Sunday, October 19, 2008

4 Generations

This layout of my daughter, myself, my mom and my grandmother (4 generations of eldest daughter of an eldest daughter) is going to DUCTAC to be exhibited in their upstairs gallery, seeing as my student hasn't completed her work yet and we have nothing to show the public on Open Day what my class is about. The background was made with instant coffee (about 5 years ago!) and was just perfect for this photo. I spraypainted the edges black and stamped platinum, bronze and gold ink with various flourish stamps. The photo and lettering were sewn by hand, and I glued the corner scrolls with Diamond Glaze (I just love that stuff). The little key belonged to someone's little cupboard somewhere and ended up in my stash of goodies. I already have had some more enquiries about new enrolments, and hopefully this piece will show the public that they can also make something beautiful for their homes. UPDATE: Turns out my piece wasn't hung - and let's rather leave it at that, folks.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Red Bull Art of the Can

I finally finished my entry for the Red Bull Art of the Can contest held here in Dubai every 2 years. I saw these gorgeous hexagonal canvases and bought a couple to work with. They looked like patchwork pieces, and that is how I became inspired to create "Sew Appliqué-Bull".I used some scrapbooking templates to get the basic shapes, which I then arranged in hexagonal patterns. Where I didn't have a suitable template, I made one. Then I traced and cut the shapes out of the cans (and did not cut myself at all). I had to punch holes in the cans to sew them on to the canvas, and the fabric sections were glued with gel medium as a temporary fix until I could handstitch them in place.
Lastly I decorated with beads and sequins to add some texture, more pattern, and oodles of character. I handed my 3 canvases in on the 15th October and the Red Bull staff were fabulous and very friendly. Hopefully my work will be considered for the end of the year exhibition.
My brain is already working on my entry for the next competition in 2010. I'm not saying anything now, but I will definitely make use of the 2 years' preparation time to work on something spectacular.