Bowls, bowls and more bowls. Do you think that I'm obsessing on the subject? Well, these are so much fun to do and it seems that I just can't stop. I actually have one more small one drying and then will leave them alone until I get a swap project finished. I prefer to left justify my text, but apparently blogger is not allowing me to do it right now, so I'll leave as is.
This blue/green bowl is a lovely, watery colour, but I confess that it's given me a lot of trouble. I had stitched some free motion trees on a strip of tulle and inserted it into the bowl. Well the glue medium I was using (wallpaper paste), gummed up the netting in random spots and the only way I could fix it was to cover it up with more tissue paper. You'll still be able to see shadows of the trees on the inside and I've left the outside as it, for now. However, I'm not happy about it! On top of all that, the bowl is a little top heavy and will not sit up straight on it's own. Not a huge problem, because I tried it with a votive inside and besides looking absolutely spectacular in the candle light, it helps to weigh down the bowl and hold it in place.
It seems that blogger is only going to let me type in HTML now, so my words will be short and sweet! You'll notice the shadows of the trees at the bottom (it was actually a much longer strip). They would have looked lovely, if only I could have figured out how to get the gummy paste out of the holes in the netting. Sigh!
This purple bowl was my first experiment with the wallpaper paste. I used plain crepe paper and the paste. It's perfectly lovely to work with and although I had intended the bowl to be a sample, I carried on and embellished it with purple, acrylic interference paint and simple lines of hand stitching. I think it works! What do you think? It certainly doesn't go in my living room, so I guess this bowl will be banished to the bedroom. LOL!
I have an overflowing box of Japanese paper scraps, so more bowls are in the cards for me in the future. Collage is so much fun!! It doesn't need to be bowls as tags, journals, cards, canvas and even bookmarks are fun to work on. Think of it as colouring with paper!!! Fancy papers, old wrapping paper, tissue, magazine pages, candy wrappers, lunch bags, security envelopes and junk mail all work. You may need wrinkle up some of the glossy and firmer papers to soften, but it's all good in the end. Try it, you'll like it!!
Thanks, Ines for my latest obsession!
9 comments:
If you're obsessed - it's in a good way! Your bowls are fascinating.
Thanks MA! Stay tuned!
Your little nests are so sweet, very complex i think and i know how tricky they are to make. I love how you wrap thread/yarns around them and the teeny bits of collage material inside makes them very special.
The green one looks like a bower bird with a predilection for green has built itself a special nest. I expect to see pale green eggs inside any day now.
Is the purple stitched bowl the same one i saw previously unstitched? How was the stitching - easy to pierce or thumb gouging. Anyhoo it looks regal, made for the new Prince George i think!
Kaite, thanks once again for your lovely comments. The little nests are no harder for me to make than the larger ones. I like working in a small format so if anything, they're actually better for me. Also, I'm rapidly running out of room for large bowls, so the small ones are actually more practical right now. As for the yarn and other collage material, I just can't help complicating the bowls. Think back to my bead journals and you'll understand. If simple is good, complicated is much better for me. LOL!
I don't know about bower birds, but I'd certainly like to get my hands on some pale green eggs!!
Yes, the purple bowl is the same one. The bowl was very thin and the needle pierced it like butter. A little awkward to stitch, but not hard on the hands at all. This one was made from the crepe paper/wallpaper paste mix. Additional coats of acrylic and gel paints were added and I finished off the outside with the Hard Modge Podge. Quite the mixture, but it seemed to have worked!
Me too, i'm running out of room for the larger bowls, in fact i have them stacked up. The little ones are a delight. Bower birds collect things that are a matching colour to themselves, so green bower birds collect green things such as emeralds and green pegs. They have green'ish eggs.
I just noticed as i enlarged them, you've used some of the blue fibrous stuff i sent. Obviously it worked ok?
Kaite, i'm starting to stack my bowls as well. It gives them another type of dimension. As for the Bower Birds, now I really do need to either find or make some green eggs.
The fibrous stuff worked quite well and makes some interesting shapes when you tear it apart. I really do need to find more.
Hi AM! After a too long blog holiday, I come to yours first, finding much delight in your new passion, especially the wee little bowls, the ones that remind me of sparrow or humming bird nests. It's a great idea to use wallpaper paste in the construction process. Paint is a great addition too. I have so much collage materials, things I've saved forever, postage stamps, old music, drawings from old books, even piles of cut ends of threads from quilting. This tempts me. Would you be upset if I gave it a try?
Robin, welcome back and thanks for your comments. I like the littlest ones te best too and plan to focus on them a little more in the future. Of course I don't mind you playing with them!!! I got the idea from my paper swap partner, Ines in Germany, who makes the lovliest creme coloured ones I then passed the obsession on to my friend Kaite in Australia. Now you!! I wonder how many other people we will be able to infect? LOL!!!
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