Sixth anniversary
This one is all about keeping it simple.
If you're new to le blog, let me tell you that I try to make a piece of art for The Husband for our anniversary each year. This time around, I wanted to make this year's piece relatively quickly. Last year's was great fun to make, but it was quite labor- and idea-intensive. And for our three-year anniversary, I had to put off making the art until Father's Day.
But I didn't want to delay again. And now that I have Kids instead of A Kid, who knows how long it would take to finish. Even though we're pretty much settled into a routine with TwoBoo, he's still 4.5 months old. You never know when he'll decide he wants to hang out and socialize instead of sleep.
So I decided to go monochromatic. One color, varied textures. That way, I narrow down the possibilities in a creative way and maximize the time I have to actually put the piece together.
As background, I used this white paper with twig inclusions I'd bought years ago (when I first discovered my paper jones). I also found a lotería card, which could be toned down with a scrap of cream lace paper.
Then I flipped the orientation of a childhood picture of The Husband, in Photoshop, so the transferred image would face the right way. (Remember, kids, if you're going to do a transfer, your images are going to be mirror images of the original.)
I layered a picture of The Boy and me on top of the larger picture. Both images are transferred onto watercolor paper which has just enough texture to make it interesting. I just used a regular old (acid-free) glue stick to adhere everything. It's drier than glue or matte medium, and would not make the lace paper disappear on the lotería card.
Finally, I pinned the piece into a shadow box. It's a much better composition than the first shadowbox I did for The Husband -- that one I kinda threw in everything but the kitchen sink.
But where's TwoBoo? I know, I know. But I couldn't really figure a way to incorporate his image into the piece without it looking shoe-horned in. TwoBoo is in there -- I'm five months pregnant in this picture. You just can't see it because The Boy is sitting in my rapidly-shrinking lap.
Recurring artistic choices: transfers, textured & lace paper, bright colors muted (by layering).
If you're new to le blog, let me tell you that I try to make a piece of art for The Husband for our anniversary each year. This time around, I wanted to make this year's piece relatively quickly. Last year's was great fun to make, but it was quite labor- and idea-intensive. And for our three-year anniversary, I had to put off making the art until Father's Day.But I didn't want to delay again. And now that I have Kids instead of A Kid, who knows how long it would take to finish. Even though we're pretty much settled into a routine with TwoBoo, he's still 4.5 months old. You never know when he'll decide he wants to hang out and socialize instead of sleep.
So I decided to go monochromatic. One color, varied textures. That way, I narrow down the possibilities in a creative way and maximize the time I have to actually put the piece together.
As background, I used this white paper with twig inclusions I'd bought years ago (when I first discovered my paper jones). I also found a lotería card, which could be toned down with a scrap of cream lace paper.
Then I flipped the orientation of a childhood picture of The Husband, in Photoshop, so the transferred image would face the right way. (Remember, kids, if you're going to do a transfer, your images are going to be mirror images of the original.)
I layered a picture of The Boy and me on top of the larger picture. Both images are transferred onto watercolor paper which has just enough texture to make it interesting. I just used a regular old (acid-free) glue stick to adhere everything. It's drier than glue or matte medium, and would not make the lace paper disappear on the lotería card.Finally, I pinned the piece into a shadow box. It's a much better composition than the first shadowbox I did for The Husband -- that one I kinda threw in everything but the kitchen sink.But where's TwoBoo? I know, I know. But I couldn't really figure a way to incorporate his image into the piece without it looking shoe-horned in. TwoBoo is in there -- I'm five months pregnant in this picture. You just can't see it because The Boy is sitting in my rapidly-shrinking lap.
Recurring artistic choices: transfers, textured & lace paper, bright colors muted (by layering).
That's just weird.
When did Pez dispensers become fuzzy?
What if I get fake fur in my mouth while fishing out the Pez candy with my tongue?
Ick.
... The dark sacred night
There's a reason why I'm making you crane your neck sideways.
See?All done. We are pleased at the way this one turned out.
You might recognize the phrase from Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World:I see skies of blue... and clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself... what a wonderful world
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself... what a wonderful world
I admit it: I fell in love with the song when I heard it in Good Morning Vietnam. But it got me to get a CD of Armstrong songs.
And the "dark sacred night" really held me. It captures so many things I like about darkness and nighttime. Listening to a sleeping child breathe. The feeling just before you slide into sleep. Entering your home at the end of the work week.
I got rid of the first version of this page, but I did salvage the "stones" I made from those cinchers that close bags of bread at the supermarket. (I have no idea if that's what they're really called.)
I thought I hadn't used any technique I learned in LK's class, but then I remembered she suggested printing images on different papers. Isn't it cool how the pattern came through even more as the ink dried?Recurring artistic choices: textured paper, extra-lightweight paper (like lace paper), acrylic paint on paper, antique drawing. (I finally realized why I like the old-fashioned drawings. I grew up looking at them in the Trader Joe's mailers. Goofy, huh?)
That's the stuff.