Citrasolv

Citrasolv Concentrate on National Geographic Pages, 2015

I'm always looking for something interesting for a background in a drawing, journal page, or a mixed media piece.  I found this video by Cathy Taylor - Altered Papers (1st of a 5 part series) - that explains the process of altering the images and text in the National Geographic Magazine by dissolving the inks with Citrasolv cleaner.  

The page on the top left was sprinkled with Citrasolv and covered with crumpled Saran Wrap. I gathered the wrap onto the paper being sure to leave wrinkles and folds.  The paper on the right was just sprinkled with Citrasolv.  The pages are sprinkled with the cleaner, the magazine is allowed to rest for about 10 minutes, and then the inks will begin to flow.  You can alter the pages with your finger, stencils, Saran, tape, or anything else you can imagine. 

The pages must be removed from the magazine before they dry and then set out flat.  Not all the pages you create will be gems, but there will be many interesting effects from just one magazine.

This process should be done in a well ventilated area so the Citrasolv aroma can dissipate (according to my family, my kitchen didn't qualify) and the pages allowed to dry overnight. 

Top left: altered with Saran Wrap, Top right: just sprinkled with Citrasolv 

Bottom: Using a stencil, some ink was wiped off the page.