Hang the Moon Workshop with Kae Pea

Week One. The Face of the Moon.

5, 4, 3, 2 , 1 Blast off!!!

To begin, I ask that you take a few minutes in your creative space, grab a pencil and a stack of paper and just draw. Draw from your inspired heart and your creative mind's eye. Have you drawn faces before? If yes, then, great! You will be excited to get going. If you haven't drawn faces before, then, that is great too! There is nothing like getting started wherever you are on your path. Don't hesitate. Don't think too hard about what your faces 'should' look like or if yours are 'right' or 'good'. This is exercise. That's all. It is no different than if you decided you wanted to run a marathon but had never run before. You would begin by stretching and that is what THIS is. Stretching. So take a few minutes or a few hours and get to drawing circles and faces and faces and circles. I promise you will not only begin to loosen up but you will create at least one face that makes you smile and at least one face that inspires you to keep going and making more.

I found in my desire to be able to make a visually pleasing face (features that are in proportion and that are effective and relative to the type of art I am creating, making 'moon faces'(or sun faces too) is an optimal way to practice and create eyes, noses, mouths and to play with different expressions, colors, values, shadows and highlights without worrying about other details such as hair, face shapes, ears, necks etc.

So, again, whether you are a completely comfortable and have experience drawing and painting or if you are just beginning, use this as your launch pad and shoot for the moon!

Here are my examples: (See? It's not rocket science!!)

Now put them together (the circles and the faces)...

and you have MOONS!
Here are a few more:

Here are a couple of the sketches I really liked and chose to "push" further....

Enjoy week one and remember, "Listen to her, the Moon always knows".

Sending MoonBeams,
xo KaePea

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Week Two. Textural Moon Painting.

Are you ready to go on another moon exploration?

Because in this lesson we are going to jump into creating a textural painting that's out of this world!

I love texture and, of course, when I think of the moon, I think of the craters and all of the wonderful craggy, rocky, lovely texture it would have. I use Wood Icing to achieve this look and I simply love the way the nooks and crannies catch all the luscious bits of paint and the way that it makes it all perfectly imperfect!

SO let's get straight to it, shall we?

You will need:

your substrate ( I am using an 8 x 8 wood panel )
a small jar of Wood Icing textura paste
a palette knife or spreader
a point object (to 'draw' into the texture)
a few rubber stamps
white gesso
some acrylic paints
a clean jar of water
a box of baby wipes
paper towels
You are going to start with a substrate (preferably a wood panel, but a canvas will work too) and you are going to 'ice' it* with Wood Icing textura paste. *don't worry, if you don't have wood icing you can experiment with a straight painting or use another type of texture such as modeling paste.

So you have your panel and you have your Wood Icing, now take a palette knife and 'ice' that baby with a nice layer of the texture.

When you spread your Wood Icing on to your substrate it will be like frosting a cake. Do not make it to thick, as this will lead to cracking as it dries.

Once you get it spread on in a nice even coverage, you will want it to 'set up' just a bit before you begin to draw or stamp into it. PLEASE remember that when you do stamp into it, you will most likely, not get a super crisp image. This is OKAY, we are only adding bits of subtle imagery. It does not need to be perfect as the paint and other details you add in as you layer will make it all come together! So here is where you will begin to create your composition and all of your textural bits.

While your Wood Icing is still in the 'soft' (but not wet) stage, you can scrape, stamp, draw and 'carve' imagery into your texture.

note: Make sure to clean any and all tools that you use with the Wood Icing right away. I wipe them with a baby wipe or wipe them off with a paper towel and then take them to the sink for a washing.

You must work fairly quickly and then let it fully harden. Drying time varies. It can take one hour or overnight depending on the thickness of your layer and the temperature of your room. You will know the Wood Icing is fully dry when the color is lighter throughout and it does not feel cool to the touch. It will be very hard. If there are any spots that you feel are not quite right,(i.e. bits of crumblies or peaks that you don't want) you can easily sand them off with a nail file or a small sanding block.

Now begin painting, I like to first use a bit of white gesso to "white out" areas that, later, I will want to keep bright or white. Then after that is dry, I begin using my acrylic paints and build color and depth in layers. This is such a tactile process. The surface takes the paint beautifully and is such a forgiving and user friendly surface.

***for more of my art created with this technique, (I wanted to share some other art that is NOT moons, so you can see what other things you can create with this fabulous technique) click HERE.

Of course, we are painting moons and celestials but this is a WONDERFUL technique for all subject matter and abstracts too!

Enjoy yourself and remember...
Moondancing is strongly encouraged.
xokp

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Week Three. Moon Rings.

