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Wednesday 10 May 2017

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

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33 comments:

  1. This is beautiful Alison. Love that taggy background!!

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  2. I love this! So Jane Austin or Emily Dickens ish. To me, anyway.

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  3. Absolutely gorgeous Alison!!

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  4. I love this piece, Alison. It reminds me of the first time I read Gilbert and Gubar's The Madwoman in the Attic. I read through your post, totally entranced by the symbolism of the piece, which is also exquisitely made and looks wonderful! Thank You for an inspiring and thought-provoking assemblage and a terrific blog post. xx

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  5. Fantastic inspiration as alwAys Alison. The treatment on the tags gives such an ethereal, ghostly appearance and the list of objects to follow up with distressing is fascinating.
    As usual, there was something that I didn't know about..Frozen Charlotte was it? Sounds like a dessert!
    Love your story and the mood that you have conveyed! Just perfect! Xx

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  6. Thoroughly enjoyed reading the post. Love the colour palette. This is a piece of art to stand and stare and admire and soak in all of the elements.

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  7. Beautiful with as usual such fantastic commentary. Thanks for the mention re my tag background and love the colours you've done yours with.
    Love
    Amanda x

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  8. What a stunning piece of work this is Alison! The details are completely absorbing. I am captivated by them. Lx

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  9. oh my! This is beautiful Aliso - I love it!

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  10. Oh Alison, you have outdone even yourself with this absolutely stunning creation!! I love the subtle background tones (the tags look amazing), the wonderful embellishments and the LP lady is gorgeous. I just love everything about this piece - those twigs are such a lovely touch too! Anne x

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  11. Enjoyed this so much, Alison. The depth and layering add to the overall effect so much and there are so many tips as to how you have achieved this. I love your story. You have created such a unique piece;i love it.

    Sorry for being so behind with commenting.

    Lucy x

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  12. Beautiful outcome, love it!

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  13. I love how you start with the focal image, Alison, then your process is determined by where that image takes you. I love the creative journey you take us on. It's a wonderful perspective on that stamped image. You really 'read' it. I should think LP would love to see your interpretation of it. Love that background. I must try and find that video too. A wonderful, thoughtful, inspired piece.

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  14. This is absolutely beautiful Alison. So much gorgeous vintage detail and layering. Love it!
    Fliss xx

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  15. Beautiful and magical!!! Thank you for sharing.
    Love ♥

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  16. I love your style - you are quite the designer! Your canvas is very attractive!
    sandy xx

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  17. Dear Alison, it is fabulous, I love the background created with the tags, and glace. it looks like a foggy day, and so beautiful, with the nature elements you gathered, to show, this beauty she surrounds herself with ,to handle a life, not wanted. I love that stamp, too, and have it, too. The sepia, --houses, and dried leaves tells me of her faded life- so brilliant !!xoxo

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  18. This is completely stunning, a beautiful work of art. I love the layered tags & all the elements & images work perfectly together.

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  19. gorgeous, thanks for showing, great tut.

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  20. AN UTTERLY BEAUTIFUL PIECE ALISON! AMAZING!!!!!

    oxo Susi

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  21. Alison, this is just remarkable - right down to the last layered tag! The leaves and baby's breath are great details and work so well with your color palette. This set is on the TOP of my wish list and you keep making me want it more and more.

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  22. totally love this fabulous creation and purchased the stamps at Ally Pally......stunning

    Annie xxxx

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  23. Now you must realise how difficult it would be for anyone to select your best ever piece Alison, but right now this is my new favourite!! Stunning design and detail!! It's not easy at all to achieve so much layering whilst working solely with those gorgeous muted neutrals. You are such a wonderful storyteller, with the actual ingredients mimicking the lady's tale. Very classy, clever and beautiful. Nicola x

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  24. Beautiful! Love how you worked those paints to get such a lovely appearance to your tags! Of course the LP lady is in a wonderful little house! Chrisx

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  25. Wow, what a fantastic project and story Alison! I love every last little detail and most especially the amazing background of tags on the canvas. It is totally beautiful and packed full of inspiration.

    Hugs
    Lesley Xx

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  26. What a fabulous post and 3D creation, I love the path your imagination has taken.. Wow. Thank you Alison! xx

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  27. AN outstanding canvas Alison!! I sit here in awe,soaking in every detail of this stunning layout! BRAVO!!
    Jackie xo

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