Gothic Arch – Music & Lyrics

My work life has been totally crushing my ability to create art over the last few weeks……or even write.  I am arriving home brain dead.  I would really like to try to achieve more balance in my life this year & I am REALLY NOT off to a good start.  This is one of the first times we have ever worked through Christmas (usually if we don’t go away on holidays, we work on our own house – still tiring, but progress at home) but also, we have accomplished a major renovation & full interior refurbishment in only THREE weeks.  It has been a truckload of work & a significant team effort – but we have gotten there & the client is thrilled with the outcome.  SO – ON WITH THE ART!!

I have the priviledge of hosting this weeks Gothic Arch Challenge,  I have chosen the topic Music & Lyrics.  This came together so easily for me – my Arch is of ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’.  Princess ‘L’ spends lots of time at our house when her mum is studying or working.  We often sing songs together & dance about with her while she is with us & she is always going up to the stereo & saying dA, dA, which means she wants music on & wants to dance.  She twirls & stomps her feet & sways around, makes moaning noises that mimic singing………one of the little games we play is singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, THIS week – when I was singing it with her at the appropriate place she joined in with ‘How I won……….’ Then trailed off into her melodic moaning again.  She has been wandering around saying ‘how I’ & just continuing to repeat those same few words – in our house – the nursery rhyme is now called ‘HOW I’ as we all (including my macho tradie husband) make twinkling stars with our fingers!  Yesterday she added ‘up above’………so we sing most of the song with moaning & twinkling – with the odd couple of words thrown in amongst it – PRICELESS!

I created the arch by firstly painting a background base coat of Golden Cerulean Blue.  When it had  dried I stamped & then embossed various celestial images in fine detail silver powder.  I then worked Senellier Oil pastels into the paint & embossed images blending in about 5 -6 tones of black, blues & violet.   Of course the ‘crowning glory’ of all celestial skies has to be a liberal spraying of Moon Glow mist – which it is hard to see in these photos, but makes the whole composition have a sparkly, pearlescent look like a rich velvet night sky. 
I spent a bit of time working out the text in MS Illustrator to get the sizing right, especially to fit it under my ‘diamond’ vintage glass crystal.  I included this perfect text from the introduction in the form of a letter in an old book I picked up during the week.  It reads:
My Dear Janet,
Your letter reached me this morning & restored my faith in human nature.  I am delighted to hear that you wish to teach Christopher & Anne about the stars, instead of allowing them to take them for granted as it seems to me so many people do.
Children ask the questions readily enough, only to be discouraged nine times out of ten by their blase elders who can’t or won’t supply the answers.
They’ll always be there.  Plenty of tmie for him to look at ’em," replied a man, round & pleased with life, when I asked him if he encouraged his nine year old boy with his obvious interest in the heavens.  Poor man.  What a deal he’s missed in life with his eyes fixed fast upon his polished boots or set square upon the telly………’  the introduction in the form of a letter goes on in quite a bigotted way about the ‘ignorant distinterest’ of the masses………….the piece just was perfect for my arch & I felt compelled to use it!

ch