Artwork SPN Meant to Be Challenge 2014!

[beelikej]

First time participating in the spn_meanttobe challenge and I'm not sure what happened. My arts and crafts went in a totally different direction than I had originally planned. Based on the summary I picked I had meant to (ha) make an AU period piece, but the more I read that harlequin snippet, the more parallels with supposed Real Life J2 slipped into my (sub) conscious. Ahem. This is of course still all made up and not true.

Title: Meanwhile in Hollywood
Artist: beelikej
Pairing: Jensen/Jared
Rating: G
Media: Papercollage, melted crayons
Warnings: Gossip
Prompt: 47. Satan’s Mark: Strictly brought up by her Puritan uncle, Annelise Woodward is much too innocent for the likes of Justin Rochefort, Marquis Saintjohn. When she discovers Justin is her true guardian, and that she must go live with his mother, Lady Emily, Annelise's world turns upside down. Thrust from her modest life into the wicked court of Charles II, Annelise seeks guidance from her handsome new guardian. But Justin is too tormented by his past to help his beautiful ward. Can Annelise help him put aside his pain and look forward to their future together?

Notes: The 'wicked court of Charles II' made me think of being in the public eye and being the subject of gossip and that's how I ended up with a collage of suggestive pictures and words about their past, present and future. I'm not sure if all my pretentious brainwaves come across to everyone, but at least the guys get their happily ever after *grin*

Teaser!



(click to explore full size image:)

Jared's the innocent one, Jensen has a dirty secret that includes his (step)mom and uncle Jeff;)


This has been my most confusing challenge so far; before deciding on the final collage, I did some experimenting with other media. Sadly that didn't work out and I had to discard the method I had in mind. I'm glad I still managed to play some more with melting crayons and markers, yet I wish I had allowed myself to be messier and less constricted by my own rules. Once again I wasn't able to let go of creating order. Anyway, for those of you interested, here's a peek at the process.

[or click here to skip this and leave a comment]

The actual bedroom of Charles II to capture an atmospere of decadence; I experimented with acetone to bleach and blend the image, but got stuck on execution.


Continued experiment with acetone to create a dramatic border. Also discarded.


Already moved on from timeperiod to modern piece, but still trying to incorporate the heartshape I made earlier. I couldn't make it work.


Back to my 'trusted' crayons to make a fancy border. First I made a rough set up by heating the paper and drawing random shapes with melted crayons. I then traced that with a black pencil to create a flowery border. (Markers don't work on the smooth wax that the crayons leave behind after cooling;)


The idea of the text with melting crayons written on gossip magazines was based on how anonymous writers try to mask their identities by cutting out letters from newspaper/magazine headings. (Told you I was being a bit pretentious;)


A summary of the process: all the materials I collected (texts, headings, photos); trying to cram all the ideas together and the set up for the final piece. Sourcepost

I could babble lots more about all the things I (tried to) put in there (like an actual Satan's Mark or the mother/uncle connection, but eventually it's up to everyone's personal interpretation what the 'real' backstory is. Hope it sparks your imagination;)


I'd really love your input on this one!

J.

Previous artproject (paperpuppets!) | My masterlist of artsy fiddling

Comments

[firesign10.livejournal.com]

I loved this!!! I haven't seen anything like this, and yet it really told a story! Loved the whole tabloid-y look, and yet resolving in happy pic of the couple :-D Very, very cool bb!!!!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Ahw, thank you! I was very worried about this one.

[brutti-ma-buoni.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'd forgotten you had this one for art! I like so much that you went for modern (selfish, since I went for period piece for the fic response to the same one). There's a sleazy, difficult edge to what's hinted at here, all harsh and unpleasant, which shows up just how happy and sweet Jared looks, and Jensen too so long as they're together. Great response after all your struggles!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

:) I put your story aside so I wasn't influenced by it and I'm very curious to see where you took that prompt! It makes me happy that you got the darkness of the Once Upon A Time part of my collage, thank you for commenting!

[stormcloude]

Oh, man, I used to LOVE playing with melted crayons when I was a kid. Thanks for reminding me of that. I also like the direction you took the prompt.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Crayons are fun however you play with them, I like that melting them adds a sense of danger (well, the way I use a hot iron does anyway;) I was worried the magazines would smear, but despite the weird smell the printed ink didn't run. Thank you!

[stormcloude]

We used to use a warming plate that my mom would cover with aluminum foil and we melted the crayons on that, then pressed the paper over it. It made some nice smeary abstract images for Christmas cards and things. :D

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

OOOh, that does sound like fun! So far I mostly used them for colouring, but I am moving towards more abstract shapes; I'll keep that method in mind:)

(Just in case you are interested in browsing: papercut portraits coloured with melted crayons | Mixed media storybanner | Marker drawings painted with crayons;) / selfpromo :-p)

[stormcloude]

I'm always amazed at how much work goes into your projects-- the papercutting is SO beautiful. I could never do such detailed work. It must take a lot of patience.

[tmn1966.livejournal.com]

I really like this and how you laid it all out, and the border. I also love the photos you chose. The set up is really clever. It's fun and scandalous and gossipy and given us just enough for out imaginations to go wild.

I have thoughts about what happened between Jensen's step-mom and his Uncle Jeff but nothing evil bad, just maybe naughty bad. :P

Thanks for once again showing us your process. I really liked the border you were doing with the acetone. I hope you'll use it for something else. :)

Great job, bb!! ♥♥

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*smishes you* Your comment (and especially the suggestion of naughty Jeff;) made me smile, thank you.
Ah, I didn't check the English spelling of CH3COCH3, thanks for your correction, will adjust my post! I did save that border, so who knows where it will pop up!

[herminekurotowa.livejournal.com]

*loves*

♥♥♥

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

*beams* Thank you:)

[tebtosca.livejournal.com]

I love it! You are so freaking creative. It's all so very cool

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Ahw, thanks. :-)

[meus_venator]

I love the fact that your work is so physical. In an age of photoshop everything, something hand made simply shines! And your work is always so original. Lovely stuff.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

But I always end up making a mess :-p Thanks for your sweet comment!

[laurathelurker.livejournal.com]

I so admire everything you come up with and that you let us in on your creative process is always fascinating.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

You make me blush, thank you. Glad you like the WIP as well:)

[cassiopeia7.livejournal.com]

Whoa, this is fascinating! There really is a complete story going on here. And the "tabloid" feel is perfection. I'm amazed at how much of a story you've told, using mainly photographs and minimal text.

My gosh, woman, you do SO much work on each one of these projects. Acetone? Melted crayon? Papercutting? I remain in awe of your mad multimedia skills! Brava!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Oh, you make me so happy; I wasn't sure if this would come across at all.

I forgot to mention the flowery border was a reference to the harlequin prompt; it was such fun to see your freeform flowers for A Doll's House just while I was experimenting with the weird roses in the corners:)

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

I <3 your art ;)

[bumblebat79.livejournal.com]

This is so awesome! I love it!

Re: I <3 your art ;)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Ahw, thank you very much! <3

[tanisafan.livejournal.com]

Oh, I really like this! Sorry to hear it gave you so much trouble, but the result is lovely. It looks highly tabloidy but the border adds that Harlequin touch and the crayons make it personal! So I call that a success!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you for pinpointing exactly the things I aimed for. *smishes*