Art Techniques - C

This page discusses a collection of art techniques that begin with the letter C, including crackle, crochet, collage and many more. There are photos, descriptions, videos and links to other mixed media techniques.

This is Number 3 in a series of pages created to showcase art techniques beginning with the letters of the alphabet. This page focuses on techniques and backgrounds that start with the letter C.

You will find information about collage, crackle backgrounds, calligraphy, carving, caught in crystal technique, cosmos paper, Citrosolv Background technique, crayon resist, crystalline paper, crumpled chalks and possibly more. I have pictures, videos, textual how-tos, links content on other web pages and recommended shopping lists.

If you have information about a C technique that isn't included here, please leave a comment and let me know!

Photo Credit: June Campbell

Please have fun with the poll and leave a comment.

Oh, and about the picture to the right.. It's another C technique.

It is a casting made from toilet paper and a rubber stamp.

To do it, you select a rubber stamp with deep markings. Fold several squares of bathroom tissue into pieces that cover the stamp.

Squash the folded tissue into the grooves of the stamp and then spray with water until the tissue is fairly wet.

Using your fingers, squash the tissue down so excess water squeezes out.

Set aside and allow to dry.

When dry, remove from the rubber stamp. You can color or decorate this as desired, but I would suggest avoiding water based paint as this will cause the mold to disintegrate.

A Visual Art

Calligraphy, sometimes known as "the art of fancy lettering" is a beautiful visual art. It may be used as an art form in its own right, or for enhancing other art forms, as as a way of adding visual appeal to letters, invitations, certificates, etc.

Calligraphy appears in probably every language, and requires a considerable specialized skills. Calligraphers practice their art for years, ever improving and increasing their talents. Special calligraphy inks and pens are available in Michaels and other similar establishments.

Today, much of the calligraphy we find is accomplished with computer fonts. Some say that true calligraphy is a dying art. I hope not. It is so beautiful.

This ATC (artist trading card) has a crackle background. The Jack London stamp is by Tim Holtz, I think. It doesn't actually say on the stamp and I have forgotten. The ticket stub is torn in half and there is a butterfly shape made with a punch.

To do Crackle Finish, you will need crackle medium. This is found in craft stores where craft paints are sold. To use, follow the instructions on the container.

Essentially, crackle gives an aged, cracked finish to a project.

In the card shown here, I first painted the card with brown craft paint., When that was thoroughly dry, I painted over it with a layer of crackle medium. When the crackle medium was tacky, I painted over top with a layer of beige paint. When the being paid dried, the surface cracked.

A degree of experimentation is necessary with this technique. The effects you get depend on the amount of tackiness of the crackle when you applied the paint over top. Very tacky crackle gives big cracks; almost dry crackle gives small cracks.

You can also get fragile crackle, which forms hairline cracks.

Photo credit: June Campbell

Crayon resist is a technique in which you write or draw on glossy paper using a white crayon. Next, you apply dye inks to the surface. The crayon resists the color, so you end up with a colored paper with a white design showing. You can draw or write free hand, use a stencil or use a rubber stamp, as is shown in the video.

Backgrounds or Trims

Crochet is a well known needlecraft technique, as you probably know. You can use a crocheted item as your background in a mixed media project, or you can crochet small designs and embellishments for trim on your paper, metal, canvas or wood project.

In the ATC (artist trading card) in the picture, I have crocheted a small semi-circle of lace to use as a trim.

Photo credit: June Campbell

This technique involves spraying water on cardstock, then crumpling it out. You then spread it out flat and allow to dry. At this point, you can add color through a variety of methods. In the video shown, the woman adds color through the use of Sparkle Sprays. You could use a similar product or rub with artist's chalks, or rub with inkpads or paint with any type of paint. The choice is yours. If desired, you can also iron out the paper to get a smoother finish.

I once used the crumpled background paper technique to create "geraniums." They were awesome.

No discussion of art techniques beginning with C is complete without mention of the ever popular technique known as collage.

Collage involves using a variety of images, papers, textures and shapes to create an amazing image. Collage shows itself in cards, art journal pages, scrapbook papers, altered books, artist trading cards, tags and in almost any form of project that involves mixed media art.

The collage pictures below may interest you.

Made with Tissue Paper and Gloss Medium

To make this lovely background paper, you use ordinary tissue paper. The kind with a rough back is best. Cut a sheet of tissue paper into a manageable size. Using a foam brush or other type of brush, coat one side with a glossy medium. I used Golden Gel Medium. List the paper and hang it over the side of a table to dry. Allow it to dry for about 30 minutes or for as long as needed.

Repeat on the other side of this paper. Dry.

Cut the paper in half. Rip one of the sheets into pieces or chunks. Arrange the pieces on top of the first piece of tissue paper and glue in place. Refer to the picture.

Use this as a background for a card, ATC, journal or other project.

Photo credit: June Campbell

The following links will take you to an array of other art techniques that begin with the letter C. In all cases, there will be tutorials explaining how to do the technique.