Saturday, December 6, 2008

AVOWED


Curiosity begets creativity. A recent purchase of a new product, late night restlesness and a slew of fabric scraps. Put them altogether and what do you get? A new ATC.

I've been meaning to start on Christmas themed pieces. With that intent, I grabbed one of my myriad of Madonna and Child images. Didn't want to do another gel medium transfer. Don't want to get too predictable. So I decided to try something called "Transfer Ink!", a Stewart Superior product. Bought it from Collage at Art and Soul in Portland. It is a straightforward product . . . clear liquid in a spray bottle. If not for the smell, I'd swear it was just H2O. It probably is just water with some sort of perfumey additive (scent is similar to Febreeze). Certainly need to figure it out because it is a bit pricey, as with all these boutique products, and if I can kitchen-reproduce it, you bet I will. Maybe I will just try Febreeze. But I digress . . .

To do the transfer, I used an ink-jet printed image placed face down on a piece of Japanese sketch paper. Liberally sprayed the back of the paper until the image showed through, per the instructions, and then burnished the back with a brayer (and my fingernail). This transfer gives a nice muted watercolor effect, which is an interesting change from the gel transparency method. I then randomly stitched it - along with two scraps of aged, patinated paper scraps - to a craft felt background. For finishing touches, I embellished it with pieces of fabric, pom pom ribbon, mica and beeswax dipped text. Felt an itch to stitch a little more, so I free-motioned a heart in the center and then hand-stitched (very inexpertly, I might add) a rusted wire heart to the whole piece. Christmas being right around the corner, my mind turned to the meaning of the season, the promise and purpose behind the holiday, and, alas, the title was born.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and looking forward to spending time with friends and family !!

Ciao for now.

Shelly

21 comments:

Anne, Bulles dorées said...

I love this !!! It's beautiful !! thank you for sharing it !

Artsnark said...

Great Piece, Shelly! Here is a link on how to do alcohol transfers. I've not tried it but it sounds similar to this product.
http://redhead7.blogspot.com/2008/06/tutorial-for-using-our-collage-sheets.html

Sandy said...

I´m a big Fan of Mica Tiles. This is awesome. So incredible piece of art. Love them.

thekathrynwheel said...

Ha ha ha febreeze! I might just try that! But seriously, this is stunning :-)

Anita said...

Your work is quite a feast for the eyes! So much detail put into such a little area, lots of creativity to admire. You are truly one talented chickie :o)

Lady Di said...

Love it, love it, love it ...

Sam Marshall said...

Beautiful!

Shelly said...

Thank you all so much - I am very honored by your comments.
And extra thanks, Diana, for the history on Anne Sullivan . . . was not aware of that part of her story . . . simply amazing. It was fate for her and Helen Keller to meet.
Happy creating all !!
:-)
Shelly

Cindy said...

Shelly - I tried to leave a comment here yesterday but blogger wasn't acting right. This card is just beautiful! Thanks for stopping by by new genealogy blog.. another mayflower ancestor huh? Maybe we're related :-))))

Cynthia said...

This is fabulous -- those late night creations seem like they are made in another time.
Thank you for the great description of your process, I'm just learning so this insight (& humor) is just the ticket!

:)cyn

Nadya said...

This is lovely & mystical! I am just joining an ATC group - inspired ;)

Judy said...

Love all the stitching - like the transfer too.

Lori said...

beautiful work!
ah yes sleepless late nights...sometimes I make my best work by moonlight.
I will have to try the transfer ink, thanks for sharing.

Lori said...

I will add you to my friends blog list too, thank you for coming by and saying hello :)

Anonymous said...

What a lovely piece. You are so good at taking lots of elements and layering and arranging Just so--Fantastic eye and talent!! Thank you for sharing this beautiful little piece
Lynne

Little Pink Studio said...

This is such a stunning piece of art.
Thank you for your description of the process in which you created it!

Susan Sager Brown said...

Beautiful work! I'm so glad you found me through Artivity. I would
hate to miss an opportunity to enjoy your art. I've linked you on my blog roll. Your comments about my porn star ATC were hilarious. You know I never even put LONGWOOD together with the subject....teehee
Best holiday to you,
Susan

EWian said...

Wonderful ATC!

EWian

Lorri said...

Wow, Gorgeous work Shelly!! Love it so much - it's soft and pretty, yet so gorgeously vintage too.
Thanks for visiting my blog again, and If the 'artivity' is me - then I'm so happy to have helped you connect with Susan, her work is awesome too!
xo

Dayna Collins said...

Oolaalaa, such a beautiful little piece of art.

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