I've never been very good at art, not until recently. My theory is that I haven't gotten
better at art, I just stopped caring about how imperfect things looked and went for it. I took running after painting my wall in one of the rooms I rented in Colorado. My amazing friend/roommate/landlord Patrice allowed me to paint a wall in my room with a picture I had fallen in love with. You can see the work
here. She also kept it after I moved out and still likes to show people when they come over like a proud mother.
My second project came from a broken picture frame that was intended for a calendar. After moving to a new apartment, the glass shattered and I was stuck with a frame. So I found some fabric at the thrift store, bought some foam board from Wal-Mart, and set out to make my own jewelry board.
 |
| dem jewels |
I started by painting the fabric first. I just picked a place and started out with a rough drawing. I don't mean rough like loose, I mean rough like ugly as sin. It was my first free hand and I decided if it looked like dog poo at the end, I would trash the whole project and pretend it never happened.
 |
| Look at that rough |
I've always loved feathers. There was a time in my life where I wanted feathers tattooed on the back of my triceps and maybe one day in the future, but for right now I am happy to settle with the painting.
After drying for a day, I stretched the fabric over the foam board (already cut to size for the frame) and put the whole thing into place. I trimmed the fabric up on the back leaving about 1-2 inches and stapled the excess with a regular office stapler. Then I hung the frame, inserted sewing pins and hung my bling.
Here is another board I made for a friend. This one is just a simple burlap canvas with foam board inserted in the back. This was my second freehand and based off a picture she was obsessed with at the time.
Until next time.
