Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

So previously I mentioned that I had this idea for a circle shaped piece and since it's been received it is now eligible for posting....

Below is Spirit Animal. It's (another) one of the pieces that didn't turn out exactly as I imagined it. I thought of having the tiger background with all these orchid and exotic flower cut outs dotting it. However, my lack of patience did me in, (I could only cut out so many flowers before the peaceful delicate blooms made me very very angry with an exacto knife in my hand) and then what I did have didn't look right (too many flowers (heh) and very gaudy).

So without the number of blooms I'd imagined and unhappy with its appearance....I thought about the person I was planning to send it to and got this:

A tiger with a flower barrette. (Of note: I used another piece of card paper to back this when scanning....)

This is made from coral colored card stock, a tiger graphic from a newspaper-like thingy and magazine flowers. I started with a plain old glue stick and end up warping it when I applied the gel medium, which I swiftly combated by smoothing it back out and then layering on gel medium (thicker than any makeup used on Broadway...including Cats. In fact, if you see the white-ish looking sections above is where it wasn't completely dry when I scanned it).

In a way it really is more than simply a tiger with a hair trinket especially when I think of its title, Spirit Animal, together with the image of this fierce tiger with the flower in its hair. I had one of the moments where I was layering on the gel medium, thinking of the receiver and it was just seemed so perfect.

This was a fierce person who can be extremely restive or boldly defending and has a feminine style which is a part of her that isn't as blatant as the rest of her tiger-ish personality but is there in more subtle smaller things. (Note: I don't mean style simply in the clothing sense or physical appearance. I would explain it more but I can't...it's that French saying, a certain je ne sais quoi. (Do I automatically sounds smarter by using a French phrase? My guess is no because with my luck I used it incorrectly...))

Time to throw a little deep, or not so deep ("after all you expect the puddle to deepen, into...I don't know,  a deeper puddle..." some book I read some time), thought into this:

I think the hardest thing to reconcile is the difference between how you see your self and the way other people perceive you. Often times you can miss all the good when you look in the mirror (which is probably okay sometimes because if you thought you were the most fabulous creature every time you looked in the mirror, you'd be unbearable to be around).

Anyways. I guess it comes down to Spirit Animal being a positive representation of a friend.... I like it and it turned out better than I had imagined.

Second Chances

I don't know if the difference will be apparent here but I used the IF piece to play with the gel medium I bought to seal some of my collage work...

Of note: I should have paid more attention to the comments on warping  caused by the mix of medium and water. It produced a thin, shiny coat but was not exactly what I wanted. So after that first coat dried and then spent some time under my over-sized art books, I did another thicker coating of the medium with no additive. Resulting in the above image...

Note the damage because I have no patience and the collage stuck to every damn thing....

I've gotten a bit better but only a bit, as you will see when I post the piece that started my investigation into sealing and glossiness.

Hello Again.

So I can no longer blame my mom for anything as she had left North Carolina...

I picked up the gel medium and played with it last night. Nice glossy surface and it's, as advertise, an excellent adhesive. (I was unsticking stuff as much as I was glossing stuff over.) We'll see.

Walk? has also reached its destination and I have yet to experience any ridicule from that corner. Apathy for the piece or apathy towards communication? I can't tell.

Lastly. (God I have nothing to say but it's kind of a duh to myself as I haven't worked on anything new in days. Although, I have a few ideas, one with ribbon, one with fabric pieces and one based on the remains found in a hole punch...I'm thinking confetti)

(Shoot I forgot how I was going to wrap this up. I got all caught up in my asides.....)

(Ha. I remember now.) I spoke with MMC, who was supposed to get the hideously compelling Sleepless Night, Bedroom Ceiling. (Skype is pretty amazing, I got to actually see my friend for the first time in almost ten years...and yes I am now concentrating on the decision to buy a new laptop so that I have a computer fast enough to talk as well as see on Skype.) The piece most likely ended up at their old apartment, and she said it would be a surprise for the bachelor in residence there now. I think I will have to make something new for her (my mom also kind of ordered me to and since I love my mom...).

So, I'm back at work...I know, you are so very lucky to be able to bask in my brilliance again. (The wonder of the internet, I can say that and not worry about keep a straight face.)

Glossy!

I have found my glossy sealing agent (so no need to buy a bunch of clear nail polish). Basically I'm taking the advice from the expert village channel on youtube (which looks really cool --- I must get back to the little black dress video soon):

Shiny is now withing my reach. Wahahahahaha.

The Night Sky Incident

This is a case in which the receiver has no clue what's going on and since I've finally pronounced it finished then promptly mailed it off, my night sky piece is fit to be posted.

The first mention of this piece appeared in Snags and Cake, followed by another bit in Brain Drain (which you can go read or stay tuned because both pretty much dealt with the same problem -- I can be boringly fixated on subjects). The first time I stepped away from this creation, it was beyond obvious that it was boring as all hell. Thus generating two posts in which I chew to death my frustration over what to do to fix the complete snore fest that was my night sky piece (strangely enough night sky isn't the title but then again the person who receives this should get the point).

Anyways, in the end I added more "stars" and called it a day. I like it (not as much as googly eye Paranoia) but it has its place: a perfectly predictable melding of black, blue, red pastels with white pastel "stars" then glossied up with fixative (the glossy kind). Admittedly I may have over sprayed this piece with fixative but it ended up adding some character (and I survived the fumes!) so it's all good.

So this is Walk?.

It's simple and direct: one hopes the receiver of said piece doesn't completely trash it...and that they get it.

One of the best parts of living in the rural mountains of NC is the number of stars I can see on a clear night. Totally beats out Syracuse...so I win right?