Something funny happened in one of my recent altered domino workshops.
One of the participants stamped an image on her domino, and was very disappointed to learn that the ink was dry, and the image turned out somewhat blurry and light. She told everyone to watch out for that ink pad - can you imagine how embarassed the instructor (that's me!) was? :-)
But several seconds later, we all took a look at the "ruined" domino, and realized that the "dry ink" effect was beautiful! It sort of made an interesting light background. Here it is:
And then can you guess what happened? everyone was on the lookout for the dry ink! it was so funny. People started asking "who has the dry ink?" "I need the dry ink, where is it?" as if it were a desired new product, and not something to be trashed. These are a few of the dominos people made with "dry ink":
Can you see how the stamped image is light, uneven and imperfect? and doesn't it make a much interesting background than an even clear image?
This reminded me of how Celine Navarro stamps - without fear! Know what I mean? look at this, for example:
Now honestly, how many of you would have freaked out at such an imperfection? :-)
I think it's just perfect! It makes a much interesting texture, and gives her albums more character, doesn't it? Have a look at this beautiful mini here and you'll see some more "imperfect" stamping. I love it!
And this is when it becomes even more of a feature. See the shadowed alpha stamps here:
Celine explains how she does that: "To make this shadow behing each letter, you just have to stamp EACH LETTER twice without re-inking your stamp.I Use black Versafine ink, stamp one letter and then, without cleaning your stamp, stamp again but a little bit on the side, to make the shadow" - well, isn't that the "dry ink" technique again? :)
And I have several other examples, where the "imperfection" led to something very perfect.
A year ago, I sewed a diaper bag for my nephew's bed:
Because I'm only a beginner and my sewing skills really need to get better, as I turned the fabric to its right side, I realized there was a very crooked stitch, and not only that, but I had also left it open. So I sewed the lace on top, and I like the result even better! See, I wouldn't have thought of adding the lace without making that mistake.
And here's an example from my friend, Keshet, who made this frame in a recent workshop we both went to. She got too much glue on her frame, and it showed, and made her very unhappy. She then moved to cover it up with the aqua felt, and lo and behold! It looks so pretty, and much nicer than the original red-only frame! (that's her beautiful daughter in the pic :):
And this picture is from a recent altered photos workshop I gave. The same Keshet thought she had "ruined" her photo because her son, portrayed in the picture, got a smudge on his cheek. But then she looked again, and decided it makes him look like an indian, so she added feather to his hair:
Isn't it beautiful? She wouldn't have thought of adding the feather without that "mistake".
So what do you think? is imperfect the new perfect? :-)
I think those little imperfections are wonderful, and definitely interesting.
Have some examples of your own? Please tell me all about them/link in the comments section!
