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: The Gloves Were Off

© Mad Women: The Gloves Were Off (2012)

mixed-media collage: vintage illustrations (McCall's Pattern Book, March 1946;

Butterick Pattern Book, Fall 1953; Picture Sourcebook, Dover, 1974), 

vintage Deutsche Bank calendar (1958), recycled ads and flash card, ink.

 5.75" x 9.25" on archival mat board. Framed with conservation glass.
(SOLD) 

This came about in a more random way than many of my collages. The woman was cut-out to use with a 1950s wallpaper sample background whose pattern I found to be too busy. So, the hunt began for a better background. It took a lot of rummaging before landing on the calendar, which was snapped up at a used book sale for the graphics above the calendar (beautifully printed, stained-glass images from German churches). It wasn't until I looked at it again last week that I realized the year was 1958 - perfect for "Mad Women."

The gloves and "hot" are from advertisements received in the mail. At first, I thought I'd use black & white gloves, but these have more punch. The screw/bolt digs into a block from a flash card set that was a last-minute addition, because I was determined to have her leaning on that screw even though it wasn't long enough.

Originally, she was holding the apron, too - not the knives, scissors, etc. - but when I spotted them, I decided to have her wear the apron instead. Finally, she was tilted a bit to really give the appearance of leaning but also to add a bit of a diagonal to the vertical composition.