Hair today and a little more.....

 It is often said certain hair styles "frame" the face...  Well here is an example of hair not only framing the face but hiding all the rough edges of an image printed on silk...  This is in its rough cut state before applying it to a block...

 Not only does using the hair frame the face it   is also used to integrate the image with the block.  Of course the headdress completes the frame.

 This is one of my all-time favorite blocks and was the inspiration for my block above.  This was done by Debbie Q. and she was first in the rotation and started the "hair" thing which we all followed.  So you have two things going on here...  The white patch is acting as a frame for the face as well as the hair...

 Here is a close up of that absolutely fabulous, incredible hair treatment.  I could have added a few more superlatives but I think you get the idea I loved it...

These are two more in that same series and were done using the same face which Diane provided.. The one on the left was done by Nicki Lee and the one on the right by Rose Anne.  If you follow along with me at all you will hear me talk about teamwork and working in harmony in RRs and here's a perfect example...  They had the same face to work with and both chose different but compatible treatments... not exactly hair but a headdress instead.

 

Here's another  example of beautifully framing the face with both hair and headdress.  This stunning work was done by Leslie

This is  an alternative that might not at first be considered framing...  The face of this Jack-in-the-box is indeed framed by his hat and his ruffled collar.

But look what happens when you enlarge the frame and having him juggling stars.....

So what is the purpose of all this talk about "framing"???  Well if you put a motif or something special on your block and want it to be the focal point then think about ways to frame it...to make it stand out.  It can be as simple as a regular frame, subtle as a simple circle, or even hair or stars. And if you might have trouble doing it on your work, start by looking for it on work by others...  Does something stand out and catch your eye?  Could it be because of a frame?  Maybe so!

I will post more examples as I run across them...

Next I will post a few before and after of great blocks  along with some blocks going out.....