2017 #8 Assemblage {by Alison Bomber}

2017 Topic 8: Assemblage

Classic composition with an elegant colour scheme and voila - Alison Bomber here to offer all that and more!

Hello all, Alison from Words and Pictures here to share an Assemblage piece with you this evening.  The definitions I read spoke about Assemblage as essentially being three-dimensional collage - 3D objects projecting out from the substrate - and from the first moment of reading that, these Lynne Perrella houses popped into my head.

My imagination took flight from there - the woman from LP036 (probably my top favourite image from Lynne's latest exquisite releases) trapped inside the buildings, her domestic life, her position in society.

Her joy lies in escaping into the grounds of the large manor house she lives in and gathering botanical specimens, or natural keepsakes to remind her that there is life outside the walls of narrow society expectations.


And though her life is regimented, and she tries to follow the conventions in displaying her collections by lining them up and labelling them, nature always breaks out of the mould.
 The twigs and branches refuse to be confined in straight lines...

... and so do the dried flowers, so carefully preserved.

The Frozen Charlottes are part of her own broken self - expected to behave in certain ways and follow certain codes, but feeling fractured and constricted by those expectations.

You can see how her obsession with the natural world has infected even her appearance, and she feels ever more constricted by her world into smaller and smaller spaces.  (She's stamped in a combination of Sepia, Coffee and Ground Espresso Archival Inks over Tim Holtz design paper, using the Tiny Houses die.)

I'm indebted to Amanda at Treasured Moments of Inspiration for the background here.  I had my layout all in place, but I was struggling with what should go on the canvas itself - design paper?  Brayering?  Stencilled texture?  My usual crackle?  But thanks to a moment of inspiration from my blog visiting, I now have these layered tags on my 12x12 canvas.

Over my tags, I applied a glazing technique picked up from one of Donna Downey's Inspiration Wednesday videos.  I used the PaperArtsy Matte Glaze mixed with successive layers of paint - applying and then wiping back with cloths both wet and dry, until I was happy with the look.  The paint layers were Nougat, Taupe and French Roast, knocked back at the end with Snowflake both as a glaze and, eventually, plenty of spattering.

I added harlequin stencilling with some watered down Snowflake and text stamping using script stamps from Hot Picks HP1006 and HP1217 so that the background would echo the Tim Holtz paper used to make the houses.

I used a variety of mediums to add extra depth and shading - a Pumice Stone Distress Crayon, a Ground Espresso Distress Marker, and a Sepia Archival ink pad, and the final touch was some French Roast spatter to add extra depth.

The Matte Glaze mixed with French Roast was also perfect for distressing the Frozen Charlottes.  It's really easy to get the look you want, as the Glaze gives you so much extended time to play.

I almost forgot the roofs - another stamp from the LP036, featuring the little cottage where she dreams of living out a simple life instead of in her father's great mansion with all the attendant privileges and duties.

So that was the journey my imagination took into the mind of this woman and her collection of natural found objects, as I was assembling this creation.

Thanks for coming along with me to share her story.  I really enjoyed piecing it all together, and as I gathered my objects, the woman became more three-dimensional to me as well.  I hope you'll be inspired to gather some three-dimensional stories of your own.

Alison x
Words and Pictures
Pinterest - butterfly crafter

What an absolute delight Alison, the beautiful story, and the stunning creativity in such a soft palette. Thanks for sharing your attention to all the fine details, depth created with such subtlety is an art all of its own, and you have totally nailed it! Stunning indeed! ~Leandra

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here?

The current topic link (Found Objects) will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, May 7th 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store.