The Three Faces of Suzi

 How FUN IS THIS?!! Today the E-Team is showcasing Suzi Blu for Unity and GUESS WHAT?!!  The ubber talented artist herself is joining in on the fun!!  You'll definitely want to hop to each of the team members blogs.  Suzi was asked different questions about her creativity  process, inspirations, favorite tools, etc., and the E-Team is featuring a different one on their individual blogs. 

Suzi Blu (the artist!!)

Broni Holcombe

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson (that's me!)

Daisy Sparks (owner of eP)

After you've cruised through all the blogs, make sure you leave a comment on the eP blog, letting us know which Suzi Blu set you liked the best. You'll have a chance at winning your favorite set!

Now, for my question of Suzi~

Do you have a place you have visited that really inspires your art?

I always get inspired when I go to galleries. Now not all art inspires me, I have to visit a few galleries sometimes before I find something that gets me excited. Mixed Media is a new art form and it is just beginning to enter the gallery world. When I find a work that is adding layers it always makes me want to rush home and work.

*****

And now for my project!

Raise your hand if you saw Linda's INCREDIBLE project using Suzi Blu's Creative Girl?  Now, try to image the overwhelming sense of "OMG, I was going to use the same image!! How am I suppose to come up with anything that will even be remotely as good?!!

I couldn't.

BUT!! I really like how my project turned out! When I first saw Creative Girl, I knew immediately that I wanted to use metal somehow.  And, with Halloween just around the corner, I started thinking about purples and greens.  And goth girls. 

But I still couldn't get an idea to gel.  So, once again, I called in the BIG GUNS (aka. The Toad).  As usual, he had some creative ideas, just not ones that I had time to take seriously (Toad:  Why don't you do a TOTAL Halloween card?  Paint her up like a dark, goth girl, or vampire type girl.  Cut off her arm and have it all bloody?) Then he came up with the idea to show a Goth Girl and a Hippie Girl. hmmmmm.....maybe!

 I also started pondering the saying around the frame of the image:

I am a Creative Girl.

I have the right to make my mark.

I deserve a rewarding creative life.

And this is how my Three Faces of Suzi came to be (The individual color combinations of the Color Girl and Quiet Girl were chosen by The Toad) 

The Color Girl

The Goth Girl

The Quiet Girl

I tried to remember to take some photos along the way to show how I did the metal work. I promise that one of these days, I'll make a more detailed tutorial.   I used a scrap image (I usually stamp new images on scrap paper to play around with different ideas) and traced the portion I wanted to use onto a piece of Poison Ivy metal using a refiner tool.



You'll notice from this photo that I only used a portion of the image, leaving off the frame.  I love the saying around the frame, but it did not fit into the direction that my Three Faces of Suzi was developing!

Then flipping the metal from side to side, I used the refiner and paper stumps to emboss or deboss certain elements.

After I had the image embossed how I wanted it, I used a sanding block to sand away the color from the raised portions, revealing the aluminum underneath.  

You'll noticed that I puffed out the main outline of the girl.  I wanted to lift the actual image from the background when put together.  Puffing the outline eliminated me having to use foam tape to pop the image.

The three images were stamped on Pure Luxury card stock with Archival Jet Black ink.  I used sponges and Distress Inks in Fired Brick, Dusty Concord and Black Soot to color the different tones of hair.  Copics were used to color the dresses.  I deliberately did not do any shading on the dresses.  I wanted to achieve a more stark look to the dresses with just the faint impression of fine pleats.  I was also afraid that if I shaded, my shading would be different enough on each image that it would take away from the uniform look I wanted in all three images.  Each of the heart pendants were also covered in glossy accents (which does not show up in the pictures at all!!)

The images were cut out and matted onto black card stock.  I then used more Poison Ivy metal as my base layer.  All three images were then placed into a frame that had the larger white mat inset.  I debated adding something else to the white mat, but I rather like the stark clean and simple frame around the darker metal and images.  This will hang in my creative space.  Who knows?  Maybe one day I'll get the creative hair to add more too it.  Or just let it be.  Guess it will depend on which Creative Girl is residing at the time!!

Supplies:  Stamps:  Creative Girl by Suzi Blu for Unity.  Paper:  Pure Luxury (Gina K), Basic Black.  Inks:  Distress Inks in Fired Brick, Black Soot and Dusty Concord.  Copic Ciao markers.  Accessories:  TenSecondStudio's Poison Ivy Metal, refiner, paper stumps, sanding block and decorative wheel.  Glossy Accents and Tombo Mono Metal Liquid Glue.  Other: frame

I hope you have enjoyed all the wonderful projects that the E-Team created along with Suzi Blu!!  Thanks for dropping by again today and remember: 



You are a Creative Individual

You have the right to make YOUR mark

You deserve a rewarding creative life!!

And a very special Thank You to The Toad:  once again you bailed me out!

Till next time.........