Sunday 30 December 2012

Rachel Rosina Davison

Hi! I hope everyone had a joyful Christmas with family and friends.
 Today I'm showing a framed fusion collage done at "Creating Bliss" craft camp, (organised and run by Julie http://timetocreate-handmadetreasure.blogspot.com.au/  ) in May this year (and it was a blissful and creative camp with many new techniques learnt and passed on to others). This is also my entry for http://anythingbutacard.blogspot.com.au challenge,  anything goes or favourite project of the year.


Framed portrait of Grandmother



Enlargement of section showing details of lace and fabric leaves

The photo is of my grandmother, Rachel Rosina Davison (nee Harvey). We believe that this was taken at her wedding in 1901. This is one of two wedding photos I have of her, and since it was taken from a copy of a copy of the original, some of the finer details of her dress have been lost in the reprinting processes.
Julie has called this a fusion technique, because much of the adhering of fabric and lace to papers, and papers to the backing card was done by ironing on Steam a Seam 2. Various vintage style papers were used to go with the photo and the era in which it was taken. These were distressed slightly by smooshing on stains and adding stamped images that seemed to fit. The mat under the photo was embossed to give the piece some additional texture. The fabric leaves were stained and misted with glimmer mist before applying the Steam a Seam 2, and then fussy cut before ironing on to the background. The lace which I had in my stash begged to be used for this as it reflected not only the fashion of the day, but also the lace on Grandma's dress. The only other embellishment was the stick-on pearls, again another fashion statement of the era.
I don't remember my grandmother very much, being only about 3 when she died. However, I think she would have liked the treatment of this portrait as she apparently loved sewing, particularly embroidery, as well as making clothes for her children. A photo of  all of the children showed her use of lace on the frocks of the girls in the family.
I loved this technique and will, hopefully, make a similar piece showing my mother at a similar age.
Thank you for stopping by and Happy New Year! Here's to more creative crafting in the coming year.
Cheers, Di

6 comments:

  1. Your collage is beautiful Di and your explanation of technique is spot on. We did have a good time didn't we?
    Thank you for joining in with anything But A Card and Happy New Year to you.

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  2. Oh Di, love that lace and the fabric leaves. You were clearly inspired to create a masterpiece at Julie's place (no surprise there!) and it is a fitting tribute to your grandmother. Wishing you a wonderful New Year. Hugs, Jenny x

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  3. What a great hommage to your grandmother Diane...very nice artwork!

    Wish you all the best and lots of creative moments in 2013!

    greetings, Alie :-)

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  4. very pretty! Great use of lace and fabric leaves!
    Thanks for joining us at Anything But A Card!

    Hugs, Alica ;)

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  5. Happy New Year Di!! I'm catching up with all the entries at Anything But A Card after the festive break. It's a bit spooky but I also got some pictures at Christmas of various relatives which I've never seen before. I've printed some out and hope to make something soon with them so seeing this may kick start me into action!
    I love the vintage look of your piece and the use of fabrics and gorgeous lace too. Wish I could attend one of Julie's 'camps' too - looks like you had lots of fun.
    Thanks so much for joining us at Anything But A Card again.
    Juliaxx

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  6. This is such a stunning piece... the combination of lace, papers, stamping and that wonderful photo make it a fantastic tribute to your grandmother, as well as a beautiful piece of art. Thanks so much for your visit and kind words - much appreciated!
    Alison x

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