I have noticed an increasing trend in both the paper and digital collage world of giving our ancestors fairy wings, headwear and wands. While there has been a diversity of headwear and wands, the fairy wings are pretty much all the same. Yes, they can be made out of different papers or materials, but essentially, they are the same shape and kind.
As a digital artist, this had me thinking. With so much at our fingertips, why are we making the same wings as everyone else? Could not anything, in fact, be turned into wings? Of course, some of this also applies to the paper artist.
As I am fond of turning fancy fonts into doodles, the idea of turning fonts into wings instantly sprang to mind. So I gave it a try, and it worked! My first ancestor fairy now has lovely filigree fairy wings, made with the capital letter C of an antique font (sorry, I do not know the name of it as this font came in a package of mixed-up fonts).
So, what else can be turned into wings?
Leaves and flowers, of course. This is a common practice in doll making and they do look gorgeous.
What about a musical instrument? Those lovely pear shapes of string instruments would work well. Then there are ribbons and bows, lace medallions and doilies.
How about a pair of open scissors? The shape lends itself so well to wings. The handles can be the upper part and the blades the lower part.
The bowl of a spoon, or the prongs of a fork?
Or a tape dispenser? Yes, I know what you are thinking but if you look at some of them, they have lovely curvy shapes. Speaking of office equipment, how about the handles on a bulldog clip, or perhaps paper clips?
An inkblot or paint splash, especially one that has drips running down in interesting formations. Scroll work of any kind, be it keys, gates, the backs of chairs, brackets. Maybe fish tails or fins. Even sports equipment would work. Tennis racquets, golf club heads, oars, table tennis paddles, just to name a few. Aeroplane wings, especially if you were inclined to make a more mechanically minded fairy.
And, last, but not least, the ever-present insect wing. But do not limit yourself to butterfly/moth, dragonfly or ladybug wings. Any insect wing will work and some are truly fascinating.
Credits: Art Journal Pockets Starter Kit, various Tangie Baxter Kits, Key & Ribbon unknown.
I hope that you too will experiment with ‘other’ wings. I would love to hear what you have used or found. Feel free to share in the comments.
[Posted by: Karin]
Our Art Journal Pocket Crew has been busy this month creating beautiful things. This AJP was made by Zeneva Kovic for our “A Day in the Life” November Challenge. She did a lot of journaling on the cards of an average week in her life.
Supplies:
Tangie Baxter & Co, Art Journal Sheets No. 136 (Available free this month for challenge in the Art Journal Pockets Workshop)
Tangie Baxter & Co, Art Journal Sheets No. 120
Tangie Baxter & Co, Melt Into Springs
Tangie Baxter & Co, Mint to Be
Rebecca McMeen | Biscuit (Art Doll)
For more information on Art Journal Pockets visit Art Journal Pockets- Tangie Baxter & Co.
[Posted by: Terri]
I’m excited to share with you one of my favorite things to do: make background papers. Background papers are the foundations for my art journals, cards and Art Journal Pockets (even more so as there is a lot to say on that 2.5”X3.5” rectangle). I want to be able to get my story across on those 9 pockets, so foundation is important. Like most of you have experienced, I’m sure, time can be limited and I’m always looking for a way to get it done faster without losing quality or impact. A while ago, I was rushing to complete a project when I looked down and saw some amazing color and dimension on my spray sheet. I quickly took it to my scanner and have been playing and saving my spray sheets ever since. I hope you find some inspiration and wonderful background papers in this share.
I want a good color blend and the illusion of some great texture. Why the illusion of great texture and not the real thing? Over time gesso, gel medium, paint, etc. will react with the plastic sleeves causing distortion and discoloration. So illusion it is for my AJP backgrounds.
One of my favorite things to use are my spray sheets. I have several in use at any given time and I’m hard pressed to discard them unless they’re falling apart. They mutate over time and are layered with paint, gesso, washi tape, masking tape and bits of paper that have adhered to the wet substances. One of my spray sheets is a mat for one of my die cutting machines and it’s my all time favorite, in size it’s 12”X12” and will probably never fall apart.
My Spray Sheet
By taking the spray sheet to my scanner and scanning in just a portion of the image I am able to get an abstract background with a lot of depth. After scanning I open the file in PhotoShop and crop it to 2.5”X11” and save it to my desktop. Then with my Silhouette Software (a photo editing software, PhotoShop or PS Elements will do the same thing), I import and copy it so that I have three images on one 8 ½” X 11” page and then print it out. This gives me 9 - 2.5” X 3.5” backgrounds for my AJPs.
This is the portion I chose for my AJPs
The next image is my completed AJP, I left the last three cards blank so that you see the texture and dimension achieved in the individual cards.
I love using Tangie Baxter and Rebecca McMeen images. I love Tangie’s freestyle and wild random color, Rebecca’s feminine, soft and muted colors. When I am doing AJP pages I also want my fingerprint on the cards. It all creates a synergy, (synergy being - the total effect is greater than the sum of the individual effects.), backgrounds are a wonderful way of achieving this. For this page I used kits from TB&CO: Tangie’s “Wizard Boarding School” kit available in The Vault, “Bestiary of Beasties” kit and Rebecca’s “Wren” kit, the pen
is from my stash.
For more information on Art Journal Pockets visit Art Journal Pockets- Tangie Baxter & Co.
[Posted by: Sandi Kelly]
