The Baroness of the Bramble Patch-A Peek-a-Boo Project

This is Jon David Lowe for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts, July in the farmland and foothills of rural Pennsylvania is black raspberry pickin' season and gardens are full of fresh vegetables. It was a also the time in my youth that I read 53 books in one summer. One that I remember vividly is "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett and later "The Secret Life of Bees" and "The Mermaid Chair" by Sue Monk Kidd. I'm sad to say that I have lost my love of reading. These are the inspirations of this artwork.

1.  Gather Supplies-I did not use Creepy Tree 5 Inch.

2.   Use Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste by adding  Chili Powder, Nutmeg, and Green and Gold Mica Powders Adding Just Enough Water to Keep Paint Like Consistency.

3.  Spread on Upper Portion of GSLC Arch Top Triptych 8 Inch Frame With a Small Plastic Palette Knife.

4.  Cure With a Heating Tool.

5.  Use TH Rusty Hinge Distress Stain Distress Stains to add Patina to Cured Frames Using a Paintbrush.

6.  Look for Interesting Magazine Pictures to Use as Focal Points-I Found a Woman's Face and an Arched Passageway.

7.  Glue Arch Passageway to Top Portion of Back of GSLC Arch and  Image of Woman Face on Bottom Portion with Weldbond.

8.  Attach Front Frame to Back Portion of GSLC Arch Triptych with Weldbond and Secure with Clasps.

9.  I am Using GSLC Honeycomb & Queen Bees ATC Sized, GSLC Acorn Border Set, and GSLC Queen Anne's Lace, I Painted for a Previous Project Using a Variety of Acrylic Paints and Fussy Cut Flowers and Butterflies to Create a Border Around  Woman's Face.

10.                I Used, DecoArt One Step Crackle Finish and DecoArt Triple Thick Gloss Glaze to Layer my Border.

11.                Make a wash Out of Diluted, Gray and Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold Acrylic Paint.

12.                Add Clear Stickers of Birds, Butterflies and Flowers with DecoArt Triple Thick Gloss Glaze.

13.                When Fully Dry use Tweezers to  Glue Flat Back Rhinestone Jewels to Border Using Weldbond.

Some Final Thoughts.

All of the books I mentioned have strong main female characters as does July in America. One of the symbols of our nation is the Statue of Liberty, representing Freedom and Justice. For this reason I always thought July was named after a woman but it was not. July was named after Julius Cesar but for me it will always have a different meaning and origin story. The Image on this art piece pays homage to all of these strong women.

 My momma was one of the strongest women I knew but was she humble in her demure but to us she was queen of our homestead. They say a baroness is the lowest of five noble classes so that would make my momma, the  baroness of our bramble patch. She was a master gardener and knew all the best raspberry patches, she even remembered that next to Luther's orchard, closest to yellow delicious tree, were a rare white raspberry bush, I didn't have the heart to tell her I thought they were more of a yellow variety.

 She also said she heard there were red raspberry that grew on the dirt farm road just past our little white church on the hill,  heading towards Touchshay's that is  mentioned in Waiting For Robins. She said they would be found near the largest abounded barn in the lowlands but to be extra careful because the fields would be overgrown, and rattlers and copperheads love to bask in the early morning sun. if we were successful in our berry picking we could have a patriotic cobbler complete with red white and blue raspberries.

 "It  was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place any one could imagine. The high wall which shut it in were covered with leafless stems of climbing poses, which were so thick they were matted together."  The Secret Garden

 "Most People don't have any idea about all the complicated life  going on inside a hive. Bee have a secret life we don't know anything about." The Secret Life of Bees

 "You can go other places, all right-you can live on the other side of the world, but you can't ever leave home"

The Mermaid Chair

Supplies:  GSLC Honeycomb & Queen Bees ATC Sized, GSLC Acorn Border Set, GSLC Queen Anne's Lace, GSLC Arch Top Triptych 8 Inch, Cosmic Shimmer Lava Paste, Chili Powder, Nutmeg, Gold and Green Mica Powder, Small Plastic Palette Knife, Heating Tool, TH Rusty Hinge Distress Stain, Paintbrush, Magazine Pictures, Scissors, Weldbond, DecoArt One Step Crackle Finish, DecoArt Triple Thick Gloss Glaze, Glossy Accent Gloss Finish, Fussy Cut Flowers and Butterflies, Acrylic Paint Gray and Quinacridone Nickel Azo Gold, Spray Bottle of Water, Paintbrush, Clear Stickers of Birds, Butterflies and Flowers, Tweezers, Flat Back Rhinestone Jewels

     I cannot wait to see your interpretation of this project. Share it on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Craft Group Page on Facebook. I would love to see what new creations you are working on!