Carpe Diem, and lasering on glass

© Cathy Savage 2012, 16 x 20, untitled right now

I ended up questioning what to laser onto my frame glass, to be put over this watercolor--so my project wasn't totally formed when it hit me like a bolt of thunder the other day. My first idea was to laser the glass with doodles of art supplies, suggesting what I'd rather be doing sometimes instead of domesticity. I was also drawn to some text I read in Anna Karenina, (As if she narrows her eyes at her life in order not to see it all and It makes no difference, we're all obedient wives, it runs in the family.) but I didn't want to give the idea that I hate my life as a mom/wife, because I love it--as long as I don't allow it to take me over. In the end I put in Carpe Diem. Rather cliche, but it at least indicates how important working on art is to me. I've taken off my apron, but it's not crumpled up in the corner, it's ready for me to put back on when I need/want to. I've had a lot of moms surprised I can work on art while raising kids. First of all, I have a supportive husband (and a messy house), but I also have kept my eyes on the prize. Seize the day and all that!

© Cathy Savage 2012

Here's a sample of what I plan on lasering onto glass, but I'm sampling on mat board (mistake).

Turns out with glass the end result is just gray, which I knew, but was hoping to add some ink, then wipe off residue and have a nice image. The heavily detailed bird was a grey blob, so I just painted it.

© Cathy Savage 2012

Not exactly what I envisioned. The moral of the story--sample, sample, sample--on the real material! It's possible using a different file (namely bitmap) would have helped. Next time, I'll have a junk piece to work on. This piece is now at the framers so I'm done with it. I etched and painted the bird so it's on the inside of the glass, hoping it preserve it as much as possible. I used acrylic paint. I'll be sure to take a picture of the assembled work.


To the women from San Antonio that read this blog and are going to visit MAKEatx as a result of reading about it here, thank you for telling them I referred you! I'm scoring big points with the owners with the interested people I've sent their way. Most of all, thanks for reading! :)