Texture,Crackle and Paint ~ February Challenge ~ Stamps and Stencils

Hi everybody! It's time for another challenge over on the Stamps and Stencils blog. Rachel is our talented host this month, and she has chosen a fabulous topic, Texture, Crackle and Paint. Thanks Rachel! This is just my cup of tea ! If you'd like to join in with this fun challenge, hop over to the Stamps and Stencils blog with this link, where  you'll find all of the details, as well as the opportunity to see the fabulous makes by Rachel and the rest of our talented design team.

 My project is a square canvas assemblage, with lots of texture, crackle and paint so I hope it meets with Rachel's approval!

 I worked on the 'wrong' side of the canvas, firstly covering the frame with old book pages. This creates a nice surface for painting on. I then applied a coat of white gesso, followed by a coat of Deco Art Media Fluid in burnt umber. I left this to dry and then coated the surface with Deco Art Weathered Wood Crackle Medium. Once this was dry, I covered the frame with  Distress Paint, using a mix of Antique Linen, Pumice Stone and Crushed Olive. 

Once the cracks started to appear and the paint was completely dry, I blended  'Potting Soil' Archival Ink, around the edges.

I then prepared a background to fit inside the frame. To add texture, I used a technique Andy Skinner taught, on his Wanderlust 2016 class. It involves stamping into modelling paste and then painting and dry brushing the surface. I used Tim Holtz's Ledger Script stamp and Deco Art Media Acrylics, before finally dry brushing the surface with gold interference paint.

The first part of the assemblage is a Tando clock face, which I painted with Finnabair's Rust Paste.

I attached this to the background with a hot glue gun. The hand in the centre, is made of air drying clay. I made the mould myself, after fashioning a hand from plasticene, and casting it in plaster of paris.

After sealing the surface of the clay with gesso, I used Andy's 'Mega Crackle' technique on the hand and added a typed phrase from the Simply Red song 'holding back the years'.......hmmm, thoughts on my fairly recent retirement !

The wings behind the hand, are made from one of my favourite recycled materials, tomato paste tubes. 

I used a die to cut a pair of wings, and then lightly sanded the surface, before colouring them with alcohol inks. I then stamped them with a crackle pattern stamp and black Archival Ink. 

 I arranged all the pieces and adhered everything, with a hot glue gun. 

The metal and glass circle, is actually a little screw top lid. The finishing touches, were to add some stamped text and four faux bolt heads, to the corners of the frame. I linked these together with a length of rusty wire and Voila! my canvas was done ! I really love these assemblage type projects and have decided to work on a couple more, in order to create a series so that I can use some of my other cast pieces......

 watch this space ! I'm looking forward to seeing your projects on our Stamps and Stencils challenge blog.  Just remember to include some stamping or stenciling or even both.x