live in the sunshine ... swim in the sea ... drink the wild air

I just finished this collage on the weekend. It was one of those pieces that I struggled with because I knew that I was going to give it to some special and I was trying not to over think it too much and just let it flow.

I looked for weeks for the perfect words for this collage. It was my original intent to just add some small word elements into a design that I had already "worked out" on paper ... but a funny thing happened the day I stumbled across this quote ... I realized that this quote is really what I wanted to "say".

All of a sudden the lettering became the focus of the design ...

     

                                   

I planned out the lettering on my computer first ... finding the right mix of fonts and the correct spacing. I painted all of the lettering one colour and then added details with a black china pencil. I used too much black on a few of the words and was not really happy with the look ... so I experimented with glue and some Martha Stewart luster microbeads.  I was so excited when my teenage daughter walked by me as I was finishing with the microbeads and asked me if I was making this for her because she really liked it!  I knew at that point that I was "done". 

Today I'm going to wrap up the collage ... it's not for my daughter ... I made it for my neurosurgeon. Tuesday June 15th is the one year anniversary of the day that I had brain surgery.  I wanted to give something that I had made with my hands to the doctor that "saved" me and gave me a second chance. I can't wait to give him this tomorrow. He always told me when I was in the hospital that he liked to see me because I was always smiling ... I hope that this will make him smile tomorrow. Life is good!