Wild at Art.

Hello I'm Jess Wild and welcome to my blog :) This is where I'll be posting my work, development and inspirations. I am currently studying Creative Arts for Theatre and Film at The University of the Creative Arts: Rochester. One day I would like to paint the TARDIS blue, build sets in Hollywood and create costumes and props for The National Theatre.

[jwildart]

Public domain, free old photographs

I used some of these vintage photographs to put into my photo frames.

[jwildart]

Fixing an old picture frame for use as props:

I used wood filler to fill all of the gaps and cracks on the picture frame, leaving it overnight to dry completely.

I painted the frame black using 2 layers of acrylic paint.

Then I applied gold wax with my finger, rubbing in circular motions, making sure all the textures were highlighted.

I then added acetate to mimic the look of glass.

Finally I added a photograph and a card border, as the photograph was too small for the frame.

[jwildart]

[jwildart]

Following the success of my pistol book, I created two other altered books.

The first book contains the cigarette packet I made and a red lighter and the second book contains Sherlock's makeup stash.

These books were much simpler to do and took a lot less time to make than the pistol did. I believe that this was because the shapes were very simple and the depth of the holes were shallower.

Note on the concept of these books:

I would like to think that Dr Watson, being a medical man, has banned cigarettes from the flat and that Sherlock has had to become clever with her hiding places and that she smokes them through the window when he's at work.

I also like to think that John or Mycroft once teased her about wearing makeup, so she now hides it away. Another theory could be that Mrs Hudson or Irene Adler keeps trying to give her a makeover or they keep trying to make her look more 'womanly' or 'presentable' and Sherlock disproves, so she keeps hiding all the makeup she can find.

[jwildart]

Sourcing Props

[jwildart]

I bought this candlestick from the charity shop for £1.50 and some candles which I found in the shed.

I wanted to make it look like it had been used for a while and have lots of drips coming off it.

Before I started to drip wax over it, I melted the base of one candle and stuck it in whilst it was hot, so that it wouldn't fall out when being handled. I then lit another candle and tilted it over the top of the main candle, so that the wax would melt onto it and create the drips. I finally lit the main candle and left it for about 10 minutes, just to get the dip in the top of a used candle.

[jwildart]

This is the altered gun book I made.

I was inspired by the one in the Sherlock Holmes Museum, but as I didn't have a gun to put inside it, I needed to cut a more precise shape than they did at the museum where they just did a triangle shape

It was quite difficult to do, as the shape of the pistol was tricky and I was cutting it deeper than any of the people on the tutorials did.

It took an extremely long time to do as not only did I have to glue each page individually together, I could only cut out a few layers at a time and my blades kept blunting, so it was hard to cut through.

Although it took a few days to make it, It was worth spending the time on it, as it is a prop which you could imagine in the living room of 221B Baker Street.

[jwildart]

Altered Books Workshop

Give books new life filled with creative expressionTurn old books into personalized works of art with Altered Books Workshop. Altered books bring together a variety of mixed media and papercrafting techniques including collage, journaling, rubber stamping, embellishing and scrapbooking. The creative possibilities are endless - go where your imagination takes you!Through 18 step-by-step demonstrations and 65 variation ideas, Bev Brazelton teaches you basic, intermediate and creative techniques for crafting unique altered books. You'll find helpful tips as you're guided through the process of altering pages along with captivating embellishment ideas such as adding doors and drawers to your altered books.Whether you're a beginning crafter or a fine artist, Altered Books Workshop will give you comprehensive instruction and inspiration for creating multi-dimensional art that is a reflection of your moods, thoughts and life. Make your altered book the greatest story ever seen!

[jwildart]

Altered Book Techniques: Stitching, Creating a Niche

Projects designed and demonstrated by Cherryl Greene.

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Pistol

Details of Dr. John Watson's pistol in BBC Sherlock.

I shall be using this gun for the template for my gun hidden in a book.

[jwildart]

Altered Book Niche How to

by TheSingingSquirrel

[jwildart]

I altered a note book to become Sherlock's case book and made it so that it would match the magnifying glass prop that I had made earlier.

Processes:

I bought a small cardboard covered notebook from Paperchase for £1.99

I then cut 2 rectangles of black leather look card, that would cover the front and back.

I then pierced holes evenly around the perimeter of the card

I then stitched the card using a light brown linen thread, which matched up with the brown of the original notebook perfectly.

I then stamped glue and gilded the name, S.Holmes, in the same way I had for the magnifying glass.

To finish it off I got rid of the white sides of the card by colouring it black with an ink pad and stuck the card pieces down using a really strong double sided tape.

[jwildart]

Finished Canvas, placed on wall, in my exhibition space.

[jwildart]

The official website of cartoonist, illustrator & designer Gerald Scarfe. Buy signed prints & books online.

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[jwildart]

Rice's Architectural Primer, By Matthew Rice

Can you tell a flying buttress from a vast iron member? Do you know the difference between an oeil de boeuf window and a fanlight? Do you think crocketing and tracery are something to do with needlework? And would you place a poodle at an Aedicule opening?

[jwildart]

Once most of my background colour was painted on, I added black ink lines applied using a stick.

The cafe part of my painting took a longer time to do as it needed more layers than the rest, so rather than needing to stop and wait for the paint to dry, I alternated between working on the cafe, the door and the taxi, to be more productive.

I was inspired to change the style of painting from a trompe d'oeil painting to something more illustrative by the artists Gerald Scarfe, Cam Willson and Matthew Rice.

The time I had to complete my painting was also a huge factor in my decision making, because if I had continued painting in the way I had been doing, it would have never been finished in time for the exhibition.