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!"