Last week I ran an article featuring one of my latest Assemblage Canvases that I had just listed on Etsy. Although I had given it the “hang and wait test” and it had passed (I let an art piece hang for a week in my art studio before listing to convince myself it’s finished), I was still a bit unsure of its final design. Holding it in my hands, I saw the beauty of the finished piece but was concerned that photos wouldn’t adequately showcase what I was seeing. I couldn’t rid myself of the nagging feeling that I was right – it was a piece that was better suited for a one-on-one sale than an online sale.

After tracking the public’s response through multiple tools, I decided it was time to let the piece evolve further. I told myself that I wasn’t changing it so much as I was taking it to its next level. Whatever Vicky! I changed its focal point by removing and replacing the figurehead and toning down the starkness of the building by adding gray and bronze tones. I’m much happier with the final product and that nagging feeling has fled. It really is finished!

And the final piece…

The full details can be found here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vicky

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It all started with that Greek ancient looking figurehead and a heart. It sat for days waiting for me to feel inspired to continue. What was I to do with those two pieces? What direction should I take?

By the third day, I reached for a resin off white plaque featuring an ancient building that was now in pieces. I had taken a hammer to it a few months earlier to give me broken chunks of that building. I just knew those 3D bits would work well in future Assemblage pieces. So, I added the resin building chunk and let the piece sit again for a few days as I worked on other Assemblage canvases. Now and then I’d glance at it and carry over another embellishment or two to add to its growing idea stack.

This is how art grows in my studio. Rarely do I just sit down and start a piece knowing where it will go. Instead, I first plan my color scheme and then create the textured background. Next, I choose the focal point which sometimes takes me days (now you can see why I usually work on four or five art pieces at a time). In this piece, the focal point is actually three pieces – the figurehead, heart, and building. Once I’ve selected the focal point, I start searching my multiple embellishment boards and sectioned boxes of assemblage elements for those items I think would work well with the growing theme in my head.

Finally – when I did start the actual assembling of this piece, it flowed easily. I worked and worked – caught up in the creating but not knowing exactly where it would end up. It was almost like it had a bit of an aura that drew me to create in a specific manner.  When I felt it was almost completed, I searched for the final element and saw the REMNANTS charm hanging on one of my embellishment boards and knew it was a perfect finishing touch.

And now for the official description…

Inspired by the combination of a centuries old figurehead and a scrap of an ancient building, I dove into this 3D Assemblage wall art on canvas not really knowing where it would end up. The stunning result has a bit of an ancient feel all over and it’s filled with found objects, both vintage and new. The “REMNANTS” word charm seemed to be the perfect finishing touch.

I chose a blend of light violet and light blue mixed with gray tones for the foundation and then started adding complimentary colors as the layers of elements increased. My Assemblage Art is best described as “original 3D collage on canvas”. It does have a mixed media vibe as well but its many elements place it firmly in the Assemblage category.

Measuring 12.0″ x 9.0″ with a depth of 1.875″, the background is textured with stenciled modeling paste and finished off with a number of paints, spritzes, and metallic waxes.

Vintage found objects include:
Brass flowers and leaves
Chandelier trims
Rectangle metal piece
White bird
Buttons
Jewelry – earrings, beads, and base pieces for building jewelry
Metal leaves
Filigreed and Ivy embellishments
Wood half rounds
Decorative hors d’oeuvres forks
Resin piece of ancient structure

Newer elements include quote charm, metal embellishments, resin figurehead, filagreed rounds, beaded bracelet piece, wings, bark, filigreed heart, flower cabochons, and styrofoam heart.

Original article updated Nov, 2017 to include current status – SOLD

Dimensions: 12.0” height x 9.0” wide x 1.875″ deep

Hangers are attached and, while I prefer the no-frame look, this is ready for framing. This piece will also display nicely on an easel.

All art pieces sold at Art Creations by Vicky are the work of artist Vicky Hensley and are one of a kind.

