Hearts, Blogs, Music & Creativity

(click all photos for more detail)

Finally, after too long off, I was able to get back to some of the heart pieces and finish them up. It seems, of late, that once I get behind on one project, then it is a case of falling dominoes....everything goes and I get to try to figure out where to restart.

("Love among the roses")

These two 4"x4" pieces were not hard at all....they were those delightful types of work that seem to make themselves, where it is a joyous journey and the whole comes together without thinking much.

I have to admit, I like those. It seems I have more of the other type that I wrack my brain on and get nowhere fast.

A slight tilted view of one of these to show the depth and crackle from the heavily applied finish. The hearts on both are made of stamped and cut Paper Clay and painted with fluid acrylics. The edge is some acrylic color added to a gel medium, then dipped into a tray of Budgie Grit. It gives a nice earthy finish to something from a garden print paper!

Then I had two pieces similiar to what I have mocked up below:

I sat looking at these until I thought my head would pop. Somewhere between starting, being distracted, and coming back to them, the original idea had gone bye-bye. I liked the ones I had done in the smaller size (pictured here) but it did not translate into the 4"x8" canvas board.

Oh. What to do.

I pushed them aside as I sewed, cleaned, designed, went to the doctor. It wasn't until I was shoveling out the table the other day that I took a good look and thought, "You have to do something", so I immediately ignored the voice in my head and checked the Blogger Dashboard for any new blog updates to comment on! I happened to be at yoborobo's, drooling over some of Pam's new work when I decided to check out some of her links on the side of other blogs she reads. (this is called *serious avoidance* folks....)

Well, I happened to click onto, yes I'm right--just checked, Bone Head Studios, and this haunting and chilling and delicious song begins to play! WHO IS THIS???? It is seductive, eerie, beautiful.....reminds me of the evenings walking the streets of the French Quarter, just as the cool of twilight descends and purple shadows fall long across the narrow streets. It was a complete sensory overload...sufficient to send me romping to Amazon to buy two Jill Tracy CD's, as that was the chanteuse this amazing voice belonged to!

After the impulse purchase, I was flooded with vision on what I wanted these two stubborn pieces to be.....I certainly did not make them, the music made them.....

I wanted that feel of decay in the background, the rust of aging metal, the crackle of paint, paper that has seen brighter and and more pristine days.....and then the hearts and wings. (though it does not show, the wings on both have a light coat of the interference paint, making them glow when held *just so* under the lights)

The edges are finished in the fine German glass glitter in black, the crackle glaze did odd things on here; I don't know why, but it is fine for the pieces!

I still have to coat the hearts and wings with a final varnish, but here is the point that all these words are leading to:

Without the blog music, I would not have come to finish these in a manner I love and am most happy with.

There is much to-do about music and blogs. If your blog is strictly commercial, well, then you have a decision to make. But if you have a blog that is an expression of you,  just think what that music adds to it! And for heaven's sake, if you don't care for music on blogs, just turn the volumn down on your speakers before blog-hopping. Don't chastise the blog writers; those who have worked so hard for real expression.......maybe, just possibly, you might be inspired.

And find something that you can't live without.

And that makes your work sing too.

Can it get much better???

I think not.

Pax.