My garden attracts many birds and so it doesn't come as a big surprise that I often find feathers on the ground. Some of them I pick up with the intention to use them in a mixed media project. A short class by French artist Laly Mille inspired me to create these three small pieces.
The top photo shows my first laying out the papers and feathers on watercolor paper that I had cut to 3⅜" by 5⅜" pieces each. I did stick to this first layout, but added more to it in the process.
Here is how the individual pieces turned out.
Gluing down bird feathers is NOT fun and I wouldn't do it again. The mulberry paper under the feathers completely "disappeared" when I adhered it with gel medium which wasn't what I had in mind. In order to achieve a bit more texture I added coffee stained cheesecloth and rubbed some gesso on it.
Years ago for reasons I cannot remember I bought two 9 x 12" burlap canvas that since then had quietly collected dust on top of a shelf (they were wrapped in plastic, so no harm done). I finally found a use for one of them: I adhered the three collage pieces to it, using super strong tape. Voilà, I had a new mixed media art piece.
This is my contribution to Nicole's Sunday in the Art Room.
5 comments:
Gorgeous feather art!
What a terrific way to incorporate feathers into collage art! I particularly like your use of cheesecloth fibres. And all three look so gorgeous together on that burlap canvas!
Years ago I worked with feathers in a different way. Your idea is brilliant. I love how you added the details to bring out the colors in the feathers. Yes, gluing them down is difficult but you achieved it beautifully. I also like how you put them together on the burlap. Just beautiful. Thank you for sharing with SITAR and have a nice Sunday.
...feathers are among Mother Nature's finest designs.
I have never used bird feathers as decoration or in art before. I like the harmony of colors, the simplicity of the subject, and the burlap material in your work.
When I once found bird feathers on the shore of a small lake, I thought that birds must have been flying there, but everything was so quiet that it was almost unimaginable...
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