Some things are fishy...

Well, I am posting again.  Same picture.  I want to describe the polymer clay now.  I did a little line drawing a couple of weeks ago of a partial school of fish.  Then I reduced it on the photocopier (toner based) and made about twenty little printouts.  In the focal area of this book is the faux ivory clay with the drawing.  It is not a transfer, but a tear-away.  I was so happy that it turned out so well (not the drawing, the tear away.)  The etching accepted the antiquing umber paint very readily and I purposely didn't sand all of the paint away.  It is soooooooooo smooth.  I only used 600 grit sandpaper on the ivory, and it feels so delightful, that I didn't bother to buff it.  I wanted to just run my fingers over it over and over. 

After the ivory piece was done, I added a little gold piece using liquid polymer as a 'glue' and then more liquid polymer between the book board and the gold. I had sculpted a few other little fish and used some for beads.  A few of the fish got filleted and were used as adornments atop the gold on the book.  (More adhesive liquid polymer.)   I baked the entire cover  45 minutes (or maybe an hour) and then placed the painted book boards between two larger tiles to cool them and make sure they were flat.  The baking really helped to set the paint ... I had used Jacquard Liquitex (I think) in a mixture of antique gold and bronze, and then did a little feathering with some other acrylics.  You can't see much of it on the front cover, but the feathering is more visible on the back cover and inside the covers. 

As for the side features, I didn't have too many beads and my selection of bronzy colored fibres is rather limited, so I put in some variegated/recylcled Silk Sari Yarn and a few other textury-type bits.  And yes, the little fish are bronzed with Pearl-Ex, so I did put a little sealer coat on them. 

Ya gotta love doing this stuff.  When I sit and describe it, I realize that there are so many steps involved in making something work.  Luckily, I don't have to describe it to myself when I do it.  I just DO IT!

Hope you all have a great weekend.  Wish me luck...it's going to be very warm in the tent and I am not looking forward to that.  Methinks a little spray bottle of water and a thousand fans might help.  (Both the kind you hold so I can keep my cool, and the kind that come up to look at the work, lol.)