Recycled Dream Catcher Page - WOYWW #295

Hello Artsy Friends,

Wednesday snuck up on me! It is 6:00 AM and I woke at 5:00 and have been taking photos and editing madly so that I can get this post linked to Stamping Ground and 'what is on your workdesk Wednesday'! I decided not to take a photo of my actual desk because there is not anything on it. I was up late finishing my Lifebook 2015 week 5 project. Once I got started on this one I just could not stop until it was done!
The instructor for this week was artist Rachael Rice and her idea was to create a page featuring a Dream Catcher. Having grown up around American Indians, and living in the Southwest of the United States, I am very familiar with this imagery and the legend surrounding this object. In fact, I own one. However, her idea of the traditional spiders web to catch dreams as being the modern day mandala image really captured my imagination. Normal I would not do a step out of another artists art, but in this case the only similar thing to her piece is the idea of a dream catcher image with our words for the year, so I think it is ok. So here is my finished page.

I really wanted to work with the idea of a mandala image but I didn't want to print and color one or something like that. I wanted it to be colorful, holding as many of the colors of the world as possible. I got this idea to use some of my hoarded papers to make it. These papers were all 'trash' like experiments I hated, deli paper pallets with dried up paints, and used paper towels and baby wipes. I made a template of a very thin triangle, figuring if I put enough together eventually it would make a circle. I used mod podge instead of a more expensive medium in case it totally didn't work..lol. But it did! 

While my mandala of many colors was drying, I started on the background collage for my piece. I picked very neutral colors of papers so that my more colorful circle would stand out. Book paper from a beat up book, some brown packing paper from a amazon box, some printed music, and a piece of scrapbooking paper. I glued them to 140 pd watercolor paper in strips, leaving the top open as it would be covered anyway. Then I brayered over the whole thing with acrylic titanium buff color. I added a little pearl ex super copper pigment powder with a baby wipe while it was still wet.

Next I needed to cut out and attach my mandala. I knew I would use a dinner plate for the circle...but how to make sure it was centered? I ended up cutting a circle on scratch paper and folding it in quarters to find the center. Then I used a sewing pin to poke through the center of my mandala and then the center of the template to line then up. It worked great. I added some punched out copper metallic circles and some line work with black and white pens. Then I sponged the edge with black archival ink. I attached it to the background and put it under something heavy to dry.

Now to make my feathers. The first one I cut out of the same copper metallic cardstock. I used a bone folder to press in the center stem and accents onto the cardstock and then highlighted them with white. I sponged the edges with black ink. Then I added my word with rubber stamps. My word for the year is 'Grow' and these other words are things I intend to do to support my main word idea.., Like actively listen.

My next feather I collaged on two recycled deli papers, half and half, and then went around the edges with my white pen. I put 'reach out' as in reach out to all of you whom give me so much and knowledge!

The next feather I used a scrap of left over Gelli print on newsprint packing paper. The word 'accept' to allow myself to be open to what others are offering.

My next feather has the word 'love'. In this case I mean self love...trying not to be my own worse critic. I used a piece of deli paper scrap that had some paint scraped over it from leftover paint in a project. I used a red paint pen (the color of love) around the edges and then added accents with a gold metallic paint pen.

My final feather is my word for the year...GROW... which is my intention! I used a couple scraps of old baby wipe...then also added the piece I had cut from the top of my mandala when I glued it on. Very cool and colorful. A black line and some white dots with a pen were added as well as black ink sponged on the edges.

To finish up my project I glued on the feathers and then added some strings with a black pen and some shading. Then I added some fun doodle accents with metallic copper paint.

I hope you enjoyed this project! Leave me a comment if you did.

<3 Shel