Travel Brings Power - by Shelby
"Travel brings power and love back into your life." – Rumi
TRAVEL: To go from one place to another, as on a trip; journey.
From the time I was a child the word “travel” was the genesis of my wanderlust. I couldn’t walk past a travel agency without stopping to look into their store window. Gazing at posters showing incredible scenes of cities that seemed so far away only fed my desire to travel. I wanted to learn about the lives of the people depicted in those posters. I wanted to see for myself the towns and cities that looked so enticing even when viewed through a plate glass window. I wanted to put pins in a map of all the places visited. I knew I was destined to live a nomadic life.
And I have been lucky. I have visited almost all of the places that sparked my interest. And I found when traveling my journey enriched not only my physical but my spiritual life as well. And this is why I am in love with the beautifully crafted Artistcellar Labyrinth series. Let me tell you about the journey I walked in creating this collage.
Starting with my Strathmore Journal, I covered a page with Dye-Na-Flow Midnight Blue fabric paint using a 1” foam poly brush. While still wet, I splashed on Dye-Na-Flow Magenta followed by dripping rubbing alcohol into the wet dye. As the page dried a soft floral pattern emerged.
Although I liked the effect, I wanted to see how the dye would react on Mineral Paper. But this time I drizzled on a bit of rubber cement before coating the paper. The beauty of Mineral Paper didn’t disappoint! I liked the way the resist seemed to flow with the dye one enhancing the other. Although the technique was the same, I now had two distinct looks. Where my journal paper produced a soft velvet effect, the mineral paper was watery and wonderful. Looking at the backgrounds, I couldn’t decide. Which one should I use in the final work? As the saying goes “You can never have too much of a good thing”, so opted to use both.
In my last collage I featured the Chartres stencil. This time I knew Crete was the one to work with and stenciled directly on to the page in my Journal beginning with Viva Decor Inka Gold. I liked the effect I got the last time I used this product and polished it, when dry, with a soft cloth. It then became a wonderful base for shades of Silver, Gold, and Rose Red acrylics. The final element added was a vintage map.
Just working with the Labyrinths allowed me to recall so many memories of my travels. I believe travel empowers you to wander with purpose and explore the passions that drive you. Travel does more than include the physical movement from one place to another. Travel also resurrects the desire to explore within and find love and serenity in just being present.
MATERIAL USED:
- PLAID FOLKART METALLIC ACRYLICS: Rose
- REEVES ACRYLICS: Silver, Gold, Rose Red
- DYE-NA-FLO: Turquoise, Midnight Blue, Magenta, Sun Yellow
- VIVA INKA GOLD GLOSS PAINT
- NATURAL SPONGE
- SOFT CLOTH
- 1” FOAM POLY BRUSH
- RUBBING ALCOHOL
- RUBBER CEMENT
- MINERAL PAPER
- STRATHMORE Mixed-Media Visual Journal 300 Series- 5.5" x 8.5"
- LABYRINTH SERIES STENCILS FROM ARTISTCELLAR
- DIGITAL IMAGES – Purchased & Created
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