Tuesday, April 6, 2010

The Crow Girls

This is my first journal entry for the 2010 Circle of Friends Journal Rotation and I had a blast with the theme. Cheryl's journal is all about phrases and how they inspire us...and let me tell you she has some crazy phrases to pick from. I went through all of them, pulling out some that struck me and then, when I pulled out the very last slip of paper I knew I had struck gold...or shall I say black. The phrase I selected was "The Crow Girls" This is an image of some of my Great Great Great...Grandmothers. My own Grandmother told me the story of this photo a few years ago and I have been enamored with it ever since. Back when this photo was taken it was considered "making it" if you owned a black silk dress, could get dressed up and have your photo taken. Well, that is what these women did and when the photo was developed someone said they looked like "Three Black Crows". So I twisted the journal phrase and the family phrase and came up with this piece. I knew automatically that I wanted to do a "spinner" I've never done one of these before and the geometry and mechanism behind it had me stumped, but only because I was too focused on the art. As soon as I stepped back and thought out the spinner portion the rest came easily. I didn't want people to have to spin the actual photo, so I wired the image and spinner stuff and had an opening on the back so you could spin a button but I used a glue that was really strong and when I went to twist the wire through the button it broke (the wire, where it was not attached to the glue, so the wire is glued all the way through). I am keeping my fingers crossed that the hole piece doesn't fall... To start I crackled the paper, old fashion style with crackling medium. Then I added the black "dots" using a stencil and black paint. While all this was drying I created the crows stamped it twice on grungboard, cutting them out, then painting them with black paint and covering them with Modge Podge to get it nice and shinny. I covered the Dress Form Die Cut with black glitter but first I painted it black. I did this in case the glitter did not cover completely, you can't see any holes this way. After all this it is finally time to put it together. I affixed the photo using my newest toy, wax! I painted some extra wax around the edges of the image and then dribbled some all over the page. I also used the wax to affix the crow girls names. With the photo in place I affixed the spinner on the back and then attached all the other bits and pieces. Finally the front was done. To allow for easy spinning I placed spacers (small pieces of wood) on the back of the front sheet before attaching the back paper. On the back I printed out on transparency the "Three Black Crows" story. I layered this over a corresponding paper from the front (where I attached the phrase I used. Attaching the phrase is one of the "rules" of this journal. I used a Tim Holtz plaque to make it stand out and covered it with diamond glaze). The lace is some that my grandmother handed down to me I'm very stingy with it but thought it went well with this piece and it is symbolic (to me at least). As a finishing touch on the back I added some black flowers that I received in a Paula's Kit Club. They are fabulously detailed, the picture does not do them justice! Well, I am very pleased with my first Journal entry for 2010. I hope Cheryl likes what I have done and that all the other members of Circle of Friends get as much enjoyment (and learning) out of this journal as I did. I am entering this into the Darkness Inspiration Challenge Blog, this week it is Dark Birds, last week it was Dark Ladies...I didn't make that cut off.


31 comments:

Lori Saul said...

What a wonderful mixed media piece devoted to the dark birds- beautifully designed and presented. Perfect for both themes

indybev said...

I was fascinated with the story of the black silk dresses, and with your "journey" to completion of this piece of art. Thank you so much for bringing this piece to our challenge. It's a great addition!

Gayle Page-Robak said...

This is so beautifully created...love it.

K said...

beautiful collage!

Dan said...

What a wonderful page!

Riet Harikini said...

This is very artistic.

Judy said...

Thanks for sharing your art journey to create this amazing piece, truly a stunning work of art!

Sandy said...

Stunning creation.
Looks brillaint. Love them.

Rika said...

Fabulous collage!

Rosie said...

Wow! I love it when you put so much into a page that it's instantly recognisable! You have done a great job with this page - bravo!

johanna said...

so many details - a fantastic piece!

Femmy said...

great collage!!!

Astrid Maclean said...

Great piece!

mary.kg said...

Belle création, les éléments sont nombreux , j'aime beaucoup !
Mary.KG

http://truutske.blogspot.com said...

Fantastic collage!!
Great job.

Taluula said...

Oh what a fantastic and interesting story about the black silk! And I love how you have translated it into this beautiful page. Bravo.

LivArtNow said...

What a wonderful mixed media piece!! love the textures and all the gorgeous details to look at!!
Well done!!

Linda

creativelenna said...

Caroline, that is very clever! I like how you approached the theme. Nice way to start!
: ) lenna

Tuire Flemming said...

This is fantastic! Very clever!

Jester said...

Caroline, this is amazing. I loved your collage as soon as I saw it and then to discover it spun around, well ... superb. The story behind it just helps to emphasise your piece. Brilliant!

Janet Ghio said...

What a great story about your great grandmother and the black silk dress and I loved reading about the process of making the collage.

VS said...

Such a lovely piece & so much work. Great Blackbird piece friend!!! Thanks for sharing...
Smiles,
Susie

Lynn Stevens said...

Love this! and to be able to include a vintage family photo a plus!

Zuzu's Blog said...

nice Job Caro... so much work and what a result.. your right to be proud of it.

Anonymous said...

wow I can see why youre so pleased with this page...fab idea with the spinner!

Daphne said...

Beautifull piece!! So much work, but it looks great!!

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Your crow ladies are wonderful.

LazyKay said...

totally inspired and all the better for having a 'real' connection to the phrase.

xxxxxxxxx

ScrappyDandyDoo said...

Wow this is fabby Caro :D
Julie xx

Nancy Dooren ~ Nans said...

Wow! This one is very creepy! Love it! Thanx for playing!

Anjas-Artefaktotum said...

Sensational, fantastic, perfect collage with so much details, it's a great work
Hugs Anja