The Sweet Petites are purring ...

I've been distracted by issues with a remake of a large collage, so it seemed time to take a break from it.  I turned my attention to having fun. For me, that usually means working on small collages, so that's what I did.

The new Sweet Petites - matted to fit a 5" x 7" frame - began with four 1917 fashion plates, then a group of cats. Last year's cat collages were so popular, that they ended up on their own calendar. Another one is in the works for 2015, and after this week I am well on the way. Take a look … (oh, I will be posting these on the official Sweet Petite page, too).

Sybil Ignores the Man
Behind the Curtain

Claudine Gawks Right Back
at the Gawkers

Isadora Brought Males of Every Age
to Their Knees

Marie Walked As Tall As Any Man

Easily Distracted

Not Intimidated

Fascinated

Fat Cat

Hitchhiker

Idol Worship

Irresistible

Mischief

Introducing Tinys: big isn't always better

For the past two months, I've been designing a new line of gift enclosure cards - those petite cards that get tucked into all manner of gifts. I've named them Tinys, and they made a successful debut yesterday at the 19th annual Studio Collection Holiday Sale.

At the moment, there are four styles:
- Christmas Tinys - which introduce beloved images from my collection of antique postcards and greeting cards, as well as a few reproductions of my holiday collages.
- Body Language Tinys - how many people have ever given you a gift enclosure card with an image of a brain on it?
- Childhood Tinys - reproductions of images from antique story books, children's magazines, cards, etc.
- Deja View Tinys - random images that I hoped to use at some time or another, including antique fashion plates.

As with the regular greeting cards, they are blank inside, but there is detailed info on the back about the image source, maybe a little too detailed. Let's just say I got carried away despite the limited space! Here's a look at a few of the cards. The entire line is available at my studio, and a selection will be at Over-the-Rhine's MiCA 12/V later this week.

Adapted from a black-and-white engraving in
the December 1886 issue of Peterson's magazine. ©

Available in the three colors shown above.
The pattern was adapted from a black-and-white engraving
in the February 1899 issue of the Young Ladies' Journal. ©

Reproduction of a collage made with antique an postcard,
engraving, recipe and needlework illustration. ©

Adapted from an illustration in
Les Elegances Parisiennes, circa 1918. ©

   

Phrenology head adapted from an illustration in
The Werner Universal Educator (1901).

This is how we role

While working on new collage tags when I came across this pattern envelope, featuring bridal caps and veils. First reaction: they are soooooo '60s. And they are, the pattern was published in 1967. Second reaction: they look like Barbie dolls. Perky noses. Perfect pink lips. Doe eyes. Glossy, straight hair. Long necks. All white.

I was far from that '60s role. Both in terms of my physical appearance, especially with my wild mound of frizzy hair, and my indifference to fashion and cosmetics. Blue eye shadow? Give me a break. I barely used moisturizer.

These beautiful women may have been brainy, but that's not how they were portrayed in the advertising, television and movies of the time. At this point, getting married was expected to be a woman's top priority. Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" was published a few years before this pattern, but it took a while for it's finding that women were not happy in their restrictive roles to seep into the national consciousness.

Maybe all of this is why I like to subvert these images so much. It's unclear what will happen to the pattern above, but I'm sure something will pop into my head.

Meanwhile, here are two of the tags ... they make me wonder what the women are thinking, it could be marriage, then again ...

High Euro style: March 1899

I'm trying to imagine negotiating the wacky March weather we've had in any of these ensembles.

They are from a bound volume of six monthly issues - January-June 1899 - of the Young Ladies' Journal. After searching it the other day. I thought it was about time that the 20 gorgeous fashion plates were scanned and archived.

You'll note that some images are whiter than others, which seems odd since they were all in the same volume. Some are so white, I'd have suspected they were reprints if I hadn't seen the original source. The paper they were printed on may have something to do with the differences.

The magazine was a British publication but the fashion plates were printed Paris - a fact proudly noted on each cover. I discovered the magazine via framed plates in a friend's apartment, then, scoured the internet and area bookstores to find some. This is the only bound volume I have ... at the moment.

My plan is to use the plates that are most oxidized or torn in collages; the others - which are in near mint condition - will be matted and sold in the "Stuff I Can't Bear To Cut Up" bin at the studio.

Back to the sea ...

By now, you know what happens when a collage sits - unsold - in my studio for a while. Yep. I dive back into it. In this case, the collage is "Over the Summer Sea," above. It's an early piece, which means it's about 2.5 years old. Yeah, ancient by my standards. It was made when I was experimenting with a long, narrow, non-narrative form.

