Luna Moth Reveal & Blog Hop

Another month, another Art Elements Theme Challenge Reveal! As noted above, Luna Moths were March's theme and chosen by the Blog's team member Jen Cameron.

I only made one item this month but I'm super happy with the outcome, so I turned my attention to a couple of custom orders and some new items to list after a much needed week at the beach. Yes! Two sisters came out from California to help with Mom so we other two sisters could get away. A good book and some jewelry supplies are already in my suitcase.

Luna Moths are actually fascinating creatures and only live for about a week. They have no mouths and their sole purpose after hatching is to mate and lay eggs. But something keeps niggling at me and it is this: When the cocoon falls to the ground in a leaf and then a gardener comes in and cleans up, the poor thing(s) gets killed and/or transferred to another location. So wouldn't it be better NOT to clean up around Luna Moths' host trees until after March?

Back to Luna Moth however. I'm having so much fun making hair slides that I made yet another one for this theme. A life-size Luna on 5-6 oz. veg tan leather for this one, and it's got a good hand .. not too thick, not too thin. You know, Goldilock's golden rule ..

Drawing, transferring & carving the subject matter onto the leather is always a pleasing job; it's like seeing the image you had formed in your mind coming to life!
The blue you see at the bottom tip is painter's tape applied to the back to guard against shrinkage.
The leather must be 'cased' (dampened with sponge) before stamping and carving.

I stamped a flower and leaves on each side of Luna Moth and then used only the very tip of the leaf stamp to decorate around the whole perimeter.
Before any Stain or Sealing

The tips of her wings are also flared up to hide the holes punched for the hair stick.  I chose to interpret a female moth, since March is International Women's Month. See her antennae? They're smaller on a female Luna Moth. A quick read about Luna Moths: https://infinitespider.com/five-facts-about-the-luna-moth/

Then I proceeded to paint several layers of green paint, lightening each successively until I achieved a color that I am absolutely smitten with. A bordeaux-ish color outline and the little 'eyes' on both sets of wings completed the painting session.
Hmm, her Wing Eyes lost a little color with the Leather Balm, in spite of a coat of Acrylic Sealer!
Time for some experimentation ... enquiring minds msust know.

I chose a Mahogany color stain for the leather, hoping it would match and offset at the same time the bordeaux and green in the Luna Moth. And it did both beautifully! This hair stick is Lilac Wood from Kind Soul Sandra at Many Horses Jewelry Supply, a micro business like Chic Chix & Champagne (ours..this blog .. if you're a little lost:) .

A couple coats of Acrylic Sealer and then some Leather Balm to seal the stained leather. Et VoilĂ !

This is a Blog Hop and many talented artists in the list below have made Eye Candy galore!! Please check them out, you may find a piece perfect for Mother's Day or for yourself ...

Guests:  Tammy  Beth and Evie   Catherine   Colette   Rain   Alysen (this blog)   Rozantia   Sarajo   Karin   Sarah

Art Elements Team:   Niky   Caroline   Cathy   Jenny   Lesley   Marsha   Lindsay   Claire   Jen

Comments

  1. It turned out beautiful! I love how the carved leather with the paint looks and creates a wonderful dimension! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. The only word I can come up with is WOW! WOW! WOW! I don't know much about leather work so this was an eye opener for me. One more word.......gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mary, for the kind words. Very much appreciated!

      Delete
  3. What a beautiful interpretation of the theme...really makes me wish I had more tham 3 inches of hair!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha Ha Lesley! Yes, hard to attach anything but small bobby pins to 3".

      Delete
  4. I love your leather work (I bet it smells great too). I love that you can use it as a hair piece. The colors turned out awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It does smell great ... As I said, I have a thing about those hair slides at the moment. I like how the colors turned out too!

      Delete
  5. That is gorgeous and the color is perfect! Such a beautiful piece.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am in awe of your leather skills. At first glance of the first photo, I thought it was two separate pieces layered together, that's how deep the carving looks. I just love the texture you achieve. It turned out beautiful and makes me jealous I can't wear hair slides.
    Thanks for participating again this month! We love seeing what you come up with.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank You Jen for providing us with a superb theme! I have thick hair and still need to use a band to tie it up and then the slide on top.

      Delete
  7. While I have manipulated leather in many way, I have never carved it. Your moth is so beautiful that it makes me want to trying leather carving

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love it Divya, still learning and each project is a chance to improve. You should definitely try it. This is veg tan leather.

      Delete
  8. OH WOW!! I am loving your leatherwork pieces each month. This luna moth is spectacular! I love everything about her, especially how you hid the opening for the stick under the wing-clever design! And her color-such a beautiful luminous green.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cathy! Going from dark to light helped with all the nuances. And several thin coats just layers it up beautifully. I suppose I should get back to some metal work, maybe soon ... maybe not .... :)

      Delete
  9. What a stunning design! I love leather carving, you really know how to make it work for each piece.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Caroline, I'm just a beginner but a stubborn one and will make it work somehow, even if I have to start over :) ...

      Delete
  10. Wow that's gorgeous. I can imagine wearing it back when I had long hair. And yes, we should leave the leaf litter alone. I don't know who decided we need to rake, or worse, leaf-blow, to reveal "clean" grass. How silly humans are.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, exactly Tammy! If the gardeners here at Sister's house saw my 'natural' and cottage type garden, their fingers would be itching to get to work! I leave the leaves in fall so I can hear the hedghogs at nightfall :) ...

      Delete
  11. Your piece is lovely. You achieve an incredible level of detail with the leather and I love the way you layer the paint to get a luminescent look. It's beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is a striking piece, Alysen! I have never imagined you can work with leather in so many ways!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me neither Rozantia! I have so many more ideas in my head ..... gotta get them out of there and into tangible items!

      Delete
  13. Oh my goodness, I love your piece!

    The way you flared the wings to include the wood was brilliant, and has a lovely effect of depth.

    Also, the perfect green you were able to achieve on the wings blows my mind. Wonderful job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank You Colette for your very kind words! Yes, on my upteenth coat, I let it dry and said VoilĂ ! and am very happy with the color. After re-examination, I see that some of the 'eyes' color disappeared ... oh well ...

      Delete
  14. What a beautiful piece! Yes that background stain is such a perfect compliment to the color you achieved on the wings! Love that you hid the pin holes under there. I've heard that sealant can take a full 24 hours before it will work as a resist, maybe that would help with color loss on the next project?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank You 'Unknown' for your nice compliments. I usually wait til the next day, this one may not have been 24 hours, but more like 18 ... This is the only leather project that it's happened to ....

      Delete
  15. Beautiful. I love seeing your leather pieces come to life :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry for late reply Laney, never got a notification. Thank you for your kind words :)

      Delete
  16. This is just lovely!!! I'm so impressed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sarajo! It's nice to have one's work appreciated. And I appreciate your comments :)

      Delete

Post a Comment