Making of FMP

Start the clock, its a race to get my final piece done! I started with preparing the back of the negative side of work by splattering white paint over it and leaving it to dry so that can start and sew the gloomy photos onto it.

With the canvas now dry I started to sew the photos on, I had thought to leave the photos with there clean edges but it didn't have that aggressive and 'eat-away-at-your-self-confidence' kind of a look to it so I ripped the edges away and sewed them on from then.

Then I sewed the pictures on the long strip of canvas - but I noticed I kept trying to put them in an order that looked the best, but I manged to pull myself back and remember that I don't need to do that for my work, I want my work to be a hierarchy of peoples faces. That's my whole point with my piece of work!! So as soon as I was finished sewing I ripped the canvas apart.

I just lined up the faces next to each other and you could really see the contrast between the photos and it made me feel really good about my work and it felt like it was finally coming together.

I sewed Calico over each happy photo and did a simple running stitch along the border of the photo, I had planned to rip open the Calico but I liked the simple look of it how it was and how the picture was showing through but you had to look a little more closer then what you would normally do at a first glance. Which really is what I want my piece to be about.

Since I was now leaving the Calico untarnished I had a quick experiment to see if using a varnish would look better, I tried PVA glue, Linseed Oil and Varnish but I didn't like the look of any of them. They all went too crinkly and looked too strange in my eyes, I much preferred to way that they were already,

After having a chat with Jon I thought of using make up in my final piece, even though I hadn't looked at it before I though it would have been a good way to incorporate a bit more of 'body image' into my final piece.

However I still didn't want to leave my stitching since this is what I want to keep into my work - that hurtful words about our body's are in graded into us for life and becomes a make up of ourselves.

With all of the words now painted and sewed on (which tested my patience ill tell you now!) - its time to get in hung up and put together as my first exhibition!