A house of junque

I am very happy that Simon Says Stamp and Show managed to help me get my mojo back.  This week their challenge was to create something with a house, and I took the bait.  I was surprised to find that I had several house items I could alter.  I started all three, but two proved to be problematic.  At least I finished up this little guy. 



I found this small house at a garage sale or flea market somewhere along the way, I think I paid a dollar for it. The first layer was two types of  tissue tape and some torn scraps of paper.  I then followed up with spray inks in several colors. 



The found objects, which I lovingly call junque, were added with coarse modeling paste in some places and glue in others.  More ink was added to color the paste and then wiped off of a few of the objects. 



Then for the fun part.  I flooded each little area with resin.  I have to say I just love how this adds another glossy layer to the piece and keeps your junque sealed in.  The pictures I have are not that great so it may be difficult to see.  Winter blogging is going to be tricky, it gets dark so early and I really don't like how a flash shows online.  My editing skills in picnik have some room to grow, I know these last two shots need some help.



I just love doing assemblage work.  I am always on the hunt for little things to alter, you will be surprised what you can find once you start looking.  I am hopeful I can resurrect or fix the two other house projects I managed to destroy while finding my mojo.  Stay tuned to find out!

Cheers,

Rhea

Halloween Treats

Today I am sharing a quick post with you all.  I have not been all that productive the past few days, busy with life I suppose.  I have a really great group of gals that I meet up with once a month.  Our Halloween meeting is right around the corner and we are exchanging ATC's.  I am really looking forward to getting a little piece of art from my pals.  I am also extra excited because I won a treat on Laura Carson's blog. It is a small hand made book, perfect for displaying ATC's.  Talk about perfect.  Laura's art is awe inspiring and she is quite generous, sharing her creations with her followers regularly.  Please check out her blog, you won't be sorry!

It has been a while since I have worked on a canvas this small.  I have to say, I have gotten used to a larger space to express myself.  I love the holder I have these displayed in.  I picked this up at a really cute shop called Elements, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  It is worth checking out for sure. 



  

Another tiny Halloween project I completed some time ago is this small altered tin. 

I think the lid needs something, now that I have really observed the photos.  I also see that one of my ATC's needs more work.  I find it interesting how much a picture can reveal about a piece of art.  It can really give you another prospective!





Happy Halloween to all my loyal followers! 

Cheers,

Rhea

Sugar Skulls

A recent theme I have been enjoying in my creations is Day of the Dead style art.  This all started with one little charm swap that I recently participated in.  While researching, I learned a lot about this holiday and found tons of inspiration in the theme.  It also reminds me to celebrate my ancestors, who have passed and I don't think I do that enough. 

While shopping one day at a big box store I noticed some paper mache skulls that were on sale in the Halloween section.  I did not purchase them at that moment.  Upon going home, I could not get the idea out of my head to create my own "sugar skull" with one of these.  I went back the next day and bought two skulls all for the bargain price of three dollars.  I knew I wanted to incorporate some flowers for dimension, so I also bought a few stems that were on sale.  Here is what I created.

I started by simply coating the skulls with a very heavy duty gesso.  I then aged the skulls with a "magical potion" that was given to me by a colleague at work.  I have no idea what it is, I only know that it is a homemade concoction that she uses in her Mexican folk art.  It provides the perfect aged look to any piece. 

I then planned out my use of flowers and glued them on.  Very simple really.  

Then came the stickels, and I mean a lot of stickels.  I wanted these pieces to have a lot of texture and a bit of shine, so this is the medium I decided to try.  This took some time and some patience.  Stickels take a long time to dry, so I could only add a little "doodling" at a time, for fear of messing it up.  I did not plan the whole design out, just added my different line patters bit by bit.  



I hope this entry inspires you to try something new with stickels or skulls.  I am truly amazed that my perception of skulls has changed so much due to learning more about Day of the Dead and by creating beauty from something I would not normally gravitate too.  Because of this project, I am also using stickels in a few more works in progress and I am really happy with the results.  What do you think???

Cheers,

Rhea