I'm a junk collector! I relish every opportunity I get to discover discarded trinkets and treasures and add them to my mixed media. It's so much fun to see lost objects transformed into something else. I'm always on the lookout for things that catch my fancy, from toilet paper rolls to treasure troves of watch and camera pieces.
This is my bellezza esotica, Liliana. She's been a long time in the making, months in fact, and is by far one of my favorite pieces.
Liliana is the perfect blend of my love of upcycling and treasure hunting. She first breezed through my mind one day when I noticed how many rolls of toilet paper we use. There had to be something better for the leftover rolls then a life in the landfill. So I painted a couple of them, cut them up, stretched them out and found out exactly how versatile they can be. That's when the idea to create Liliana sparked to life.
I'd only worked with the little bakeable Sculpey blocks before so using professional modeling air dry clay was a bit of a learning curve. It took me a few tries (and major patience) to figure out the best way to use my new medium. Once I got the technique down, I began by sculpting her face, making sure to leave minor imperfections (even the most beautiful people aren't perfect). Then came the days of waiting as she dried.
Since I wanted Liliana to have a rich exotic look I added a couple coats of metallic copper paint and some long, fake eye lashes I purchased for a buck, once she finally dried. To create her lovely locks, I painted a base layer on the canvas in a beautiful metallic cobalt blue then added random chipboard die cuts, flowers, ribbon, tiles, keys, and other trinkets scattered through out.
Care to know my favorite part? Her beautiful curls are all hand-painted toilet paper rolls! Isn't that just fabulous!!!! I used the same metallic cobalt blue for each roll. Some I painted inside and out while others I left one sided. Once they dried I cut a spiral from the bottom to the top and stretched each one, creating flowing curls.
Liliana was a time consuming challenge but one I'm looking forward to creating over and over again. I hope that you enjoy her as much as I do.
Happy Crafting,
Misty
P.S. For more of my work or to join a workshop visit me at www.craftmixup.com
I absolutely love this piece of art!!! Its beautiful.