Complementing each other...

Barry and I have begun work on another project together. Once again it's fun to observe how we each bring our own ways of seeing and thinking and doing to a project and yet how complementary the work ends up being.

Barry began with some metal.  I then tried to work out how reflect some of the detail and patterns in the metal.

I tried tracing it. Which was pretty good, even tho it meant I only chose a few highlights and not the whole design.

And then I began to do rubbings...

I was most excited! This way I could get a really good sense of the design without too much trouble.

I had forgotten how much fun rubbings were.

I was hoping to use these images to cut some embossing plates and be able to emboss a modified version of the design - to hint at it, and give a sense of it without trying to replicate it perfectly as I knew that would take me forever and be beyond me.

And then.

I looked at the metal.

I looked at the paper.

I looked at the press.

And I thought, why not?

Oh me oh my, I used the metal as an embossing plate and transferred the whole design into the paper.

I. was. over. the. moon. happy.

My mind has a thousand ideas now and Barry's metal stash will never be safe again!