Adornment

Adornment was a delight to make and is one of my best mixed, altered pieces so far. I got the idea from the scripture, Let your moderation be known unto men. Phil. 4:5 This elaborate piece contrasts lavishness with simplicity. It is certainly not an indictment against dressing up. I am a girly-girl and very much enjoy jewelry, sparkly clothes, make-up, accessories and pretty things. It is rather a way to show that along with outward adornment, the condition of our inner selves is most important.

If we cultivate a beautiful spirit, the beautiful hairdo will be much more so. If we allow compassion for others to shine forth, then the sparkly jewelry will sparkle that much more.

Wives...let not your adorning be only outward...hair, gold and apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. I Pet. 3:3-5 I used scriptures, definitions and words throughout this piece. You know I am word-obsessed!

The blue dress is a salvaged copy from one of my watercolor paintings titled Blue Dress. I had made a copy that was too light. I was going to toss it and then decided to save it, like I do everything. I began to design this piece when I ran across this copy in my files. I cut the dress out, painted it, added sparkle and went from there.

I used two vintage photos from my collection. I had meant to use copies but my printer was broken at the time. I had already scanned the photos but couldn't print the scans. I was so in to completing this piece that I didn't want to wait until I bought a new printer so I used the original photos. I was consoled when I realized that I could print copies whenever I needed them for future art pieces.

The title word Adornment was designed using a chipboard A and rubberstamping the rest of the word. I wrote the scriptures & definitions text in cursive, cut out and adhered each little panel in strategic places.

I always start an altered art piece by choosing a color scheme. I like complimentary schemes, which are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel. I can then choose embellishments from a variety of shades, tints and tones of those colors. For this I chose the base color scheme of blue/orange. Sometimes I choose a monochromatic scheme, shades and tints of one color, which can look elegant and reserved.

Look closely and you will see a charm (a recycled earring) attached to a removable tag.

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Adornment , mixed media, 10 1/2 x 6 1/2 excl. hanger