I recently demolished a VERY old Jarrah chest-of-drawers; it was over a 100 years old. Wait, before you start, It was very broken & rickety…don’t worry, I’m not a complete heathen!
But I didn’t throw out a single scrap or even a splinter. There’s some quite large boards, all beautifully stained & distressed from a century of use.
Such a perfect blank canvas for me.
Soooo, what to do, what to do?!
Well, I guess I’ll just start, here goes…
(unfinished piece, 2017)
MIXED MEDIA: coloured pencil, gouache, ink, clay, gesso, polymer clay, leaf pressings, feathers, wood laminex, applique, false eyelashes, snail shells & jewels on distressed, recycled wood.
I spent a long time simply making all the different elements and types of leaves and so, when it came to constructing the 3D elements of this piece, I kept hesitating. What if I couldn’t get it to work? It was a question I didn’t really want answered…
But I finally braced myself and…voila. It’s working so far; now for the faces and filling the little gaps within the petal mass. Wish me luck…
Grae Hastings 