Creativity is in the extra details.
In Maggie’s next project called Boulangerie, the bicycle spokes will be among those details. She plans to highlight each one, “to make them stand out and look real,” she says.
She bought eight prints of a work by Shari Warren — three more than the norm for this project — so she can add her extra creative touches to it, like the bicycle spokes.
“I follow instructions (in a kit) to a certain point, and then I use my own creativity,” she says, emphasizing again that shaping is the key to it all.
The spokes are above and beyond what the instructions call for in a kit for this type of project, she says.
Tools of the trade
Maggie will use a variety of tools for this project, including an exacto knife, craft scissors, a shaper and a shaping board, a cutting board, colouring brush pens for the edges of cut pieces, a craft tweezer, clear silicone, diamond glaze and various brushes.
“Always make sure you have sharp blades and a good pair of craft scissors, which are curved and shaped for projects like these,” Maggie says.
“And let the blade (on the exacto knife) do the cutting. Don’t lean heavily on it because the point could break.”
And be sure to use sharp blades.
“A dull blade will create ragged edges,” Maggie says.
The scissors are for cutting the larger pieces, she says, while the blades are good for detail work.
We’ll talk more about how Maggie uses each tool as we progress.
So, the tools and prints are laid out on her craft table. The first step for Maggie now will be to attach the base print to an artist’s board.
We’ll start from there in the next post.
And, yes, we’ll be timing this project. Any guesses on how many hours it will take to complete the project?
How long it will take. I think the project will tell her how long to take and Maggie will listen.....
There's something very calming about the precise way Maggie lays out the tools of her trade...