Well, last week I came across a few engravings of bathing "dresses" while scouring the fashion files for another collage. I looked up from the work table, caught sight of "Over the Summer Sea" and decided it needed a lift via some people.

                                                     

After removing it from the frame, I cut out and tested the group above from an 1888 issue of The Delineator magazine. They felt too big.

So, I cut out another group from an 1868 issue of Godey's Lady's Book. Though the group is larger in numbers, it's smaller in height and by turning the collage on its side, they were a perfect fit. 

I liked the way the first group extended over the purple backing board and onto the creamy front mat, and decided to have this group do the same. After painting them with markers (Copic Sketch, Prismacolor, Zig Photo Twin), shells were added as bathing caps. Nothing was glued down at this point.

The shells were repositioned, colored and another one added - behind the second woman on the right - as a fan. Still unsure of the direction, I let it sit overnight. In the morning, I looked at the photos again on my computer, and it struck me that in the original layout with the larger figures, it seemed as though they were standing on a shell-strewn beach and that the shell at the top was like the sun.  

So, yes, it was back to the original group. I colored them, added shell hats and, this time, glued it all down. Um. I think it's done ... though there is a cool octopus I cut out, too.

Random acts of paper

Lately, I've been lucky to receive terrific paper donations from friends. The gifts have ranged from vintage greeting cards and stacks of savings stamp booklets to strips of vintage wall paper and dozens of vintage paper dolls.

The circa 1952 birthday boy on the tag above came from a box stuffed with treasures that Cincinnati Enquirer TV/radio/media reporter/critic John Kiesewetter had carried around in his trunk for months. The material was lovingly and selectively packed up from his late father's home. 

A zippered linen bag crammed with savings stamps came courtesy of Barbara Henshaw, who had seen my highly-organized stash in the studio, as well as the Mad Women collages in which savings stamps play a prominent role. I'm just starting new Mad Women pieces, so the stamps arrived at a perfect time.

Speaking of Mad Women, I just finished some new tags, above, that are Mad Womenesque and that include some of the vintage wallpaper that graphic designer, printer, Seed Bomb entrepreneur and blogger Maya Drozdz dropped off last week. They'll be turning up in some larger pieces, too.

Finally, there are the 1960s-era paper dolls that marketing wiz Mary Lynn Tangi gave to me a few months ago. They're now on the work table - those are three of the four, singing Lennon Sisters above - and will be starring in the new Mad Women collages. It was easy to tell by how carefully the dolls had been stored - with clothes, accessories, original books - that Mary Lynn cherished them. 

I find it fun giving new life to just about any paper, but there's an extra layer of satisfaction when the paper comes from people I know.

The art of adornment

Victor/Victorian
Geoffrey Firmly Believed in the Maxim that
the Ability to Accessorize
Is What Separates Us from the Animals
mixed-media collage: antique engravings (The Delineator, April 1894 & June 1898),
photo (J.H. Meyer Photographic Studio, 465 Vine St., Cincinnati) and endpaper,
recycled bead catalog, vintage button (Polly Pearce collection), watercolor, ink.

I offered a preview of the new Victor/Victorian series a week ago and am circling back to it now, because it's done. Well, almost. Going to the framer tomorrow.

Some of the  photo collages are inserted into antique album sleeves, while others -  like this one - are on antique endpapers. The endpaper collages may or may not be trimmed, depending on the frames selected. I'm checking out a local framer with a stock of antique frames. Cannot wait to see what they have on hand.

You'll note that Geoffrey is even more adorned via the addition of the colorful hat pin, some feathers and a rhinestone button from my late mother-in-law's button collection. Oh, and the has title changed, too. Could even change again ... you know how I am.    

Traveling clothes

Well, here are the three latest The Grand Tour collages that I've been writing about, all framed and ready to be shown at Saturday's 7th Annual Art Affaire show on the grounds of the Promont House Museum in Milford, Ohio.

They are my largest pieces yet. When having them framed, I picked the same molding in different shades and opted for "museum" glass, which cuts down on reflections and glare. The glass is pricey but worth it, because it lets viewers see all the details. They even look fantastic in this low-res photo.

I'm showing in the dining room, which I set up early this evening. Just a few little things to tend to before the show opens at 11 a.m.

I'll be there until closing, which is at 5 p.m. And in addition to the Grand Tour pieces - there are 3 more - I brought along collage tags, and flock of Out On a Limb collages and three shadowboxes.

