PaperArtsy Blog year in Review (Topics 9-12)
Hello again from PaperArtsy HQ,
We are in the middle of a series looking back on the year of creativity on the PA blog, and tonight's curator is Alison
Bomber. I'm sure you have already seen the last 2 posts, but I urge you
to take a look as we are all really struggling to choose highlights!
The posts have been stunning! Enjoy! ~ Leandra
Hello all, Alison here from Words and Pictures
and tonight I'm sharing my picks from Topics 9-12: Vintage Neutrals,
Paper Dolls, Enshrined and Transfers. I missed so much this year as I
had a lot on, one way or another, so this has been a great way for me to
catch up with just some of the amazing work here on the PaperArtsy
blog.
This
first topic is certainly right up my street. As most of you will know, I
spend a lot of my time in the neutral palette, and vintage comes more
naturally to me than modern. I was really honoured to be double-featured
in Leandra's introduction to the topic... so it was wonderful to see
what people created in the Vintage Neutral zone. For some it was
business as usual, but for others it was a real step outside their
comfort zone - which is often when exciting things happen.
My first pick is this amazing monochromatic panel by Nikki Acton, using the intricate Eclectica³ Seth Apter stamps. It's a brilliant example of how textures and layers, lights and darks, can give incredible atmosphere, detail and interest to a piece, proving that you don't really need colour at all.
Topic 9: Vintage Neutrals
My first pick is this amazing monochromatic panel by Nikki Acton, using the intricate Eclectica³ Seth Apter stamps. It's a brilliant example of how textures and layers, lights and darks, can give incredible atmosphere, detail and interest to a piece, proving that you don't really need colour at all.
Autumn Clark offered up a stunning nautical altered notebook cover, with a brilliant weathered plank technique into the bargain. Check out how perfectly the vintage style of the Eclectica³ Scrapcosy stamps fits with the shabby chic look of the finished book.
I adore how
Debs Wainwright uses vibrant colour in most of her work, but she
changed direction to give us a deliciously soft version of vintage
neutrals with her beautiful patchwork fabric needlecase.
With those scrumptious lacy textures and Hot Picks images, it looks as
though it could have come straight from an 18th century lady's boudoir!
Additionally
we saw so many beautiful vintage neutrals in the entries from all of
you. Sadly, there isn't space to honour all of them here, so do remind
yourself of them by visiting the challenge post, but I couldn't resist featuring this tag by Julia Azenor. Its gentle sweetness fits the topic theme to perfection (and I promise I'm not biased by her use of my Eclectica³ Alison Bomber quote!).
Topic 10: Paper Dolls
With
my family background in dollshouses, you'd probably guess I'd be drawn
to dolls... Well, I've never actually been that keen on real dolls
(those waxy complexions, those staring glass eyes!), but I was
definitely a Paper Doll fiend when I was younger. I was never happier
than with a pair of scissors, snipping out new outfits for my
two-dimensional paper dolls. So, again, this was a topic which provided
so much delight for me.
After all those neutrals, my first choice had to be this vividly eye-catching page spread
by Kate Yetter, using the miraculously detailed Lynne Perrella women as
her Paper Dolls. What a feast of colour, layers and feathery
dimension.
Jo
Firth-Young managed to clothe her Paper Doll by brilliantly adapting
her own JOFY flowers and feathers and vases to make a whole wardrobe of
stylish, versatile outfits. Do visit the post
to see the variations and accessorising - it's better than a fashion
magazine spread. There's even a shot of the Paper Doll admiring herself
in a miniature mirror!
There was some more clever stamp adaptation going on in Etsuko Noguchi's wonderful Santos Cage Doll.
She combined Hot Picks images - one of the Clockwork Bird's heads
added to a vintage corset - to create her Paper Doll. And the
traditional caged stand brings us into three dimensions too.
Plenty
of the PaperArtsy designers used the fabulous Tim Holtz Paper Dolls in
their creations (including me), and they featured amongst many of the
entries to this challenge too. Again, do visit the challenge post to see all the fabulous contributions from around the world. It's mean to have to pick a favourite, but this project by Ann Chuang, using Eclectica³ Kim Dellow flower stems, couldn't help but win my heart... you see, it's got a dollshouse as well as the dolls!
Topic 11 : Enshrined
Helen Chilton created a fabulous shrine dedicated to the extraordinary new characters from Darcy's fevered imagination. This couple from the recent Eclectica³
Darcy release have been given a rainbow altar on which to display their
charms... I just love that curly wire soaring over their heads.
Quirky, original, and so worthy of worship!
Miriam Grazier also headed down the quirky route with this hilarious shadow box shrine.
Those number counters will certainly come in handy when all you can
really count on is your own advice, coming from the voices in your own
head! The whole thing was created with only a handful of paints and
just one Hot Picks stamp set. Keep talking to yourself, Miriam... it's
working brilliantly!
We went from quirky to truly touching with Lucy Edmondson's commemorative shrine
to the soldiers of the Great War. The vivid red Hot Picks poppy glows
amidst the gentle blues and greens, and memory of the lost soldiers is
carefully preserved, hidden away in the drawer at the foot of the
shrine. An evocative piece beautifully appropriate to the topic.
There
were fewer entries for this challenge - summer holidays, anyone? - but
those that played along were equally inventive and varied in their
interpretations. Hazel Agnew gave the Fresco paints a workout to create
this fabulously crackled, gilded box of treasures for her
granddaughter. It's well worth a visit to see the altered seashells and other treasures hidden away inside.
Topic 12 : Transfers
Carol Fox used Fresco Finish Matte Glaze for her transfer technique, and created this dreamily romantic journal page
with Eclectica Sara Naumann stamps, Seth Apter paints, and a Kim Dellow
stencil. It's like a walk in a summer garden, but with added
wistfulness from that fragile beauty in the photograph.
There
was oodles of both inspiration and information from Alison Hall, who
experimented with various ways to transfer images onto oven-baked clay.
She used Ink & the Dog stamps and other gathered images to create
these fantastic cards featuring her gorgeous clay tiles.
It's
really extraordinary how much variety and how much inspiration there is
to be found in the responses to the PaperArtsy topic challenges, from
designers and entrants alike. I've really enjoyed being reminded of
projects I did see and discovering new ones which I missed at the time.
In fact, I've had so much fun that I'll be back with some more
favourites in a couple of days time!
Alison x
