Art Elements October Theme - Gothic

 

Image from Pinterest

The Art Elements Theme of the Month is Gothic. I had fun looking on Pinterest for Gothic images. You can find my Art Elements Theme board here.

I had a couple of ideas, but the one idea I wanted to create was having a black cat, a full moon and the number 13. I LOVE the number 13. I especially love Friday the 13 with a full moon. Unfortunately for me, mom had me on a Tuesday, the 13th. Not the same ring as Friday, the 13th.

Here are the ideas mom drew up for me. One of the patterns is from the Pinterest board - called Never more.

The Nevermore piece I wanted to saw it out of copper and have a boarder around the crow and monument. I wanted to texture the piece and hand-stamp the Nevermore into the copper. 

The black cat, 13 and moon I wanted to enamel the two pieces together. That is of course after mom saws out the pieces from copper.

Mom sawed out the Nevermore piece. We ended up making a change to the piece before mom started sawing out. We added more limbs (clouds) to the other side of the piece so it was more balanced. 

I sawed out the perimeter of the black cat and the moon and then handed them off to mom so she could finish sawing out the interiors. I even helped file and sand some of the pieces. That usually never happens because I HATE filing and sanding!

I finally figured out what stamps I wanted to use for the Nevermore word (that was difficult). I also was going back and forth on the texture hammer and what textures I wanted to use. Huge ordeal of too many choices!!!!

Once I textured the piece and hand-stamped the word Nevermore onto the copper I put the copper into liver of sulfur for it to patina the copper. I think I ended up liver of sulfuring three times because I wasn't happy for the first two times after I sanded down the patina. I was finally happy with the final patina. After I finished sanding down the patina I then sprayed it with lacquer and then let it hang for more than 24 hours to dry.

Here you go for the Nevermore piece.

I am not sure how we are going to display this piece. I really, really, really think it is too big for a pendant :) I think we might end up just displaying it in a shadowbox. But, who knows. Mom and I have not discussed this yet.

On Sunday I set up the tables to enamel. I enameled the pieces for the Gothic theme and I also enameled earrings and pendants.

The pieces after we cleaned them and before I put the first coat of clear down on the backs of the pendants.

The clear on the back of the pendants. I am letting them dry and then into the kiln they go.

Color has gone on the pieces and waiting for them to try and then into the kiln they go.

I have just put the enamel on the front of the pieces and I have layered the pieces together. The piece will then go into the kiln and cross my fingers that this will work.

Crossing my fingers did work. These are the completed pieces. But hey...can you see something spooky in the the picture? Look at the black cat and tell me what you see.

Here - I will make it a little bit bigger for you:

I totally freaked myself out when I saw that in the picture. I was trying to figure out what put that image into the glass. I was looking around the garage and there were no pictures to cast the reflection, and it wasn't me reflected in the glass. I was thinking that the garage was haunted.

Mom was laughing at me. What put that shadow in there perfectly was three holes in the copper. Mom and I decided we weren't going to put a design in the cats face or put whiskers on the cat. But, we made the decision after mom drilled the holes into the copper. I told mom I would just enamel over the holes. When I took that picture the shadows, and the holes, cast a perfect spooky image to freak out Beth :)

Here is the images of the spooky full moon, black cat, 13:

If you would like to see what everyone else has created please go to the Art Elements Community Facebook page and check out the month's challenge album.