Friday, November 14, 2008

Gesso and new bracelet

I occasionally pop in at the GPP Street Team website... this time i decided i would try out what they were talking about. The theme this time is gesso. I myself was specifically interested in the idea of stamping with gesso... that kinda blew my mind haha. Apparantly, the gesso acts as a resist when you stamp it, so that if you paint overtop of it with another colour after it dried, and then wipe off some of that colour the white (or whatever colour you used) of the gesso will show through. Fascinated by this, i thought i'd give it a shot.

I had previously stamped this card with the mask shape, as I found an irresistibly gorgeous hand carved stamp at an Artist Trading Card meeting (no one seemed to know who carved it...?). I got a couple stamps in while i could :). I then stamped the word 'masque' (french for mask) and used the resist technique... voila!






















































I have also been working on a bracelet for a friend of mine, Erin. I missed giving her a present on her birthday, so this is going to be a belated birthday present. I figure that late is better than none? This is a rather simple bracelet, made with twisted wire and these gorgeous beads I picked up while in the Rockies. Their frosted green colour reminded me of the ICY COLD glacial rivers where I went white water rafting. I want to finish of a nice case for it to go in. I am thinking something similar to the mint tin i made a while back for my friend Tasha's birthday... but with the bracelet inside instead of a unicorn.

I still don't have a date yet for when i leave for Korea... I am hoping that it will be soon. I kinda get the feeling like I am sitting here waiting for things to get started. That feeling you get when there is something totally exciting looming in the future, but it is uncertain when it will actually happen. Wish me luck that the immigration office processes our papers quickly :).

12 comments:

michelle ward said...

dale - thanks for coming along to play with the team, and for showing us your gesso resist. now you have to try something bigger so you really see the effect. bravo!

Chris said...

Wow, Dale. Is there no end to what gesso can do?
Thanks for another great idea.

Anonymous said...

nice first attempt ! it already has a layered feeling.
Oh... and don't forget to play often at GPP, cause it's inspiring and fun !
greetings from Belgium
Inge

reagan said...

What a cool mask stamp! That was definitely a find. Love what you did with it, and the soft colors.

Kim Mailhot said...

Nice job with the gesso challenge ! That mask stamp is "magnifique "!
Cheers !

Anonymous said...

The gesso resist looks really great in combination with your mask!

Anonymous said...

The mask looks great, and so does your friend's new bracelet :-) Thanks for sharing with us.

Anonymous said...

You are doing great job..! I absolutely love that bracelet.

Mescrap said...

Thanks for the idea of using gesso.

Kim Tedrow said...

Love the mask, and also the texture at the bottom of the piece. Thanks! -Kim

me2 said...

I love the gesso on your hands while holding the bracelet! It is lovely too, looks like it should have a shamrock charm on it!

Kathryn Costa said...

Thanks for playing along. I learn so much from visiting everyone on the team.