When Baz Luhrmann met Tim Holtz

Hi All

I have come to realise that my greatest crafting achievements come from when I am truly inspired.  Unfortunately for me inspiration is sometimes lacking and I then find myself picking up and putting down projects because I don't really know where they are going.  So my challenge to myself this past week has been about seeking out those things in life that truly inspire me.

I am a bit of a film junky and in particular I love films that push the boundaries of cinematography. One of my favourite directors is Baz Luhrmann . I remember the first time I watched Strictly Ballroom and was blown away by his style and unique vision.  When I heard he was directing a modern take of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet I was so excited.  I studied Romeo and Juliet at school and it was one of those stories that imprinted into my soul, I had everything crossed that his vision would succeed and in my view it did wonderfully.

So here is my canvas, inspired by Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet :)

 

I wanted to base the piece around the sacred heart/immaculate heart as it has such strong symbolism.  I wanted the heart to be 3d so I made it from paper mache. Painted it in Tim Holtz Distress Paints; 'barn door' and 'red mahogany'.  I finished it using clear embossing powder to give it a high shine.

I then prepared my background using texture paste through Prima's 'Finnabair - ripped fishnet' stencil, adding a couple of my favourite extracts from the original play and then layers of Tim Holtz Distress Paints in 'tumbled glass', 'weathered wood', 'mustard seed' and 'spiced marmalade'.

I then coloured some texture paste using a splash of Lindy's starburst spray in 'yellow rose of Texas' with a tiny hint of Lindy's Magicals in 'poinsettia red gold' and ran it over the Tim Holtz Rays stencil.  I aged it using Treasured Gold in 'Florentine'.  To create the flames I coloured paper using more of the Lindy's spray and a generous sprinkle of the Magicals.  I used hot glue to fix the heart in place and added green roses.

I recently discovered the technique of transferring images using gel medium so used this technique to apply the palm tress and the stone statue of Mary in prayer.  The other images were applied using a standard decoupage technique.

I finished the canvas adding gold and silver flakes and silver dots in liquid pearls.  I aged the edges using Distress Ink in 'broken china' and 'vintage photo'.

I have really enjoyed this project, I hope you like how it turned out.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

A Sprinkle of Imagination - anything goes

Mixed Media World - anything goes

That's Crafty - gold and silver

A Vintage Journey - anything Tim

Until next time, happy crafty :)

B
x