2018 #21 Matchbox Art: Poetic Boxes with ESA {by Alison Bomber}

 2018 Topic 21: Matchbox Art
Poetic Boxes by Alison Bomber

Love how Alison's matchboxes are windows to such a wonderful wintry scene! It's amazing how this theme just offers up so many possibilities. As Christmas looms, perhaps you will find time to create your own matchbox wonderland! ~ Leandra

Hi everyone, it's Alison here from Words and Pictures with you today, and I'd like to share with you some words and pictures... and they're all boxed up.

I'm sure when I signed up for this theme a few months ago that I had a plan, but when I came to making my project, the idea had vanished, so I set out on this with very little idea about where I was going.  But I'm really very happy with where I ended up.  The organic shapes of nature (my usual preference) contrast strongly with the geometric framing of the matchboxes.  It makes the eye work a little harder to see what's going on, and to find the poetry moving through the boxes.

I started out by experimenting with laying out the matchbox drawers on a wooden plaque, 30 x 15cm (6 x 12 inches in old money).  I quickly realised that I could have another size of frame if I snipped up the matchbox sliders to make little backless boxes.

I glued down my arrangement and gave it all a rough coat of gesso.  I find it helps me think better about what I want to do next if I have a nice "blank" canvas.  Note to self... next time, paint the background before sticking down the matchboxes!

I knew I'd be using Seth's stamps, so I thought I'd use some of his paints into the bargain.  I applied Double Denim Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic with a paintbrush, knocking back with babywipes.  I had planned to do some crackle, using this darker blue as my underlayer, but I decided I really liked the way it was going and dumped the crackle idea.

I dry-brushed on some Glacier Ice Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic and then added some Snowflake Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic coming in from the edges, and by now I was seeing an icy winter sky starting to form in and around the boxes.

No more process photos I'm afraid, as I got too wrapped up in the process!  I sponged Snowflake paint onto Seth's fabulous swirls from Eclectica³ {Seth Apter} 09.

When I looked closely at the image on the stamp set, I decided they're actually glasses with water in, with the photo taken from above, but for my purposes they're gusts of snowy wind, whirling across the sky. (edit from Leandra: the image is actually empty paint tins stacked outside PAHQ, a photo Seth took when he was visiting us!! Yup once you know what it is it's sooo obvious! But, they make the perfect snowstorm too!)

I even managed to bend the stamp enough to get some whirls inside some of the boxes.

I knew for the main stamping I'd have to borrow some techniques from the recent tissue paper theme.  I wasn't sure at first what to use, but my eye landed on the fabulous bare branches of the tree in Eclectica³ {Seth Apter} 10 - and then I knew!

I stamped my trees in Archival Jet Black on some white tissue paper and started to add them into some of the frames.

In places, I let the frame cut off the tree, and loved the bold effect.  It really teases the eye, and demands that the imagination make sense of it.

But where there were more frames below or to the side, I sometimes allowed the image to carry on - either by adding another bit of the stamped image, or by completing the trunks of the trees with a Sharpie marker, or both.

I also tissue stamped some of the detailed stripe stamp from ESA09, and used it as a sort of washi tape effect.  Again, in places it "travels" from one box-frame into the next, and in others it just cuts off short.

In some places it's layered over the tree stamping (delights of tissue-stamping, the layering is really easy), and in others the "washi" stamping is the main focus of a whole matchbox frame.

Time for some words.  The Rainer Maria Rilke quote from my Eclectica³ {Alison Bomber} Set 01 Trees & Flowers set seemed perfect.

I painted a coat of Little Black Dress Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic onto some card, stamped in Archival and used Wow Bright White powder for my embossing.

Positioning the bits of text took quite a while.  I toyed with gluing them on the tops of the matchbox frames, but eventually decided I preferred them slightly hidden.

I like that the eye has to work to follow the thought across the panel.

It means you catch sight of other little details as you go.  Of course, the word "alone" had to go all by itself, alone, in a box.

And the end of the thought lands nicely in the corner - a very satisfying resolution.

I rubbed my Jet Black Archival ink pad across the tops of the matchbox frames to give them some more definition, and some white spatter finishes things off.

As I said, I really love the contrast of the organic natural shapes with the geometric strength of the matchbox frames, and I also like the dimension it gives - allowing for snowy highlights and shadowy depths.

I have to confess it was a little tricky getting the paint in all the corners I wanted it to go.  And the tissue stamping is a bit fiddly too, but it does have the advantage that if things don't go according to plan, you can just scrape it all off (while still wet) and start again.  I loved the surprise of where this piece went.  It took me in a direction that felt very different - so I loved the challenge of that.  I hope you'll mess around with some matchboxes, framing different elements.  You might surprise yourselves too.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope to see you again soon.

Blog: Words and Pictures

Pinterest: butterfly crafter

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