Whitney Ruiz Art

I first saw this quilting pattern on Instagram. Keep in mind, I am not a quilter, and I have no aspirations of becoming one.

I printed off the image from Instagram and traced the lines on my light table. I then used my projector to transfer the image onto a large piece of wood. From there I darkened the lines and tried to make sense of the pattern so it would cut more easily.

Then I cut her into three different sections with my scroll saw to make her easier to tackle.

Cutting her was an absolutely endless process. I worked on it over the course of a whole week. And then I sanded each piece individually with my spindle sander before putting the puzzle back together.

And then I started staining with MiniWax stains. This was the fun part because she really started to come alive!

I followed the pattern for the most part.

But then I wanted more blue.

This is where things started to get dicey. I stained the dress white after staining it blue.

Then I decided to scrape that off.

And finally settled on a new design.

And I started to love it.

Then I started the first layer of beads. So. Many. Beads.

So. Many. Beads.

And I added more, then started sealing with polyurethane. I actually used glossy Mod Podge for the ballerina, because I really wanted her to shine.

I added some Mod Podge after the final layer of polyurethane and I was a little worried it wouldn’t dry clear, but it finally did.

She’s so beautiful.

And I love the randomness of the beads.

This was her outdoor photoshoot. I finally bought a large art easel to help me take pictures of my artwork.

Total time involved: 50+ hours

This item will not be available for purchase until May 2024. If you are interested in purchasing this piece, please contact me at whitneyruiz@ymail.com