Written Guide for interpreting A Vintage Journey styles

On this challenge blog we are on A ‘Vintage’ Journey with some added genres - shabby chic, mixed media, art journaling, steampunk and industrial styles. To help clarify what that means for us when accepting an entry to be eligible for the challenge prize we are setting out our interpretation for you.

Vintage Style - should include some of the following. It should be aged with distressing, have images of a bygone age or have a retro feel to it i.e. 1970s and earlier. It could have colours that depict age (ie browns, muted colours, a vintage palette) it should depict things that are old-fashioned, dated, imitating a style of the past, historic, antique. This does not include contemporary 'images' dressed to look 'old'. One of the best artists that we follow to learn new techniques and to be inspired by is Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi.

Shabby chic - your projects should be showing signs of wear and tear, distressed to give the appearance of an antique, soft, opulent cottage style with layers showing time worn areas and including swags, garlands, cherubs, faded charm, neutrals, bleached, stained, earth tones, with fabrics like linen and hessian and pastel or bright colours in the shabby range.

Mixed media - refers to a project where more than one medium has been used. This could involve the use of ink and stains or paint and collage in a single composition. It would also include assemblage and altered art. There are numerous amazing artists out there who we follow. Have you popped over to Finnabair’s blog to see the work she and her team produces?

Art Journaling - this is about creating pages for an art journal where you combine art and words to express yourself. It is a personal record and place to keep creative ideas or a place to practice techniques or a place to doodle, draw and dream. Go find Marjie Kemper, France Papillon , Dyan Reaveley, Dina wakley and many others who could inspire you.

Industrial – in our terms industrial art is about using supplies from our craft or art room to create a project that depicts a feel of aged, ancient machinery or architecture and appears to have a natural time worn, weathered look to it. For instance aged metals would seem to be rusty perhaps with a patina bloom to it, aged wood might be chipped, pitted and have worn painted areas, old stone and brick would be faded, pitted and  Andy Skinner shows us how to change simple chipboard or wood to give these effects and is the master of using acrylic paints and mediums to achieve fantastic results.

Steampunk art - mixes modern ideas and technology with those from the past, namely the Victorian Age, when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing and steam was a major source of power. It is where science fiction and fantasy meet Victorian-era scientists. Steampunk materials are often things you would find in an old science lab or industrial lot. Lots of wood as well as copper, brass, steel, iron and other heavy metals plus glass, old-fashioned light bulbs and watch parts, clockwork, rivets, cogs, levers, springs, gears and other pieces of machinery are also popular materials but of course they don’t have to be real.

Within all of these styles we need to see specifically either through the project itself or within your written post that your entry has included one or more of these genres. If it is not clear then sorry you will not be eligible for a prize or pinworthy mention.