Altered Angel Diva

I've had a plain paper mache torso for quite awhile - I'd seen a neat variation done by Tim Holtz a few years ago and had a terrible time tracking one down. (The piece Tim did can be found in the book Bravissimo by Design Originals.) Once I found one then I put it aside, "saving" it. I don't know what I was saving it for - I suppose it was just so hard to find one that I didn't want to mess it up.

I came across the torso while I was cleaning out some bins with art supplies. (This studio moving/organizing/cleaning is a really good thing!) Rather than setting it aside and saving it for some unknown purpose, I decided to go ahead and "art it up".


Front of Altered Angel Diva

This is my Altered Angel Diva - she has white feathers surrounding gold angel wings. She's periwinkle (my favorite color) on the top and a bold sea green on the bottom. I free-handed pink swirls on the bottom of her with dimensional paint and then attached some fun purple beaded fringe to the bottom. Her stand is made up of flat wood disks and rounds that I painted Emperor's Gold (an antique gold). To antique them I put some Rich Espresso (metallic brown) on a plate, dipped a finger in the paint and the rubbed it over the pieces I'd painted with the Emperor's Gold (antique gold). I glued several sizes of disks to the 1" rounds - then glued this "stand" to the bottom of the torso.

After using some yellow dimensional paint around her waist, I added pink, gold and clear rhinestones to her top. Iris Japanese seed beads and copper/clear drops make up her necklace. Her heart "halo" is a brass charm textured with flowers and vines - which I rubbed metallic brown (Rich Espresso) paint into in order to make the texture "pop" and dim the brightness of the gold tone. I twisted some gold wire and attached one end to the halo and one end to her back. The feathers and gold wings were attached to her back and I used a small piece of felt flower ribbon to finish it all off.

There are two copper tags which are impossible to read here - but one says "create" and the other says "art". The words on the tags are raised - and I added Diamond Glaze over the top to give the tags a glassy finish.

Before attaching her wings and finishing her back, I poked a hole with an awl and filled her partially with potpourri. Not only is she adorable, she smells good too!



Back of Altered Angel Diva

I'm so glad I quit saving her for some unknown time and purpose - and actually finished her. She's a great piece and will sit on the shelves being installed behind my desk - watching over me while I create.

She was so fun to create - I can't wait to do another one!

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