All dolled up

Women of a certain age will recognize the famous singing sisters above and know who is missing from the group. My friend Mary Lynn Tangi dropped by yesterday morning with envelopes full of paper dolls from the 1960s and, yes, their clothes.

There are skating outfits, hats, coats, evening gowns, costumes and even a wardrobe of men's clothes, though no male paper dolls. I'm having fun sorting through it all and thinking about what I'll do with them. One thing I know for sure, she'll be getting a collage out of it.  

Another view of Flora & Fauna

Cincinnati's CityBeat has weighed in with it's review of the Flora & Fauna exhibition now at Bromwell's - and, it's another rave. It also looks at it from a different angle than the previous reviews.

Wish I'd taken a BETTER photo of the shadow box above, Alice Had A Knack for Finding the Most Secluded Hiding Places, but there you are. Hmm. Maybe I'll head down to Bromwell's and try some new shots, the show is up 'til July 14.

Take-off: circle meets the square

Out On a Limb: The Music of the Birds (2012)

mixed-media collage: antique trade card (American Song Bird Series, No. 16, Meadowlark,
Singer Sewing  Machine Co., 1898), sheet music (The Music of the Birds, Oliver Ditson, 1898) 

and endpapers (Dante's Inferno: New Edition, circa 1885), vintage illustration (Audubon 

birds coloring book, circa 1930s), recycled book proofs and exhibition catalogs, ink, watercolor,

fluid chalk, acrylic sealer, and acrylic varnish. 6” x 6” on a hardwood panel. Price: $85.

(SOLD) 

Out On a Limb: Recorded Sound (2012)

mixed-media collage: antique engraving (Chatterbox magazine, 1874), trade card

(American Song Bird Series, No. 13, Brown Thrasher, Singer Sewing Machine Co., 1898), 

and record sleeves (Brunswick Records, Columbia Grafonola); ink, watercolor, 

acrylic sealer, and acrylic varnish. 6” x 6” on hardwood panel.

Price: $85

The bottom collage shows the big departure in how music is being incorporated into the newest collages I'm making for the Fifth Sreet Gallery. In the top one, it's via sheet music, as it was in the collage posted last week. But I wanted to break away from that and also from the vertical compositions I had gotten stuck in.

Well, there was a pile of antique record sleeves, which had been removed from LPs in the basement that we were ditching. After toying with framing one of the birds inside the round hole that showed the record's label, the idea was rejected. How could I cover up those beautiful Singer chromolithographs?! "No. No. No. No. No."

Well, I didn't say "never." The minute this ornate sleeve was put over the Brown Thrasher, I knew I was going for it. It was so visually striking and so different from the other pieces.

I don't say this often, but I love, love, love this one - and the other one that you will see tomorrow. Oh. That doesn't mean I don't like the dueling meadowlarks ... it's just fun to veer in a different direction.

Score at Covington's 4th Sunday Antiques Show

I woke up early this morning - well, 8:30 a.m. is early to me - drank some coffee, then, headed across the river to Covington's historic MainStrasse for its monthly antiques show. I hadn't been to any show in ages and since this one is small, I knew it would be manageable both in terms of my stamina and my pocketbook.

I usually don't find much here, but there's always that off chance. The vendors were fewer than I remember seeing in past years even though there was a decent crowd.

I was striking out until ... hitting a booth with boxes and boxes of paper. None of it organized. So the digging began. At this point, I look for specific things that will be used in collages. I've learned to become focused as my stash, er, archive - has grown. Too much stuff is crippling.

The digging paid off, first with a marvelous batch of 18 Arm & Hammer bird trade cards. Some are in awful shape, and that made them all the more appealing. After snapping up those tiny treasures, I spotted some Victorian flower scraps and oversized trade cards, multiple copies of a baking cookbooklet (not copyrighted!), a few cabinet card photographs of men (for a series I'm about to begin for a November exhibit) and other odds and ends.

So, it was well worth the time and I spent a mere $9. Score!

 

I'm back out on a limb

Out On a Limb: Wings of Song (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique engraving (Chatterbox, 1879) and trade card
(Singer Sewing Machine Co., American Songbird series, 1898-1922);
vintage sheet music (Harold Flammer Inc., 1938); recycled catalogs and tissue paper;
ink, watercolor, marker, fluid chalk; acrylic sealer and acrylic varnish.
6" x 6" inches. On hardwood panel - ready to hang. Price: $85.
(SOLD)

This is the first of five new Out On a Limb collages created to hang in the 5th Street Gallery during July, when the World Choir Games hit Cincinnati. The five each feature one of the "American Song Bird" trade cards I've used a few times before.

