India

I was on a journaling kick and wanted to use this image, since it was so bright. I began by painting the background pink, then I stamped several yellow keys using yellow paint. I covered up all but part of one, which shows how planning can save effort and products. "India" is hand printed in Figures stamped on hmp. I actually drew lines on the page in gold to keep the journaling relatively straight. I don't normally do that. I used a black Sharpie for the journaling. Unfortunately, Sharpies bleed and smear, something I didn't realize till I had messed up the right side. This is the first spread for India.

Some of the most beautiful and colorful pages came from India. I had so many images, I made a collage of as many photos as possible. Some came from travel brochures, some from magazines. The black with gold swirls mat on the right side is cut from an old hatbox. I recently added a pewter elephant in the top right (by the elephant photos). The page scanned better without it.

Several years ago I got a wonderful gift from a fellow altered artist. It was wrapped in this colorful paper. When I saw it, I knew I would use it someday. I added a piece of a gold necklace for the embellishment.

The elephant was part of a cover on a travel brochure. I knew I had to use it. I love the image. To contrast it, I added a silhouette of the Taj Mahal. I learned that dark colors should be the background for light objects, and light backgrounds for dark objects. These seemed like the perfect compliments.

I really wanted to include the Taj Mahal in a spread, but didn't want to clutter it with other images. I used glue to hold the magazine image, then added black electrical tape for effect.