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Friday, March 18, 2016

We're All Ears :: March Reveal

"The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry." ~ Robert Burns

I had the best intentions with this month's challenge. I love the mandala shapes, the bright color palette, the intricate patterns. I actually wanted to do something with wire and beads and a frame (of course, seed beads terrify me as anything other than a mere spacer bead, but I foolishly thought that maybe I could teach myself a little bead weaving or something....clearly, I am delusional). I might still revisit the ideas that I had, but with the time dwindling down to nothing, I knew I had to enact a plan B.

I am working on putting together an art exhibit for this fall so I have been amassing all manner of stuff for all my lofty mixed media ideas. Maybe it is just an excuse to splurge on tools and materials, I don't know. Anyway, as I stood in the middle of my studio around 9:00pm (I spent all day trying to get my receipts wrangled for tax time - I'm up to September. Woohoo!), dumbfounded as to what I could do with the few remaining hours I had left, I spotted a set of specialty paints that I bought for my show. I needed to find a time to play with them and determine what use they would be to me, so why not kill two birds with that proverbial stone?



These paints are called Pebeo Prisme paints. Tiny little pots of liquid metallic colors that yield the most fantastic results. They had settled quite a bit and needed a lot of stirring, but the colors were rich and shimmery and the effect might just work to give a mosaic feel to the little charms I found in my stash.



I layered the colors by dripping them on top of each other using a toothpick. Then I just sat back and watched the magic happen.


You see these paints react to the air and each other by making natural honeycomb shapes. As they dry, the effect changes minute by minute. What I didn't realize is that these paints need a minimum of 6 hours to dry to the touch (72 hours to be fully cured!). Ah, well.... I couldn't very well disturb these little charms working their miracles.

Morphing Mandala {temporary} earrings

But I did ever-so-gently pick up the first pair I made, using a color palette straight from the inspiration, and quickly made them into some very simple earrings, before dismantling them to rest for the full cure time. Aren't they fab?

Pairs, anyone?

I quite like the effect of these paints. They have a wonderful morphing nature that is unpredictable. That is why I like them so much! So now I know how they react and I am excited to make them the stars of some of my art pieces that I am planning, plus I think a little line of these funky earrings (made to look a lot better than these temporary ones up above!) might just be the thing to fill up my case at the gallery for spring and summer!


I might even decide to make some pairs available in my shop in case others want to use them as well, in case anyone is interested... I will see how this batch turns out, because where you see them now is not likely how they will end up, and then I might want to add some resin over the top to make them really POP. It will be quite exciting to see them in the morning! [UPDATE: see the new picture above to see some of the changes that happened overnight.]

I can't wait to see what you created using this inspiration!



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20 comments:

  1. Your morphing earrings are great! And your plan B is far more ambitious than my plan As ever are.

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  2. Wowee, those little charms are mesmerizing. I've heard of that paint before and now, seeing what you've done, I think I want some too. Your 'earrings in waiting' have fabulous color combinations. Thanks for another great inspiration.

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  3. What cool paints! So interesting how they react and change. I hope you'll share the finished products with us once they've finished curing.

    I thought that I was bad about waiting until the last minute, but you have me beat in that department! Although I too spent a good part of yesterday finishing up my business tax paperwork.

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  4. Oh my goodness, amazing!!!!! I love the way they reacted and morphed. Fantastic as always Erin!!

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  5. Thanks for sharing the technique. The results are amazing. Well done!

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  6. Tammy, you stole my word, mesmerizing. what cool little effects you get. Sometimes glass will do that with certain combinations but not often.

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  7. Wow, those are incredible! I have never heard of paint doing such a cool thing. You've really captured the essence of the inspiration. Really beautiful charms and earrings!

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  8. Wow! these paints make wonderful and fascinating charms! I discovered these paints a while ago and I love them!

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  9. Erin, the charms-mandalas are so amazing! Love the colors! Very creative. The earrings are simply beautiful!

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  10. The components are very interesting - I have never heard of such a technique before.

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  11. Its fun to do something new. I need to do that more often.Your morphing charms are wonderful.
    Thanks for another great challenge.

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  12. Those are so cool! I love the organic, morphing nature of the paints--and how you used it to echo the intricate nature of the geometric patterns. What a neat dichotomy. Thank you so much for picking out such a lovely inspiration... I greatly enjoyed playing along! :)

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  13. Oh wow, you achieved some great effects with these paints, it's great to take time out to experiment some times x

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  14. Your creativity amazes me, these discs are so pretty. I enjoyed reading about Islamic architecture. Thanks for sharing.

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  15. Very cool paint! Another item on my increasingly long list of things to try!

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  16. Really cool work on your part, Erin! I'm glad you went with Plan B!

    Thanks for hosting this challenge! I really enjoyed participating and seeing all the entries!

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  17. Love the plan B, I can't wait til I can get back in the loop. Tax season always limits what I can do the beginning of the year...but I will be back afterwards. But will have to get some of that paint and try it out. I love the mandala look!

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  18. Erin, you Always, capital A Always have amazing things to share. Your heart and mind always find new and creative ways to make your work sing. Love this paint! Great idea; super results.

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  19. p.s. I thoroughly enjoyed the other earrings made in this challenge, too! Thank you all for sharing.

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