There were 16 cards in the series of color lithographs (chromolithographs, if you want to get technical) issued by the Singer Sewing Machine Company. The original watercolors were painted by J.L. (John Livsey) Ridgway, a scientific illustrator who specialized in ornithological and paleontological art. Of course, since these were trade cards, the backs were used not only to provide more info about the bird on the front but to tout the latest Singer products, too.

These collages continue the pairing of color and black & white images, usually of the same bird. In this case, chats. I combed my music bins and found a remarkable number of  bird songs. I tried to use music in each collage but when it came to the final two, well, you'll have to wait to and see.

The nitty gritty

Yes, I know it appears that life as a collage artist is all glamour. The openings. The Prosecco breaks. The fun & funky studio. But there comes a time when you have to get things in order. No, not the stash. The paperwork!

As you know by now, I write detailed descriptions of my collages in which I try to squeeze in as much as much about the paper and other materials used as will fit on a 4" x 2" label. Viewers like knowing the history. So do I. Even though there are times when I think the label may detract from the art itself, I feel compelled to write on. Well, for now.

So, for the past two days, I've been hunkered down at the computer organizing the labels into one big, alphabetical file. Yeah, it's the librarian in me. But it's also the frustrated artist trying to find a specific label among dozens of files.

I had been organizing them by exhibition and/or by month - the latter for Open Studios. Now, I'm happy to say, they're all in one, easy-to-search document. And, they're uniform in style, to boot. Ah. I feel so much better now!

Horsing around

Walking on stilts is tricky, even for humans. The image is from the November 1883 issue of St. Nicholas children's magazine. But that's all I can tell you, because - oops - I forgot to scan the text with it!

Exciting news: I'm a member of 5th Street Gallery

Maude Remains Discreet (2011-2012)
mixed-media collage: antique fashion plate (Godey's Lady's Book),
subscription form (Delineator, July 1899) and scraps; recycled greeting cards,
calendar and catalog covers; ink, watercolor, marker; acrylic sealer. On archival mat.
Price: $90
(SOLD)

I've kept mum about this, because it wasn't supposed to happen 'til July. But things moved up and I'm thrilled to announce that I'm a member of downtown Cincinnati's 5th Street Gallery. It's the artist-run, co-op that presented my solo exhibit "Expecting to Fly" in March.

This means that you'll find a sampling of my work there all the time. And since it is artist-run, you'll also spot me behind the front counter at least one morning or afternoon a week. I'll try to post my schedule in case you want to drop by to say "hi."

The gallery has 13 other artists working in a variety of styles and mediums from glass and paint to bronze and ceramics. At the moment, I'm lusting after one of Lisa Kobler Inglert's striking necklaces of hand-made glass beads or one of Marcia Alscher's small, but bold, minimalist, architectural paintings and then there is ... well, you get the picture!

Construction zone

I have not abandoned the studio, but have stepped away from it for a few days due to construction. Construction of my web site, that is. I'm in the middle of building it ... pixel by pixel. The blog will be part of it, of course. Hope to have something to show you by early next week.

Slideshow test

Bird watching

out on a limb collages, a set on Flickr.

I'm experimenting with using Flickr to create slideshows for the blog. So, I uploaded a dozen of the Out On a Limb collages but it appears that all I got was a static set. Guess I need to try again and maybe again and again. But first, I'm going to the studio to work out my frustration at this not working, even though I've been at it for at least an hour.

This could explain why Peter was a pumpkin eater

Claudette Conducts an Unscientific Study of
Whether Pumpkin Turns Men On (2012)
Vintage illustration and text; recycled paint sample, wrapping paper &
cookbook; ink and watercolor. 5" x 5" on archival mat board.
Price: $75 (matted),  $90 (matted & framed) 

Pumpkin turns men on. Really. In fall of 2010, the Small and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago conducted a study of which aromas act as natural aphrodisiacs and discovered that pumpkin turned men on more than any other smell. Pumpkin pie is my all-time favorite dessert, so, of course, I remembered the study, and had to create a collage with it in mind.

The title isn't too subtle, but the reference to sex in the collage itself is; it's buried in the text, which was torn from a French dictionary. Somehow, French seemed a sexier language than English.

Ah, the lure of the s'more

Flora's Exercise Routine Increased ExponentiallyAfter She Became Addicted to S'mores (2012)mixed-media collage: antique engravings (Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly,1888); vintage illustration; recycled paint sample, cookbooks and book;ink; watercolor. 5" x 5" on archival mat board.Price: $75 (matted only), $90 (framed)

This was, well, not easy - despite the background pieces coming together handily. When I found the paint sample, I remembered the s'mores instructions in my stash, as well as a photo.

