Friday, October 18, 2013

The Queen Bee, a Mixed Media Piece

While on a leaf-peeping excursion in New Hampshire, I came across a lovely antique shop in Petersburgh, Grove and Main.  I picked up some vintage glassware as well as a few pieces of ephemera.  Among the ephemera were 3 miniature porcelain dolls, one of which is featured in this mixed media craft.

Last weekend while my husband and I were sitting in our car in the parking lot of the mall I fell in love with a beautiful miniature maple tree with vibrant red and orange leaves.  I Googled it and discovered it's proper name is an Amur Maple.  I plucked a few branches and pressed the leaves.  I also used these in this mixed media piece.  While I was at it, I grabbed a few deep red leaves from a neighboring Fire Bush and included them in my creation as well.

I took an unfinished shadow box I purchased from Michaels and painted it with a mixture of acrylic paints in shades of coffee bean, vanilla & gold.  I whirled the colors with a sponge brush and applied it all over the box.  I then wadded up a paper towel and dipped back into the gold and dabbed it on here and there.  I then added an abstract scrapbooking paper with birds inside the box and dabbed some gold on it as well.



Then I began layering the dried leaves around the outside of the frame, making it heavier on the bottom right.  From there I added a ribbon and flower in the center and behind it placed the porcelain doll and added butterfly wings to make her a faerie.  I donned her with a bee to hide her nakedness and gave her a bronze crown as a finishing touch.  A brass butterfly, a flower with a crystal center, a feather and the words The Queen Bee all became a part of my creation.  I sprayed the entire piece with gold glitter spray.


I love creating mixed media art but sometimes have difficulty transferring my idea from my brain to the craft table.  This time, however, it came together well and I love the results!  Even though it has a fall feeling to it, I will keep it up all year round as I like it too much to put it away.






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