Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Starry, starry night



Not a beautiful picture, but just to show some of what I did yesterday and to make myself be accountable for doing something with this later on, here is part of the fabric paper(too big for all of it to scan) from my playtime. This was from an article in Cloth, Paper, Scissors. Forgot to see which issue, though I will try to remember to look it up and add it later to give credit where due. In this technique, you lay down fabric and then soak with watered down glue and use layers of paper pieces and then tissue paper with touches of thin paint washes. I want to challenge myself to pull some new techniques from my numerous magazines more frequently and have fun.

I'm calling this fabric/paper "Starry, starry night" for several reasons. One is that this song is stuck in my head from listening to one of the soundtracks to Ally McBeal. I've had that CD for years literally and not listened to it. I know it's been years because it was a Goodwill find for $1 and our beloved GW store has been gone for several years now. Ran across it recently as I sorted and have discovered I totally love this CD. I never watched this show, had(still don't) no idea what the show was about and didn't even know who starred in it until I researched this album a little more, but this music by Vonda Shepherd is wonderful. Includes several remakes of old songs and I like them as much as the originals and that is usually hard to say. The song Vincent(Starry, Starry Night) keeps going through my head, but I like every song on here. I also noticed that while listening to these versions of the old songs, I can understand the lyrics much better than originally. Not sure if it's because the singer is enunciating her words better or if it's because the quality of musical recordings has improved so much.

With that song playing in my head, I pulled a piece of scrap fabric I had which happened to be a blue cotton with silver stars printed on it. Then I started pulling some papers to use from my scrap folder. These I chose totally for their colors or patterns with no thought for the lyrics in my head. When I began to glue the paper down, I noticed that in the midst of them, were some sheet music titles including Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. Pretty cool how your subconscious will do things!The tissue paper I did choose for the developing theme and used some silver star patterned and some with a light purple and blue stripe(ugly on its own, but not too bad toned down here). Paint accents were silver and a blue metallic ink. Not sure what it will turn into, but it was a fun thing to do that didn't require much thinking.

Also wanted to show you my helper who joins me when I am posting on the blog, often sitting right in front of the screen. In this shot, I had managed to elbow her slightly to the side. What is really fun, is when she grabs hold of my leg to begin her jump up. Very attention-getting! I usually help her up very quickly to a less painful spot.

5 comments:

Holly said...

I love the art! It looks like something I might have to try! I laughed out loud at work when I saw the picture of Bama! HA HA HA! :)

Love you,
Holly

C.N. said...

Mom, this pic of Bama made my night!!! hahahahahahahaha. You should get a pic of her ascent up your leg :).

Emmey said...

Mom, that previous comment is from me, Emily. I didn't realize that Craig hadn't signed out of his account until after I had posted.

Jeanie said...

Your helper is so very handsome! (You know I'm a sucker for a pretty kitty!). I saw them talking about that in CPS too -- I'm glad to see what you did. Sounds pretty rigorous, but fun, and your piece is certainly lovely! Nice work!

Beth said...

Thats a cool technique! When ever my life slows down I sure want to try it. I also love the CD too. I will have to keep my eyes out and maybe I can find it in one of the used cd and book stores around town. Good music does help inspire me when I am trying to create.
xooxoxoxooxoxox

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