Plate 25

This is a companion piece to Plate 37 and part of the longer format I am exploring. Half the pieces are nature-inspired while the other half, are more - hmm - scientific is the best word I can think of at the moment. The hand is writing on a vintage Cincinnati public school report card found at a flea market. (Note to family: destroy my reports cards if you're not going to keep them!) Other elements are antique marbled endpaper, antique engineering engravings, title page of an antique French book, lining of a book spine and antique map. 4.5" x 11.5" on canvas.

False Sense of Security 5

Sometimes, a collage - even one that I think is done - needs one more thing to make it complete. In this case, it was the blue game piece. It was added after I made a mistake on another collage in the series and covered it with a vintage Dennison mailing label. It looked cool and made me wonder if anything should be added to the other collages in the series - and - voila! The game piece was a great find in a shop in Zanesville, Ohio. Got an entire box of them in myriad colors for $2. {Sold}

The Grand Tour 9

One thing I find appealing about using antique engravings that were printed on lightweight paper is the show through from the other side when they are glued down. In this case, the text on the page behind this illustration from Godey's Lady's Book peeks through as does a slight shadow behind her from the fashion illustration on the other page.

Her Walking-Dress is layered with maps from “Guyot's Physical Geography” (Scribner, 1872), “Harper's School Geography” (Harper & Brothers, 1882) and a 1957 U.S. Geological Survey of Idaho; as well as a sliver of a mosaic illustration from an art book. Off to the sides are vintage postage stamps and a vintage label from an Italian tarot card deck I picked up at a small print shop in Florence in 1989. Mixed-media, 3.75” x 5.75” on archival mat board. {Sold}

Olivia Sat Mesmerized as Jonathan's Libido Bubbled Over

When I came across this illustration in an antique children's book, I wondered what the girl was thinking as she watched the boy blowing bubbles, then, what he was thinking. They each appear so proper and straight-laced that I couldn't resist the temptation to nudge them into naughtiness. The bubbles are painted with acrylic and hand-punched from a range of sources that include vintage postcards, antique ads and Andy Warhol fashion illustrations. The headline, from an issue of The Chatterbox magazine, was a serendipitous find. 5.5" x 7.5" on acid-free watercolor paper. {SOLD}

Whatever the Occasion, Susie and Marie Had Each Other's Back

Something clicked when I found the 1953 sewing pattern illustration at the bottom and the dual-personality woman at the top (the top section of the cover of a 1950s-era "Nesco Modern Way of Electric Cooking" booklet).  But it wasn't until I saw the wording in a woman's farm journal ad for baby chicks that the piece came together. 3.75" x 5.75" on archival mat board.