Time is on their side

The Grand Tour: After Much Tinkering, Rosa, Viola, and Cora 
Traveled to a Place that H.G. Wells Had Yet To Imagine: The Future
mixed-media collage: antique hand-painted fashion plate (Peterson's, Feb. 1887);
vintage diagram (Switching Locomotives Operating Manual, General Motors)
and illustrations (Audel's Plumbers and Steam Fitters Guide #1 and #4, 1925;
Architectural Forum, July 1960); recycled book proof; marker, ink, watercolor
and acrylic sealant. 9.5" x 12" on acid free mat board. (2012)

This collage - the last of the new ones for Saturday's Art Affaire - began with the architectural illustration. When I spotted it, I knew the Grand Tour women would travel to the future - and so they have. But it took some mechanical ingenuity.

I've always been a woman with a tool box. One of my first purchases when I left home was an electric drill. After all, I already had my mother's Sunbeam mixer. So, tools have become a recurring theme in my collages and greeting cards. In the collages, I tend to pair oversized tools with 1950s-era women as a symbol of role reversal and empowerment. They function in much the same way here.

A few words about Mr. Wells: his novella, The Time Machine, was published in 1895. Since this fashion plate is dated 1887, my women are far ahead of him and have made time travel a reality. I like to think their trip inspired him.

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.  

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!

Flora & Fauna gets a rave

Woke up to a sweet surprise: a great review of the Flora & Fauna group exhibition in today's Cincinnati Enquirer. It's difficult for a critic to mention everyone in a show with 10 artists, so I'm pleased to have made the cut.

Critic Karen Chambers goes into detail about one piece in particular: Social Butterflies: Emma and Marjorie Were Honing Their Networking Skills. It's one of five "fanciful and whimsical" shadow boxes in the exhibition. I posted it earlier this month, but here's another look ...

 

Social butterflies: Emma and Marjorie Were Honing Their Networking Skills

© Social Butterflies: Emma and Marjorie Were Honing Their Networking Skills (2012)

mixed-media collage: vintage illustrations (The Delineator, Butterick, May 1923; 

The Butterfly Book, Doubleday Page & Co., 1902; Butterflies and Moths,

Viking Press, 1965); handmade paper; recycled origami paper;

 antique Lotto box (McLoughlin Bros., Trunk Lotto No. 2); watercolor, ink, acrylic sealer;

metal tape; recycled glass

(Sold)

Here's a peek at one of the Social Butterflies boxes in progress. Actually, it's done, but I didn't think to shoot it before putting the glass on top and, well, too much glare to do it now. Memo to self: next time, take the picture before adding the glass. I added a few more flowers and a tiny cricket but that's about it. 

The girls are from the May 1923 issue of The Delineator. As in the other pieces in the series, which also feature illustrations from the same issue, my back story for them has them being more than clothes horses or frivolous party goers. I see them as BF - before Facebook - social networkers, who are honing their skills now that women have the right to vote. That's the story - and I'm sticking to it! 

The ornate paper on the box sides - below - is original. The box housed the pieces for Lotto, a Bingo-type game. I was tempted to add the lid so viewers would have to open it to see what's inside, but decided to try that another time. The lid is wonderful on it's own and, so, I'd like to use it for another piece. The back features a color plate of caterpillars, which - like Emma and Marjorie - will some day morph into an entirely new - and equally fascinating - creatures.  

Mad Women: Jean Drops Out and Joins A Cult

Mad Women: Jean Drops Out and Joins A Cult (2012)
mixed-media collage: vintage illustrations (Esquire, Dec. 1939;
 McCall's Pattern Book, spring 1946);  recycled Turner Classic Movies
trading card ("Casablanca") & Monet exhibition catalog illustration;
ink; watercolor. 7.5" x 9.5" on archival mat board. Framed with conservation glass.
Price: $125.

I was so excited to - finally - use something from the December 1939 issue of Esquire, which my friend Marsie Newbold gave to me a few years back. It's the background image of the lithe women with a horse and came from an illustrated feature titled "If Women Rules the World and Men and Horses Were Slaves." Yeah, real male fantasy stuff that I couldn't resist turning into female fantasy stuff.

Adding to the romantic air: a quote from "Casablanca" from a set of classic movie trading cards that came in the mail back in my newspaper features editor days. At that time, I was saving promotional card decks. Well, let's be honest, I was also saving tons of other paper!

In any case, what was funniest to me about the quote is that my daughter recognized it as being from "Casablanca" almost immediately. Guess we raised her right.

Mad Women on a smaller scale

Between larger collages, I've been working on the gift tag collages for a few retail shops in town (more on that when they are actually in the shops). As I was scanning the finished tags into the computer, I noticed that the '40s/'50s fashion tags have taken on the same "don't give me any X#$+" attitude as the Mad Women series. I seem incapable of creating a straight-up fashion tag!

Beaches: revisited

Soooo. I let those two beach collages that were "finished" last week sit for a bit. Then, decided that some text was the extra touch they needed. (SOLD)