A card a week for a year: week 2

One card a week for 52 weeks. Each card depicting a single word or phrase to be used in an affirmation deck at the end of the year. Once again; I'm willing to take any word or phrase suggestions that you all may have, send them in.

This was a troublesome week for the card. I started one that was very promising but then tanked halfway through the process. I had a vague idea in mind, but it just wasn't as strong as I would have liked and seeing as I'm a by the seat of your pants kind of girl, I just kept pushing it through because that's part of the art process, you push it until you've gone too far and then you bring it back in and then you push it again until you get the finished project. This time there was just no bringing it back. On the plus side I can use the techniques and Ideas that didn't work this time on another or some other cards in the future.

Here's the process:

Materials:

• Card Stock
• Loose Page out of an Altered Book Project
• Nicholson's Peerless Transparent Watercolour
• Wax Crayon
• Pearl Ex interference pigment
• Water Colour Pencil
• Paint Brushes
• Glue Stick
• Tweezers
• Paper Trimmer
• X-acto Knife and Cutting Matt
• Ruler or Straight Edge


The Process:
I started out by scanning a bunch of loose pages from an altered book project I've started, (more on that in another post, don't let me forget) Looking for a suitable word.

As the book I'm altering is a Readers Digest hardcover and the pages I've removed so far are from a murder mystery the range of words were fairly limited, although I did come across a very good option; daydreaming, which could have been too froofy if not handled in the right way. I'm hoping that this is not the case with this card but time will tell. I then used the paper trimmer to cut card stock down to ATC size, 3.5"x2.5"

Using the x-acto blade and ruler I removed my chosen word. held the tiny rectangle onto scrap paper with the tweezers and rubbed glue from the glue stick onto the back. and then placed the word onto my card.

Using mauve peerless watercolour and macropearl Pearl-Ex pigment I applied a wash to the card then went in with a white wax crayon and drew some cursive lines. I wasn't too happy with them once they were put down (that whole pushing it and then pulling it back process) so to pull it back in, I went back in using a larger surface area on the crayon to make the marks more cloud-like.

I added a few more washes of colour and pearl, accidentally moving the previously glued down word. I liked the effect of the previously masked area being exposed in the middle of a misty cloud like atmosphere, so I went with it and it helped to illustrate the word daydreaming.

Finally I glued another piece of card stock onto the back to make the card a little sturdier. and went back into the illustration with a moistened watercolour pencil to add some detail.

I chose daydreaming because it's part of the creative process. I get ideas from a number of different places, books, magazines, art galleries and coffee houses and by letting my mind wander. For me daydreaming is kind like watching clouds in the sky to see what they remind you of, hence the cloud like atmosphere of the card.