Behind the Art with Felecia

Greetings, fellow explorers!!! Felecia here with my third project from the Inner Child kit...

This time I'm tackling my ever present dream of being a ballerina.

True to my whole modern woman I can do all things mentality, I wanted to be both a astronaut and a ballerina when I was a child.

Fatefully, my body betrayed me in both arenas...poor eyesight coupled with a very non-ballerina body means I'm neither a space explorer nor a prima.

STILL...these sorts of visions continue to occupy my mind even now. 

I LOVE the ballet...I know, I know, I know...modern ballet is treacherous, filled with individuals damaged both in body and mind due to the rigorous training and whip thin physique that is required. 

But watching those dancers soar is like nothing else on this world with the possible exception of space travel...so...

My inner child remains an amazing ballerina. 

She can do EVERY move...which, of course, makes me a PERFECT arm chair judge of So You Think You Can Dance and other assorted youtube videos. 

My approach to this particular project was fueled by finding some lovely cut out images on the web. 

I found them so lovely...so...I used them with my Cricut to cut from the beautiful Fancy Pants Flutter papers...

Then I went on a search for some old photos I knew I had of me and my sister dancing in our grandmother's living room. 

I built some color pools using a good amount of water and gelatos and then let them drip down the page as a "curtain" or backdrop.

The entire rest of the project is hand cut...no paper trimmer needed. With these projects, I really really really wanted to hand cut as much as possible so that the projects felt as though an actual child was building the layers. 

My inner child will always be a ballerina and will always be fascinated with the beauty of dance. I never want to forget this dream...not because it will ever be my reality, but because it keeps me focused on beauty and grace, on discipline and hard work, on the sometimes painful things we must endure to be our very best.

Peace, ya'll!