Review: Mixed Mania

Anytime I write about mixed media work, I’m writing from a little bit of an outsider’s perspective. I’ve said this before, but I can’t often relate to the layered complexity of this kind of art. But, looking more closely, I’m always excited by small details: the way a fabric has been decoupaged with tissue, or the use of wire as applique.

I think crafting could totally benefit from this kind of playful mix-and-matching. There’s just so much hybridizing potential!

Anyway, I had a lot of fun reading Mixed Mania, which is written by two artists who struck up an email friendship and ended up collaborating on a book: Cheryl Prater and Debbi Crane. They have wildly different artistic styles and similar senses of humor.

This book is a great intro to mixed media, and perfect for anyone you know who’s interested in exploring this mode of creating, but doesn’t know where to begin. The projects range from the extremely-simple (like these little squares) to the more complex (like the freakin’ cool board game based on said little squares, below.)

The whole thing is written like a cookbook, which is a friendly approach. And I love the way the projects are presented. Rather than getting bogged down in the esoteric details of, say, mashing saran wrap over wet paint, the project instructions provide a good foundation and invite the reader to add creative touches.

But my absolute favorite thing about the book – aside from these house cards, heart heart heart! are Debbi and Cheryl’s conversations about creativity, which are sprinkled throughout the book. Not only are they funny, they encourage you to just pick up that decorative paper and glue and get on with it.

(A further note on the cards: you can’t tell from the photo, but they’re also a tiny bookbinding project. And their construction is really genius, allowing the recipient to assemble them easily. If I had any kind of available time, these would be my Christmas cards this year.)

I’m also a big fan of how diverse this set of projects is. In addition to the paper-based stuff I’ve shown you, there are fabric projects, like this journal cover. There’s an art quilt, some art dolls, some dimensional collage, and more. And I think the authors did a great job of keeping these projects on the visually simple side, so you can see and enjoy the layering of techniques without getting overwhelmed.

I like this keepsake box – very fun use of old keys.

Even if you think you’re more about craft than mixed media, give this one a browse. There are tons of little inspirations in here.