Four Quarters Page Challenge

Here is my piece for the February page challenge in the on-line Altered Book class I am taking.  I was surprised at how long it took me to #1 find an image that I wanted to work with and #2 gather the proper design elements for the challenge.  Images were either too big or too small.  I didn't have the right color or pattern tissue paper.  After pouring through too many magazines to count, I finally came across this image of Marilyn Monroe in a NYC gallery guide a friend had given to me and decided to build my challenge page around her photo.

I gessoed my pages and painted them white.  I placed torn pieces of black and white damask patterned tissue paper in diagonally opposing corners.  I temporarily placed Marilyn in the lower left hand quarter as I played with the rest of my layout.  Initially, I was going to use a luscious red satin ribbon to frame my page, but it was too wide and ultimately too “heavy” for this page.  After some digging (more like excavation) I found this rhinestone trim which I was able to cut down to the perfect width.  I used two strips along the top and bottom to frame my piece.

By now, I was happy with where I had originally placed Marilyn’s photo,  I put the image on white cardstock and gave it a small margin which made it look like an old black and white photo.  I secured the bottom with double-stick tape and used foam mounting strips for the top of the photo for added dimension.

For my text, I wanted to experiment with the re-positional nature of placing text onto deli paper and using it as a collage element.  Since I didn’t have any deli paper, I printed my text onto tracing paper.  I chose a font that went with the overall feel of the page—romantic, dreamy, classic.  I placed the text in the remaining quarter and affixed it with liquid matte medium.

For that something extra to tie everything together, I gave Marilyn a diamond necklace and bracelet (Swarovski crystals).  I used a rhinestone flourish to connect the photo to the text.  I couldn’t resist adding a red lipstick kiss (sticker) for a punch of color.