Today's mini-excursion will be in BRAZIL!! I'm so excited because I've been studying Brazilian Portuguese for nearly 2 years now and I really wish to practice with a native speaker. I have met another artist who has been helping me along the way. Maybe, just maybe, I'll be taking an actual trip there, in the future!
I've always been in awe of Brazil's eclectic mix of culture and friendly personality. Oh, I would love to witness the annual, 5 day Rio de Janeiro Carnival ('Carnaval' in Portuguese) that will be held next year on February 28th, watch the 2014 Olympic games, walk the Ipanema beach, visit the 'Christ the Redeemer' statue- which is considered the world's largest Art Deco statue IN THE WORLD, standing at a tremendous height of 130 feet!! The list could, easily, go on and on...
I've always been in awe of Brazil's eclectic mix of culture and friendly personality. Oh, I would love to witness the annual, 5 day Rio de Janeiro Carnival ('Carnaval' in Portuguese) that will be held next year on February 28th, watch the 2014 Olympic games, walk the Ipanema beach, visit the 'Christ the Redeemer' statue- which is considered the world's largest Art Deco statue IN THE WORLD, standing at a tremendous height of 130 feet!! The list could, easily, go on and on...
So, let's move on to today's project. Today, I was intuitively working- painting, tearing paper left and right, gluing and stitching images together, when a message started to emerge and manifest its reason for being. I will tell you what it was, but see if you can figure it out first.
Media: decorative scrapbook papers, fabric scraps, colored tissue paper, embroidery floss, thread, stencils, hand-written text, rhinestones, modeling paste, acrylic paints and tracing paper on wood panel.
Size: 5 inches by 4 1/2 inches
© 2013 by Martice Smith II.
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| Ahhhh....paper ephemera heaven...LOVE IT! This is my stash of decorative and scrapbook paper. Gotta find the 'right' papers to express the exuberance of Brazil! |
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| Instead of trying to fit each inch of paper on the rectangular shape of wooden panel, I just let them spill over freely and carefully ran a sharp craft knife to trim each side edge. |
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| See how nice the edges turned out?! Trimming makes a very neat edge that brings contrast to the free-form collage. This pic shows you a step where I used sandpaper to round off the corners...to have more control over the sandpaper, I created my own hand-held sandpaper tool by gluing a piece to a spray can top! Clever, clever, yeah I know! |
Here's a close up- there are many layers on this panel. Cut-outs, stencils, hand-torn papers, tissue and acrylic paints.
It wasn't until after I finished this project that a message revealed itself to me. It read 'Be alive, PROSPER'. Wow, such profound words for me, right now!!
It will serve as a reminder to keep looking forward, be totally in the moment of creating and boldly make artwork that's authentic to me.
I hope you enjoyed inspiration from Brazil in all its rich, luscious colors and magical culture!
Até amanhã (ah-TAY a-MUN-yah),
"See you tomorrow",
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