The Face of Faith in the 21st Century

(Above: The Face of Faith in the 21st Century. Unframed: 30" x 38 1/4". Framed 35" x 43 1/4". Click on image to enlarge.)

Barbie Mathis and her daughter Faith invited me to create a portrait or two for an upcoming exhibition they are mount just outside my studio door at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios. The show is called "It's All About Faith" and is meant as a celebration for the high school senior as she emerges into adulthood as an artist. (Mother and daughter are both artistically talented.) Around twenty other Columbia area artists are also creating portraits for the show ... in all sorts of media. It will be shown from May 26th through the end of the month.


(Above: The Face of Faith in the 21st Century. Detail. Click on image to enlarge.)

I finished a collage several days ago and now this fiber piece is also complete. It is an image transfer on unbleached muslin stitched with a section of a vintage pink kimono, a piece of golden colored cotton, white felt, and assorted beads on a background of Legion's Thai Stucco paper. Faith's favorite color is pink and she is inspired by all things Japanese.



One of the challenges for me, however, was the frame. Last December one of our Mouse House framing suppliers accidentally shipped the wrong moulding to us. They immediately shipped (freight free) the correct one. Yet, we had all this shiny, lacquer finished brown bamboo moulding that we really didn't want. It would have cost the company more to issue a "call tag" than it was really worth to them. So, they offered us a really, really cheap price on the stuff ... too good of a deal to pass up even if we didn't have any plan in mind for its use at the time. Since then, I became determined to use it on this piece ... but the brown color was terrible. The finish was also such that I knew any paint would just peel off. Fortunately, my friend Jeff Donovan suggested Zinsser B-I-N Primer. He even lent me his open can. IT IS WONDERFUL! This white-tinted shellac based primer/sealer/stain killer was easy to apply, dried quickly, adhered perfectly, and cleaned up with ordinary ammonia. The black acrylic black I applied is a single coat. I scratched through the black paint to highlight the bamboo ridges. I'm totally thrilled with this new product and planning the buy my own can soon!