It is that time of year again and I am once again participating in the Inspired Soles event. There have been a couple of changes this year and you can now bid online for your favorite shoe if you are unable to attend in person.
This year I took inspiration for my shoe from my Parisienne proposal that happened last September (read all about it here). Many of you who read the blog often know all about it. I have entitled my piece, “Head Over Heels: A Parisienne Proposal”. Head Over Heels: A Parisian Proposal maps out the city of love, romance, and light, and represents a proposal beneath the Eiffel Tower on a perfect, star-filled night.
Dad helping with one of the more crucial cuts. Only had one shot at it so I left it to the expert.
The fact that my shoe is upside down made for a challenge to get it to stay that way. It involved some work with the power tools and a little help from Dad. He helped cut the base for the diamond ring that would hold the shoe up. I then used a few of his other tools to cut the rest of the base and sand everything down and get it ready for painting.
Sanding and cutting, getting the base of the shoe ready to add artwork to. The bottom right photo shows me carving the Seine river into the map.
I illustrated a map of Paris, placing the heel of the shoe where the Eiffel Tower is. The heel even has a varnish over it that sparkles in the light, just as the Eiffel Tower does each hour. The shoe itself is covered in fabric and I added some hand lettering to the sole of the shoe and the map.
The map before mounting the shoe, a lot of careful painting, pen work, and hand lettering.
You need a ring to propose and this project has one, made of wood and an engraved acrylic piece to make the diamond. Got to learn a new skill to cut the acrylic and use my new Dremel to engrave the lines into the diamond. Absolutely love that tool!
Playing with power tools again. This diamond ring idea had to work or the shoe would not have stayed mounted the way I wanted it to.
As obsessed with my shoe as I am, I would love for it to go to a good home. If you are local to Arizona please come out to the event. The shoes will be auctioned off and benefit Artlink Phoenix. It is being held at Warehouse 215 @ Bentley Projects. You can find a map here.
Opening night VIP event and artist meet and greet is tonight, March 31st from 5-8 pm and the event continues during First Friday, April 1st from 6-10pm.
If you cannot make it to the event in person, but still want a shoe you can bid online here or type www.tinyurl.com/soles2016 into your browser. Bidding will close at 9:30pm on Friday. Bids for single stilettos begin at $40 and pairs at $60.
You can also text your bid to (651) 538-6912 with the item’s three letter code and the bid amount. For example, if you would like to text to bid on my fabulous shoe (which I hope you do) you would send HEA$100 to the number above to place your bid.
What are you waiting for?! Start your bidding now!
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