It has been a long time since I have done any sewing, but after receiving a wonderful piece of mail art, from Gabby Cooksey, I felt challenged to sew again. It had been so long since I had last had my sewing machine set up, I fully expected to have to read the manual before starting. The sewing goddesses were with me though and I found my machine, threaded and ready to go!
The timing felt perfect to embark on a new adventure. I had just returned from a trip and was filled with ideas. Gabby had mentioned that she liked Lady Gaga, so I had decided to use that as a theme. Although I have made many collages before, I had never combined machine sewing with collage. It was totally new territory for me.
While looking for a good substrate, I remembered that tucked into a corner of my studio was a roll of primed canvas. It had been there for years; just waiting for the right project. Cloth Paper Scissors had a similar project last year, so I knew that canvas could be easily cut into the doll shape, after I was finished with the collage part. I already had everything else on hand, so I was ready to start. I then cut, glued, painted, stitched, and embellished. It was great fun!
I was quite pleased with the way it turned out, however because of the embellishments, it had to travel in an envelope. Gabby was so pleased that she sent me a computer photo of her self, holding the doll in one hand, a thumbs up with the other, and a huge smile on her face. It makes me smile just to think of it!
This particular piece is cross posted over on the IUOMA site. I do expect to do combine more sewing projects with my mail art. It is a new dimension, I plan on exploring more!
