The Chalkboard Project!
Monday, August 27, 2012 at 5:25PMToday’s blog post is a follow up to last week’s Funk Factory Feature video, I will be discussing the steps to create the artwork. Hitting roadblocks during the course of a project is common, you have to learn to improvise. The initial design may go through several revisions and this personal project was no different.
Inspired by my daughter’s scribbles my initial plan was to create a chalkboard wall, so my daughter would have a large enough canvas to fill to her hearts content.
This is the can of spray paint and that is me spraying away, oblivious to the effects of these horrid fumes. Even though the room was well ventilated, I was surprised to find the paint pigments had found their way to every square foot of my home, all 1400 of it! Disgusted I sat down to read the back of the can (which in hindsight, I should have done before buying it). I was troubled by what I read! Prolonged exposure could cause birth defects in pregnant women, damage to the nervous system, the list goes on and on……To think I exposed my family to such serious consequences over a decorating project made me question my design principles!!!
I do love the idea of having a chalkboard wall, but do try and avoid the spray paint version, unless it is a small area. You could try colored chalkboard paint from Hudson Paint , a eco friendly 100% non toxic paint from Ecos paint or make your own chalkboard paint. Unfortunately these options are not available in Dubai as far as i know, therefore the next morning I terminated the chalkboard project and was back to the drawing board. The reason this affected me so much is because I care about the environment and am conscious about what I add to it. At this point I was pretty hooked on to the color black, as my existing furniture was black as well. I was going to paint the wall black, I could say my hubby was not too thrilled at having a black wall. Deep down I was unsure about how this would turnout myself, but I trusted my instincts.
So I decided not to paint the entire wall black, instead leave a gap of 60 centimeters on all sides. This way it would look like a black canvas framed by the surrounding white walls. I measured 60 centimeters on all sides, made sure the line was in level, and taped the wall with some painters tape. I painted the inside jet-black. Once you strip away the painters tape you should have a clean straight line.
World maps have always fascinated me, the organic shape of each continent and then the endless ocean. I grabbed a piece of chalk and sketched out the map, you do not have to be perfect. I then dipped a round brush in some white paint and dabbed varying the pressure and Voilà as simple as that!!!
I did not want this to be a flat image, I wanted to bring some three-dimensional quality to it. I went to Dubai Garden Centre and picked up some shells and red pebbles. I spray-painted the shells using a cardboard box as a backing to catch all the excess pigments. Using spray paint in small doses in a well-ventilated area is absolutely fine. I glued them on with Duco cement available at Ace (just make sure you protect your hands with some gloves). It held on perfectly, even the big shells. I then added some pretty painted butterflies from pottery barn to complete the artwork. The cool part is because of the black and white combo the artwork seems to glow in the dark.
You do not have to be an artist to create some cool artwork, I never thought I could draw freehand on the wall but I surprised myself…. Go surprise yourself too, do something you thought you never could….. …so till then STAY FUNKY!
Reader Comments (5)
This is really fantastic work. Anyone can do it in their own manner. Something different and nice work.
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