ITAC 2017 Challenge 1, EUROPE: The Face of Printmaking

Hi everyone! I'm back with a mixed media canvas.. After a long period of papercrafting, I was craving for a treat! & treat means, MIXED MEDIA!!!  

I have worked all by myself for a long time! So, this time I decided to go for a challenge! & for that, I am taking part on a tournament! AALL & Create is organizing an international 6 week long tournament, ITAC'17 where there will be 6 challenges in total & also a loooot of experienced & amazing artist judges! I know, I'm new & am not very experienced yet! But, I still decided to take part as a challenge to myself! I want to see how far can I go when it comes to a selected theme! And also there is a lot to learn! :)

The first challenge is EUROPE- The Face of Printmaking. The theme & some suggestions have been given on the website & also some works from the judges.. I loved their work! & it was time for me to create!  

I was really confused what to do first! What if I miss some suggestions! What if my work is not good enough! Then I decided to go with a flow as always.. I kept the suggestions in my mind & started working.. 

I pasted some torn pages of an old oxford dictionary on the whole canvas panel with modpodge.. Then, lightly gessoed all over.. 

 

Then I glued a crochet lace on a side & also added some glass beads..Then I gessoed all over again & then added colors.. My primary plan was to add blue, some shade of brown & keep some area white where the dictionary print can be seen... So, I splattered some water on the paint (while it was still drying) & after a minute I pressed a paper towel to remove the water & paint.. This created a bleached out look like watercolors.. But, later I decided to add more patterns & all... 

 

On their suggestion, there was a point to add blue on the project as this is the color of the european union flag! So, I decided to add some yellow stars too! It added more texture & a splash of brightness on the canvas.. I pasted a corrugated cardboard (cut from an old box) & a strip of fabric underneath.. For the focal point I could add a face, as it was also a point from the suggestions.. But, as I don't do faces, I didn't have anything to make it & also I thought of adding something else.. So, I created a nest with jute strings & put flowers over it. Then I added the sentiments..

As the challenge is related with printmaking, I added some scribbles with black & white pens. Some splashes of gesso, & all other colors that ave been used here & some thumbprints with red! & lastly, I added some touches of gilding wax! 

Though I wanted it to keep clean & simple, it ended up very busy! But, I loved the final look.. Especially, when I see the details I added & the thoughts I had while going through the process, I feel happy! & I create to be happy! Don't you?

Hope you all liked my work.. Please leave me comments about your thoughts on my work.. Thank you!

Tavana