Recycling the magazine.
Sometimes some paths cross in really quirky ways. I want to tell you about such a story today. Gytte had written to me because she was upset that I had changed the paper quality of the magazine and now she could not use them to make collages and more. Fortunately, I could happily tell her that from issue 3, 2023, we are back to the "old" paper quality again. We subsequently had a good chat on the phone, where she told us about the collages she makes out of old magazines. It was an exciting story, and I was allowed to tell you about it, here on the blog. Here is what Gytte tells:
The collages with pages from the magazine.
I have been painting and exhibiting for over 30 years, but around 2013 I started working with collage. One day I came across the magazine Jeanne d'Arc Living, it was fantastic, the paper had a really good quality which worked well when glued onto canvas. In the magazine I found a lot of pictures that told me a story that I could pass on through my paintings.
My approach:
I find the pictures I want to use, then I glue them up and let it all dry. When it is dry, I base paint with fabric printing ink, which has the advantage that I can wash it off again. When dry, some of the color can be washed off.
When I have my base paint finished, I start to paint with acrylic paint and decorate as I now think it should be processed. I figure out what I want to cover completely and what I want you can see and what needs to be right up front.
I use many different effects in my collages, e.g. printing with stencils, tulle, yarn etc
I also work with Powertex, which is a medium that is smeared on and then sprayed with a special color. When it's dry, I take a heat gun with which I heat up the Powertex and it gives some special crackling. When using Powertex, the paintings must be varnished because the dye is water-soluble.
A little about me.
“At 36, I started university. It was a very big upheaval for me. Now I had to sit quietly and listen, where before I was busy with everything - work, sport, husband and children and many creative things. During the lectures, I started to sit and draw doodles, which later turned into a particular flower, which I have drawn and painted ever since. Sometimes the flower looks like a poppy, other times something completely different. .
Around 1989-90, my husband and I decided that we wanted to do something together, so we started at Visual Arts at HF. Twice a week we went to school in the evening after work and studies. Here I met watercolor, which became my passion for many years.
Later I tried painting acrylics when we were at an artists' meeting in Lithuania, and today I very rarely paint watercolors. At HF I learned many techniques, and we were taught image construction and color theory, and every time there was also Art History on the programme.
I have been a regular at Galleri Engholm in Middelfart since it started almost 6 years ago. Here we are 13 permanent artists exhibiting, and we also have 1-2 guest exhibitors. In the gallery, in addition to my paintings, I also exhibit knitted ponchos, knitted shawls, embroidered brooches and painted notebooks or notebooks with embroidery on paper.
Courses and activities with art.
I have taken many courses to improve myself in painting and different painting techniques. I have also been taught abroad in Lithuania, Sicily and Morocco. I like to travel for the right skilled teacher.
My husband and I have traveled a lot, especially in Greece, where I always had my watercolor with me, so when we would take a break on our hikes, the watercolor would come out and I would paint the landscape where we were sitting. It's great to look back at these watercolors, because it's like being there again.
My other creative activities.
When I was younger I taught many different creative tasks. Among other things, I have taught wool spinning, painting, collage, embroidery (embroidery on paper, embroidery glued onto stones or pieces of wood), making plaster masks, which were subsequently decorated either with textiles or paint. I have been an active table tennis player and have also taught it.
Many greetings from Gytte
