Back in the kitchen ...

Janine Wasn't Fooling Anybody With That Cocoa Cup (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique scrap, vintage illustration,
recycled paint sample, recycled wine label, marker, ink,
watercolor. 5"x5" on archival mat board.
Price: $75 (matted to fit a standard 8"x10" frame), $90 (framed). 

I'm taking a break from the Paper, Scissors, Rock series - which will have 4-5 more pieces in it - by returning to Food Colors, a series created for the annual The Art of Food exhibition at The Carnegie. I got carried away and whipped up six more collages, which you'll be seeing over the next few days.

For this one, I was so happy to be able to use a wine label carefully peeled from a bottle months ago. Unfortunately, most of its beautiful red, glossy leaves - the thing so attractive about it - are hidden now. It was moved every which way but it was impossible to get in more of the leaves and the type - and I really wanted the words.

The paint sample is actually two separate ones combined to take the viewer from coffee and chocolate to claret and bordeaux. Now that we've gotten to wine, well, although I didn't want Janine to appear to be a total lush, I couldn't resist tinting her lips and fingertips purple.  

Paper, Rock, Scissors - No. 4

Paper, Rock, Scissors (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique illustrations (Delineator, March 1893;
Ladies World, Oct. 1895), vintage paper doll (Victorian Fashion Dolls, Dover, 1977)
and illustration (Encyclopedia of Source Illustrations: Vol. 1, Morgan & Morgan, 1972),
recycled Champion paper sample kit (1989), recycled book cover (circa 1960s) and ad,
ink, marker, watercolor. 5.5" x 11.5" on archival mat board.
Price: $125 (matted, unframed), available in November.

I thought Caroline would be the culmination of the Scissors, Rock, Paper series. But, there's one more dancing around in my head.

In any case, unlike the others, the background here depicts each word in the title rather than one. I played with her carrying the scissors in many ways, then, thought about putting them in the hands of one of her dresses. Next thing I knew, I was adding the wedding dress, too. Now,  each figure carries an object representative of the title.

There are more layers - soooooo carefully cut and positioned - but they're obscured by the dresses now. What did survive is a bit of the strip from a paper book cover with instructions for using it. The cover was a freebie from White Castle back in the '60s and has a wild op-art pattern that's sure to pop up in some other piece.

As for No. 5 in the series, well, I'm waiting for a cache of paper dolls a friend has promised me. Then, we'll see ...

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 ...

 

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Well, I am posting the 3rd collage in the new series even though I'm not sure it's done. I can't  put my finger on it, but something about it is bugging me. So, I am going to let it sit for a bit. It may be how busy the background is. Then again, it may be the addition of the second paper doll. I do like that rock, though!

Paper, Scissors, Rock

Paper, Scissors, Rock (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique illustration (The Ladies World, Oct. 1895),
vintage paper doll (Victorian Fashion Paper Dolls, Dover, 1977) and chart
(Stratigraphic Studies of the Silurian Rocks of Pennsylvania: Part 1,
Pa. Geological Survey,1961), recycled travel guide and jewelry catalog,
ink, marker. 5.5" x 11.5" on archival mat board.
Price: $125 (matted, unframed) - available in November.

As promised, here's the second collage in the new series. That's one amazing rock she's wearing. It's from Tiffany's - where else? - and is part of a necklace. At first, it was going to dangle from the top of the page. But the more I moved it around, the less I liked that idea. The cluster of diamonds at the top reminded me of a bow and led to her wearing the piece.

Abigail is from a second set of vintage paper dolls whose clothes are reproductions of fashions published from 1867-1898 in Harper's Bazar (by the way, that is the correct spelling of Bazar; I double-checked). I thought of constructing my own paper dolls from the images in the magazines in my archive  - and may do it at some point - but I liked the idea of using commercially-produced dolls.

Oh, the rock chart/map in the background is from a trio of over-sized booklets I spotted a few weeks ago and passed up, because of a vow to cut back on buying maps. But once this series idea arose, well, I knew exactly where to get more "rocks."

Next up: Rock, Paper, Scissors ...

Scissors, rock, paper

Scissors, Rock, Paper (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique illustration (Delineator, April 1894),
vintage paper doll (Fashion Paper Dolls From Godey's Lady's Book, Dover, 1977),
recycled Champion paper sample kit (1989), title page from a discarded library book,
recycled invitation, handmade paper, ink, marker. 5.5" x 11.5" on archival mat board.
Price: $125 (matted, unframed).

Okay, here's the first piece in the new series Scissors, Rock, Paper. Yeah, you probably guessed that was what I was up to if you looked at last week's photos closely. Right now, there are four collages, but I'm considering a few more.

I've been possessed for weeks by the idea of Scissors, Rock, Paper collages, but envisioned something much different and a bit more abstract. Rocky landscapes. No people. Then, I hit on the idea of using vintage paper dolls as the "paper" and they began to fall into place.

Each of the first three has a background that speaks to the winner of that round, in this case, paper. Alice stands atop the scissors and rock in triumph. I wanted the layering to reference how players layer their hands during the game.

Just when I thought I was done, I came across the piece of paper on the bottom. It's from a discarded library book and the library stamp seemed like a great way to add another reference to paper. Still not satisfied, I went back to the paper doll book and found her hats. This one, with its black center really helps draw the viewer up the page.

Stay tuned for the others ...

A new series in the works

Here are views from opposite ends of my work table showing a new series of collages I've been playing around with this week. I'm not giving away the title ... yet. Look closely and you'll probably be able to guess it.

The photos offer a peek at my process: preliminary layouts, a mat as a cropping device and little bags with each collage holding snippets of paper identifying where they are from (which is how I can write those detailed labels).

