Song Without Words

There is soon to be one less unfinished project in my studio! Because assemblage is something new for me, I have trouble committing to projects - which means getting out the glue or nails and permanently attaching stuff. With bead embroidery, I usually know what will work. With assemblage I'm still stumbling around wondering if this glue or that paint or this paper will do what I want it to do. There is also the problem of making everything precious. If it's old, it's precious. If it's handcrafted, it's precious. An awful lot of vintage fabric and antique lace has been sold in my Etsy shop simply because I couldn't take scissors to it and use it myself!

OK! So, I've been working on this piece inspired by a tin type photo I found at the flea market last weekend. Ideas have been floating around in my head for the past week and today I made myself dive in. Here's the list of found treasures I've used so far:

A very old rusty tray - bought at a garage sale sometime in the previous decade
Tintype photo of a Victorian era couple - found at the flea market
Vintage brass flower brooch - also found at the flea market
Half a wire heart ornament - from the "valentine" table at the local thrift shop
Some drawer hardware pieces I've been hoarding
Vintage metal buttons with crowns
Old sheet music books and a 1920s dictionary
Pattern tissue paper

Store-bought necessities include:
Soft gel medium - matte
Silicone Glue
Bristle paint brushes
Smooch Spritz (not really a necessity...)

Also, water and rags to wipe things off with!

I started by sealing the tray with a coat of matte medium...

And then collaged some pattern tissue and a dictionary page to it...

Thinking it looked a little plain, I spritzed it with some Smooch Spritz in Spun Sugar...

Confession time: The Smooch spray was an impulse buy at Michaels. The jury is out on this one... not sure I'm a Smooch fan quite yet. 

After that, I got braver and started collaging layers of pattern tissue (I really love using vintage pattern tissue!!) and distressed pieces of sheet music. Totally cool...

Then I started playing around with placement ideas...
Here's an early idea (notice the tray hasn't been collaged yet) - the photo off-center, the heart cocked to one side, a layer of tea stained lace and antique wooden drawer knobs (this was before I found the cool buttons). Too busy... too cluttered.... I do love the lace and the knobs, though, and I'm keeping them close for future use.

I finally decided that the photo and heart should be centered and upright. A sweet song title was also found in one of the vintage music books - "Romance Sans Paroles" - which means "Song Without Words". Perfect!

As I was finalizing the placement, there was a corner on the tintype that was bugging me so I snipped the lower corners off! Eek! This is something the "old" me never would have done to something so "precious". Such a momentous occasion called for a photo...

While I still would like to add some lace to the piece - I am proud to announce that I committed and started gluing stuff in place! No turning back now! Here are a few shots of the nearly finished assemblage - I hope you like them :)

Just a few parting thoughts....

Antique photos are some of my very favorite "precious" items and I love this tintype photo. The people here were probably a young married couple. Not being very well-off, this was more than likely the only formal photograph they ever had taken. As I wonder who they are, their names now lost to history, I realize they are long passed. Were they happy? I hope so... Did they have a family? Where are their descendants? How did this photo come to be in a basket full of other miscellaneous ephemera at a flea market in Dubuque, IA? Why wasn't it precious enough to keep in the family? Just things I was thinking about as I worked on this piece...

On to prettier things!

*Phew!* Taxes are finished! Yay! I can start thinking about other things... prettier things....

I have been getting better about taking photos of new projects I'm working on. As much as I try to stick with ONE project, though, I always seem to have 3 or 4 going at the same time - all in various states of "unfinished". They are, as follows:

1. Unicorn jewelry project - Not done... not even close.

2. New Asian-themed shadow box idea - Getting there...

3. Really cool (IMO!) assemblage built around a vintage tintype - Just need the right substrate...

So, there you have it! Three that are in-progress, but... one creation that actually did reach completion is "Dreamers of Dreams"...

It is a sweet and simple found box with a Wade porcelain unicorn and millinery rose trees. The background has a layer of vintage book illustrations collaged with tissue paper and a printed quote from Arthur O'Shaughnessy (as said by Gene Wilder in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory): "We are the music makers and we are the dreamers of dreams."

