I have to let you in on a secret: the veil in my Begin Again series was actually just a curtain from Goodwill. I couldn’t find a veil in the style I wanted that looked antique enough. So, I went to my local thrift store and perused the bed sheet and curtain section. When I found the perfect little curtain I bought it for just a few dollars even though it was bright white and new.

When I got it home I brewed a giant batch of tea and soaked the cloth in there for hours and hours. The curtain I got was a synthetic blend and not absorbent, so it took a long time of dying to get anything to stick. Here’s an example of the veil from the series after it was dyed and photographed:

Tea dying is the art of antiquing fabric on the cheap. It doesn’t take a lot of effort or a lot of money to make the new look old. Here’s a breakdown of how to do it. If you try this, please share pictures of the results!

Materials:
Black tea
White fabric (preferably cotton)
Pot + water

Step 1: Unpackage about 20 tea bags of generic black tea. Alternately, you can use loose leaf tea (I might have done that if all that I had was pretty expensive to replace). Use more tea bags for a darker look or less for lighter.

Step 2: Boil a big pot of water, large enough for your fabric to be submerged.

Step 3: Put your tea bags in and soak for a few minutes.

Step 4: Turn off the heat and put your fabric inside the pot with the tea bags. Let the tea bags remain inside for the duration of the dying process. I recommend using the lid so the heat stays in.

Step 5: Wait until your fabric turns the color you want. I recommend at least 30 minutes which will yield the following results:

Step 6: Hang to dry.

Step 7: Use in your gorgeous photography! And show me!

A key component to my fine art work is texture. I add it to almost every image I create for many reasons: to make my work look more filmic, to make it look more painterly, to make it look old, and sometimes as a finishing layer to make it look polished.

There are countless uses for texture and each image calls for something a little different. That’s why it pays off to make your own textures, and it’s super simple! Here are 10 different textures I made in about 20 minutes within a 10 foot radius of my garage!

Materials (all optional):
Paint Brush
Paper
Baby Powder or Flour
Black Cloth

The goal is to create random smears or smudges, splatters, cracks, etc. Any pattern that isn’t discernable is great. You want to avoid too much contrast of light on your texture if possible – even, soft light is best from my experience. Get close to the texture so that it fills your frame. And finally, get creative.

You’ll find yourself looking at things you never noticed before in a whole new way! Here are my textures and the wider shots of where the textures came from!

Want to learn how to edit with textures? I have a whole tutorial about just that right here! On that same page you can also find my texture available for a totally free download.

Share this with any artists you think could benefit!

Happy Creating!

On today’s DIY list, we’re making wire sculptures! I’m demonstrating how I do this on a large scale, but you can try the same thing for tiny sculptures, too!

I started making wire sculptural pieces for a photo series, so my plan to use this wire is ultimately to be photographed. The next part of the DIY will go through how to finish the piece and photograph it.

MATERIALS LIST:
Chicken Wire
Gardening Gloves
Wire Cutters
Pliers

I use chicken wire because it is malleable but strong. It can be cumbersome to work with but once you get the hang of it, it molds into shape.

Step 1: Separate the edges of the wire from the roll.

Step 2: Bend the sharp edges inward for safe handling using either your gloved hands or pliers.

Step 3: Roll out the wire. As you go, bend it backward so that it doesn’t curl in on itself.

Step 4: Cut the wire away from the roll when it reaches your desired length.

Step 5: Bend the newly sharp edges inward for safety.

Step 6: Start bending the wire into the shape you want, hooking the wire to itself via the cut edges to hold it in place.

Step 7: Finalize the shape and admire your handy work!

My sculpture doesn’t look like much, but that is because it is only half finished and is meant to be extremely abstract. Remember, you can sculpt anything from abstract creations to little animals and more!

In the next blog about wire sculpting, I will show you how you can coat your sculpture to finish it. Here are two options:

Paper mache is a great choice for coating your wire sculpture. It can be done with newspaper and glue, or you can get the heavy duty stuff for things like body casting. Either way, this technique can be done simply and is great to utilize if you plan on painting it.

Because of the nature of my sculpture, I’ll probably opt for using spray foam. My final sculpture will be covered in mushrooms, and I want to keep the organic flow of it alive.

I hope this was helpful, and I can’t wait to see what wire sculptures you make!

Please share below if you have an idea,
tips for wire sculpting, or if you finish a piece!

I’ll be back soon with Part 2 of “How to Make a Wire Sculpture”!