Companion Pieces

Here are two pieces I just completed. I bought these intact frames at HomeGoods, and they had an inexpensive plastic background with a photo of a leaf on them. They were on sale, and I liked the frames, as the center piece stands out from the matted background. So I disassembled them, took the center pieces out, and gessoed them after taping around the border to prevent damage to the matte.

While the gesso was still wet, I etched into it with a wooden skewer, which exposed the black background. Great effect! I then used Quin Gold, Quin Magenta, and Cobalt Teal in fluid acrylics, and just played around with them. The heart is collaged papers that I had on hand, also stained with Quin Magenta and other colors.

I'm happy with the results--cheery looking, I think. And I love that I have recycled something and given it new life. They are now hanging in my bathroom. Odd place for them, but they seem to belong there!

Postcard for National Collage Society

I finally finished my postcard for the National Collage Society exhibition in July. The deadline is in 2 days! It's a commentary on the Gulf oil spill. The map is an antique map of the New Orleans area (thanks Nancy!). The background is gessoed tissue paper, painted with acrylics, and I think it resembles an oil spill. The white heron (one of my favorite birds) is a bit wrinkly, but then that sort of goes with the whole idea anyway. And on the cancelled stamp, one of the words that had been stamped on the cancellation is "hurts." It all just seemed to flow together.

But I realized AFTER coming back from the post office, that I forgot to put postage on the return Priority Mail envelope! So I won't be getting it back. There are just so many RULES when you enter any of these exhibits--and I am not one for rules when it comes to my art. Maybe I'm just not used to it, but it's hard for me to follow every little detailed instruction. I hope this doesn't put a damper on my exhibiting my work. That's why I joined the NCS in the first place. I guess I just have to learn my lessons, one by one.