My First Inchies

I have always been fascinated with these miniature works of art; especially mixed media pieces.  I had picked up a couple of miniature canvases on clearance awhile back - 2 inches by 2 inches and figured they would be perfect to continue trying my hand at encaustics.

 I still had bees at my screen as the beeswax melted!  Too funny.

  Using bits of lace, antique-style illustrations, fortune from a fortune cookie, oil pastels, glassine, and melted beeswax I arranged, rearranged and struggled to not melt certain areas, while smoothing out others with my heat gun.  I'm ready to proceed on a bit larger "canvas".  I'll have to check with my husband to see if he can spare a few blocks of wood from the barn.  :)

A Day in Detroit

This is the Grand Trunk restaurant in downtown Detroit on Woodward.

Shelby (Alexandra) and I spent the day in Detroit specifically to view photographer, Patti Smith's work and a very famous Vermeer painting, "Woman Holding a Balance" at the DIA.

We spent many hours viewing our interests and photographing artwork and architecture.  I was pleased to get many shots of stained glass pieces and church iconography for my own current series of collage.  I was tickled to happen upon a Rauschenburg painting; whom I believe is the creator of modern collage.  Here are some of his paintings - the collage is obvious!

Afterward, we walked around the area and discovered the Scarab Club, a long established society promoting artists of all venues; hosting exhibits, concerts, poetry readings and offering some work spaces for select members.  The beams of the lounge ceiling boast autographs of prominent artists like John Sloan, Diego Rivera, Marcel Duchamp, and Norman Rockwell.

 Finally, we found our way downtown to a lovely old pub called the Grand Trunk- after the railroad.  The atmosphere was that of "Cheers" where everyone would know your name.  The architecture was fabulous and barely touched over the years leaving a warm and authentic if forlorn appearance.  We both had a Veggie Riot sandwich; complete with toasted sourdough bread...yummy!

Clasp Dilemma

I am loving the way my short story and collage bracelets are unfolding....but the closures have become a stumbling block!  As much as I love finding a use for recycled items, the closures are another matter. I am concerned that the current closures (read: hair ties and buttons) will wear the edges of the bracelets through prematurely, so I am researching the possibility of a magnetic clasp similar to this bracelet that I purchased at Von Maur.

Here are two of the finally embellished collage bracelets that I am reworking to find an appropriate clasp solution.  Any ideas?  Please message me at: stacey.harper.35@facebook.com

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Sanctuary Series Continues

I am still fascinated by the mixed media and collage techniques I've been experimenting with in my Charleston photos of cathedrals.  I've decided to continue exploring using this theme -AND-I've actually named it the Sanctuary series.

My favorite new technique is working with melted beeswax in a very simple form of encaustic.  I actually just melted two small blocks of beeswax on low in a mini crock pot and painted away.

 

Here's a detail of the encaustic portion using beeswax:

 

I am really enjoying the process and I like this version better than the first one I created.  Look here to see it.