Studio Series: Mixed Media tags

Mixed media tags © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Since January, I've been on a tag making, collaging, painting, stitching, and varnishing blitz. So far, I've completed about 165 collage tags. I haven't counted the completed textile tags since they are a different studio process and I keep them separate. The top photo shows a selection of the 165, all that could fit on my 1960s family room wet bar. The pink tags in the foreground are a significant shift in colour palette for me.

Mixed media tags © Karen Thiessen, 2015

Working with #6 shipping tags has been a gargantuan learning experience. I've learned plenty of what doesn't work and with a lot of persistent trial and error I've learned what does. As you can see, I've incorporated my screen printed and intuitive mark-making papers.

Mixed media tags © Karen Thiessen, 2015

After making the first batch of tags that I exhibited in my 2013 solo show Unit(y), I learned that acrylic medium never cures. This means that if a pile of collage tags are stored together, they stick. Not good. While reviewing old sketchbooks I learned that Fran Skiles varnishes all her completed work with Golden acrylic polymer varnish. I bought some in January. Resistance (a.k.a fear) kicked in so I made a lot more tags before I finally had the courage to learn how to use it and complete all that I had started. The Golden varnish was easy to use and very forgiving. Now that I have the hang of it, I complete tags in batches of fifteen, versus waiting until I have 120+ tags in limbo. Now it's time to start applying for shows.