Mica Painting

A painting on paper and sheets of mica. A very unusual mineral, it was used by Native Americans, most famously by the ancient Hopewell Indians of Ohio, to make marvelous cut-outs or hands and hawks. It has also been used as a natural glitter in frescoes. Now sold as an art material in craft shops. It peels very interestingly, and is mostly transparent, lending itself to layering of materials. In this case, I have used acrylic paint on both front and reverse, faux gold leaf behind and on top of it, and paua shells all glued down with gloss gel medium. The piece on the far left of the painting has a lot of wonderful, moss-like inclusions, right in the mineral itself. I did not paint on that piece but added it pure to the mix.