I have dropped this artwork, three bloody, motherf**king time. SERIOUSLY! It was smashed and broken beyond repair (well, almost). But, I was the little train that could; and I just kept going. Bot proud of my self for persevering, because it was a close one, let me tell you! 😑
I finally, finally, (seriously…sooooo much work went into these; layer upon layer upon layer!) FINALLY finished my handmade envelope book.
I wanted somewhere special to store my little sketches and artworks that weren’t on display…and so I undertook a massive endeavour. I didn’t just make one artwork/ envelope…oh no, a book has multiple pages; and my book included six envelope inserts. Annnd all six needed to be alike in both design and degree of finish. Boo.
However, that being said, I love the final product. I’m happy with myself for persevering and commitment to finishing! So, yay! Go me!
I finally, finally, (seriously…sooooo much work went into these; layer upon layer upon layer!) FINALLY finished my handmade envelope book.
I wanted somewhere special to store my little sketches and artworks that weren’t on display…and so I undertook a massive endeavour. I didn’t just make one artwork/ envelope…oh no, a book has multiple pages; and my book included six envelope inserts. Annnd all six needed to be alike in both design and degree of finish. Boo.
However, that being said, I love the final product. I’m happy with myself for persevering and commitment to finishing! So, yay! Go me!
I have a god-daughter turning 17 soon; 🎁 time. So, I decided to make her a journal and pair it with a beautiful fountain pen.
The considerations for functionality, were, to put it mildly, bloody annoying!
Have you every tried to write on a bumpy, uneven surface? Not one of the most pleasurable, or easy of tasks. I needed to keep the cover as flat as possible and not use any bulky embellishments in the cover’s construction.
And so…frustratingly, my usual creation and layering process had to be repressed.
Definitely not an easy business, for when I create, I completely lose myself in the ‘flow’. Hopelessly, I succumb to my artistic state and then I am lost to it and in it. However, this time, I had to resist and stand a little further back from the lure of the ‘flow’ and so, I had to ‘do’ less and ‘think’ more…oh, the horror.
(Back Cover)
(Inner front page)
When someone I hold dear, asks me for something of the arty persuasion, they truly know, not, what they do.
[…] because:
a) I have trouble saying that word…you know, that word, the one opposite to ‘no’.
AND
b) I don’t, ever, ever, ever, ever do things by halves. In fact, I may be known to go, well & truly, over-board. All of the times.
Every.Time.
Soooo, one of my teacher friends wanted a name plaque/artwork proclaiming the title of the room’s occupant.
I.did.not.disappoint.
However, maybe, just maybe, the required function of this object, may have (just a touch…) gotten way-laid; and when I say way-laid, I mean, gone beyond all hope.
*shrugs*
Oh, well.
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…
There’s something thrilling about immersing yourself in a new artwork; perhaps it’s the potential…
Blending is the process of layering colors and merging the layers of color together with layering techniques and/or combination of blending tools. As a result you get richer images.
Layering colors gradually, building the layers of colors up using light to medium pressure can give your works an illusion of depth, deepen colors, modify colors, can give the work an impression of light or luminosity.
Burnishing with color pencil can create a beautiful rich glazed look. Burnishing is layering multiple colors and then applying heavy pressure with a light color pencil or with a tool. The wax melds together and causes the drawing surface to become slick, filling up the entire tooth of the paper’s surface.
Burnishing works best with a light colored pencil, such as cream, white, light grey or cloud blue, apply heavy pressure over layered colored area to be burnished.
Use the metal scoop part of a ceramic clean up tool, a spoon, or any other smooth metal device and apply heavy pressure in circular like motions to the colored layers to be burnished
Grae Hastings 