Getting Kitschy: Emily is #1!

Our challenge this week was to take a kitschy piece of art we found at the thrift store (for $5 or less) and transform it into something much more interesting that was our style and worthy of hanging in a gallery.

This is what I came up with.

"It's All in Your Head"

Before and after:

But it didn't happen THAT quick. My first step in this process was, of course, to head to good ole' Goodwill.

I was pleased with their selection. They had posters of cars, pictures of animals, paintings of flowers, and interesting and eclectic sculptures. I had a hard time deciding what to pick.

Most of the bigger pieces were too much for my $5 budget, but I found some great kitschy art that made my decision pretty hard. Among them was this interesting fabric covered closet/shelf thing:

I was also a fan of Raggedy Joshua.

Joshua was the front-runner for a while, but I eventually decided that absolutely nothing could be done to improve him, so he ended up back on the shelf. Besides, I already own one Joshua, and two would be too many. Moving on... These dancers made of carpet were also neat:

You find some crazy things. This was an interesting note on the back of one item I found:

My original plan was to find a of picture of a horse and turn it into a unicorn, but I had no luck. (This is especially funny, if you've seen what my sister Kristine ended up doing...) Something I found interesting was the large number of family portraits that people had abandoned at the thrift store. It was kind of sad to see the school portraits and family pictures that Grandma had apparently rejected. I found some I really liked, and was eventually able to pick my final selection. So here it is, this is what I finally decided on... A cheesy Olan Mills-style picture of some lovely abuelos in a tacky gold and floral frame. And for only $1.96? That's a steal if you ask me.

After I got this picture home I started having second thoughts. What on earth was I going to do to transform this picture?! I was almost ready to quit, but I remembered all my millions of dozens of fans and just couldn't let them down. (Or maybe that's one or two fans that might click through this blog a dozen times? Hopefully?) I photocopied the picture a few times and did some tests before finally committing to one idea. I decided to paint the frame, while still letting some of the former glory shine through.

For the actual picture, I pulled out my needle and thread and got to work. I'm a big fan of sugar skulls and decided to turn my unsuspecting models into these colorful creations. I also used some vintage piano music to accent my design. With some careful cutting, gluing, and my trusty Modge Podge, I started to create.

After finishing up all the final details, my masterpiece was ready. My challenge was complete! I created a lovely piece of work I call "It's All in Your Head." Ta da!!!

Some detail shots:

And if you get the lighting behind it just right...

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. This was a fun challenge, although I don't know if my masterpiece will be hanging in a gallery any time soon. Be sure to check out what my sister Kristine came up with, it is pretty good! And don't forget to vote on your favorite! See you next week to find out what crazy project we end up with. I have a feeling it will only get harder from here.

Ttylbffs.

-E