Progress

The decorative framework on all three brooches has been soldered now so they're ready to be soldered to their back plates in preparation for pin backs and eventually filled with pigmented resin. I still haven't figured out the specific colors I want to use yet, but I know I want them to be punchy and bright. Although I think seeing them bare like this emphasizes the line-work in an intriguing new way. Might be an interesting direction to explore in the future perhaps?

Someone on my FB page asked me how I go about selecting the resin colors; if I did watercolor sketches or something first to visualize different possibilites, etc. 

My color process is mostly instinctual.  It's a very painterly process in this respect. I just sort-of pick a main color that feels right for the piece and go from there adding additional supporting colors. Sometimes I mix colors in order to subtly match or compliment the Barbie piece I'm using; pulling from the eye color or make-up for example. Other times I chose a color to contrast with the Barbie part, in order to make it really POP.

I always feel strangely hesitant before I'm ready to start the resin, because I never know what I'll end up with and resin is such a messy, time intensive process, it's hard to correct once you've committed and especially once the resin has hardened. Removal involves soaking the entire piece in an acid bath which will eat away at everything that's not metal (not really my idea of a good time.)

Sometimes I imagine myself getting all "high tech" and playing around in photoshop, filling in color options digitally before filling in actual resin, but the truth is, that's just not me and the way I prefer to work. I may get nervous about the risk and all the unknowns involved in diving in blind, but it's a thrill I must enjoy on some level because I continue to work in this way, piece after piece, year after year.

So… out of curiosity, which of the three is your favorite so far?