Wallpaper and Removal

Well it's finally time! This weekend is when we begin to tear down the classic Mickey Mouse wallpaper that has occupied the walls of my room for my entire childhood. It will be a happy moment, but sad to say goodbye to what I've always known my room as. It will be quite the process. First me and my mentor have to remove all furniture, and most items out of my room to make the removal of the wall paper even possible. I am really looking forward to seeing the whole project start to come together. For the past few months I have mainly been working on art work, décor, blogging, and planning what I need to do. Now the fun actually begins!
I will be posting before and after pictures of my room for everyone who is curious to see the overall result and the changes that will take place. Also if anyone is interested in viewing the artwork I have talked about on multiple occasions throughout posts, I have created a page called 'Gallery'. The gallery page as of now has some of the things I have done, and am working on.


I have researched different ways to remove wall paper over the past few days. Some have multiple steps, some websites suggest using a steamer, and others say just tear it off! The way me and my mentor have decided to go about the removal is as follows, unless something changes in the process.


STEP 1: PREPARE THE ROOM
Place drop cloths at the base of the walls to be stripped. Remove all switch plates and outlet covers from the walls. Cut the power to the room.
STEP 2: SCORE WALLPAPER
Use a wallpaper scorer to create small holes in the paper, which allows the solution to penetrate through to the adhesive base.
STEP 3: MIX SOLUTION
While there are a number of commercially prepared solutions available, little works better than hot water and fabric softener. Combine the water and fabric softener in a large spray bottle at a concentration of one to one. Tip: Mix the solution in small batches to keep the water as hot as possible
STEP 4: SOAK WALLS
Use a spray bottle to saturate a section of the wallpaper. Spray only as much of the wall as you can comfortably strip in a 15-minute period. Allow the solution to soak the paper for a few minutes before beginning.
STEP 5: STRIP WALLPAPER
Grab pieces of wallpaper at a bottom corner and carefully pull upward. Use a wide putty knife to facilitate the removal of the paper. Repeat the above steps until all the wallpaper is removed.
STEP 6: CLEAN WALLS
In a bucket mix a tablespoon of dish detergent with very hot water. Use a sponge to wipe down the walls, scrubbing carefully to remove all traces of wallpaper adhesive. Finally, rinse down the walls with clean water and towel dry.

Glory to God

Before the world was made
Before you spoke it to be
You were the King of Kings
Yeah you were, yeah you were
And now you`re reigning still
Enthroned above all things
Angels and saints cry out
We join them as we sing

Glory to God
Glory to God
Glory to God forever (repeat)

Creator God you gave
Me breath so I could praise
Your great and matchless name
All my days all my days
So let my whole life be
A blazing offering
A life that shouts and sings
The greatness of our King

Take my life and let it be
All for You and for Your glory
Take my life and let it be Yours 


The song that I picked a verse from is called Glory to God by Fee. I have chosen a couple lines from the song that I thought really captured the experience I had, and what I need to continue on doing with God in my life. The lines I have chosen will be painted across my wall for me to see every single day, which I am really looking forward to.

Mentor

For this project we were to ask someone if they would be willing to be a mentor throughout the project. They are there if you are in need of help throughout the project or to give you guidance when need be. When we were told we needed a mentor and I knew I was going to be renovating my room I right away asked my dad of he would be willing. 

Since I am renovating my room a big part of what my mentor will be helping me with is moving furniture, hanging my art, stripping wall paper, and painting. My dad will also be helping me with figuring out all the handiwork things that I have no clue how to do. 

So far I've been mainly working on decor and artwork so I am prepared for when I get to paint my room and get right into things. Because of this my mentor hasn't been as involved yet except for a bit of guidance and what the next steps will include. 

Verse or Quote?

One aspect of my passion project is choosing a bible verse that is important or meant a lot to me. I thought it would be easier then it has been. Casually I have been looking through different passages or verses I thought would be good contenders but nothing has really stood out that made me think "that's the one". After a few times of casually looking through passages I thought it was about time to seriously sit down and think of what's important to me. 

