Monday, June 22, 2009

Scraps of Time



Picture me doing a happy dance! I'm happy with this fun piece. I'm happy my #8 is completed for the show on time and in time. Ha! Most of all I am happy that my paperwork is nearly finalized and the mad rush is coming to a close soon. So yes, I am doing a Happy Dance!

Now, a little about this mixed-media art collage. It all began with a small section of fused fabric scraps that just seemed to reinforce the Charles Caleb Colton quote about shreds and patches of time being used that most men would throw away. That's me. Perpetual pack rat, storing bits and pieces for a later use. It seemed appropriate then, to post the quote as a focal statement, so it became the 'stem' on my flower. So what if you have to stand on your head to read it. : )

I played around with possible flowers and came up with an experimental metal medallion I made from a sheet of ? aluminum/tin? I don't know what it is... I got it in the clock face/parts section of Fred Meyer. The square edges were too sharp so I folded them to the back in a round shape. The silver color was a bit too silver for my taste so I painted it with yellow metallic ink, attached a round wire ring to give it a bit of interest, and then sewed a glass bead for the center. A flower needs leaves so I sewed a protective tulle net over the organic leaves so they wouldn't crumble with handling. Tah dah -- flower done and machine sewn to an upholstery fabric background.

A couple days of agony passed trying to figure out how to balance the focal piece without overwhelming it. I finally settled on a 'garden path' of art clay cabochons I made 7 yrs ago for jewelry making purposes. It pays to be flexible! Although the clay is glued mightily, I wire-wrapped alternating stones to help tie the metal accents to the flower. The scrap of matching fused fabric behind the stones further aids the balancing act. That upholstered background was then spot glued and machine sewed to suede picture mat board. Fun fibers were twisted and machine tacked to the edge of the fabric.

Take a look at the photo again and imagine the piece without the gold rick-rack trim dividing the two sections. It needed the brightness, gold accent and defining border it created. Don't ask me why this works, it just does. Everything about this piece is 100% recycled supplies in my studio, including the frame. Funny how my temporary creative block jumped the hurdle and ended up producing one of my favorite pieces in this show collection.... It's About Time!

Hope you enjoyed the journey with me. Not sure what is coming next.. you will just have to come back for another visit and thanks for your interest in my blog.



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