Oh yikes! This week has just gotten away from me and I had no time to post more about the Folding Screen Project until just now. I last left off with the screen panels on my table in my studio waiting for me to get to work. I had already projected my images on the top portion of each panel, upstairs in my living room, where the light was better for this. Each panel will have a different Geisha Girl image on the top 2/3rds of the screen and the bottom 1/3rd will have a foiled and gemmed panel.
I made a rough mock up, to scale, on an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper for my client, so she could get the general concept I had in mind. This screen is going in the Master Bedroom I recently completed, so she understood the same foils and gem colors would be used and the theme would tie in with the Gingko leaves on the accent wall. While I used a projection method to get the size I needed for each Geshia to fit on the panels and still be in proportion, you can find Geshia modellos at Modello Designs and also Geshia stencils at the Stencil Library.
This blurry photo is the only photo I have for a "Before" shot of the screen. It was covered with this fan fabric print. As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to put the Geisha Girls on it. I found because the panels were each so narrow, that I could not put one large one on each panel, but would have to size them down a bit and come up with something to fill in the blank spaces. Whoever covered this screen with the fabric did an incredible job. It was meticulously sewn and also stapled with no less than a zillion staples. I had to pull them all out with pliers and then discovered there was also wallpaper liner adhered to the luan, which needed to be stripped off. The prep work seemed never ending!
All the work for the panels was done in my basement studio, so you know what to expect as far as what my studio looks like. It’s a far cry from an artist’s light and airy loft studio! But… the commute can’t be beat, the price is right, and there is certainly no worry about spilling paint anywhere! Oh, and the best thing about my studio this time of the year is the fact that it is very cool. Of course, it is also very cool down here in December, when I’m wearing gloves and 3 sweatshirts to stay warm. In this photo, I have based the bottom 1/3rd of each panel with a copper metallic paint, in preparation for some copper foil.
Applying the copper foil.
Finished foil….
and right off the bat, I’ve made a mistake!
