It has been a crazy time lately. Since I have been on a swap break, I haven't crafted as much as usual. I have done a few things though and will start posting them soon. You know it gets....work a long day, come home and make dinner, clean up (maybe - lol), then sit to eat. By the time I get some quality time in with Josh, I am beat. When I had swap deadlines, it gave me motivation to go up and craft any way.
I was craft skyping with a friend and we were talking about projects. She had started the beginnings of something for herself....and I said I want that but...with this, and this, and that, and this. (I don't ask for much - not). She agreed...I wasn't sure what to feel excited or guilty as it was to be quite a bit of work for her to do it for me. So to ease the guilt before I said something stupid like don't do it I will make one myself....I thought I could make her something in return. She wanted canvases in the different styles...ranging from cutesy to grunge. That is something I could do and got excited about it so I agreed.
Let's talk a little about style....
First about me....my style is somewhere in the industrial grunge area. I am not a dainty person and prefer bolder colors. It took me a while to really discover my style and even then it is still evolving as I learn new things. When I first joined the CMB I had to answer a list of questions for a swap including one that asked what my style was. I had no idea what a style was. So I put down what everyone else was putting down - shabby chic - such a lemming -lol. Once I learned what it was....not a fan or at least in part.
Truth about styles and art. If you look at different creations, you will see hybrids of styles. I think that is really cool to take the elements of different styles that you like and combine them into one. The thing is some styles have have similar elements with very subtle differences. For example: Let's take vintage for an example. Vintage is aged either in actuality or made to altered to be that. When I first thought about vintage, I thought of grandma wall paper and lace doilies. Not necessarily my thing. Then my mind was blown when I found out that there are all kinds of variations of vintage....and I fast became a lover not a hater. The spectrum of vintage goes from grandma to grunge (think Tim Holtz - much of his style is a vintage grunge)and a whole lot in between. So don't box yourself into a category and experiment and blend styles to find your own.
The canvases....
On the series of canvases, I will be using these little pressboard ones that I had in my stash. Since they will be a gift, I like that it has the beveled edge for a more finished look. You can easily use small canvases or even chipboard. When doing these small canvases, I usually cut chipboard into 6 x 6 squares to get 4 canvases from one sheet. If you are using the chipboard as a canvas - treat with gesso first before adding tons of sprays and inks..etc.
It is my intention to incorporate various techniques into each of the canvases. Many of the techniques can be used for a variety of styles and can be changed by simply changing the color palette, image, embellishment, etc.If you are going to play along, you don't have to buy a ton of supplies for each style. For the most part, things that we already have can be altered to fit a style. I will also be showing some money saving tips along the way if you don't have a particular product in stash.. The tutorials will show everything step by step and include tons of pictures. If there is an element you don't like or something else you want to substitute for your own....go for it. By no means do you have to duplicate what I made to follow along. Please post a comment with a link to your blog if you posted your take on the style. I would love to see the different variations.
First canvas: I made a canvas in a shabby chic style with a vintage feel. Shabby chic typically uses a softer palette along with layering which usually includes pearls and/or lace. Shabby chic doesn't have to be vintage but lends itself to the combination of the styles. Hopefully I will have a chance to post the tutorial tonight along with the pics (after The Walking Dead of course.) For now I am off to play and get some things done before the work week starts.
K
No comments:
Post a Comment