bohemian girl

i like it when someone asks that philosophical question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" it seems to me that no matter how old we get we are still growing and changing and trying to become our ultimate selves. i want to be a bohemian girl, throwing out the strict rules of society and living free, just for me. i'll grow my own food, raise chickens, gather eggs, bake my own bread. my feet will be bare or in sandals; my body clothed in well-worn, multi-colored hand-me downs. what little money i'll need will be made by creating art, writing and taking photos. i'm working hard to realize this dream of mine. one day soon, one day soon.

the above is my original collage on 9 x 9 x 3/4 wood. i covered the entire top and sides of the wood in dap spackling paste, using an old credit card, a palette knife and my fingers. i left lots of ridges and bumps and used bottle caps, a pencil and some rubber stamps to press shapes into the paste. i let it dry for a couple of hours and then used a very wet brush to add acrylic paints -- rubbing the color right into the still damp dap. i adored how the colors changed as they soaked into the dap. loved it so much! after a couple more hours i was able to start adding the paper collaged pieces. i had no plan at all when i started this piece. i simply dug in and let the muse lead me where she may. the next morning the dap paste had cracked, giving this piece tons of texture. i added all the other elements with charcoal, pastels, more acrylics, rubber stamp images on a vintage dress pattern and some stamps.

it's been sitting on art table for a few weeks, just waiting patiently for me to pay attention to it again.

today i snapped a few photos and started playing in photoshop, using filters and backgrounds to add extra texture and pattern to the piece. the copy reads "living simply free to be". in essence, that's what i want -- to live simply.

in this version i used curves to brighten the entire image up and thena dded a layer from my gravestone texture collection. this one reads "let me wander free a vagabond life a gypsy filled with creativity".

i have 3 more of the dap paste boards painted, waiting on collage and inspiration to be applied. can't wait to get my hands covered with glue and paint!!!