I am taking Kelly Rae Roberts’ virtual class called Hello Soul Hello Mantras because I love her mixed media artwork. Mixed media is outside my comfort zone and embarking on this journey requires that I embrace the mess of the process and the uncertainty of getting there. So my mantra throughout is “Embrace the mess.”

I started with a blank canvas, perfectly white, unspoiled, and tidy. The first step is to experiment with water-dripped fluid acrylic paint, smooshing it around and brayering it. The result is a simple still unified look but with little depth, sort of a one-and-done.

Not being afraid to let go of this stage meant moving on to adding paper, ribbon and other sources of texture recursively. I can’t even recognize the starting image in this next step.

Then more. The dots pulled forward.

Then it was back to adding more paint, then more collage then more paint, going back and forth until I found some amount of cohesion. See the new dark blue areas?

Then it was on to adding the text:

I couldn’t quite accept the mess of having the two SS’s so far away from the ME, so with one last change, it’s done:

I can’t wait to start the next one!