Metal+Colored Pencils=Fun

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking a workshop on using colored pencils with metal.  Now let me start by saying that I am extremely exhausted and overwhelmed right now by all things Bead Fest prep related.  This workshop was probably not the best timing for me and as such, I did not go crazy and make a project.  I kept it real simple and just played with the technique.

When working with colored pencils (we used Prismacolor) you want the metal to have raised and recessed surfaces.  You can achieve this through a variety of ways: repousse and/or chasing, etching, using a rolling mill, etc...  

I cheated and used patterned copper I purchased from Metalliferous several years ago.

I applied gesso to my copper blanks and heated them after each layer.  

After the gesso was dry, I applied the first layer of pencils.  Always start light with your application.  After I was happy with the first layer, I heated the piece again, let it cool and then sprayed a fixative on them.  Then I rubbed steel wool over the piece, applied more pencil and continued repeating this process.

These were the four samples I made.  I wish I had felt better as I could see myself having a lot of fun sawing out various shapes, soldering or using cold connections and making all sorts of fun things with this technique.  I'm sure once Bead Fest is over I'll have more time to experiment.

Now I'm off to the airport to pick up fellow AJE contributor, Lesley Watt at the airport!  

I hope you'll come see us at Bead Fest!  Lesley will be with me in the Suburban Girl Studio booth (#471A).  We'll have lots of beads for sale and we'd love to meet you!

Happy Beading!

Diana P.

Suburban Girl Studio LLC