One of the reasons why this bible verse is very big part although it doesn't seem like a big deal is because I will see it multiple times everyday. It will be displayed across part of my room as a reminder or as guidance. So I didn't want to choose just any random verse that had no significance or relevance to my life. But when I got to thinking even more.. I thought what if I chose a quote from a song. 

So when I got down to thinking a memory from last summer kept coming to mind. Last summer I went on a serve trip to Chicago. During that week I had quite the experience. There was this one song that stood out, and means a lot to me. I have now changed my mind from picking a bible verse to choosing a song quote. This quote will have much more meaning behind it, and I will look forward to seeing it written across my wall everyday. It will serve as a reminder of the experience I had, and the memories that will always come along with it.

Marilyn Monroe

For my multi canvas art piece I chose to paint Marilyn Monroe. I didn't exactly have a specific reason in why I chose to paint her specifically. I wanted to work with shades, and when looking through ideas and photos this was the best option in which I would be able to execute the idea I had in mind. 

I used four canvases for this piece that are two different sizes. Since I wanted to stick with shades I only used black, and then red for the lips of course. I chose not to use a specific grey paint for the lighter areas. Instead I chose to use a black paint but I watered it down. I did this so when I faded the colour  in some areas, it would be an easier transition from light to dark. Overall it took me a whole evening (5 hours) to complete, although it may not look as so. For my first actual canvas painting I'm pleased with the outcome. It turned out better then I had expected and will be a great centre piece for the surrounding art I plan to make for my wall of art.

"We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid, so are regrets." 

                                                                          - Marilyn Monroe

Exploring Art

A big part of my project includes making artwork and decorating my bedroom so it is personalized and so it reflects who I am. Over the past couple of weeks, and especially over spring break I decided to get ahead in this aspect of the project and not waste time.
I had been researching different types of art, and different styles that I wasn't as familiar with that I could possibly use and learn. I came across many art pieces that inspired the art that I have been working on, which taught me new ways and techniques that I found to be easier then I thought it would be.
But before starting my artwork I knew that I needed to find the appropriate frames to fit the style I am looking for. Also this will help so i make the art pieces the appropriate size for each frame. Over a few weeks I managed to find all the picture frames I would like to use for artwork to be placed in.

Techniques that I looked into for starting my/doing my artwork includes:
1) Pen and Ink
In fine art, the term 'pen and ink' denotes a drawing technique involving the use of black and other coloured inks which are applied to a support which is generally paper with either a dip pen or a reservoir pen.
A large amount of the artwork I am doing uses the style of Pen and Ink. I personally like the way it looks when the piece is done. I looked through many pictures and different ways of doing Pen and Ink drawings and artwork that helped me and inspired the pieces I have been working on.
2) Sketching: Shades
Shading represents different values of color and darkness in a painting or drawing. You can use pen, ink, pencil, and other various types of art materials.
I used shading while painting, creating a gradient of light to dark. I also did the technique of shading while using pencil. Other techniques of shading that I looked into was cross-hatching, and hatching.
3) Painting and Canvas
I didn't really look into how to use paint on canvases. I more so looked up other people and their artwork to see how they decided to do their pieces. This helped me when deciding on how I wanted to execute my art piece.

Memories

One of my goals for this project includes making a wall of memories. So far what I've been mainly working on is cleaning my room so it will be nice and tidy for the future when I'm ready to paint. But as I've been sifting through different bins and drawers I've come across many items that trigger memories of the past. Whether its photos, notes, schoolwork, or an old yearbook, I tend to stop and reminisce on the memory. The process of cleaning my room has been taking even longer, since I didn't think this would happen as often as it has.
I had the idea of making a photo wall and wasn't quite sure on how I was going to execute it. Now that I've been coming across many items that bring back great memories, I decided instead of just a photo wall it would be a wall of memories. My original thought was to just find random photos and do the typical teenage "tumblr room decor" but I've changed that thought into childhood photos and favourite memories that will be hung up.
When researching on different decor ideas I came across many different examples. One photo that I found that I think fits the idea for my room I have in mind is perfect. It'll display the photos and memories perfectly and just the way I would like.