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I {Heart} Surface Design: Persistent Failure

As you might guess from the title of this post, today's heart was a problem from the beginning. I failed at almost every turn, and yet I think it might be my favorite of the hearts! 

FinalHeart-wm
Isn't that amazing?  This tutorial is less of a tutorial and more of a tale of persistence.

I had an idea.  I wanted to use Color Burst Powder through a stencil.  It didn't really work (you can see a video clip of the failure on my vlog), so I decided to make lemons out of lemonade and just smush the color around for a watercolor effect. 

1-ColorBurst-wm
It does look like a pretty galaxy and I suppose I could have left it at that.  But I was still mentally obsessed with getting a stenciled design onto this heart.  So I decided to take advantage of the water soluble nature of Color Burst — it's essentially powdered watercolor — and do some stenciling on top of the background. 

2-Stenciling-wm
Because it's a water soluble product, I knew that the color would come up through the white paint. 

2a-Stenciled-wm
Pretty. But it needs another layer.  So…I attempted some "gelatin stamping…"

3-gelli1-wm
3-gelli1-wm
…and it just didn't work out the way I imagined. 

3-gelli3-wm
(That's my Landscape of Shapes stencil, btw.)

I decided to wipe off the acrylic with a baby wipe. 

4-babywipe-wm
This reactivated all the Color Burst and so I decided to go with the flow and just remove as much Color Burst as possible.  The result is a much more pastel set of colors:

4a-wiped-wm
I decided to go for another attempt at gelatin printing, but lose the stencils and just go for paper masks. 

5-black-wm
5-black-wm
I thought that the Color Burst had been wiped off enough that it would be fine to use white paint for the other half of the heart.

6-white-wm
It wasn't.  So I printed again.  This time in red.

7-red-wm
Uh oh.  It's accidentally symmetrical and I hate it.  Let's print again, but at an angle.

8-yellow-wm
Better, but the yellow just sort of ends in nowhere.  I better print again and make sure there's a clear dividing line.

9-teal-wm
Yum!  Now I love it!

And so the lessons from today's journey? 

  • Never give up. 
  • Never stop generating ideas.
  • Never stop trying things!
  • Let go of whatever isn't working and try to forge a new path. 
  • Don't get too attached to a particular outcome.

I truly believe that persistence through adversity will lead to wonderful outcomes.  It did for me!

FinalHeart-wm
Thanks for stopping by!

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Based outside of Boston, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is a mixed-media artist who constructs vibrant compositions. Passionate about connecting with and inspiring other artists, she shares her expertise through in-person workshops, her online classroom www.balzerdesigns.com, and through monthly membership at www.MyArtPractice.com.

49 thoughts on “I {Heart} Surface Design: Persistent Failure

  • You’re gonna be a GREAT Mama— lots of patience !!!!
    …and Oh– love all the layers on your Valentine Heart. xoxo

    Reply
  • You’re gonna be a GREAT Mama— lots of patience !!!!
    …and Oh– love all the layers on your Valentine Heart. xoxo

    Reply
  • You’re gonna be a GREAT Mama— lots of patience !!!!
    …and Oh– love all the layers on your Valentine Heart. xoxo

    Reply
  • You’re gonna be a GREAT Mama— lots of patience !!!!
    …and Oh– love all the layers on your Valentine Heart. xoxo

    Reply
  • You’re gonna be a GREAT Mama— lots of patience !!!!
    …and Oh– love all the layers on your Valentine Heart. xoxo

    Reply
  • You’re gonna be a GREAT Mama— lots of patience !!!!
    …and Oh– love all the layers on your Valentine Heart. xoxo

    Reply
  • You’re gonna be a GREAT Mama— lots of patience !!!!
    …and Oh– love all the layers on your Valentine Heart. xoxo

    Reply
  • Loved your Vlog! Baby is precious! While he was in the baby carriage, his face reminded me a bit of his maternal grandmother. Thanks for sharing. Love the heart and story.

    Reply
  • Loved your Vlog! Baby is precious! While he was in the baby carriage, his face reminded me a bit of his maternal grandmother. Thanks for sharing. Love the heart and story.

    Reply
  • Loved your Vlog! Baby is precious! While he was in the baby carriage, his face reminded me a bit of his maternal grandmother. Thanks for sharing. Love the heart and story.

    Reply
  • Loved your Vlog! Baby is precious! While he was in the baby carriage, his face reminded me a bit of his maternal grandmother. Thanks for sharing. Love the heart and story.

    Reply
  • Loved your Vlog! Baby is precious! While he was in the baby carriage, his face reminded me a bit of his maternal grandmother. Thanks for sharing. Love the heart and story.

    Reply
  • Loved your Vlog! Baby is precious! While he was in the baby carriage, his face reminded me a bit of his maternal grandmother. Thanks for sharing. Love the heart and story.

    Reply
  • Loved your Vlog! Baby is precious! While he was in the baby carriage, his face reminded me a bit of his maternal grandmother. Thanks for sharing. Love the heart and story.

