bitter taste

© Sybille Sterk

Do not copy or publish this in any way, shape or form without my written permission.

only a hint of flowers remains
like a dream and a kiss
a tiny little speck of hope
a seed for a future far away

Words and photographs my own, textures/brushes my own or bought. Edited with Photoshop.

The complete poem can be read here.

All my images are available on Redbubble, Artflakes, Society6 and Bluecanvas as prints, cards, posters, skins for laptops, Blackberry, iPhones and other phones (for the skins go to Bluecanvas). 

Secret Heart

 

MCN: CL2XT-3Q5VX-JK1GC

This is an image I took for the 1/52 project although I didn't use it in the end but used a different shot. The shot is of the reflection of a heart necklace I made for a commission. The heart is made from bronze wire, a red bead and handmade barbed wire chain. :-)

The image is named after the necklace - everybody has a 'secret heart' they hide from most of the people in their lives, but it's that heart that makes them who they are. Meaning, we often don't really know the people in our lives all that well.

Part of my new series of images for licensing on Arcangel-Images use this code: SYST-0099

Created with my own photographs in Photoshop, no stock used.

Pandora - The Secret Keeper's Daughter - Photo Manipulation

The Secret Keeper's Daughter - illustration for the story The Secret Keeper - Part II

Credits:
Model:

•  Ethereal - Stock by steamed-pepsi-stock:

Backgrounds/Textures:

• Nr 44 by Angelia61-Stock
• Antique1 by SheisprettyStock
• Aged by SheisprettyStock
• BlueTextures by letinhastock
• sky stock 150 by hatestock
• Sparkles 10 by PandoraLore-Stock

Stock:

• Clouds by Alison Ashwell
• field sky in ResourceNation by night-fate-stock
• field sky2 in ResourceNation by night-fate-stock

 Keys:

• Key 1
• Key 2
• Key 3
• Key 4
• Key 5
• Key 7
• Key 8
• Key 9
• Key 10
• Key 11
• Key 12
• Key 13

Butterflies:

• moths and butterflies stock 19 by hatestock
• moths and butterflies stock114 by hatestock
• moths and butterflies stock134 by hatestock 
• moths and butterflies stock 43 by hatestock
• butterfly 6 by kayne-stock
• butterfly 5 by kayne-stock
• butterfly 4 by kayne-stock
• butterfly 1 by kayne-stock

Brushes:

• Hair brush set by para-vine
• Sparklies Photoshop Brushes by redheadstock
• Glitter + Sparkles Brushes by redheadstock
• Grasses and Plants PS Brushes by redheadstock
• Lace mix by NadinePau-stock

All other images/textures/stock are my own. The ribbons are handpainted.

 MCN: CT9A4-M7UXN-8H8B4

The Secret in the Wall - Part V

Read Part V here.

The other parts are also available:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Enoy!

The Secret in the Wall - Part IV

Here's the fourth part of the story so far, read it here.



First part, read it here.
Second part, read it here.
Third part of the story, read it here.








To read my story The Secret Keeper, click here.

Enjoy....

The Secret in the Wall - Part III

The third part of the story, read it here.

First part, read it here.
Second part, read it here.

Enjoy! :-)

The Secret in the Wall, Part II

Read the next installment of the story here. Enjoy. :-)

The Secret Keeper - Story and Photo Manipulation

Illustration to accompany the story of the same name.

He stood in the dark wood, doubtfully looking at the moon through the trees. He shivered in the cold air. Before he had time to consider his choices and give in to his fears she stood before him.

Her hair was long and shimmered blue in the light of the moon. Ribbons were tied in it, each with a key at the end of it.

“You are the Secret Keeper?” he asks her.

Read the rest of the story here.

All images,patterns and textures are my own except for the credits given below.

Credits:

• Model, Faestock
• Background, Trinketstock
• Moon, Fantasystock

Textures:

• Texture 1, Sirius-sdz
• Texture 2, JRMB-stock
• Texture 3, Violentkiwiresources

Keys:

• Key 1
• Key 2
• Key 3
• Key 4
• Key 5
• Key 7
• Key 8
• Key 9
• Key 10
• Key 11
• Key 12
• Key 13
• Keyhole

Brushes:

• Clouds 1, Leboef
• Clouds 2, Leboef
• Script, Lady Victoire
• Lace Mix, NadinePau-Stock
• Hair, Para-Vine

MCN: CRWTN-C7A8W-VGSM1

Trailing Secret

This artwork was inspired by a group I was invited to join and also by a song going round my head, Feist's Secret Heart.

Currently featured on Redbubble:

 

Make sure you check out all the other featured artists - there are some real treasures! 

Currently featured in the Secret Society Group:

I've used the following stock, textures and brushes (apart from my own):

• Ribbon Brush
• Chateau Boots
• High Altitude texture
• Fake Old texture

Plus my own painted heart, my own Victorian wallpaper textures... etc.

The image also contains a couple of lines from my poem Secret Language
The lines are:
Souls touching briefly, longing for eternity.

Secret Heart and Forgetmenots

More fun with wire. :-)

Been playing with wire shapes as you could see with the Pear Blossom necklace and the Cloudberry Bracelet. This time I've set my heart on a wicker type heart with a little heart hidden inside it.

Secret Heart

I started with a heart shaped wire frame I made from 0.9mm bronze wire, which I hammered flat to strengthen it. Then I added centre supports and a sort of scaffold going out from the centre supports in 0.5mm bronze wire.


I added the little wrapped vintage heart bead in the centre, and finally covered the heart shape in a criss cross pattern with 0.2mm (very fine) bronze wire.


Next, I started on the barbed wire chain.


I used the 0.9mm wire to make little eye pins with eyes on both ends, which I hammered flat. With the 0.5mm wire I then created the barbs for the wire on each of the little links. The next step was making jump rings and a custom made clasp for the chain. I linked everything together and the necklace was finished apart from the oxidisation. The chain - although it does look like barbed wire - is perfectly safe. There are no sharp edges on the barbs, as I've just squashed loops to make them look like barbs, which works just as well but is comfortable to wear.

It looked nice in plain bronze - see the Etruscan necklace - but the secret heart was not very visible and oxidising it made it far more interesting. A bit gothic, admittedly, but I think it works.




Forget-Me-Knots Necklace

This was born from a little sunshine and the pretty blue vintage flower beads (made from lucite) that arrived in the post the other day.

I started off with a kind of sprig in 0.9mm bronze wire to which I attached three flowers made with the lucite flower beads, some ivory coloured size 8 and yellow size 15 Japanese seed beads and some thin (0.5mm) wire.



I made three of these flower sprigs, connected them with handmade jumprings and added some ready made copper chain and a handmade clasp. The copper chain works much better with the bronze wire as the bronze wire looks almost like rose gold and the rosey sheen of it is closer to copper than the grey/gold/green sheen of ready made antiqued bronze chain.



The final touch are the Miyuki drops in yellow, pale blue, deep blue and white I attached as a little dangle next to the chain.