Angels and Card Swaps

Sometimes it feels like so much happens all at once.  Nothing unmanageable, and it's all certainly exciting, but I find I have much to do and little time to write. Back to focusing on 'balance'.  

   I have been taking KRR Spirit Wings online mixed media course.  It runs for 6 months, with a new angel each month; equal parts soul excavation and art making.  If ever you are looking for a gentle way to dig deep into your dreams and lay to rest the inevitable fears that tag along, this might be the class for you.  There is a private FB group set up for all students as well.  I've met so many talented and warm-hearted women through this group.  So very supportive and encouraging, we've bonded into a tribe of our own, with arms wide open for newer classmates just joining.  It's a lovely community and full of fun.

   One of the off-shoots of this group is a card swap.  Started by my dear Soul Sister Liz http://lizzieloumixedmedia.jimdo.com/  There are 23 of us all working on postcard size pieces of angel art, each creating 22 images which we will send to Liz, who has undertaken the task of receiving, sorting, and sending them back out again.  Each participant will get 22 cards back, one from each woman in the group.  Twenty two little pieces of wonder and joy from women around the globe!  How awesome is that!  

   I am presently in the production phase of this project.  Twenty two little pieces is still going to be time-consuming, and we do have a deadline for mid-May, so I'm getting started now so I can play away at them in whatever spare time I can find each day.  Oh they are so much fun!  Here's a bit of the process...

First I taped 6 cards together at the back with painter's masking tape.  I made 4 of 6 to give me 24 cards in total (need to keep one or two for myself ;p). After taping, I turned them over and gessoed the fronts and added some patterned tissue as a base.  On top of that I smeared and smooshed paint over it all,  four different colours to add more variation.

More paint, this time with varying texture tools (technical stuff like bubble wrap and meat tray bottoms) as well as a script stamp here and there.

The painter's tape peeled off nicely and I was left with 24 individual cards with similar yet unique designs.

Since these are stemming from our Spirit Wings course I am giving each card some sort of angel.  I quickly sketched out a face and hair style onto each one, then added gesso to the face areas so I could work on them more clearly. 

I added basic skin tones and a hair doo to them.  And this is where 'mass production' ends.  Now I will spend time with each one individually, finding her facial expression and gentle message, as well as some finishing touches.  This will be the more time-consuming part, and I am going to love every second I get to spend on it!  I will be sure to post the finished products, so stay tuned...