    Reply
  • I love how you inspire and teach us even with your mistakes. THANK YOU

    Reply
  • I love how you inspire and teach us even with your mistakes. THANK YOU

    Reply
  • I love how you inspire and teach us even with your mistakes. THANK YOU

    Reply
  • I love how you inspire and teach us even with your mistakes. THANK YOU

    Reply
  • I love how you inspire and teach us even with your mistakes. THANK YOU

    Reply
  • I love how you inspire and teach us even with your mistakes. THANK YOU

    Reply
  • I love how you inspire and teach us even with your mistakes. THANK YOU

    Reply
  • Thanks for this. I am in a similar situation with a book I am making for a show. I have to get preconceptions out of my head and keep moving forward. That is what “suffering” artist is all about.
    I read your email everyday and am inspired with the amount of wonderful work you do.
    Congratulations on your new addition.

    Reply
  • Thanks for this. I am in a similar situation with a book I am making for a show. I have to get preconceptions out of my head and keep moving forward. That is what “suffering” artist is all about.
    I read your email everyday and am inspired with the amount of wonderful work you do.
    Congratulations on your new addition.

    Reply
  • Thanks for this. I am in a similar situation with a book I am making for a show. I have to get preconceptions out of my head and keep moving forward. That is what “suffering” artist is all about.
    I read your email everyday and am inspired with the amount of wonderful work you do.
    Congratulations on your new addition.

    Reply
  • Thanks for this. I am in a similar situation with a book I am making for a show. I have to get preconceptions out of my head and keep moving forward. That is what “suffering” artist is all about.
    I read your email everyday and am inspired with the amount of wonderful work you do.
    Congratulations on your new addition.

    Reply
  • Thanks for this. I am in a similar situation with a book I am making for a show. I have to get preconceptions out of my head and keep moving forward. That is what “suffering” artist is all about.
    I read your email everyday and am inspired with the amount of wonderful work you do.
    Congratulations on your new addition.

    Reply
  • Thanks for this. I am in a similar situation with a book I am making for a show. I have to get preconceptions out of my head and keep moving forward. That is what “suffering” artist is all about.
    I read your email everyday and am inspired with the amount of wonderful work you do.
    Congratulations on your new addition.

    Reply
  • Thanks for this. I am in a similar situation with a book I am making for a show. I have to get preconceptions out of my head and keep moving forward. That is what “suffering” artist is all about.
    I read your email everyday and am inspired with the amount of wonderful work you do.
    Congratulations on your new addition.

    Reply
  • This reminds me of the quote, “Nevertheless, she persisted.” How often that works in art! Actually, I liked this heart in all its stages of growth.
    Thanks for the vlog again and a glimpse of your two wonderful guys. That’s one very cute baby — and Steve’s looking good, too!

    Reply
  • This reminds me of the quote, “Nevertheless, she persisted.” How often that works in art! Actually, I liked this heart in all its stages of growth.
    Thanks for the vlog again and a glimpse of your two wonderful guys. That’s one very cute baby — and Steve’s looking good, too!

    Reply
  • This reminds me of the quote, “Nevertheless, she persisted.” How often that works in art! Actually, I liked this heart in all its stages of growth.
    Thanks for the vlog again and a glimpse of your two wonderful guys. That’s one very cute baby — and Steve’s looking good, too!

    Reply
  • This reminds me of the quote, “Nevertheless, she persisted.” How often that works in art! Actually, I liked this heart in all its stages of growth.
    Thanks for the vlog again and a glimpse of your two wonderful guys. That’s one very cute baby — and Steve’s looking good, too!

    Reply
  • This reminds me of the quote, “Nevertheless, she persisted.” How often that works in art! Actually, I liked this heart in all its stages of growth.
    Thanks for the vlog again and a glimpse of your two wonderful guys. That’s one very cute baby — and Steve’s looking good, too!

    Reply
  • This reminds me of the quote, “Nevertheless, she persisted.” How often that works in art! Actually, I liked this heart in all its stages of growth.
    Thanks for the vlog again and a glimpse of your two wonderful guys. That’s one very cute baby — and Steve’s looking good, too!

    Reply
  • This reminds me of the quote, “Nevertheless, she persisted.” How often that works in art! Actually, I liked this heart in all its stages of growth.
    Thanks for the vlog again and a glimpse of your two wonderful guys. That’s one very cute baby — and Steve’s looking good, too!

    Reply
  • So very cool. Thanks for the tut. You’re the best teacher!

    Reply
  • So very cool. Thanks for the tut. You’re the best teacher!

    Reply
  • So very cool. Thanks for the tut. You’re the best teacher!

    Reply
  • So very cool. Thanks for the tut. You’re the best teacher!

    Reply
  • So very cool. Thanks for the tut. You’re the best teacher!

    Reply
  • So very cool. Thanks for the tut. You’re the best teacher!

    Reply
  • So very cool. Thanks for the tut. You’re the best teacher!

    Reply
  • These have all been great Julie. Nice to see the vlog back too.

    Reply
  • These have all been great Julie. Nice to see the vlog back too.

    Reply
  • These have all been great Julie. Nice to see the vlog back too.

    Reply
  • These have all been great Julie. Nice to see the vlog back too.

    Reply
  • These have all been great Julie. Nice to see the vlog back too.

    Reply
  • These have all been great Julie. Nice to see the vlog back too.

    Reply
  • These have all been great Julie. Nice to see the vlog back too.

    Reply

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