Adventures in Mixed Media Art: Inspiration, Techniques and Projects for Painting, Collage & More

by Amy O. Jones (Editor)

Are you inspired by mixed-media art but don't know where to start?

"Adventures in Mixed Media Art" is the ultimate guidebook for embarking on your own creative adventure! Featuring 20 favorite mixed-media projects from the bestselling North Light backlist, this "best of the best" collection will motivate any would-be artist to start creating!

Beginning with motivational readings, you will discover and learn to refine your creative energy by discovering what inspires you. Then you are ready to create your very own art journal using guided mixed-media techniques, including hand lettering and basic painting and collage techniques.

When you're ready to create and refine your signature style, you'll start creating canvas paintings, collages and assemblage pieces based on projects from popular mixed-media artists like Dina Wakley, Mary Beth Shaw, and more. Even if your project doesn't turn out as planned, the book includes helpful tips and techniques for repurposing those pieces into a new work of art you can proudly display. The book also includes collaborative projects so you can encourage others to start their own "Adventures in Mixed Media"!

Genres: Art, Reference, Nonfiction, Crafts

128 pages, Paperback

First published August 13, 2014

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Pretty good book that focused on assorted mixed media projects (not just art journaling). Kind of seemed like a collection meant to sell you other books from the publisher, as each featured artist also seemed to have their own book from which their project was taken.

[Laura Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
There were three ideas on here that I liked and tried and then disliked the result. Maybe I'm not the arty fart I thought I was.

[Dalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book in one sitting closely paying attention at first and then just flipping through glancing over the projects. I found myself overwhelmed with the amount of stuff necessary to do these projects. This is an excellent way to get ones feet into the world of mixed media crafts I am sure, but following instructions to create a project someone else designed hardly seemed like "art" to me. I was hoping to gain a little more insight into the reasoning behind using particular materials and techniques, a broader general description of the available paths, preferably using more stuff I already have at home. I was looking for wisdom mixed media artists at the local museum seem to possess. How does one create a passionate canvas conveying a story through abstract ideas using what seems like only paper and glue? I'm not looking to buy stamps and stamp bumblebees all over my notebooks. I'm looking to build a channel for all my internal lava to set the world on fire!

[Bambi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of ratings question whether this book was written simply to showcase other books, or felt that the projects in this book were too specific. I thought the book offered a lot of inspiration, though, with a good mix of artistic projects and journaling prompts.

As with any book about art, you'll take from this what you put into it -- using this as a jumping off point for your own creativity and thinking about the ways that you can incorporate what you learned into your personal projects is really what this book is about.

Favorite quote from this book: "If we decide to believe in ourselves, then nothing can diminish our potential." - Carolyn Rubenstein

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5-star rating.

"Because it is all too easy to get caught up in our day-to-day lives, many of us find ourselves in a place where we feel more numb than engaged. We may not yet be in the habit of cultivating moments for inspiration. Much like taking time for creativity is undervalued, so is taking time for stillness... I like to consider creativity as a key element of that ritual of self-care, equally as important as rest, nourishment and exercise. But creativity does not happen to its fullest potential unless the other three are being attended to... Taking time for rest, stillness and creativity is not indulgent, it is a must." Marisa Anne - pgs. 14-15

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book inspired me. I will not deny that. But I felt that most of the crafts required a lot of tools that not many have. It was interesting nonetheless.

[Michelle Ulm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great inspiration!

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. I didn't connect with a lot of the mental processing ideas they offer, but I think it was only because I didn't intend to use the book for prompts. I am interested in techniques at this point.
It would be good for someone brand spanking new, I think.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is actually a pretty cool book with a variety of projects to try, however, many of them are excerpts from other books I've already read. If it had been the other way around, and I had actually read this first, it would have been a great starting point.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mix of a bunch of other books that North light published. Some I hadn't seen, some good stuff in there.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well put together book. Not really my style.