Wednesday, April 27, 2011

On a tag jag: still working small


Here are two more of the gift tags I'm cranking out this week. I really do need to stop and get back to the pieces for upcoming shows I had been working on - but, I'm just having too much fun delving into a variety of themes from childhood to sewing to baking to typography. So, please bear with me for a few more days.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Louise's Family Had Deep Literary Roots



This is a departure from the collages I've been posting. It's my first attempt of a layering and glazing technique for background. To create it, layers of torn text were glued down, then, coated with layers of acrylic glazes. After that, a coat of gel medium was brushed on and I scrawled words into. Then, more glazing to help the words pop.

It created a rich, dense background that took about a week to complete. I'm itching to try more of these when I wrap up some other pieces and those gift tags I'm currently obsessed with. The photo is from a vintage family album that fellow collage artist Susan Mahan gave me a while back; the tree is courtesy of a publisher catalog cover. The final layer was a spattering of ink to add a veneer of "dirt" to help the tree blend into the background. 7.5" x 9.5" on acid-free watercolor paper. {SOLD}

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Collage on a smaller scale


I took a bit of a break from the larger pieces I was struggling with this week to play around with collages as gift tags. It was instantly gratifying and so much fun that I'm creating a line in a variety of shapes and sizes (these are 2.5" x 5.5" each). Like my full-size collages, each is a one-of-a-kind original made from recycled, vintage and antique papers. That's right, they are not prints or photocopies.

The base tags are trashed manila file folders cut by hand, which allows me to vary the size. Topping them off: vintage Dennison notebook reinforcements (it seems impossible to find cloth ones like these any more, so if you know of a source, please e-mail me) and vintage rayon seam binding. Now, all that's left to do is make more and come up with a clever name for the line!

Friday, April 22, 2011

April


This is the first of the collages on the wrapped canvases I posted last week - and it is one reason I haven't posted anything since Tuesday. I had a lot of trouble with the paper wrinkling atop the initial layer and it ended up taking me two days to finish. Okay, I did a few other things while waiting for the layers to dry and flatten but I became obsessed with making this work.

The head was cut from a book called "Wire" that my studio neighbor, painter Frank Satogata, gave me. Inside it are recycled greeting cards and publisher catalog covers, and a section of a Johnny Jump-Up seed envelope (one of three packs purchased years ago from The Nature Company for the images, not the flowers).  10" x 10" on canvas, with watercolor, acrylic, ink and pencil. [Not For Sale]

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Grand Tour: 7


I came across this engraving of Brazilian natives while mining the 1896 travelogue "Circling the Globe in Stories of Travel" and knew it had to be paired with the fashionable Peterson's magazine women of The Grand Tour series.  It continues the voyeur theme of GT6 and GT8.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Autumn: 1



So, what possessed me to make this collage at this particular time? After all, here it is spring with flowers blooming, trees budding and the seemingly overnight appearance of lush lawns. Well, I was itching to use one of the beautiful plates from a library sale find titled "Autumnal Leaves," as well as a decrepit book spine lining I found intriguing because of the myriad staples lining it. The two were meant for each other. 5" x 10" on archival mat board. [SOLD]

Sunday, April 17, 2011

The Grand Tour: 6


This is one of the Grand Tour pieces that took take me in a slightly new direction with the series. It depicts the women in this April 1870 Peterson's Magazine fashion plate as voyeurs - glimpsing over the rail at Alsatian peasants. The next three in the series take a similar tact. I haven't posted The Grand Tour 7, but if you take a peek at The Grand Tour 8 you'll see what I mean.

The peasants and text are from “Circling the Globe in Stories of Travel” (International Pub. Co., 1896); next to them is the faded back of a vintage Parisian postcard. You have to look hard to find the map from “New Eclectic Series Complete Geography” (American Book Co., 1846) - it's part of the border of the second dress from the left.  7.5” x 9.5” on archival mat board. {SOLD}

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Pendant 3


I made another butterfly pendant as a prototype for the Deja View line mentioned the other day. Now that I figured out how to make them without trapping air bubbles between the paper and the glass, the third one should be the charm.

For this one, I recycled thin, silvery Japanese wrapping paper for the base, then, added flowers from a "Popular Educator" engraving, a piece of a U.S. geological survey map and a butterfly from a recycled postcard. I've been rummaging around for chains but haven't landed on any yet. Meantime, I'm thinking these might look cool atop collages in addition to around necks.

When the pen was mighty



I came across this cardboard sample card of Esterbrook steel pen nibs in a junk store and couldn't resist. I liked that half the nibs were gone and that some were rusting. But what sealed the deal was the bravado of the motto "Made in America by Men Who Know Pens" (indeed) and the discovery that the company was housed for its first seven decades in Camden, N.J.

Back in the day, I lived in a commune in Camden. The 19th century house sat in front of a toilet seat factory where I could watch seats float by on the assembly line from my tiny, third floor room. Although the city is rough - well, a disaster, actually - I have vivid memories of it and a kind of fondness. As I do for ink pens. I own dozens of calligraphy pens and fountain pens.

