Happy mistakes

Last fall, my sister came over and we spent an evening playing with samples, scraps of metal and pigment. It was one of those evenings where I didn't keep records and ended up with some cool bits that I don't know how to replicate. I am getting better at writing down processes so I can repeat and recreate at a later date but with many of my experiments, I'm not so happy with an outcome until much later when I look at it and want to try again.

For years I have continued to experiment with dye oxides, pigments, alcohol ink and anything I can find. Often, I can achieve a wonderful result but can't protect it with a clear coat that satisfies. Sometimes the sprays take away the reflective sheen I like, sometimes it takes away the contrast between the shiny metal and sandblasted bits. And that is why I continue to experiment and play. Sometimes I find magical results and that is the best part of being an artist.

This week I was working on some raven samples and didn't like how one dried with black ink. I decided to scrape off the black and make a white raven for our local white raven that hangs out near Spenard in Anchorage. I tried to find a good matching circle for the background but nothing seemed right. Then I put it up against a discarded wind design my sister and I worked on, and BAM. It was perfect. Its unfortunate that both samples are flawed but it will hang on my wall as an example and inspiration for future samples.