Parts is Parts

My brain is pudding.  Other artists out there, do you get to this point too?  No matter how much you love the project you're working on, do you get to a point where you are just done?  Where you are so tired of being immersed in it, gasping for air, you just need to do and see something else?

I've been given a bit of a reprieve.  I have until the end of the week to get it in, so that takes a lot of pressure off.  These wings are what I have been working on almost non-stop.  If I were physically capable of crocheting for hours on end, I would have finished with this long before now.  Each wing has four layers of pineapple stitch feathers; between cramped hands and other obligations, I can only do about two or three of the layers per day.  The bottom layer has twice as many "feathers" as the top layer.

Time constraints and availability of materials have caused me to adapt my plan.  I was originally thinking that I wanted a mirrored vanity tray to work as the pond, but aside from those being hard to find in the thrift store, I also was feeling that it was just a little too granny chic / leisure craft for me.  DH went a-thrifting with me on Saturday.  We found this wooden lazy susan and I knew right then that this is what I needed!

Oh, and the thrift store on Saturday is SCARY!

I printed out some pictures I had taken of the sand and water at the Great Salt Lake.  I used Mod Podge to glue these down.  I'll be adding some paint to blend those hard edges.  I don't know exactly what I'm doing to the outside rim, but I'm thinking some of the Golden textural bases might be nice, to make it look a little sandy.  I'm also going to put a few river stones around the edges and I will stand up some reeds made of vintage book pages.  The final step, once I have the swans sitting in the middle, will be to pour a layer of resin.

I put gesso on the inside of the shoes to stiffen them up a bit.  I will stuff the shoes with wool roving after I attach the wings, heads, and tails.

Before I attach the parts I will collage the outside of the shoes with these bits.  This is another change I had to make.  I originally was going to go find a vintage French text and punch shapes from that because I like the way it looks.  In the interest of time, I decided to use this old German text instead.  I'm happy with this decision, because I like the look of the Gothic font.  And yes, those are snowflakes.  I don't want to completely obliterate the pink satin of the shoes; the perforated paper allows more pink to show through.

So what are you all up to this week?  Any babies show up yet????   You know who you are.

Until Wednesday, ciao!