Mixed Media Art. Photography. Inspiration.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Finished Mixed-Media Collage With Gothic Arch



I love inspiration.  I love how it works.  Although I'm not all that fond of it on the days when it eludes me, but I've been learning how to make those days a lot less frequent.  I find the more often I create, the more I stay inspired.  Right now I have at least a years worth of ideas floating around in my head, and in various journals and notebooks.  Ideas for art and jewelry, and even sewing...if I ever bring my machine out of "the closet"(yikes).  


This collage came out of one of those inspired times.  This is the one I showed a lil' peek of in the last post.  I tore a page out of "Frenchy" (my new name for my new favorite French book to use for my art...thanks again Melanie!) to use for a card, when I fell in love with the photo of the Gothic arched window on the page. (I am a sucker for beautiful windows, but if it's Gothic AND arched... sheesh... I'm gone...)  So something made me pick up a water-soluble graphite pencil and start sketching said window straight onto the page.  Oooh... I likey! 

 So rather than getting back to the bird card I was making, I started a collage on a 9x9 inch piece of wood just waiting for such inspiration!  I already had all the papers, etc. out for the card so I used those to complete this collage.  I drew details with the pencil, then smudged the graphite with my finger, and wet some of it with a brush to create shadows.  I added Titan Buff (lt. beige) paint to add highlights, then I glued down an embroidered circle along with bits of trim.   I sealed the collage so the pencil doesn't continue to smudge or wash away.


 The beautiful feather was found months ago in our yard and begged to be a part of this collage.  How could I say no?  I love the pop of blue that it adds to this otherwise monochromatic piece.   To hang it, I added copper wire attached with copper tacks. 




Voila!
A wonderful new collage thanks to Frenchy's beautiful pages and a big heap of inspiration!

9 comments:

Diane said...

Love it! and that feather is perfect!

Mandy said...

lovely..it look sall wintery...beautiful as always...xxx

Rossylalah said...

Very, very gorgeous! Yes the blue gives it that hard, weathered stone look. My poor old sewing machine only comes out to sew paper these days!

Kelly said...

Hi Esther;
I love this piece. I am a HUGE sucker for windows too! The feather really looks gorgeous on this piece and fits in beautifully! Well done!
Have a wonderful week Esther.
Hugs and blessings
Kelly

Anonymous said...

Oh I really, really L O V E this!

Very much. You always make me feel very inspired!

Kristin said...

Oh my goodness! This is awesome! Yes, awesome is the best word - wonderful too ;0 xoxo

JessiVille said...

Beautiful, E! I adore gothic architecture. Your exquisite touches of mixed media are truly amazing! Another gorgeous piece.

Sherry said...

I'm so inspired by looking at every angle and every element of this piece. It's stunning!

Anonymous said...

So pretty - and I love love love the feather detail!