the julie & rob: a tribute to philly and hipstamatic and friendship!

well, hello...i'd like to introduce you to my ninth project! i'm kinda realizing late in the game that i should periodically review the actual challenge about half-way through the month...to see if i'm staying on task. not that i totally went off the rails, but perhaps took a sharp right turn. but i couldn't resist combining some elements that screamed JULIE AND ROB! like pictures i took with hipstamatic (my beloved iphone photo app) and images of PHILADELPHIA - the mummers, south street and independence park. and traveling and taking chances and going through the doors that may lead to the magic.

the fiber part is a bit more abstract/messy...the embroidery floss is a send up to friendship bracelets. remember making those? i tried again recently and it was much harder than i recalled or maybe i have less time to just sit for hours and single-task.

when i started thinking about this project a bunch of ideas and elements crowded into my head: 3D (but how?)...images (but what?)...fiber (soft? yarn? thread?)...something they would display (not ugly!)...ahhhhhhhhhh!!!! the techniques i used are not new...recalled from work i have seen at the walker art center or on pinterest...but the mash up is new to me. something to puzzle.

but then i just started. that's always the hardest part right? seriously. and to be honest, the execution is far from perfect. [see all previous challenge entries on "winging it."] i could have/should have not been cutting and gluing in the dark...but making it or rather building it was a blast. i caught myself thinking...but what if it was even bigger? and things like that. and i only cut myself bad enough to draw blood once. that's a huge positive.

so on the eve of their trip to MN...i say THANK YOU to julie and rob...for this challenge and all the support you've given me over many many years. to me this project has been a physical "wink, wink" to our friendship and memory-making. AKA a manifested inside joke. i can't wait share it with you and toast your visit. and i hope you don't think it's too ugly, for reals, it's neater in person because of the 3D and whatnot. AND i hope it doesn't fall apart on it's way back to PA. (#questionablestructuralintegrity)