Wordplay 3: Cover

When I opened the wordplay envelope from Blair at the beginning of July, I was really excited to see the word she chose was cover.  There are so many possible interpretations and the first one that jumped into my mind was covers, as in bed covers.  Quickly followed by, "Oh crap.  I just made a quilt."  Strike that idea.  The remainder of my initial thoughts were phrases:  under cover and cover me, both of which have a strong police, spy connection.  It got me thinking that maybe I was watching a bit too much Law and Order.  Hmmm.

A few weeks later, I found myself thinking more about this word.  I worked it round and round in my head and on paper.  I can't tell you how many times I wrote the word and sketched ideas.  I thought about a photography project/flip book, but as my deadline drew closer, I knew that I needed something with more depth, something that I was more excited about.  My original thoughts kept coming back and so I embraced them.

I chose to work with "cover me", but not in the guns drawn, police crashing through a door sense.  It came to me one night when I made my rounds through the house before bed.  I turned off the lights downstairs, climbed to the second floor and went into Kate's room to turn off the night light and sneak a kiss before traveling across the hall to do the same for Jane.  There she was, curled up in a ball, cold from the overhead fan, but completely uncovered.  I pulled her sheet and blanket up and there it was:  cover.

I like that I was able to take this one word and use it for inspiration for my piece and in my process, too.  I layered, or covered, many parts of this piece with another material hoping to get a bit of dimension even though the base is watercolor paper.  I am very happy with how it turned out.  I know I will explore this more - I already have another idea how to use this word.  Luckily, I have another willing model.

Thanks Blair for joining us for this round of wordplay.  I am anxious to see what Tracy and Emily come up with.  When they post their projects, you can read about them on their blogs or visit our flickr group.  It's always amazing to me how we interpret one word in such different ways.  The next word has already arrived in my mail box.  I haven't opened it yet - I'm excited by a whole new round of possibilities.

And if I told you that Heather Smith Jones sent it, wouldn't you be excited too?

Comments

[Sara]

That is probably the most adorable thing I have ever seen! And what a face! So cute.

[Sarah Jackson]

Oh I love it! Such a great way to use mixed media for the project.

[kirsten]

okay, that is awesome, erin!

[TD wool design]

been wondering about this. love it! too cute and a sweet little momento for always :)
and HSJ is next? i'm giddy for you!

[Rosa]

That is so lovely!

[Qalballah]

You never fail to impress me, Erin. It really is inspired.

[Mama Urchin]

Such a special piece. I really love the texture of the ripples in the quilt.

[Qalballah]

You never fail to impress me, Erin. It really is inspired.

[Amy]

Very clever and creative. It sounds like a fun project and one that got your mind working - great!

[Sonya]

So adorable! Love that sweet little face peeking out.

[amandajean]

very nice, erin.

[Tracy]

wow, this is really cool erin. Not what I expected, but perfect for you. And so totally different from what I did. :) Which I'll post later today.

FYI, I had some of the same thoughts about cover me from the police/spy angle. :)

[emily]

gasping. spectacular. (is it on foam core?) the police angle NEVER occurred to me! too funny. i must not watch enough crime tv. love it. and so different from mine (which is so different from what i thought it was going to be). can't wait to see all 3! ps. did you open the word? i've got it here but haven't opened it yet...

[blair]

you did a fantastic interpretation of 'cover', bravo!!!

[The Homely Animal]

So creative and personal. Well done!

http://www.homelyanimal.blogspot.com/
I currently have a give-away going :o)-

[Anina]

You are a creative genius! It's so clever!

[Alisha Thomas]

Great job Erin! I loved your mixed media collage and this would be a great piece to frame as well. I also love your thought/creative process.

[leslie]

wow. not what i was expecting. but i'm not sure what i was expecting. i love it. love it.

[leslie]

totally. totally. adorable. i love how her little head is "in" the pillow.
it looks like you just finished tickling her before you turned out the light.
and the little "me".......yep. love that too. :)

[amylouwho]

That is so adorable. I go in and check my daughter every night - inevitably she needs to be covered back up too. What a great way to remember that!

[Linnea]

So amazing. Very cute :o) I love the texture and the composition you created from different materials. Wonderful job!
xox,
Linnea

[sulu-design]

Such a cool combination of different materials! I love how this project is bringing so much newness out of you.

[Beth]

Fab idea -The picture is too cute. These would make very special birthday cards.

[mary]

That is totally adorable! You are so creative!

[Pauline Perh]

Wow..... this is really cute, you are really creative.

[molly]

i LOVE the way you did the quilt. such a neat way to interpret cover. (much better than police and guns and car chases!) :)

[Emily]

Oh, that's so cute!! How do we get in on Wordplay?

[tiennie]

This is so sweet!!

[hrsj]

I keep looking at the photo of all the little squares lined up at your sewing machine. those squares are wonderful. i think it would have been fun to cut them,,, perhaps?
i hope you're having a wonderful weekend erin!

[kristin]

this is so so so sweet!!!

[LIANA]

I *love* it! How creative you are!