TIME DIVA
Darlene Olivia McElroy
Mosaic of embossed plastic strips added to painting.
I believe we can’t be an artist without having the soul of an adventurer, a scientist and an alchemist. Melting plastic and changing its shape fulfills those parts of me. Plastic modeling pellets and strips allow you to create dimensional elements, mosaic tiles, jewelry beads and more. Although the plastic strips come in a variety of colors and metallics, they can also be gloriously colored with alcohol inks. You can cut them with scissors, heat them to your canvas and even reheat them if you want to try a different technique on them.
Be careful working with hot plastic, and use the same caution you would use with anything hot. Use tweezers and wait until the plastic has cooled to a warm but still malleable temperature.
Note: Do not use a heat gun on a plastic working surface or use a rubber stamp on the plastic strips if they are too hot as the plastic will stick to the rubber.