Friday, December 28, 2012

I Hereby Resolve...

I resolve to CRAFT MORE in 2013.

2012 got away from me. In a HUGE way. It was a very busy year at work, and I felt physically unorganized in my space, which I'm slowly fixing. That, more than anything else, keeps me from spontaneous crafting and playing in challenges.

So here I am in front of God, Grumpy Cat and everyone saying that I won't let that happen in lucky 13.

I actually started today.

I did something I've SO wanted to do for so long - Trudy's Eggshell Mosaic technique. It's so beautiful and vivid and I eat a lot of eggs, so it's sort of the perfect craft storm.

I will say - you need to have patience cleaning the eggs. It's not a Cinderella moment that goes quickly with the help of bluebirds - but it's SO worth it!

I created this little panel for an exhibit for the Austin Fiber Artists Challenge Group - our challenge was to create ANYTHING that had a little dash of indigo in it.

Hello - have you met me?

But before I put it in its final home for the exhibit, I had to see what it looked like on a card!


Pin It

That awesome greeting is from Feel Goods - which you should see in your Spring Mini by now. I LOVE that set. Holla if you NEED it. :)

The panel contains three things I love: blue, orange, and a signature - the one shell I left white, in the Navajo "flaw" style that lets the bad spirits out of your art. I've always been fascinated by that, since humans aren't perfect - and neither is our art.

The Navajos believe in the Greek maxim "Nothing to excess " believing that overdoing a thing brings bad luck as an offense to the spirits. For the same reason nothing must be too perfect. A rug or basket design with a solid border must have a break in it or flaw to let the spirit of the maker, who has spent so much time and energy, escape. It is natural that things which bring one a livelihood should also have some restrictions.  (Source)

So I composed the mosaic on Basic Black cardstock with white eggshells and gloss Mod Podge.  Then after the Mod Podge was dry, I dropped Sail Boat Blue and Terra Cotta Adirondack Alcohol Inks where I wanted them. Be cautious - the ink travels, and you'll get used to how far it will go without getting muddy.

After that dried, I spritzed it with Gold Glow Smooch Spritz - my fave spray ever - and sealed it with more Mod Podge.

OH - and the most important step. Before doing any of this, I glued the Basic Black panel to a piece of SU chipboard that comes with our Designer Series Papers - this kept the piece from warping while I was applying all the wet mediums to it - it was perfectly straight the whole time.

For the final exhibit piece, I constructed a frame using black chopsticks - remember my chopstick book? - and black twine. Then I wrapped that with a piece of black waffle paper and attached the mosaic.


If I get a pic of all of our pieces put together - they'll all be mounted to a big strip of fabric - I'll share it with you!

But now, in the spirit of this week's Ways To Use It challenge that inspired me - tell me what YOU hereby resolve!

Loveyameanitbye


7 comments:

  1. Stunning as a card, but I love love love it as a wall hanging!
    Too cool that you left a piece of shell white and explained the meaning behind it.
    Happy that you tried my technique.
    You ROCKED it! :)

    Hugs,
    True :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Beautiful Lydia!! I cleaned some egg shells just after the tutorial was posted, sad I haven't used them yet, thanks for the inspiration!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this!!! Especially on the black.

    ReplyDelete
  4. love it!! Like the mosaic.


    jennik

    ReplyDelete
  5. What do I love? Besides your piece of art here? I love that it's a good thing for art to be not perfect. I ALWAYS have a flaw in my work. I'm consistent that way. Every piece of cross-stitch I've ever done has at least one mistake. And my cards? Pffth, too easy to mess that up. I must be part Navajo.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I hereby resolve...to have Google Reader actually open with the various other tabs, so that it doesn't take me till Sunday to click on it and find this as a "recent" post! Wishing you happiness and fun with your resolution. Laughing at Cinderella and the bluebirds, I'm looking for some just now. I love those colours together, the blue and orange just sing in harmony.
    Happy New Year - and thank you for the beautiful whiteness on my mantelpiece :D.

    ReplyDelete
  7. me too. ME TOO! The crafty space clearing up & the more crafting in 2013. In a big way. I also hearby resolve to learn how to use the new nikon that the Hubby bought me (and stop being mean to it because it is not a Canon) ;-) I love your exhibition piece and how it looks on a card. Gold smooch spritz sounds like a must try. You are a constant inspiration. Thank You. And Happy New Year! oxox

    ReplyDelete

Every time you leave a comment, a new LOLcat is born. ALSO - don't panic if you don't see your comment right away - I moderate my comments to keep those spammers out, so your comment will show up in short order. Unless you're linking me to Russian brides or Nigerian princes.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...