Subway Wall Art...

PHEW! It's been a whirlwind my friends and I do hope you have enjoyed all of the sneak peeks for my Artsy Adventure Tour thus far. I have so enjoyed creating with all of these amazing new products and I cannot wait to share them with you in my various classes!

I have one final project to share with you today but there is a bit of an explanation to go along with it so please grab a coffee and read along!

Over the past couple of years in home decor stores around the globe some amazing works of art have become the hottest things to decorate your home. These are often distressed images enhanced with meaningful words or quotes of virtually every theme can be found. On a recent trip to Europe this inspiration hit me hard and I felt the need as an artist to try my hand at recreating my interpretation of what I think resembles vintage Subway Wall Art. Think of vintage posters plastered on a wall that are layered over other ones and eventually they wear away to reveal even more underneath. Does that make sense? lol! Sometimes what I have in my head is not always put into words quite as eloquently! Maybe it's easier to just show than describe verbally...

I knew when I set out to do this class I wanted to push folks out of their comfort zones. Collage art can be intimidating to some but I have to tell ya... it is soooooooooo much fun! There are no right or wrong ways necessarily and it sure is fun to learn some of these techniques!

Now I cannot say this enough... NO TWO PROJECTS will be alike. EVER! I can guide you of course and you are more than welcome to do your best to duplicate it as much as possible but it isn't meant to be that kind of class. There are so many variables that it's almost impossible to get a duplicate. And that is 110% OKAY! That's what the goal of this class is. This is about technique and building your confidence so that you can go ahead and recreate using other images. In fact, everyone in class will have their choice of two different themes. The theme I am showing today is Parisian. The other theme will be more botanical in nature and those photos will be posted soon. I chose to keep it generic (Paris) because if I asked you to bring your own images you wouldn't even know where to begin and it would likely become overwhelming. By me providing you with a couple of themes to choose from (Parisian AND Botanical) you can enjoy the process of learning how to do this and if you feel compelled to create another well... you will have another set of images to go for it. Then if you are really ambitious, you can use your own images to create more works of art.

The kits will be awesome of course (I always try to make sure we have amazing kits). You will all have the same goodies to play with but depending on HOW you choose to use them you can get different results.

Let me show some pics as I try to explain....

 Let's start with backgrounds... we will all have a large blank canvas to serve as our base. You will have numerous graphics to choose from. There will be an assortment of stamps to choose from and you will be encouraged to bring some of your favourites as I want this project to have personal touches throughout. You will notice that the above foundation I have used many of the same images, text, stamps, etc as the canvas below. Positioning may vary and that is just fine. We all use the same techniques but depending on how much you distress, ink colours, etc you can get a totally different effect such as the canvas shown below...

This is the first time I have EVER done this for a class but I actually created about 5 of these canvas backgrounds as I wanted to show the variations. The canvas above is darker and very heavily distressed. Photos do not do it the justice it deserves!

If you look closely below that there are layers galore. They may not be the traditional lumpy bumpy layers that you may be accustomed to with a class of mine but there is definitely visual interest!

Once the foundation is complete, it's time to continue with the layers... we will play with stencils and modelling paste. Have you tried this stuff yet? OMG... sooooooooo much fun and the possibilities are endless. Definitely a new addiction of mine! Here is a pic of the Modelling Paste applied over an awesome stencil... before I added, inks sprays, etc. I could have almost just left it naked... as is.

Here's a close up so you can see the texture it adds to a project!

 But look at how gorgeous it can be when you blend in inks, etc. The flourish below is a prime example... 

Now those are examples of the things we will do with the base. From there we will add even more fun stuff! In keeping with the vintage-y distressed feeling of this project we will create our very own print blocks... LOVE this effect! You will choose your quote as you will have the numerous letters to create your focal word along with some other cool Tim Holtz letters where there are so many in the pack you can pretty much create the entire quote for your Subway Wall Art Masterpiece. Of course, you can choose to use the same quote I did or you can change the title/quote so it is more personal to you. That is entirely up to you!!!

  

 We will add some fun finishing touches that will truly complete this project to perfection! Afterall, have you ever known me to do a project that is without dimension? NEVER!!! Fabulous complimentary embellishments including some FABULOUS Dusty Attic Chipboard among other things.

So there you have it. I hope this explains the Subway Wall Art Class for you all and that you will join me at either Scrapbook Central in Canada or Scrap N Patch, Scrapbook Secrets or Scrap with Friends in Australia.

Spaces are filling fast but if you contact them ASAP you should be able to secure your space! Grab a friend or two and come for a few splendid hours of artsy fun. Leave your fears at the door and know that we will ALL be creating some awesome creations... and have an absolute blast doing so!

Stay tuned and I will post pics of the botanical variation soon...

Also, I think it's just about time for a contest. Hmmmmmmmm... did I get your attention? Leave your comments as to which one of the classes for my Artsy Adventure Tour I have shown this past week or so is your favourite and why. Be sure to share where you have registered to participate (remember that if you cannot attend you CAN get a kit) and I will draw a winner on March 20. How does that sound? What's up for grabs? How about an assortment of Mixed Media goodies with a value of at least $50 retail!

Now you may not hear much from me over the next few days as I have another event to finish preparing for (Scrapfest) in Kitchener, Ontario! I will be posting THOSE official sneak peeks here too over the next week or two. SO much Scrappy goodness going on... PHEW!

Anyways, thanks for reading to the end... remember, leave your comments for your chance to win... share this post... register and get ready for FUN!

Happy Scrapping!
Trisha