My version of it leaves out the "and" in the middle (Geez, I hope that's OK!). It's a shelf sitter - perfect for that little one who loves horses/unicorns. You can find it in my Etsy shop with other handcrafted treasures!

So, back to work... thanks for stopping by!  :)

Sneaky Unicorn

After getting little box of jewelry treasures in the mail - I just couldn't help but pull out some of my stash and start putting some things together. Nothing is attached yet and I'm not sure what this little assemblage will become - jewelry? A wall hanging? Maybe part of a shadow box? Everything is gold and flowery except for the pewter unicorn peeking out to the right... Hmmm... what do you think?

Packages in the mail! Yay!

I truly love Etsy and I try to spend as little time on *that other auction site* as possible but the other day, I saw some stuff I simply couldn't pass up! The first to arrive was this offering of vintage jewelry...

Like, WOW! Right? There's no way you can blame me for being weak! Lovely bits and bobs - some in perfect condition, vintage and salable - they may go in my vintage shop. Everything in such a perfect color palette for me - browns, golds, touches of peach and copper... yum. I know I'll regret sending others but if you want to get one of these great jewelry lots for yourself - check out "barzone" on eBay.

Another eBay find was a lot of old wooden knobs - roughly 100 in all. I had been thinking of using wood knobs as "feet" for my assemblage boxes but they're expensive and I'm a cheapskate and I want to re-use and upcycle and buying them new at the store just doesn't count! *whew* So, this wonderful trove came along right when I needed it...

The box as I opened it

I just can't wait to get started using my new additions!

Finished!

OK, as promised, here are some shots of my finished assemblage! I love it and I hope you will, too :)

As I said before, it is, as yet, unnamed. Maybe you can help me change that. Take a look, leave a comment and tell me how the piece makes you feel or what word comes to mind when you look at it. My husband said, "Creepy..." Just so you know, I'm looking for something a little better than that (Sorry, Sweetie!).

Just a reminder, everything I used (except for paint and glue) is upcycled, salvaged, rescued or repurposed.... 

The box in regular light

The box lit - too cool! Notice how the light picks up the doll face :)

Close up of doll face, arms and foliage

Close-up of arbor - the roses have small LED lights inside

The back showing the switch, battery box and hanger

I'm on my way...

...to being finished with my second assemblage art box - I can't wait to share it with you! Look for pictures of the finished piece tomorrow - Yay! :)

So, I had some set-backs as things got closer to the end - I got a bit ahead of myself and skipped important steps only to have to go back and re-do things. And, of course, was too excited to stop and take many photos. Argh! I even had a detailed list with the ordered steps but I was impatient and wanted to see it completed! Anyway... here are a few in-progress pics.

The doll head and arms attached to a panel piece

After inserting the panel I used paper clay to cover the seams...

...and then painted the clay to blend it all in.

I also used paper clay to make bases for branches and leaves

Please be sure to stop back to see the finished piece! I haven't decided on a name yet - maybe you can help me with that. See you then :)

Drills, Saws and Paint... oh. my! :)

At some point in every project you simply need to haul out the big guns - aka. power tools. I love my cordless power drill but have always been a bit frightened of power saws - sharp blades moving back and forth (or rotating) at incredibly high speeds make me shiver a little. But yesterday was the day. The project either sat on my studio table in limbo or I needed to bury my fear and don my safety glasses - thankfully, I chose the latter.

Out came the scroll saw...

...and the Dremel...

...and I set to work getting things cut!!

I am using the lid from the wooden cigar box to add another layer to the back of my shadow box. This meant I needed to cut an opening so that the battery compartment and light switch could be easily accessed.

I can't even describe how pleased and relieved I was to have this step finished!! *whew*

After sanding all the cuts and surfaces, I primed...

...and painted...

I needed 4 coats of paint for good coverage - this is after the first coat

Now I'm painting the main box - hopefully the painting will be finished today - Yay!

I can't wait to get on to the assembly!

A New Assemblage Project Underway!

