This week, I completed another in my series of mixed media wall hangings inspired by African textiles. I did another set of photographs for my Kindred Spirit Studios Facebook page, and here they are, with additional information about the process:
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| Inspiration fabric |
The first image is my inspiration fabric. I found this piece of polished cotton in my stash from when I was doing my Ancestress Series shadow box masks. ' Don't remember those? Look
here. The pattern here doesn't contain
Adinkra symbols, but they remind me of them, and I loved the almost playful, seemingly random arrangement.
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| Even the paper towel was pretty! |
I created two 2"x2" foam stamps with similar symbols, and tested them on various colors of painted paper. Here is the paper towel I used to clean the stamps before using them on the wall hanging.
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| Side panels taped off and painted |
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| Stamped symbols on side panel |
I knew I wanted bright side panels and a dark central panel on the wall hanging, so I painted the sides with a combination of acrylic paints and inks, including some gold metallic. For the thin borders, I used a Pthalo blue, and stamped the symbols in the still-wet paint, which produced a subtle, color-on-color pattern.
Next, I printed the symbols with Chestnut Roan chalk ink, varying the positions and combinations as I went along.
The circular polymer clay pieces came next, and I added texture with carving tools and my own hand carved stamps, including the ones I used for the side panels (in the large, center circle).
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Raw, uncured clay elements, including the bar I ultimately
decided not to use. |
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| Cured, textured, colored clay elements |
Once they were cured, I added the color layers; micaceous iron oxide first, then various PearlEx powders, glazes, and pearlescent acrylic paints. Once all were colored, I knew what color the central panel would be: a rich, chocolaty brown. And when I arranged the clay elements on the central panel, I decided not to include the horizontal bar I'd created for the top.
Sometimes, the assembly phase is a surprise; what I thought would work doesn't, and I have to solve the problem how to proceed. I think removing that element was the right decision, and as a bonus, the wall hanging can now be hung either vertically as I designed it, or horizontally. The final touch was to add two African brass beads to both ends of the line of clay elements.
I really love this piece; it's so great when an inspiration, plan and execution come together in a satisfying way...I cherish those works, don't you?
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| The final piece: 11 3/4" x 24" |
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