Wednesday, December 15, 2010

I Dream in......white and gold

One of the very first collaborative art journals I got involved with, I Dream In Colors (IDIC for short, how clever we are), is coming to a close.  Nearly all have been completed and have either arrived back home or are nearly on their way.

For the past two days I've been working on pages for my dear friend Elena (who is also the ringleader of all these journal groups, and the magnificent host of our annual Keys4Art retreat) and I've been itching to do something in her chosen colors, white and gold.  Not until you do a project that is mainly white do you realize how many different shades of white there are.  Unless of course you work in the paint department at Home Depot.  Then I suppose you already know that.

As I'm one of the last to receive Elena's book, I've had over a year to collect items to include in my pages.  Not that I sat down with a plan.  I just gathered together everything I thought I might use and started cutting, ripping, gluing, sewing..... and here's the outcome:




The backgrounds on both pages were collaged from music sheets, dictionary pages and scrapbook papers which had all been distressed, inked, embossed and otherwise altered.  Since I knew I'd be journaling on the second page, I dry brushed some gesso over top so the text would show up better. 

I cut a bunch of flowers with Tim Holtz's tattered florals die.  I used gold tulle and white fabric with gold threads.  There is a little story behind that fabric.  It is leftover from a project I did for my BFF's wedding back in '96.  Her wedding colors were Elena's journal colors.  I like that.....adding a little bit of personal history to a journal page.

I found the face online and worked a lot on it with pastels and pencils.  The head is surrounded by some of the same die cut fabric, except for this "hair," I cut the petals apart and really tattered their edges with a distressing tool.  Although I did adhere all the fabric with fabric glue, I also went over everything with some machine stitching (not just to make sure it would all stay in place, but ever since I realized I could thread the machine, I look for excuses to use it!)

Other things in the color scheme I used:  white embossing powder and ink, gold ink, gold rub-n-buff, gold thread, white paint, white gesso, pearls, white gel pen, white and gold sharpie markers, gold ribbon.

14 comments:

Tammy D said...

What an interesting project Eileen. Looks like fun. You did a good job.

Diann said...

Your pages for Elena are just beautiful, Eileen! I personally love the gold and white color scheme and it was so interesting to read all the steps you took to complete her journal. I love that you used stitches on it as well!
Diann

Elaine A said...

Eileen -

I am in LOVE! What an absolutely beautiful job you've done for Elena's journal! So ethereal, so very fairy tale and anything is possible if you believe. WONDERFUL!

Elaine Allen

Elaine Akers said...

Absolutely beautiful!!! Love the colors and the face. Everything!
Thanks again for sharing your lovely art with all of us,Eileen.
Elaine Akers

Debby said...

Beautiful pages. They remind me of Lynn Perrella's work. Not sure if I spelled her name correctly but I like the layers you created. I know she has done work with whites and there are many shades of white. What a great journal project!

Vic said...

Very pretty!

Unknown said...

I love them! Great job!

Anonymous said...

These pages are beautiful, Eileen.
There is so much detail and technique. Love it!
Patsy

Lori said...

Oh, man, these are gorgeous! Those colors are really stunning together, and that face surrounded with flowers is stunning. Love the addition of the machine stitching! She's gonna flip over these...

2amscrapper said...

Stunning in gold and white. I especially like how you worked the petals for her hair.

MarleneMAZ said...

These pages are gorgeous! what a fun project to be involved in.

Patzee said...

This is such a beautiful creation! The layering and use of so many subtle shades of white are spectacular. How clever to slip thread into the sewing machine--the results are fabulous! These pages are the icing on the cake!!

teri said...

I love this style Eileen. Did something in particular inspire you?

gina goodling said...

I love that you keep pulling out and using your sewing machine, Eileen! You have such a wonderful way with words and I find myself smiling after reading your blog entries.
Elena will be so blown away when this journal arrives home!
XXO Gina G