A Holy Curiosity, by Shelby

“Never lose a holy curiosity.” -  Albert Einstein

Have you tried Art Journaling on playing cards? I enjoyed it so much I decided to continue with the project. I suppose my curiosity got the better of me.

Inspired by the saying “In The Moment” I found printed in a catalogue, I made it my goal. I prepped the cards by lightly sanding them and then giving them a coat of gesso. I placed all of the cards face up on my table and began randomly layering acrylic paint. Whatever colours came to hand I used. Once dried, I flipped to the back and began working. I love the new Tibet Series by Artistcellar. I wanted to incorporate the Eternal Knot stencil in some way. Although too large to completely fit on a playing card, when dropped here and there on the cards the stencil certainly added interest.

It’s been a long time since I looked through my collection of rubber stamps and clings. The Curious Possibility clings by Tim Holtz was just perfect for what I had in mind! Combined with a few images I had in my collection I got just the right Victorian vibe I wanted. I know some people like to cover the images on the playing cards completely. I like to allow the flavor of the card to show through where possible. To complete this series I highlighted portions of the back design with Distress Crayons and Crackle Paste. They are now safely tucked away in my binder.

One word of advice: I used my heat tool to get the layers to dry faster. I believe I got a little too close as one of the cards “popped” and buckled. My guess is the plastic coating just didn’t like the heat.

As artists, curiosity is the force that inspires us to create new work. Journaling was always a bit of a mystery to me. I suppose for me it’s “in the cards” using this technique. My question to you: What are you curious about?

MATERIALS USED:

• STANDARD PLAYING CARDS
• ARTISTCELLAR STENCILS: Tibet Series, Traditional Japanese Series, Marked Series, Block Series, Halftone Dots Series, Sea Foam
• TIM HOLTZ VISUAL ARTISTRY CURIOUS POSSIBILITY Rubber Stamps
• STUDIO G Alphabet Rubber Stamps
• HAND CUT STENCIL: Diamonds
• PUNCHINELLA
• ELMER’S RUBBER CEMENT
• LIQUITEX WHITE ACRYLIC GESSO
• LIQUITEX MATTER MEDIUM
• DECOART Crackle Paste
• MEMENTO DYE INK Tuxedo Black
• PLAID ACRYLICS: Blue Sapphire, Amethyst, Blue Pearl, Pure Orange, Perfect Purple, Violet Pansy, Sunflower, Metallic Rose, Bright Red, Aquamarine, Pure Gold, Plum
• DECOART: Splendid Gold, Sunny Day
• DINA WAKLEY: Lime
• NATURAL SPONGE
• SANDPAPER
• TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS CRAYONS
• DYLUSION SPRAY: Bubble Gum
• POCKET PAGE PROTECTOR
• VARIOUS EPHEMERA: Paper, Rubber Stamps, Dover Publications Images, Rub-On Lettering

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