“Hope With Wings”

“Hope With Wings” by Susan Brubaker Knapp

Susan Brubaker Knapp here. I just completed a pair of art shoes I am submitting for the Kick Off Your Heels fundraiser. There is a lot of heart disease in my family, which is part of why I wanted to help out by making a pair of shoes. I have one grandmother I never got to meet because she died of a heart attack at age 61. It is amazing to me that so little heart disease research and education has been focused on women. This is my small contribution to rectifying that situation. 

Here’s how I made my shoes:

I started with blue pumps purchased for $2 at a local thrift shop, sanded them lightly with sandpaper, and painted them with gesso. The shoe in the front is the original color, and the shoe in the back is painted with gesso:

I painted them sky blue with brown tree branches:

I bought the nest, eggs, silk dogwood blooms and the bird at local craft stores, and auditioned them:

The birds did not resemble any I’d ever seen in nature, so I trimmed their feathers and repainted them to look like chickadees, my favorite bird. Then I glued wads of paper inside the shoes, and glued or pinned in the moss, lichens, nest, eggs, birds and dogwood blosssoms. Here they are, all done!

 

It's time to start submitting your shoes!

Just a reminder about the deadlines to submit your shoes for the Kick off Your Heels Fundraiser.  The Art Call submission process is now available and you'll find that here.  

Important dates to remember:
December 1, 2012: Call for art shoes issued
February 15, 2013: online registration opens here  
March  29, 2013: submission deadline extended
April 8 , 2013:  Artists notified of acceptance  
May 1, 2013: Sale begins on line

Important information about photographs!

It's is absolutely imperative to take good photographs of your shoes!  A neutral colored background such as white, cream, gray or taupe is best for photographing your shoes.  A dark or black background makes it very difficult to see the details of the shoes.

Be aware of shadows and flash marks on the shoes, especially if they are shiny.  If at all possible and safe, take your pictures outside in natural light.  

Photographs should be high resolution photos (at least 300 dpi) measuring 8"x10" so that we will be able to resize the photos without distortion.

We will need 3 views of your finished high heels. 

 View 1: front view

View 2: inside, and side

View 3: side and heels

The Art Call submission process is now available and you'll find that here.