Ayouni: My Eyes
(c) Francine Russelle, 2007
10" x 10" x 6", Arabic calligraphy and mixed media on canvas
I kept finding the eyes from torn stuffed animals all over the house (my dogs play rough with their toys) and for some reason I didn't trash them but put them in a jar on the kitchen table.
Then one day I decided that they were "ephemera" and took them out to the studio. After weeks of trial and error,technical difficulties with various media and adhesives they morphed into "Ayouni: My Eyes".
Media used includes: Toy eyes, half of a paper mache mask, acrylic and metallic paint, emu feathers, old prescription glasses, bottle tops, 35mm slide mount, Milagros, torn bits of Arabic text and a blue eye bead from Turkey.
Everything and anything can be ephemera; never throw anything away (within reason, of course).
