I was inspired by the Fruits Basket theme of my making/painting pottery post to create a mixed media piece from the lyrics of the Fruits Basket theme song in English:
I made this piece using paper, card stock, cutout letters from a book, a calligraphy pen, prismacolor pencils, stickers, mod podge, and gold and silver leaf. I was really inspired by this quote because I spend a lot of time and energy thinking about personal growth (as this blog can attest to). Below are some intermediate photos of my process of conceptualizing and creating this piece:
The sketch of Tohru Honda in the lower right corner was drawn by me about 15 years ago when I was in high school. I scanned the sketch from my old sketch book, printed it, and colored it using prismacolor pencils. I then cut out the word “scars” from the book “Emotional Intelligence.” If you look closely there is a remnant of an “e” before the final “s” meaning the mosaic word can be read as scars or scares (or both). I used a calligraphy pen to write the text and stickers to spell out “HEART” and provide the background for the word “change.” I used mod podge to affix the cutout book letters, the drawing of Tohru, and the gold and silver leaf to the card stock background and allowed the piece to set/dry. Below is the final version when it was freshly wet vs framed.
I love making pieces that reflect the opportunity for personal growth because it reminds me of the opportunity for sunny days ahead when the current ones are gloomy. To quote another of the song’s lyrics: “Waiting with patience for the spring, when the flowers will bloom renewed again. Knowing there’s more beyond the pain of today.”
One of the hardest parts of art for me is deciding when a piece is completely done. Before hanging this piece I decided to add some final sticker details to the frame and glass: “Fruits Basket” (the name of the anime/manga from which the quote originates) and a literal basket of fruit composed of colorful stickers.
Millennial's Delight 