meher-sketchbook post #2
yesterday, i had an adventure. i really wanted to go to wet paint to find a specific kind of paper for this project, so i glanced at some bus routes and decided to take the 3 over to st. paul. bad idea. i got so lost it's not even funny. thankfully, i got some help from friendly people who pointed me in the right direction, and made it to wet paint and got an AMAZING piece of paper. it cost me like 3 dollars! but i think it will be worth it.
it's opalux vellum, and it's somewhat transparent, but not completely. it's also kind of thick. i was worried because my plan is to put acrylic paint on it, and after feeling it's texture i could just see the acrylic peeling right off of it like a sticker. the guy working at the counter (who is super super knowledgeable about this stuff, by the way) said that it's not the best medium to put on there, but it would work, and it would help if i stretched the paper. i might do that, but i might also do charcoal instead. it seems like it would take a little better. in either case, i hope i don't ruin my expensive paper.
my plan is to have a background layer of a henna design, and then my opalux vellum on top, with an image of mehr-unissa on it. i don't want to do a very accurate representation of a person for this one. because she was an intelligent and capable woman in a time when women mostly faded into the background, or conversely, were known only for their looks, i want to do this in a more modern style. there will be an image of just her torso and part of her face (to de-emphasize her looks). this way i can show her jewelry and clothes that signified her status as an empress. also, i want this image of her to be somewhat like a high contrast black and white photo; i only plan on including the black parts of the image on the vellum. also, she will most probably be holding either a crown or a coin, because her name was on currency. so that's what i've got so far.
by the way, i made friends with a bus guy on the way back to minneapolis, how exciting!