I wanted to share this project with you because, a while back, I made myself a moon ring and I got so many compliments and requests to make more, that I thought it would be a really fun and different type of artsy lesson. I think that even if you don't want to make "moon" jewelry, you can use the techniques I show to make your own unique, custom pieces. They make wonderful gifts and if you are into selling your creations, you can add to your arsenal of items in your shop!

The imagery that you put inside the bezels can be WHATEVER you want it to be...faces, flowers, photos, beads, glitter, collage and stamped images ALL work with this fun project. So HAVE FUN and just like with all of my lessons, I encourage you to experiment and play!

Sources for the products are listed on the supply page too but here are some notes and ideas for sources that I may not have mentioned....
* I use Envirotex Lite resin. There are other similar products that you can use if you choose to try resin. I choose to use Envirotex because that is what I have always used and have never had the chance or reason to try other products. BUT if you use or have used something else then that is great.

Some of the other brands I have heard of that I am certain will also work:

Ice Resin
Doming Resin (available at riogrande.com)
Lisa Pavelka Magic Gloss (different because it hardens with a UV light)

I purchased my jewelry bezels and blanks at an Etsy Store but I know you can find them lots of places including some hobby and craft stores.

So here is what you will need:
jewelry blank/bezel
resin (or if you do NOT want to use resin, you can use the glass domes8 see alternate video)
mixing cup and stick (to mix resin)
Toothpicks (for dropping/spreading resin)
sticker paper
pencil and/or fine brush and acrylic paint (black and white and/or white gesso)
white glue (to seal the image before using resin)
two blocks of the same size (to set ring in while curing)
new moon rubber stamp* from RubberMoon

I want to mention here that if you would rather not paint or draw such a small face for your ring, the NEW MOON STAMP is great and fits wonderfully in the 1' inch bezel!

**PLEASE note....using resin can be a bit tricky if you have not used it before. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can help you further in any way.

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Week Four. Celestial Diptych

Welcome to week number four of Moon Making! I am really jazzed about sharing this bit of artsy goodness with all of you. I think this project is so versatile and makes for, not only a lot of fun, but it's also a wonderful gift idea! (I love to make things that can be given as a cool and unique gifts.)

I want to reiterate that you do not have to use Ampersand Stampbord (though it is a super nice product and I highly recommend it)...you can substitute this substrate with things like: card board, mat board or wood. Although, keep in mind, you will not have the benefit of being able to 'subtract' as I show in the video.

Again as with all of the projects and art I have shared, you can customize this project in any way imaginable! It is great with a celestial theme (of course!) But would also be cute to create holiday themes such as Halloween or Christmas. These make great birthday "cards" or you can add photos and other embellishments too! Then main thing, always, is to have fun and do what calls to you.

The things you will want to have on your art table:

2 pieces of the same size Stampbord (or substrate of your choice)

paint brushes

scratch tool or exacto

2 small hinges

brush on nail glue or crazy glue

various rubber stamps (celestial themed)

archival ink pad (I use black)

acrylic paints in your favorite colors-(especially 'fluid' acrylic)

baby wipes

White glue and decorative papers or collage papers (to cover the back of your diptych panels)

I hope you find this lesson to be Out of this World!

Please remember, I am here if you have any questions or I can help you in any way.

Sending Moon Magic,

xokp

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Week Five. A MoonMaker's Journal

I started out with the idea that I would just show you some fun art techniques to create a couple of journal pages but then I decided to show you how to make the entire thing! I really love creating these journals. I learned to make them watching Teesha Moore's Amazing 16 page journal. So I cannot take credit for the construction or concept of this project, only the size modifications as I wanted to create something a bit smaller and more manageable.

The idea of making a journal that is thematic (with pages that all relate to each other) really appeals to me and I thought you would really enjoy it too.

This book would be really fun to create around a special occasion or vacation and also would be a super gift to give too.

So in order to make your own journal you will need:

a sheet of 140 lb. watercolor paper. You can use various sizes to create the size you would like to work with. For the video I used a 9 x 12 and a 12 x 18 (Teesha Moore uses 22 x 30 to create her large journals.)

a ruler

a pencil

a bone folder
a tear bar (optional)

awl 9 (to poke holes)

twine or waxed thread

large needle

I do recommend painting all of your pages before binding. It is much easier to create your art while the pages are flat!

As with all of my lessons, i encourage you to use any and all imagery that calls to you and the mixed media that you choose on your pages! But here I have used the following:

Gesso (both white and black)
Archival ink pad
RubberMoon Stamps
White Sharpie Paint Markers
Black Pitt or Micron Pen
Golden Fluid Acrylic Paints (in your colors of choice)

Have Fun!

Thank you so much for joining me in this moon making journey!

I hope you will continue to create and share. I will still be available for any questions and to help you in any way.

I am so happy for this time we got to make art together!

xokp