Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Danse Macabre Throwdown

Well, skeleton crew that we are, we made it!
Haunted Design House is back in the 
Just me and  fellow Minion, Donna this time around though.

The chosen theme for this month's challenge is 
"Danse Macabre" or the "Dance of  Death".
Last month's throwdown winners, Airless Chambers  chose the theme.
And what a wicked theme it is!!

Growing up and listening to metal bands, I immediately thought of
a song by "Celtic Frost", aptly named, "Danse Macabre". 
Well, it was sort of a song. More like track from a
creepy, Satanic movie soundtrack.
Here is the YouTube link, incase you're feeling inquisitive.
But, that was my inspiration for my throwdown piece.  
I tell you this, thinking it might make some sense now, but it probably
just makes me seem that much more bizarre.

I have been collecting old baby dolls lately, when I visit the thrift shop.
I felt kinda embarrassed at first, with this filthy baby doll at the check out.
But now, I feel like I'm liberating these poor, neglected souls.
After apologetically removing his appendages and head, I gessoed, 
and then painted the head with various acrylic paints.

 
Made quite few rookie mistakes,but it all ended up working well in the end.
I applied TH Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy, (rather thickly at times)
for the final crackle effect. 
Rock Candy is now my "go to" crackle medium.  

Then, I got the bright idea to use old dictionary pages for some punches
later. I used some homemade Distress Ink sprays, but didn't factor in the
unexpected humidity and rain we were having. It took what seemed like
forever to dry, but the end result was awesome!

Still damp!!! I cannot punch damp paper!!!!

I decided that I needed a crown, so I fashioned one out of old jewelry and
some grungeboard.

Ah! The dictionary paper is finally dry, so I use a piece to add my  required, 
stamped image. I used this cool, Stamper's Anonymous stamp that was gifted to me. 

I also started punching stars for the baby's collar.

I hand wrote the quote, "The Dance of the Dead unites us all!" 
on an old dictionary page. Basically meaning, that we all are on the same level once we die.
No one cares who was rich or poor when the Reaper comes a callin".  

I wanted an old, corroded, gritty feel to this project. 
I feel that the use of resin sand achieved this effect quite well.


I mixed it with black acrylic paint to save myself the step of painting it
black later. This way, once it was dry I could go directly to the highlights. 
I used metallic acrylic paints to give it all a metal feel.

Here is my other stamp! I actually used two on this side, but the winged skeleton
under the Deceased stamp is super faded after all the painting and stuff.
I used my cherished, Meer Image stamps.  The very first scrapbook expo I ever
went to (ages ago), is when I found Meer Images and the talented artist behind them,

My little baby head needed a collar, so I created one out of distress inked
dictionary pages, and a star punch. I felt that a circle or a scallop wasn't
going to be pointy enough for my little friend. The star gave the perfect
amount of sharpness needed.

 It kind of mimics the points of the crown.
I added some more resin sand to the crown, along with a
handmade polymer clay skull and more acrylic paint.

Well, here is my nut can, turned gritty commentary on Death.
Drop by HDH see what kind of wickedness Donna cooked up
for her entry. We kinda ROCKED it!!!

Voting starts on Thursday, and we'd really love it if you voted for
your favorite project from the team who deserves it the most.
Go to Smeared and Smudged ning group to see all of the entries
and to cast your vote. Voting ends Saturday at midnight.

8 comments:

  1. OMG! YOU ROCK, Glo! What a fabulously creative project. Can't begin to tell you how I adore that baby's complexion and the can is just immense. Love your interpretation of the theme. Yea, US! xxD

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  2. freakin'awesome Gloria, love everything about it, great techniques

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  3. Just freaking amazing girl! Love those stamps, I'd not heard of them before. Every little detail is just so perfect, from that tiny crown thrown that wonderful collar to the gritty rust all over. Wonderful art. Good luck in the throwdown dear friend xxxxx

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  4. This is FREAKING AMAZING!!!!!!! WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!! x

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  5. wow Glo this is a work of art..I love this. masterfully made looks fantastic awesome my friend.
    susan s

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  6. this is so awesome Glo, loooooooove it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  7. Yeah, I would say you rocked it! So creepy and beautiful to look at, I adore that you used an icy color for the head and then rusty warm coloring on the can, just brings it to another level. What a great idea to mix your paint in with your resin, I definitely need to try the resin/sand combo cause it looks awesome. Can I be on your Christmas list pretty please? You wouldn't need to make anything new, just send this along ha!
    But seriously, LOVE it!

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  8. Yes, I would say you definitely rocked it! I adore that you used an icy color for the doll head and then contrasted it with warm, rusty metal colors on the can. And what an awesome idea to color the resin before hand! I'll definitely need to give the resin/sand mixture a try, the texture is stunning. Can I pretty please be on your Christmas list, you wouldn't need to make anything new, just send this along, HA! But really, outstanding project!

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