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.

In the Works

At this point, as I have sent off the night sky piece, I have a few ideals being considered for the next project....in no particular order (but I did number them):

1. Leafless trees: I'm afraid this is very much along the lines of the night sky but worse. I've tried this before and I always end up with squiggly lines that look nothing like trees or branches. I will be working with a photo this time to help me nail this one...
   
2. Circular post card (almost stealing this idea really from the hand made wedding invitations an old friend did): I have this great cutting board, exacto knife and circle patterns to create this and though it will cut down on the space on the back, I think it would work really well . I also have this incredible tiger graphic that has inconvenient text so the circle would be a good shape for it.
   
3. My wax stamp: I have a monogram wax stamp (you know for when you write letters and pretend/wish you were from another, older century..only with indoor plumbing). In fact, I have two. I was thinking that it would make an interesting feature to add to each piece.
   
4. For some reason I think I want to create a winking goat. That's it, the entire ideal.
   
5. Desperately seeking an ideal to justify buying a spool of smiley face ribbon. I got nothing for it yet and I am very afraid I bought it because I have a weird affection for ribbons and smiley faces. (Normally separately. Normally. heh.)

I wonder what will make the cut....probably just the goat.