Esterbrook began as the United States Steel Pen Manufacturing Co. but was renamed for its founder, Richard Esterbrook. He was a Brit who saw a market across the pond and went after it, creating the only company in America making steel pen nibs at the time.  He died in 1896, before things really took off, and, inevitably, declined. But Esterbrook lives on as a teensy part of Berol, a British manufacturer, and on sites across the Web.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Out on a Limb: 3


In early March, I posted a similar bird collage, Out On A Limb: 2. Back then, I mentioned that it was inspired by a collage in a catalog that I figured would be a snap to make. It wasn't too difficult but I didn't really have fun making it  (or the one before it) and didn't think I'd make more. Wrong.

This one came about when I was cutting a series of Chatterbox magazine bird engravings for a new series. I liked the bird in one engraving so much that I decided to replicate it using vintage book endpaper, text from antique children's books, a recycled security envelope and an illustration from an Impressionist art exhibit catalog. 5" x 5" on archival mat board {SOLD}

Thursday, April 14, 2011

The first layers


While most days end with a finished piece, not every day does. Today, for example, I spent most of my time creating first layers by gluing papers onto stretched canvases. The boxy pieces are 10" x 10" and 12" x 12" squares with the papers - vintage geological survey maps, children's books text, vintage black & white maps - wrapped around the side and underneath. The top piece of gessoed canvas needs flattening but I wanted it in the photo so I took it out of the book press.  I'm not sure yet what will top these backgrounds, but wanted to have some on hand since it always takes me more time to make them than I think it will.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Pendant 25


I've had a set of a hundred or so vintage optician lenses sitting in the studio - and before that, the attic - for years. The intention was to add them to collages or create small collages to fit below the lens and turn it into a pendant. Well, finally made a small one using an engraving from "The Popular Educator," vintage sheet music & a recycled greeting card, with stamping on top. Now, finding the perfect chain and embellishments. This should be fun.

Hope to debut the line - called Deja View - at May 13's open studio. Too late for Mother's Day. Sigh. Wait. Friday, the 13th? Yikes. I may delay the debut 'til June!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Mad Women: It Was the '60s, and the World Was At Their Feet


This was one of the fastest collages made last week. I found the Simplicity pattern in a junk store in Owenton, Ky., on a trip to Versailles the weekend before last - and knew right away how it would be used. After tinkering with background maps, I found this one from the 1944 "Atlas of Global Geography" (Global Press Corp.). I intended to use the map in "Top o' the World Ma" - the collage at the top of the rail on the right side of this page - but didn't like the yellow and set it aside. It works perfectly here, as do the time zone clocks from an illustration in an issue of The Chatterbox.

Hmm. Now that I think about it, while the idea came fast, the cutting and gluing didn't. It took quite a while to cut out those figures and to get every foot, leg, etc. glued down. 5.5" x 8.5" on archival mat board. Matted to fit a standard 12" x 9" frame. $45 + $5 shipping & handling [SOLD]

Monday, April 11, 2011

Untitled 2


A strictly abstract collage that incorporates an antique ledger, the security envelope liners I love so much, vintage postage, a diagram that was supposed to be a transfer but isn't, tissue paper and a piece of a grocery store bag. The painted ring and washer were last-minute additions. I have a pile of washers in a variety of sizes - many of them found on walks  - but haven't been using them nearly enough.  4" x 4" on acid-free cardboard.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Mad Women: In Marilyn's World, Big Was Better. Period.


While waiting to use this vintage Butterick sewing pattern illustration, and it came when I found more of the Tiffany jewelry illustrations on vellum from an old catalog. These baubles say it all - and then some. 5.5" x 8.5" on acid-free watercolor paper, with ink and pencil. 9" x 12" on acid-free mat board.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

The Yearning


This is the newest piece in the Bubbling Over series mentioned the other day when I posted Damn. Clowns. That piece - also created just last week - was snapped up during Friday night's open studios but this one wasn't hung, because - well - I got behind on matting, etc. The engraving from The Chatterbox was titled "A Peep at Italy." It seemed to me that the woman was longing for something. I wasn't sure what, then, started thinking about Italian shoes.

One thing lead to another. The large circle contained an inset with another Italian scene, which was cut out - saved, of course, for future use - and a collection of shoes that are part of a vintage Andy Warhol fashion illustration was glued under the engraving. The remainder of the shoes are from a variety of sources,  from books, recycled greeting cards and an antique issue of Godey's Lady's Book. 5.5" x 8.5" on archival mat board with acrylic, ink and watercolor.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Open studios tonight

Antique book press I use to flatten collages after gluing.
I hope you'll visit my studio tonight. Yes, tonight. We're kicking off monthly open studios at Brazee Street Studios in Oakley (7-9 p.m.). I'm on the second floor, along with Halo Miner, Diana Duncan Holmes, Joeliene Magoto, Casey Riordan Millard, Cathy Cebulski Sacco, Frank Satogata and Karen Trimble Shell. So please stop up, sip some wine, nibble some appetizers and see my newest pieces. All the details here, including a map and dates for the rest of 2011.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Magic Lantern


This started as another piece in the Bubbling Over series. The initial idea was to have butterflies in bubbles floating out from the circle. However, I dropped that idea once I found the butterfly-winged circus acrobats. Bubbling butterflies just seemed too tame for these Victorian pranksters from The Chatterbox magazine. Originally, the image inside the circle showed a man breaking through a sheet of paper. I cut him out and substituted the acrobats, allowing one wing to extend beyond the circle. I like the layered effect created by some images being below the main image and others pasted atop it.

