Buried Treasure - CSI New Hampshire Revisited !

Buried Treasure Alert ! : The incredibly talented Seth at The Altered Page challenged bloggers to return to the past, and uncover their own buried treasure in the form of one of their favorite posts on their own blog. Here is one I had such fun coming up with, in the deep dark winter, when entertainment can be a little scarce ! I am happy to share it one more time ! ;) Visit Seth's blog to find a list of other talented blogger's traveling back in time !


(This is an interactive post - please follow my little directions here to play along ! ;-) )

Step 1 : Okay - Play the Video - Cue Music



(Step 2 - Read this, imagining me trying to look cool in my shades and parka (hey it's NH not FLA!!!), talking in a sexy, husky cop voice...)

"Welcome to CSI New Hampshire where our crack team of investigators, (okay. just one investigator!) take on challenge of locating important evidence in the Case of "Portion Control".
(Inspired by GPP Street Team Crusade #28 - designed by Michelle Ward, yes, The Michelle Ward !)".


Never fear, the Creative Scene Investigation is on, Baby !

It is believed that the suspect we are after had been too heavy handed with her stamp and stencil technique in the past which made her easy to track down. The suspect has now learned portion control, where she leaves much more subtle traces of her weapons of choice in the act of creating !

Check out Exhibit A : Here, quite distinct hand prints made with a hand carved rubber stamp were found on the workspace blotter on the suspect's desk. Obviously this was an early attempt as the control was somewhat limited. The high degree of gold metallic paint was an interesting twist though.

Exhibit A - Blotter stamped with hand carved "Hand" stamps in Lumiere Gold paint

Then there was Exhibit B : Here, we can see that the suspect has already become quite masterful (or is that mistressful, nudge, nudge, wink, wink) in her use of portion control - see the subtlety of the yellow hands against the black jungle-like background. An air of mystery is definitely present here.

Exhibit B - Background - old dictionary pages collaged, washed with green and then randomly coated with Golden Black Gesso, Hands - stamps again with yellow paint

This brings us to the third piece of evidence, or Exhibit C as the suits will call it, where the suspect took a very different turn. Note the use of the vintage substrate here (substrate=any stratum lying underneath another, ie: the paper !!!!). It is believed to be a page from a 1927 LaRousse French Dictionary which features the word "la main" or the hand in French ! Man, this chick is good ! Also check out the use of both the positive and the negative hand stencils with the distress ink ... it gives the piece some really interesting movement.

Exhibit c - French Dictionary page, Hand Stencils - positive and negative, Ranger Distress Ink in Walnut applied with a sponge.

The Creative Scene Investigation finally brought us to our final piece of evidence in this case. It would seem from all of our careful research into the use of portion control by this suspect, that the Artist in question has learned that keeping her audience guessing, and leaving subtle traces of her tools behind can create very intriguing pieces. This is clearly shown in Exhibit Z, a piece the Artist herself likes to call "Trust the Angels" :

Exhibit Z - Trust the Angels*

*(They have been around the block a few times) - art journal page

- angel wings are hand stamps. Also subtle use pink and magenta ink on a bought foam stamp for the heart squares in the background. Image from an old anatomy book found in Flickr

CSI NH has done it again ! Our investigation has shown that practicing the act of portion control as an Artist can lead to a life of intriguing art. Okay, that's it for this episode. I need a donut and a hot coffee....Cripes it is colder than a witch's tit here in NH !!! (a little crude cop language there - guess I should have said this episode was rated PG !)

(Return to the top and play the video gain for closing music...same as opening music ! ;-))

I know, I know...

I need a life !!!!!!!!Let's just blame winter and cabin fever okay ? It's snowing again....

Onwards, Crusaders !