Back at the end of April Lesley Watts from the Art Elements group announced her component for the month. A selection of delightful ceramic cabs with gorgeous rich colours in the recesses of a mold she made from a section of shell. To read the full blog post of the original article click on the link above.
Lesley creates beautiful pieces in ceramics and in metal clays - you can see more of her work on her Facebook page. Lesley does favour the more organic style of work, compared to my wacky designs but I did fall in love with these pieces as soon as I saw them. There were several colour choices to choose from but the green glaze really appealed to me.
I chose one of the round cabs and when it arrived I was not disappointed, these pieces are rich in colour and really tactile, I did have it on my work space in my 'kitchen studio' - very posh sounding corner of the kitchen dinning room where I keep all my drawings and pencils for when I take over the table! I kept it out on the dresser so I could just pick it up and touch it, in the right hands this would make a really lovely tactile brooch or pendant but I saw dragons. My first idea was a dragon drawn with scales using the colours of the cab to guide my choices but then I went on Pinterest searching for a quote that appealed to me and found this one...
'Never stop looking up'.
What a lovely positive saying and I immediately thought of giraffes and was cross with myself for choosing a green cab rather than a giraffe cab that would have gone with this idea better. For a few days I mused over this and stroked my cabochon until my husband commented on some other drawings had I done, I was lamenting (again!) about being quirky and cartoony and as far away from my realism portrait days as is humanly possible, when he said to me 'don't stop being different that is what makes you you.' (once in a blue moon he can be quite sweet, usually ruins it by then telling me I have got a big backside compared to when we met 25 years ago.... such is married life!)
So I modified my saying....
I am still really new to Art Journalling just for the sake of it, I doodle and draw each day but have to commit to the Art Journal idea and experiment with mixed media which I still struggle with but lo and behold, my cabochon became part of my giraffe and lets face it... never stop looking up or being that bit different is not a bad way to live!
For more creativity using Lesley's work please follow the links below....
Love your quirkiness and originality Laney and this is a great use of my cab to fit the quote...love your giraffe. Thanks for taking part. :o)
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever use of the cab! It both blends in and makes a statement at the same time. I had to look twice before realizing it wasn't part of your drawing but the actual cab as part of the giraffe. Genius! And it is quite alright for giraffes to have green spots;-D
ReplyDeleteOh love it... great use of the cab. I love giraffes xx
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Laney - I never think to make anything but jewelry!
ReplyDeleteSeriously unexpected and really fun way to use your cabochon!
ReplyDeleteHe's wonderful! I love how you've used your cab!
ReplyDeleteMad props to the husband - bc he is right - we love you for your approach to things! He's a handsome fella - the giraffe I mean. The shell segments are the right shape - I see it!
ReplyDeleteDelightful Laney, I love that you were able to turn a component so organic into a finished piece so full of your whimsical aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! Made me smile!
ReplyDeleteI would never have thought to put a piece into an art journal, it's inspired!
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