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!

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]

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.

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.

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.