Your piece is DONE. Enjoy! :)

Remember, you can choose any color and texture of background paper other than white watercolor paper to spice up your mounted print. Just make sure the paper you choose is heavy enough (at least 100lb / 270g/m2) to handle hanging long-term without sagging. If you prefer a lighter weight paper for the background, just attach it to a piece of heavier watercolor paper with permanent spray adhesive, YES paper paste or acrylic regular gel medium matte and allow to dry before starting this project.

Happy Arting!   Tristina

Marker World Adventures

I have to admit I feel much more comfortable with a paint brush, chunk of charcoal, graphite pencil or pastel in my hand than a marker. There just seems to be something, well... so permanent about a stroke of marker color that freaks me out. Of course, as an artist I believe that where I am uncomfortable or unknowing I must go! Here is where some of my recent experimentation has lead me into Marker World...

Text and Border play with Chartpak black marker on Strathmore Bristol Vellum 300 series paper.

Just before the December holiday festivities I was watching Tuesday Schmooseday livestream art demonstrations (for FREE) on CraftyLink.com and was turned on by artist Tracey to a new book, "Journal Bliss" by Violette. Tracey lives in England; I just loved how she said in her British accent that Violette's book contains her favorite inspirations for art journaling, so I immediately went on my Amazon.com store (see the link at the top of this page) and ordered "Journal Bliss".

I am enjoying working through the book, and especially like the curly, fun text styles shown in it's colorful and extremely graphic pages. I decided to test out my large Chartpak markers with some of the book's letters and borders. If I let the marker nib sit for a split second on the paper before starting or when ending a stroke, the color tended to soak & disperse into the paper slightly. Where the color soaked in, there was a little bleeding onto the page underneath. I recommend that if you want to try the Chartpak markers to work with a heavier paper than the Strathmore Bristol Vellum 300 series (100lb - 270g/m2) and look for a more dense smooth surface so the marker is less likely to spread or bleed.

Also, the Chartpak markers are large round (a little difficult for me to manage in my hands) and solvent based, so they have a strong smell. The solvent has it's benefits, though, one of which is that the clear blender can be used to transfer laser copies (from the large copy machines at Kinko's or other office supply stores) onto other surfaces by simply laying the copy printed side down on the surface to be transferred to, rubbing the back until saturated with the Chartpak Blender Marker. burnishing, allowing the paper to dry, then removing the copy. Remember when using this transfer technique to copy any numbers and letters mirror image so that they come out right when transferred. Here's a tutorial on this technique: http://youtu.be/ayMMeviJx-E

Playing with Utrecht alcohol based colored markers on Strathmore Bristol Vellum 300 series paper.

The Utrecht markers are an economical alternative to more expensive professional markers. They have good color coverage and are low odor (slight smell of rubbing alcohol), but I found their round size a little large for my hands. Also, I would use these markers to work out a design idea, but would not use them for a finished professional product that I would sell unless the coloring were to be used as an accent to a bold black/grey image. They are, however, perfect markers to use while enjoying an art activity with friends and family or for scrapbooking! These are the markers that I used with friends when creating the artwork in my last "Doodle Mania" post.

Playing with Copic alcohol based colored markers on Strathmore Bristol Vellum 300 series paper.

While playing with a group of 20 Copic Sketch markers in my stash for the above picture, I found the markers to be low-odor, the size of the marker is just right for my hands, and the color is brilliant The ink flows on the paper smoothly and the coverage is dense. I did not experience any soaking or spread when working on the Bristol paper; the color went right where I put it with perfection! I can say with confidence that I could use these markers to make finished artwork that would look professional and bright. 

Even though purchasing the Copic Sketch markers is a BIG investment (there are 358 colors at about $8 per marker retail - check out Dick Blick online for a cheaper price), the brilliant thing is you can replace worn nibs and they are REFILLABLE!  Each ink bottle will refill the markers anywhere from 10 to 12 times. Purchasing these markers is an investment to last you many years. However, if for some reason you were to want to give up all or a portion of your Copic Sketch marker stash at any time, there is a thriving community of art enthusiasts on eBay looking to buy the used markers.

There are lots of video tutorials for how to use Copic markers on YouTube and a bunch of informative blogs by certified Copic teachers, including showing the different methods of refilling the Copic markers. One of the bloggers, Sharon Harnist, is kind enough to have a chart available on her blog that can be printed out, then simply color in the spaces with the markers you own so at a glance you can see what colors and blending options you have. I printed my chart on a light cardstock rather than plain printer paper so it can withstand being dragged in and out of my car when buying more markers - especially when they are on sale at Michaels! Click this web address to get the free chart or cut and paste it into your browser: http://paperfections.typepad.com/files/2012_1-pg_copic-blank-color-chart_sharon-harnist.pdf . If the link here doesn't work, just go to http://paperfections.typepad.com (no www) and search on "marker color chart" in the archives. Select the first article that appears and there will be a link in that blog post to the free Copic marker chart.

One of the many benefits I found with the Copic Sketch markers is they are designed to create beautiful blends by "flicking" the colors into one another, and I intend to practice this technique more to see where it takes my art-making and journal adventures...

Devon's poem, "I love you" and drawing with Utrecht markers and Sakura pens.

As usual, while I had out the markers from this article, my 13 year-old grabbed some of the Utrecht markers and a supply of my Micron and Sakura Souffle and Gelly Roll pens and drew the poem and pictures above. There's nothing like seeing the beauty created by those in an environment where the creative juices are flowing!

Happy Experimenting!

  Tristina