I'm on the fence about the backgrounds and some have changed since I snapped the photos yesterday afternoon. We'll see what happens when I get back in the studio today. It's exciting to have pieces on the table ready to be worked on when I walk in the door.

Loon Lake

Loon Lake (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique map (Natural Advanced Geography,
American Book Co., 1898), vintage illustration (Birds of the World, Golden, 1961),
recycled travel brochures, ink, marker, acrylic sealer, acrylic varnish.
 6" x 6" on cradled birch panel

Sometimes, a piece just comes together. That's what happened when a friend asked me about making a collage on spec featuring a loon. After finding the perfect trio of loons - I had no clue what one looked like and was afraid these were really some other birds, so I double- and triple-checked - the piece fell into place within a few hours. Even so, I let it sit overnight just to be sure I was happy with it.

The map in the background refers to the annual trip my friend makes to Vermont and the top loon was placed so that it's beak would point toward New England. The map is covered by a piece of vellum from a recycled travel brochure. The goal was to tone down the map and inject some dusky colors. I've had mixed success with vellum but used PVA to glue it down and it went on flat, flat, flat without a single air bubble.

After scanning the image into the archive and sitting down to write this post, it dawned on me that I couldn't make the piece part of the Out On A Limb series - the original thought - since there isn't a limb in sight. So, that's why it's titled Loon Lake. Hope she likes it!

Note: the birds are a Black-Throated Diver, Great Northern Diver and Red-Throated Diver.

Mom, you've got mail!

My love of paper began when I was a kid and whiled away hours in stationery and office supply stores. But it didn't really kick into full collecting mode until I began making holiday cards with my daughter using images from antique postcards sent to my husband's family. 

Eventually, we needed fresh images and the hunt lead to an even more expansive search for all kinds of antique paper. The collection is a mother lode for my work as a collagist. Yes, the postcards are used in my collages, but only cards in bad condition go under the X-acto knife.  So, these are safe. Well, the one with daisies might be a goner.

All were printed in Germany and they're part of a series of "dear" postcards that's become yet another obsession. There are cards for just about every family member, as well as for lovers, friends, pets, you name it. The postmarks on these range from 1908 to 1913. I wish I could tell you that there are fantastic messages on the backs - which are scanned into my archive. But they're mostly along the lines of "thinking of you," "miss you," "hope you visit." Come to think of it, those are fantastic messages!

Am I blue?

© Out On A Limb: 30 (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique engravings (Chatterbox magazine No. XXI, 1879; People's
Cyclopedia of Knowledge, vol. 3, 1881); vintage illustration (Birds of the World, 1961);
hand-marbled paper; recycled art catalog; ink, marker, fluid chalk; acrylic sealer & acrylic varnish.
 6" x 6"  on cradled birch panel Price: $85.
(SOLD)

Yes, I'm blue. But it's okay. hue: blue opens tonight (6-9 p.m.) at Brazee Street Studios' gallery One One during our Open Studios' event. There are five new/newish Out On A Limb Collages in the show, including the one here. I must say, the gallery looks fantastic. There's something utterly refreshing about a sea of blue - especially when you're 12 hours from the shore. Well, my shore - the Jersey Shore.

But back to the collage ... I had been wanting to use the text on birds nests since finding it; luckily, there were plenty of black-and-white nesting images to choose from. Needed a b&w one to continue the pairing with color images. The twiggy bit at the bottom was cut from a much larger piece that I wanted to put down the right side. But that made it too dominant. So, I kept moving it around and cutting away at it.

Here's the cool thing about the twigs: they were cut from a page in the spring catalog for Vosges - the amazing Chicago chocolatier. Trust me, its catalog is as inventive and stunning as its chocolates. Yes, source material is everywhere!

It's a mod, mod, Modern Vintage world

The trio of Mad Women - below - are part of the Modern Vintage show that opens Friday night at Redtree Art Gallery in Oakley. I'm hoping to dash over for a few minutes from our Open Studios at Brazee - which are happening at exactly the same time, 6-9 p.m. Luckily, Redtree is right around the corner! I saw the show this morning and there are some artists I'd like to chat with. Hope to see you either there or at Brazee.

The shape of things to come?

© Out On A Limb: 32 (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique engraving (The Chatterbox, 1874),
vintage illustration (Birds of the World, Golden Press, 1961); recycled wallpaper samples;
pen, ink, watercolor, marker, liquid chalk; acrylic sealer and varnish; hardwood panel.
Price: $95

© Out On A Limb: 31 (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique engraving (Golden Gems of Penmanship, Knowles & Maxim, 1884),
vintage maps (Atlas of Global Geography, Global Press, 1944), recycled wallpaper samples, tissue paper and file folder; pen, ink, watercolor, liquid chalk; acrylic sealer and varnish; hardwood panel.
Price: $95

The two latest entries in the Out On A Limb series are on 8-inch round, cradled wood panels.

Maybe it was something about hitting OOAL 30 that made me want to change it up. 

I bought a half dozen of the round panels a while back, thinking that, sooner or later,

I'd like to try new shape. The pieces still combine black-and-white and color images of birds, 

but that's about to change, too ... I've been collecting images of people with birds and mulling

over just how to use them.

The pair were created for HUE, the annual summer group exhibition at gallery One One -

the gallery at Brazee Street Studios. This year, the color is blue and these two will join 

three other pieces from the series at the opening 6-9 p.m. Friday May 11 - yes, 

during our Open Studios.

Since my new studio is right across the hall from the gallery, it makes it super easy to pop in

after viewing the exhibit!

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.