1.15.2010

Artful Thursdays - Embellishment Inspiration



Thursdays are about to become one of my favorite days of the week; because Artful Thursdays, from the imagination of Julie Collings, are all about just playing....something I haven't done for quite a while.Each Thursday, those who are participating will gather supplies, make something artful...anything...maybe something that has been percolating on the back burner for a while...maybe some fun technique that has been passed by...then, on Fridays post about.

Artful Embellishment No Pressure Collage
Sometimes when I'm rusty and the creative wheels are turning hard - I pick out a bunch of different little objects from the studio stash - book pages, playing cards, ric rac, lace, ribbon, buttons, jewelry, ephemera etc. and move the items around, folding them, scrunching them - kind of like brainstorming. I audition a lot of various little bits until I'm completely happy and love what I've ended up with. For me, this takes the pressure out of commiting pieces to a collage by permanently tacking them down, and somehow, I'm more free to experiment and find those combinations of lovelies that just feel right together.
Sometimes, like in this piece, I have a theme or color scheme or specific subject that I want to play with. No rules and no specific "end" in mind help me so much to forget making "something" and I'm able to "just make" something.

11 comments:

Connie said...

Michelle, this is Beautiful...great work!

Suz said...

Michelle,
You might have been playing but your result is beautiful! I am so glad you are one of my swap partners!
S\

Suz said...

whoops...don't know what happened with that last line!
Suz

Anonymous said...

This is gorgeous, Michelle! And thank you for sharing Julie Collings w/ us! I'm just getting back to creating after a few years of doing other stuff!
Happy weekend,
Zuzu

Heather - Speckled Egg said...

Simply lovely!!!

Cindy said...

This turned out really cute! I like what Julie is doing, its a shame I just don't have time to play right now! pooh. :P Looks like you girls are gonna have lots of fun! I will just look forward to seeing what you all are up to.

-c
yapping cat

Julie Ann said...

Gorgeous collage!!! What beautiful work on a whim!

tamdoll said...

This is really, really, nice. So pretty, and creative.
I was so looking forward to this Thursday's work, too! I often will pull out bits to look it over and be inspired by, too - I think these days will get me to put it all together into a project instead of just storing it all away again.

Elise said...

So sweet! You have some wonderful goodies around your studio, and you know just how to put them together!!

Lisa Russell said...

This is SO pretty!!

Julie Collings said...

the photo window is such a sweet frame for you lovely heart.
oh the flower at the top is breathtaking!