Big Sky and Fields of Grass
mixed media panel
6×8 inch handbound journal
Big Sky and Fields of Grass is mixed media handbound blank journal that I recently completed for someone who has bought a few of my journals in the past couple of years. This journal was an unexpected collaboration between the two of us, which was really fun for me. She had sent me her photograph of the wild grass leading up to the mountain in the distance as a gift in the mail. (Lucky me!) I loved the image so much that I pinned it to the bulletin board I have above my computer. She was waiting for me to create more mixed media journals as her current one was about done. And so I got to work on a couple of panels, but everyday I would see her photo and just fall into it.
And then it came to me, I should make her a journal with her image. Duh! She loved the idea and I got to work. This panel uses an old record sleeve to frame the photo. This is an idea that I’ve used before and I got from L.K. Ludwig at one of her workshops that I attended several years ago. To protect the surface of the photo I brushed a thin layer of beeswax. Not encaustic, just plain beeswax.
While taking on commissions is always a little anxiety producing, I do enjoy them. It pushes me to try something different, to look at a project in a different way. Because when I work on a commissioned piece, each brush stroke, each stitch, carries the thought of that person in my mind. Normally when I work, I don’t think about the audience. And so I look at commissions as collaborations. Whether the person inspires me with an image, a thought or a poem. I am working on another commissioned journal for a sculptor for a project she is working on. I am almost done. Almost, not quite. Waiting for the panel to tell me when it’s done. Patience.
As always with your work, Bridgette, this tugs at my heart. It’s not just the subject – which just sings to me – but the way you incorporate so many complementary images. They float, swirl … and lodge in my brain and drive me crazy, though in the best possible way. Thankyou for sharing your oh so beautiful art. (And thanks for your email, which I did so appreciate).
Thank you Anne! Your comment made me laugh- the part about lodging in your brain and driving you crazy. 🙂 That is the best compliment! Hope you are having a lovely Sunday.
I finish my work with a layer of beeswax disolved in pure gum turpentine to make a paste. Generally I use it clear as sealer but sometimes I mix in a little earth pigment to colour it.
WOW lovely book!
I love your journals and I can see why you loved this photo. What a great composition. You took a class with Ludwig? Cool.
Anne says it all. Your work does tend to tug at one’s heart.
Thanks everyone!
Thank you Soewnearth for that tip. I may have to try that, especially with the added earth pigment. I imagine that it is a lovely effect.
Shayla- I took a workshop with her back in 2006 I believe. We did projects from her book Nature Journals.
Beautiful, and so personal- how could she not love it?
This so OUTSTANDING!!!
Thank You so much Wanda! And thank you Sharmon- I was so glad that I was able to create that journal for her. It just felt right.
Now that I’m home from Mexico and have gone through all the acumulated mail, I wanted to send kudos on the great article in Somerset Studio. Way to go!
so evocative.