The acrobats are from the same family guide to Cincinnati Art Museum's circus poster exhibit mentioned in Tuesday's post and the woman flying above them is from a tear-away-poster in the exhibit. The diving beauty is vintage stock art. 5.5" x 8.5" on acid-free watercolor paper.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

False Sense of Security: 4


I finished this last fall but let it sit. Like the mountain goat in the series, this begged for something extra. That's when the problems began. When that something extra was added, I goofed. I used a vintage rubber stamp I hadn't tried since buying it two years ago; it left a faded image that I attempted to darken but smeared. In the hunt for something to cover it up, I found a box of vintage Dennison "Do Not Crush" mailing labels. I was worried that the red would draw too much attention, so I spattered ink over it to tone it down a bit.  5" x 5" on archival mat board. {SOLD}

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Damn. Clowns.


I was well into this piece before visiting the circus poster exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum. But didn't have nearly enough clowns in my stash. Yeah, who knew? So, I was giddy with excitement when I spotted the family guide to the exhibition and its surfeit of fantastic clowns. The rest of the group are from recycled greetings cards, and the vintage books "The Jack of All Trades or New Ideas for American Boys" (Charles Scribner's Sons, 1914) and "ABC & 123" (Whittlesey House/McGraw-Hill, 1955).

The piece is related to an earlier one, Olivia Sat Mesmerized as Jonathan's Libido Bubbled Over and is part of the new "Bubbling Over" series in which I re-imagine seemingly innocent Victorian illustrations (this one came from The Chatterbox children's magazine) in new - and, sometimes, scary - ways. Those who hate clowns will get my drift. Making more bubble pieces came about, because as I went through images I had set aside recently I noticed quite a few with circles or ovals that I planned to fill. 5.5" x 8.5" on archival mat board with acrylic, ink and watercolor. {SOLD}

Monday, April 4, 2011

Take Me Away: 2


It's been so long since I posted Take Me Away:1 that it seemed high time to get the companion piece up here. Like the other collage, which features a girl, this one uses end papers from a damaged 1922 David McKay Co. edition of "The Adventures of Pinocchio" that belonged to my late mother-in-law. This one also incorporates a vintage map (on the book spines) and birds hand-punched from recycled greeting cards. But unlike the other piece, it includes vintage dictionary text (on the book spines) and an astronomical map behind the window panes.  4" x 4" on archival watercolor paper. {SOLD}

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Old school


Initially, the middle of the collage stood on its own. I wasn't satisfied with that. Then, this thick, creamy, deckle-edged paper caught my eye and it became the perfect platform for the piece. The title refers to the things of the past or about to be of the past that make up the collage: library date due cards, library card catalog cards, postage stamps. And, oh yeah, the paper itself; weren't we supposed to be a paperless society by now? 7.5" x 11" on archival watercolor paper.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Here? No, there


To crop or not to crop? That is the question. I like the breathing room on the bottom left, yet, I don't. But I'd hate to lose more of the orange "blossom" atop that side. And I like the way the orange curves on the bottom right echo those of the gel transfer. While I mull this over, check out the cropped versions below. 4.75" x 3.75 on acid-free watercolor paper.



Friday, April 1, 2011

The Grand Tour: The Ladies Go Postal, and Start a New Decorating Craze.

© The Grand Tour: The Ladies Go Postal and Start a New
Decorating Craze.
Mixed-media collage by Sara Pearce.
Antique hand-colored fashion plate (Dec. 1884 Peterson's Magazine)
and map (Guyot's Physical Geography, Scribner, 1872),  vintage
 European postage stamps, ink, pencil, watercolor, acrylic sealer. 
Professionally framed, 11” x 14,” with conservation glass (for UV protection). SOLD

One rule for The Grand Tour series is to keep as much of the painting intact as possible, since each of the engravings I use were hand-painted. It's my nod to the anonymous women who did the work. There is so much painted on this December 1884 illustration from Peterson's Magazine that I almost decided not to use it.

Then, I landed on the idea of using vintage European postage stamps as window panes to create a stained-glass effect, and replacing the rug with an antique European map.

Looking at the collage now on the screen, it hit me that I could have made life easier by gluing the stamps atop the window panes rather than cutting out each pane out while trying to preserve the thin mullions between them.

Yeah, another learning experience. 9.5" x 7.5" on archival mat board.