Since the background is busy, the idea was to put one figure on it. After cutting out a half dozen or so and just not feeling it, I came across a series of engravings in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly illustrating a feature on "The Physical Education of Girls." I snipped out a sequence and started placing them around. They needed some grounding, which was where the roasting fork came in. Her belt was colored yellow to draw more attention to her.

Then, something bad happened. There were small balloons of shading at her feet. I liked them ... at first. Then, decided they were distracting. So, I began peeling them off, which worked well for the three images on the right but not the two on the left. Paper peeled off. After attempts to paint it failed, I hit on the idea of covering the areas and that's where the small squares of chocolate came in.

Animal of the day: pugilistic pug

This fighting-fit pug is from an 1892 issue of St. Nicholas magazine. The illustration accompanied a poem titled "The Boastful Pug." Proclaiming himself the "champion of all the little dogs" he throws out a challenge ...

 And the Maltese cat, from a safe place, said:

"To spar with you I'll agree."

"Come down on the ground, then," said the pug;

Said the cat: "You come up in the tree!"  

Printmania starts tonight!

Well, thanks to a terrific Mother's Day present from my loving husband - a high-end, archival Epson printer - I'm making prints of some of my favorite collages.

It's been great fun deciding which ones to print among those that have been sold. And, to my great surprise, it's actually been fun to learn the ins and outs of the printer. One thing I have discovered is that the results are so detailed that images need to be scanned at a much higher resolution to really make them pop.

The first crop is for sale in the studio only for now, starting with tonight's Open Studios (6-9 p.m.). They are matted in archival mats that will fit standard frame sizes. Prices are $25 to $35.

New at Friday's open studios: collages, cards, tags and the debut of archival prints of my work

Julian Had Popped the Question But All Anna Could Think About
Was Her Order of Bacon (2012)
mixed-media collage: vintage illustrations (McCall's magazine,1937;
 Art of Food & Drink, Dover, 1974), recycled cookbook and paint sample,
 ink, watercolor. 5"x5" on archival mat board.
Price: $75 (matted), $90 (framed).

Friday night's Open Studios at Brazee Street Studios - 6-9 p.m. - offers the first look at all the new collages in the Food Colors series.

Also new in the studio: a special Father's Day card, a slew of collage tags - just finished 25 or so - and for the first time: prints! These are high-quality reproductions of collages, printed with archival inks on 100% cotton rag paper. The selection is small but will be expanding, and for now, they're available at the studio only.

Reminder: I'm on the first floor now- right across from the Brazee Street entrance and the gallery. where a delightful show is opening: Glass Woods.

Animal of the day: woman's best friend

This clever dog is from a poem about Old Mother Hubbard and her animals that was published in 1883 in the book Chatterbox For The Little Folks (John E. Potter & Co., Philadelphia). The book is one of many that was put together - without permission - from material found in the British weekly/monthly. Copyright was a tempestuous issue then, as it is now.

Animal of the day: water ballet

This is one of a series of line drawings accompanying a poem in an 1889 issue of St. Nicholas children's magazine. It is about a man in search of the unusual and he found it with "the Octopus a-waltzing with the whale, whale, whale."

Animal of the day: the elephant in the room

Illustration from St. Nicholas magazine, 1878

A few months ago, while rifling through my collection of 19th century Chatterbox and St. Nicholas magazines, I started to notice wonderful - and, sometimes, bizarre - images of animals. I hadn't paid attention to them before. But, now, as I turned the pages, they seemed to be everywhere.

I started clipping them and scanning them into the electronic archive. There was no motive behind it, other than wanting to save the images. I now have dozens and dozens of them and thought I'd share them during the next few weeks.

Meantime, an idea for them has popped into my head. But, whether that will take the form of a collage or not, well, more about that another time. For now, I just want to release them into the wild ...

Paper With a Past now has a Facebook page

Yes, I'm mired in the past, right down to my business card (above). But that doesn't mean I'm not paying attention to the present. So, I launched a Facebook page last week for Paper With a Past as another way of spreading the word.

While the blog focuses on process and allows me to talk about my work, the FB page is an exercise in shameless commerce. It includes news about exhibitions, new collages and other PWAP products, retailers, etc.

I hope you visit it and would love, love, love it if you "liked" the page.

The eternal debate: rub vs. sauce

It Was Widely Debated Whether The Secret to John's Barbecue
Was in the Rub or the Sauce (2012)
mixed-media collage: vintage illustration; recycled paint sample;
recycled greeting card, wrapping paper and book proof;
marker, ink, watercolor. 5"x5" on archival mat board.
Price: $90.
(SOLD)

I haven't a clue what that humongous slab of meat is, but love its enormity and the crowd of guys standing around watching it being cooked. You can almost smell it and hear the sizzle as he ladles something over it. His secret sauce?