I thought I would share some in-progress shots of my latest foray into assemblage and shadow box art. This one is proving a bit more difficult, mostly because I want to add lighting. Also, I really want to stick to only using found objects and thrift shop treasures in these pieces - no new stuff (except for adhesives and paints - it's hard to find usable glues and paints second-hand!). So...

Materials I'm using so far -

• A wooden cigar box (garage sale) - The wooden cigar box turned out to be perfect for this project. I bought several at a garage sale, now I realize I should have bought every one they had!! The sides are nice thick wood - mahogany, I think - but the back is made from 1/8" plywood and I am able to cut openings using a utility knife. 

• Lights from a winter-themed picture (garage sale) - The lights are orange LEDs and have a battery box and a switch. The challenge with these is that I salvaged them from a garage sale find and the wiring was a bit corroded. Not being an electrician and certainly not accustomed to working with such tiny wires, the re-wiring has been a struggle but a great learning experience!

• Small glass arbor with dried flowers (thrift shop) - This piece had a horrible little corn husk doll inside. She was evicted.

• Ceramic figurine of Girl (thrift shop) - placed inside the arbor and decorated with some of the acrylic crystals.

• Silk flowers (thrift shop) - The orange LED lights are inserted into the flowers and the lit flowers were wired into the arbor.

• Plastic doll face and arms (thrift shop) - Painted a dark metallic bronze and mounted to a section of book board. They will be glued into the corner and then collaged with vintage papers.

• Glue-on acrylic crystals (thrift shop) - Used for bling where needed!

• Covers from Reader's Digest condensed books (destash from Mother-in-law) - The book covers are coming in handy to use as walls and dividers where needed. They are really easy to cut with an Exacto knife and the book board is fairly sturdy.

• Photo from an old magazine (thrift shop) - to back the arbor and hide the lighting wires and such.

So... here are some in-progress shots, not in any particular order but I hope you will enjoy seeing some of the process for this piece. Please be sure to comment! Enjoy :)

The picture the lighting was salvaged from

Finished my first Art Box :)

Thanks to those of you who offered advice on my first attempts at making some shadow box art! I finally finished it - Yay! I really like it and may offer it for sale on Etsy but I think, for the time being, it will live at my house. Anyway, I don't have a name for it yet - if you have any name ideas, let me know :)

Going to the Birds!

OK, so some of you may know that I have been thinking a lot about assemblage and mixed media. Not that I don't still love beading but I've really been jonesin' to do something completely different! Finally, today, I decided it was time to go for it and started on my first assemblage art box. I'm not quite Joseph Cornell, but, what the hey...

So I started with an old cigar box and cut the lid off. I decoupaged torn pages from an old dictionary and a Chemical Engineering text book on the inside and around the outside. Next I used some Distressing Ink from Ranger (color: Vintage Photo) and improvised a bit to make it look old and time-worn. Anyway... I sure wish I had stopped to take some in-progress shots if just for my own info!

Then came the fun part of trying to figure out what to put inside! I have finally been using some surfacing treatments I bought years ago (another time when I thought I wanted to do assemblage/altered art! You see, this is a recurring desire...) and painted up a cheapy bird ornament from the thrift store with "Blackened Bronze Metallic" surfacer from Sophisticated Finishes. Again, no before shot, but it turned out pretty nice!

I gathered some white river rocks, shells gleaned from beaches in the Caribbean, twigs from the backyard and a nest (a thrift store find and not a real one... shucks...) and started playing. The twigs were bound together with some tea-stained eyelet lace and found black wire. In front of them is a river rock "cairn". The nest is settled nicely on a beach rock with a white river rock "egg" inside. I didn't like the inside edge of the box showing, so I laid some more twigs along the back and added some shells.

Nothing is permanently attached yet - I may still change my mind about placement and contents but I like it so far. Another thing I'm not sure about is where my little bronze bird should go. I like her perched on top...

...but I also have the idea to have her suspended inside, like she's flying.

If I decide to go with her perched on top, I will definitely need something suspended into the empty space but I have no idea what!

Hmmm.... so what do you think? Let me know - and be nice - this is my first crack at this so don't rain on my parade, OK?