I was blown away by an exhibition of Russian icons I saw in London many years ago. So much rich, gilded magnificence in a darkened room. Then I came across a technique described in Maggie Grey’s Workshop on the Web (WOW) online publication and it was the perfect way to celebrate old, peeling images. Metallic foils, candy wrappers, fabric and thread and polyester overlays are used in this technique and then the soldering iron and the heat gun “distress” the piece. Fascinating. I did a number of these icons. Some were totally destroyed by the time I’d finished with the heat gun! But many were successful and have given me some much-loved gems.