Tuesday, October 21, 2008

HAPPY ACCIDENTS



We've all had them. Heck, stop and think about it . . . you may even have BEEN one. Know I was. Anyway, happy accidents are mistakes in our techniques that actually turn out to be pretty darn cool. Case in point: my most recent ATC, "The Madonna".


I started with an image transfer from a transparency. I've been using the 3M brand to do my inkjet prints, and while it is a pricey brand, the transfer quality is worth the price. My inkjet printer gives off some weird colors with the transfers, however, but since this was to be an aged-looking piece, the bluish tones were not so bad. I used Golden soft gel (glossy) to transfer the image to a piece of unbleached muslin. Everything went as planned. No happy accident yet. If you've done transfers, you know they leave spotty areas where the ink did not transfer. I like to burn things, so I got out my then-new Versa tool and lightly singed the blank areas to give it a grungy look.



Next was to stitch the image to a piece of text that I had dipped in beeswax. I love beeswax and look for any excuse to use it. It adds to the antiqued look of things which complemented this piece well. Part of the text didn't make it into the beeswax (bottom right hand corner) and that was okay, too. Added a nice contrast. Now, here is where the happy accident took place.


I needed to stitch the Madonna image to the beeswax-text background. Enter sewing machine. I am grossly untrained when it comes to sewing and rarely recognize an error when I make one. However, even with my limited skills, it became evident halfway through the stitching that the bobbin had not been wound properly. (This is sad, considering that I have an automatic bobbin winder feature on my machine.) Not one to scold myself for my snafus, I took the piece off the machine and was pleasantly surprised at the little loops that had formed over the Madonna like a halo. And there were more curly-loopy-things on the stray threads along the edges. I love stray threads as much as I love beeswax, so they stayed with the piece.


I finished the card by laying a piece of sheer fabric (can't remember what it's called right now - remember, I am new to this fabric art stuff) over the constructed card, snipping out the middle and burning the inside edges with the Versa tool. That smelled a little because of the synthetic fabric, so if you try this at home . . . beware !!! Toxicity alert. Having replaced the wayward bobbin with a properly wound one, I stitched the sheer fabric overlay to the card and attached the "every heart is loving" text (also dipped in beeswax) above her hands. The card was done and I was satisfied. Now if I can just go back and figure out how to improperly wind a bobbin, on purpose, to reproduce my "new technique". :-)



Ciao for now.



Shelly


11 comments:

Sandy said...

Wow wow wow I´ve missed my words.
This is incredible.
Fantastic piece of art. I love it.

Jan said...

WELL!!! I came across your site through a message that you'd left on a Flickr site. This is absoloutely fantastic - happy accident or not it has worked SO very well. Love all the details - LOVE IT!

Shelly said...

Welcome to the blog-isphere! Happened across your work through Lynne's (Queen Be's) Flickr site. Love your work and the depth of your textures/colors. Very inspiring!

Lady Di said...

This ATC is amazing ... you're so talented. Might have to get some cards made and do another swap sometime.

thekathrynwheel said...

Wow, your blog is amazing. I'm adding to you my favourites right now! I love your use of beeswax and the stitching and the image transfer. HOW DO YOU DO THAT?!! I've had so many failed attempts at image transfer and have yet to succeed........ Looking forward to your next blog entry. Kate

Artsnark said...

Now how cool is that! Great card & thanks for sharing process (I love my versa tool & use it for everything). Your blog looks great! I'm a a little unsteady on my feet when it comes to the whole blogging thing & really appreciate your warm welcome :D And a hearty welcome to you as well

Anonymous said...

Came to you from Dayna Collins 'Alley Art Studio' blog....she's in Italy now. Sigh. Anywho....about loopy thread...by adjusting the tension of both or either the top and bottom threads, you can intenionally make a mess. From the photo, looks like the top thread tension was 'tight' and/or the bottom thread loose. Take a look at the machine manual (you still have it?) I like the use of different thread colors.....

Namaste

Kim Logan said...

Beautiful Shelly,welcome to the world of blogging..!!!!
x

Janny said...

Gorgeous, i love accidents
(in Art);o)

Sam Marshall said...

This looks amazing-love your work!

Seth said...

Wow! This is an incredible piece. I really love all the layers.