"Faded Memories"
"Faded" was the prompt for this week's Inspiration Avenue team challenge. The title 'Faded Memories' came to mind and I used this title as inspiration. It also encompassed this month's Creative Everyday theme of 'passion' by using my passion for trees, story and mixed media experiments. I wanted to tie in various memories into a piece of mixed media art. I used an old table mat that held sentimental memories because it was bought new when we moved into our cottage. I then chose two photos I'd taken that were tied to personal memories. Then faded & tinted them before printing out. Here is a before picture to give you an idea:
I've had a bit of a rough, tiring week feeling ill and looking after my little boy who had a fluey virus (he is much better now). My creative time was also cut to barely nothing. So I really wanted to have fun experimenting with art materials and surfaces; I knew it would cheer me up to get messy and creative. As illustrated below I covered the mat with a couple of coats of gesso tinted with Pebeo acrylic. I painted directly onto the worn surface so it would add extra texture and enable me to know the mats memory was still held beneath.
I then used scrunched up aluminium foil to create texture in the wet paint followed by adding my own mix of acrylic using the foil. (Drying in between each layer added).
I glued my photos on the painted surface using gel medium and then wanted to tie the memories together. This made me think of string and so I used string to create a doodle like frame around my photos.
Here is a different photo of the result. It is difficult to show the textures and layers but hopefully the photos of the process help to create an idea.
My hands (& workspace) covered in paint & glue I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. Six days of little creative or meditative time (along with the virus) really affected my mood. The thrill of experimentation, the feel of paint/glue, the playing with colours, images, ideas and words all helped give me a boost. My next blog post will reflect on ideas I could employ as emergency measures ready to use during difficult health times. Simple things that can help get me through, like journalling or doodling. I've written about similar things before but have a few new ideas I am mulling over and will share soon. Meanwhile....
- What creative outlet never fails to lift your mood?
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