Every since doing a circus themed button design for my hometown’s 2013 Fall Festival, I have been thinking circus. So when Somerset Studio issued a circus challenge, I jumped at the opportunity to create some more circus art. These circus blocks are included in the Summer 2014 Somerset Studio Gallery magazine where I give a short description of how they were made.
I though you might like to see some of my in progress pictures as well, so here they are!
I ordered 2″ wooden blocks from Georges General Store on Etsy. They came quickly and were very nice quality…already smooth and ready to use as wished.
The first thing I did was sketch out some circus style letters on each block so that the six blocks would spell CIRCUS. Then I used a wood burner to trace the letters and give them a carved look similar to the wooden letter blocks of my childhood.
I used red and yellow acrylic paints to give them a cheery look.
On the other sides I used some vintage children’s playing cards, book pages, and face cards from a vintage deck, as well as digital circus images purchased from yet another etsy shop; Gallery Cat.
On some of the surfaces I created a crackled paint effect. I also “aged” the blocks by brushing a black stamp pad across all the corners.
I added some stamped words and other details….and called them done!
When was the last time you went to the circus?
If you are interested in purchasing these blocks, they will be available in my Etsy shop soon!
To see the circus necklace that I also created, and was published in the Mar/April 2014 edition of Somerset Studio, visit my Etsy shop.
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