a soulful journey

Hi everyone, today I am on The Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Blog, sharing "a soulful journey."

Some of the first Gypsy Soul laser cuts I was drawn to were the triptychs. I have always been in awe of antique triptychs. Growing up, we had a few prominently displayed in my family's home that had been passed down through the generations. Many of these were religious; however, more and more nowadays I notice a number of mixed media artists utilizing triptychs as a canvas for all types of art, both secular and religious. I am excited to share my altered triptych with you.

The Triptych - Towers Top is comprised of 6 pieces. Each of the three components has a solid back and a frame front.

 

When I look at the design of the towers top arched frame, I envision a bronzed and copper patina. I set about creating this with some of my favorite embossing powders. I coated each framed top piece with embossing ink and covered it with Emerald Creek burnt copper leaves powder. Before heat setting it, I sprinkled a pinch of turquoise antiquities embossing powder by Ranger in various spots. I then heat set the powders. I wanted a varied texture, so I only heated it all the way smooth in spots and other portions are only partially melted creating a bumpy surface.

Once the frame pieces were completed, I set about selecting a background paper for the three openings. I selected a paper from Tim Holtz Menagerie paper stash that I felt complemented the frame and had plenty of depth to set off the accents that I will be adding to each opening. I traced the outermost edge of each frame onto the paper and fussy cut them out. 

When the papers were placed between the frame and backing piece, I felt that the uppermost portion that has open framework needed to be brighter. I was hoping to end up with a "glowing" effect. To achieve this, I traced the boundaries of the open framework onto the paper while the top piece was in place, then I removed the uppermost triptych frame pieces and painted the outlined area with Dina Wakley acrylic paint in penny. I also painted the innermost edge of the "frame" to give the appearance of added depth when it was put back together as well as to tie the upper areas to the lower. I try to use similar colors throughout a project so that it all ties together when it's complete.  

Once the frames were done, I set them aside and painted the backsides of each of the triptych's solid back panels. I first painted a layer of Distress paint in walnut stain and then went over it with a dry brush and a small amount of the penny acrylic paint. I also painted the front edges of these panels just in case they did not align perfectly when I put them together (since I will have multiple layers in between.)

I glued 1-5/8" long antique bronze colored hinges to the triptych backs and allowed them to dry before I adhered the painted and inked papers. In order to ensure that the hinges lined up and that the triptych would be level when placed upright, I used a straight edge below all three backs to keep them in place. I marked the location for the hinge placement and then measured the correct distance on all pieces. Although the hinges have holes to be screwed in place, for my purposes, I simply used a strong multi-purpose glue.

I then began work on the inner areas. Using Hero Arts manuscript background stamp, I lightly inked with Brilliance cosmic copper metallic ink, and I stamped the script design to the paper backing piece. I did this to all three papers, randomly inking areas of the stamp to simply add some interest instead of the solid stamp image. The metallic ink blends nicely, and reflects the light when viewed from different angles. I inked all the paper edges with walnut stain distress ink as well as some areas on the front face of the paper.

Next I die cut three ironwork gates from heavy weight cardstock with the Tim Holtz Sizzix gothic gate die, each of these were inked with an embossing ink dauber and coated with Emerald Creek burnt copper leaves embossing powder, then heat set to a smooth finish. I painted some highlights on the embossed fence with the penny acrylic paint once they had cooled. These gates were placed behind the triptych frame front, trimmed to the correct size, and then glued in place.

While the ironwork pieces were drying, I stamped a Character Constructions Doll stamp from the Timekeepers Garden collection on watercolor paper. I colored her with distress inks, Copic and fine tip Steatdler markers. I also stamped butterflies from the Stampers Anonymous flutter collection on watercolor paper. I reduced the size of the stamps on my copier and colored those in as well. I then fussy cut the butterflies and die cut the doll stamp. Theses pieces will be located on the open areas of the triptych.

Now it was time to assemble the piece. I glued each piece of background paper to the respective back panel, covering the hinge flanges. Each of the side frames (with ironwork embellishment intact) was then placed over their respective back panel and glued in place. Since I had multiple layers between the two chipboard pieces, I made sure to put a heavy weight on top of them while they dried.

I adhered the colored butterflies, as well as a small key for her hand. Lastly I added a Tim Holtz word band that has been dabbed with gold and mushroom alcohol ink. I felt that this sentiment was a perfect finishing touch. I used leather cording and secured it around the bottom of the middle triptych panel.

I hope that you are inspired to create something in this new year.
~Ann