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Spending time in natural environments has always been one of my favorite things to do. I long to be deep in a forest or looking out over a mountain or standing in a stream. Fortunately, our cabin fills many of these longings with trails deep into the woods and a mountain view. And sometimes, I just have to transfer my longings for nature into my artwork.

Finding the polymer clay mold for this woodland nymph inspired today’s work. When creating, I let this one sit for days at a time as I contemplated my next move on its design. One thing I knew I must do – keep the elements large since I was working on a larger canvas. I knew filling a 16″ x 20″ canvas with hundreds of tiny objects was not the direction I wanted to take. I wanted the nymph to stand out and I pulled it off!

Now for the full detail…

3D Woodland Collage – Forest Nymph

Discovering a polymer clay mold for this gorgeous forest nymph (in round frame), my imagination went into overdrive as I saw visions of a woodland collage – Assemblage Canvas style. Straight from Greek Mythology, I envisioned an original 3D wall art piece featuring the woodland goddess in her natural environment. Some may call her a fairy rather than a nymph and that fits too!

One of my largest pieces to date, it measures 20″ x 16″ x 1.75″. Its background is comprised of numerous layers of paint and spritz sprays and stenciled texture paste in a number of designs. The art form is called Assemblage Art, a method of creating a larger art piece from smaller (found) objects. My assemblage art is on canvas rather than free standing.

The found objects used in creating this piece are, in a large part, vintage. Vintage elements include:
Round wood frame
Tin candy mold
Brass flowers and leaves
Chandelier trim
Jewelry – earrings, brooches, and beads
Beaded flowers
Filigreed and Ivy embellishments
Piece of beaded purse
Piece of beaded collar
Rhinestone button

Newer elements include polymer clay face made by yours truly, buttons, resin heart, and metal embellishments.

$149.00

Available for purchase at my Etsy shop

Dimensions: 20.0” height x 16.0” wide x 1.75″ deep

Hangers are attached and, while I prefer the no-frame look, this is ready for framing. This piece will also display nicely on an easel.

All art pieces sold at Art Creations by Vicky are the work of artist Vicky Hensley and are one of a kind.

 

I haven’t been around for the past two weeks as I’ve been preparing for and running the third annual Cousins Camp for my grandchildren. It’s fun in the very biggest way as I hold it at our cabin in the country and our days are filled with artwork and field trips and… no toys or electronics are allowed. Next year, our numbers will be increasing by two as the youngest cousins will be turning 4 – the magic age that proclaims you old enough to be a Cousin Camper. That means I’ll need a Camp Counselor and my daughter has been called upon to start getting ready now!

So, early this morning my art studio was calling me and I was up at 4:30 a.m. (NOT my usual hour). I’ve been fortunate to sell quite a few of my artworks the past few weeks leaving the selection lower than I prefer, although still significant. It’s mostly filled with newer works as the older pieces have gradually moved on to their new homes. Production and finalizing pieces I’ve had underway is taking top priority.

Today’s Beginnings article will now run monthly and it will be filled with art in process rather than – you got it – finished work.

No embellishments have been adhered to any of the pieces yet other than the moon and its crown and quote charm. I’m still moving the elements around and adding to get a better idea of where I’m headed. I have most of my elements chosen for the piece featuring the blue heart with figurehead and I’ll just start gluing without planning further since it is a smaller canvas. However, I can’t do that with the larger pieces and I tread carefully as I fashion the focal point on the larger pieces. Then the finish occurs rather quickly.

See that black blob in the upper left – honestly, how can you miss it?! It actually represents a great deal of work to date as I’m layering it and using a few difficult techniques. It’s a work that will be built with black as its bottom layer rather than the traditional white/off white and feature a steampunk theme.

I’m a little concerned about that black canvas now. Its frame has twisted a little and now all four corners don’t touch the table. This is a new problem for me and, honestly, unless I can repair it, I’ll ditch it rather than build the intricate piece I’m planning. I haven’t started researching the cure for the problem (surely there is one?). If any of you know of a fix, could you message me here? I’d be most appreciative!

Here’s to wishing you a great June! I’ll be back later this week.

Vicky