Workshop in Philadelphia
I was invited to teach a workshop at The Center for Art in Wood in Philadelphia in the Fall of 2018. The purpose of the workshop is to introduce students to techniques to add color to their art. This Wooden Place Setting highlights several methods that I use to enhance my art. These three items show different methods to explore a variety of techniques. The students were given time to experiment on their own pieces. The beauty of the creative process is watching a student work with something new.
Regarding the Wooden Place Setting which features a plate with iron paint that gets a chemical coating to create a rust finish. The cup is a silver paint with an oxidizing chemical to provide the antique appearance.
The oatmeal is a mixture of white paint and resin.
Finally, the wood spoon has several applications of silver foil and milk paint. This gives a vintage look to the utensil.
Techniques
For color applications we discussed explored the following techniques.
Milk paint is a non toxic paint that produces wonderful effects by layering of colors and then sanding them back.
Copper paint and then applying a patina chemical to create a verdigris effect as seen on a church steeple. This also applies to iron paint to create rust and oxidizing silver for a vintage look.
Gold foil and silver foil applications. Takes a little practice.
Staining wood with a brush or rag or an airbrush which is my favorite method to apply color.
Various finishing techniques using clear resin to achieve a gloss dome over wooden jewelry and holiday ornaments.
Here is another example of a piece using milk paint .
Studio
My studio is in Montvale, New Jersey, USA. Just scroll through my site and you will see many ways that I treat my pieces with color and texture.