Candy is Certain

Have you heard of Iron Craft? Each week, a challenge is issued and crafters around the globe step up to answer that challenge. This is week three, and the challenge is Just Bunt. I've been working on mixed media artwork this month (for Fun-A-Day Providence), so I decided to incorporate bunting into my work. I actually made two pieces with bunting, but this is the one I am sending to the Iron Craft flickr group:

Candy is Certain
copyright 2011
Moira Anne Richardson

I used scrap pages from a vintage dictionary to create the bunting, doll parts, and text using this paper flower technique from Alma Stoller's AMAZING blog. The background is made using a mix of watercolor paint and white gouache, which gives it a creamy cotton-candy look. I used recycled fabric paper scraps to create the dresses and embedded real candy sprinkles into the hills using gel medium and Golden self-leveling gel. The hills look kind of murky because the candy melted a little bit from the gel, but I still like how it looks. I probably won't be embedding any more candy any time soon though, haha!

I finished the piece by using a Sharpie Poster-Paint marker (my favorite!) in black. I'm really proud of how this piece turned out! I've never really done a lot of work on canvas, so it's a new thing for me. The first canvas I did turned out kinda crappy, but I decided that I needed to approach the canvases the same way I approach a journal page and just have fun with it. If I mess up, oh well, I'll just make another one. Also, I decided to keep this simple. I could have added more details, maybe some outlines around the dolls or some more doodles, but I decided to stop and see what I thought about it later. And I love it. So it's staying as is.

I'll post pictures of my other bunting painting and some other work this weekend. Here's hoping the snow holds off, too!