For this set I tried to relate the material or technique back to the letter.
A full set could be a year long project at school.
Or you could focus on names or a single word.
Or you can just do one letter to feature in another project like an art journal page.
Hint: if you keep a stash of extra painted inches you can crank out a letter in no time.
Now I'm not going to show you the "how to" for all 26.....that would probably put you to sleep, just some of my favourites.
One thing I have learned in the last 11 years of teaching art is always make extra of everything!
So when I cut inchies I cut lots.
The ones I used for the alphabet inchies are 2"x2". Other good sizes are 3"x3" and even 4"x4".
The A is for alcohol (not for drinking) and assemblage.
Alcohol does cool things to paint. It can be watercolour, tempera, or acrylic as long as it is still wet.
I use an eyedropper or pipette but you can also drop from a paintbrush. Just add a small drop here and there.
E is for eggshell.
Collect some eggshells. Give them a wash, dry and store in an old egg carton.
At Easter time buy extra egg dye. I keep my Pysanky dye all year round. It is amazing on coffee filters, tissue paper, canvas, and regular paper.
Dye your eggshells and then using Mod Podge create a mosaic. (more details on how to do this HERE)
When dry cut out letter.
F is for foam.
This is my favourite way to use craft foam....to make a stamp.
Cut pieces out pieces of foam and stick to a piece of cardboard. Remember whatever you stamp will be backwards.
Using paint or stamp pad print your stamp. I like to do a test on a scrap piece of paper. I also find that my 2nd print is usually the best.
G is for glue resist.
Draw a design with white school glue. Let dry and then paint over.
K is for kraft paper.
Crumpled kraft paper has such great texture. To highlight this I added some paint with a Kleenex (another K), just burnishing it on lightly.
S is for splatter. Check out this post for my splatter technique.
X is for xylography. OK I know this isn't a true xylograph which is usually a woodcut print but there are not too many X art techniques.
Using scratch foam or a foam plate or meat tray, etch in a design with a blunt pencil, coat with some paint and then make a print.
More details on this technique HERE.
I hope I have inspired you to give some alphabet inchies a try.
See you soon.
