Peeling paper technique

Elizabeth Kertz

Wichita, KS

http://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/

This project was taken from Claudine Hellmuth's Workshop Discovery book on pages 29-30. The photos and instructions are mine.

Materials: masking tape,foam brushcredit card strips various paints and glazes newspaper or page from phone bookcard stock gel medium container and water for thinning acrylics Plastic to cover your work surface

Instructions:

1. Apply gel medium to card stock (CS) using a foam brush (or brush of your choice). Quickly adhere your newspaper or phone book page to CS and remove all air bubbles using a credit card strip

2. Apply masking tape in various directions before the gel mediumdries. Press firmly into place using your credit card strip.Claudine used a bone folder for this, but I found the credit cardstrip worked fine. You can leave the tape as is (shown in the photo), or tear it in half lengthwise for added effect.

3. Beginning at one end, pull the tape away from the paper. Youshould lift in several directions for a better effect. This is the hardest part to explain, but once you begin lifting your tape, you'll see ways to manipulate it. After the first attempt (I found it hard to start the tape), I left a tab of tape off the paper so it was easier to lift and pull.

4. Add watered down paints and/or glazes. Don't overdo it and don't allow paint to puddle or pool. Wipe away excess paint. Concentrate your paint in the torn areas.

Ruminations: I used beige colored newspaper which I felt was a nice touch. The nice thing is that whatever is on the back side of your paper will show thru in the areas that are peeled away. This adds a really nice effect when you add your paint.I had a bit of trouble with my newspaper when I was removing some ofthe paint. It started to "ball" up. I think it was the quality of the newsprint, OR the fact that I didn't allow the project to dry completely (gel medium) before I applied the paint. I am still removing some of the little balls.This was a really fun and easy project. I was especially pleased with how it turned out. I hope you enjoy this project as much as I did. I also want to thank Claudine for the excellent instructions.I have seen other instructions on the internet where you tear pieces of newspaper and glue them collage style to the CS. I preferred using a single page, because I liked the effect. However, you might want to try this as an alternative. Be sure you do not get any gel medium on the top of the newspaper, as this adversely affects the tape and the peeling process.