Believe in Your Magic - Tutorial!

I am directing The Secret Garden this fall for my local community theater, Gas Lamp Players.  If you don't know the story, here's a clip from the 45th Annual Tony Awards.  The music is so glorious!

In preparation, I am re-reading the novel by Francis Hodgeson Burnett.  One of the big themes in the book is the inherent magic we all possess -- the magic of believing, of positive thinking, of creating -- as well as the magical powers of nature.

Here's how I created a canvas to explore this theme:

1.  I started with a 6 x 6 canvas, which I covered with "unintentional collage."  This means collage simply to create depth, interest and texture -- most of it will not be seen in the end.

2.  While it was drying, I gathered a bunch of gelli prints (you could easily use patterned paper, or paint or stencil your own paper), and cut out circles of different sizes using my crazy scissors.  (Corrine Gilman's post inspired me!) Then I layered them in ways that were pleasing to me.

3.  I used my awl to poke holes through the layers, where I was going to sew the circles together.  If you don't have an awl, a thin nail would do.

  

4.   Using waxed linen thread (but any strong thread would do), I sewed the circles together, using a few found buttons.  (You could also glue these together and forgo the sewing...)

 

5.  I set the circles aside and picked up my canvas again.  I put a light wash of blue on the top, and a light wash of green on the bottom, to create the feeling of a garden and horizon.

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6.  While this was drying, I took a piece of green painted cardstock and made some different stitching with my sewing machine, and cut out some stems.  (You could just draw these stitches on as well.) 

7.  Previously, I had woven together some gelli prints and book pages.  (You do this by cutting slits in the book pages -- keeping the tops and bottoms intact, and then weaving strips of gelli prints through them.)  I used this to cut out leaves.

8.  I inked the sides of my stems with Ranger Walnut Stain:

9.  And then assembled my flowers, leaves and stems onto my canvas.  I used black fluid acrylics and a skinny brush to outline the flowers and the bottom of the canvas, and Pearl Pens in white, gold and silver to embellish the flowers.

10.  I wrote the phrase "Believe in your Magic" on some scraps, cut the words out and adhered them.  I used a graphite pencil to add definition to the edges of the canvas.  Done!

We do acts of magic every day!  BELIEVE!

Linking to A Colorful Gelli Party, Paint Party Friday, and Art Journal Every Day.

Happy Independence Day to anyone celebrating on July 4th!  Here's a glimpse of the flag I'll be waving.  You can see it in full in this post.

Thank you for visiting! I hope you will leave me a comment to let me know you were here. I read and treasure every comment and will answer any questions as quickly as I can.