Postcard #3 - Winter Scene

This card started out with an image I cut from some junk mail that keeps arriving here.  Some of it actually belongs to my dearly departed Dad but I continue to get rid of as fast as I can.  I did find some income tax receipts in some of the letters he gets but most of it is junk mail from charities wanting money.  I must remember to not allow my name to get on any of these lists otherwise I too will be inundated with their requests.

I really love the process of "image transfer" using gel medium!!!  When I saw the picture, I didn't really have anything in mind but knew that I had to use "mixed media".  I belong to a fibre arts group (kinda sorta really since I can't go to many meeting due to my shift work and therefore I am not involved in their current project).  I like to add fabric and other fibres due to the tactile nature of fibre.! We can not help ourselves; we just want to touch it!!!  I think that it is a natural human response.

I started by placing the small gel transfer in the centre of the postcard and painted around it using artist acrylic paints.  Then I covered the postcard with sheer curtain fabric that I had in my stash and placed the image transfer overtop.  Then I added silver lame` fabric and glued it and the gel image down with gel medium.  I used some acrylic paint to take the shininess off of the metal foil I used to keep the card together and the fabric from fraying.  I surrounded the image with thin bead of glitter glue to insure that it doesn't get caught on something and separate it from the card.  I think it would survive a trip through the mail as is but I'm not so sure so I think that I will pop it in an envelope.

I can see now that I need to a add some more charcoal glue to meet the edges.  Hmmmm, I seem to have forgotten that.  I think that taking a picture of you art helps to see flaws that you can't see with your own eyes.  The camera lens is very unforgiving but helpful in this way!

I can't for the life of me figure out what has made the gel discolour so!  When I first completed the transfer process it did not have the greenish-sepia tinge on it.  So I just can't fathom why it has done so here.  None of the other gel images that I have made for this project have discoloured at all.  Strange, but it is what it is!

For this card I used:

140 lb watercolour paper
acrylic paint
gel medium - gloss and matte
curtain sheer
silver lame`
glitter glue
matte 3D glue
metal foil

While I was half way through the process, I was reminded of a photograph that I had taken a few months ago!  I was driving home from town and got a few snaps from the dash of my dear Dad's old Sonata.  I have to say that I am diggin' my new used Camry though!  I totally appreciate the heated seats.