Next Stop: France

The Amazing Race Art Journaling Challenge's second stop was France.  It has been awhile since I did a Marie Antoinette themed piece.  Although I chose her as my subject for this leg of the race, I wanted to do something a little different with her this time.

As I studied this familiar image, I began to envision her hair as 3-D coils.  I dug out some French text and started cutting the pages into thin strips.  I then coiled the individual strips around a barbeque skewer.  When I had a handful of these coils, I began to arrange them onto her head.  Row after row, her hairdo took shape.  I was really happy with the end result.

I struggled for a time finding the right materials in my stash of lace to use for a collar or necklace.  This combination of gold organza and antique lace seemed to compliment her hair instead of overpowering it.

I had several ideas for what to put on the opposite page.  A stamped image of a chandelier?  A framed portrait of her beloved husband Louis XVI?  An urn filled with colorful flowers?  Since Marie is my focal point, I chose to use her MA monogram, glittered in gold, of course, to finish my France spread.  Now it's off to Italy!