You never know what will turn up in the mail

So, on Friday, I received a package from my friend Jo Diamantes, a wonderful Cincinnati book artist. It was taped within an inch of its life. At first, I thought it was something related to the Cincinnati Book Arts Society, which we both belong to. But what could warrant such intense packaging?

I soon found out. Inside was a worn, crumbling scrapbook, circa 1890, and a note from Jo explaining that it had belonged to someone on her mother's side of the family, but she wasn't sure who. She said she had no use for it, but suspected I might. How thoughtful!

It's a small - 6" x 8.5" - album with pressed cardboard covers that mimic leather. The front cover - above - has hand painted roses, and the fading inscription: "A Present from London."

The first "scrap," is a large chromolithograph glued to the inside of the cover. The rest of the book is filled with an eclectic mix of paper: scraps, trade cards, personal calling cards, etc. Here's a quartet of the most arresting images … those with a keen eye will note that the final scrap is similar to one written about last August in a post about Victorian oddities.

  

Santa's on his way ...

It's no secret that I'm smitten with Santa. He's appearing on all manner of paper goods from stamped gift tags - using my favorite image - and collaged tags to collages and prints.

I'm just finishing new Santa collages for this weekend's Showcase of Arts at the Woman's Art Club of Cincinnati (10-4 Saturday Dec. 7, noon-4 Sunday Dec. 8 rain, sleet, ice or snow … so they say).

Here's a peek at them … the first three are on 6"x 6" hardwood panels, and are ready to hang with a hanger on the back. They're sealed, and the sides are varnished. The second three are on covered book board - 4" x 7.75" - and hang from vintage seam binding threaded through the grommets at the top of each.

Hope to see you this weekend, but, please, be careful out there ...

So, did it work?

Thought I'd show you what happened after the scrapbook pages mentioned in the last post were soaked ... as I said then, it works. In the top photo, the scraps are drying facedown on the studio floor after being removed from the pages - luckily, it's a concrete floor. The other photos show the end result. Most of the scraps are fairly flat and those that are not, can be flattened in my nipping press.

The final photo shows another project going on in the studio at the same time - airing out pages from 1930s era Esquire magazines that had been wrapped in plastic sleeves for decades. When the wrapping was taken off ... stinky. So, time for some fresh air.

A simple blog post label leads to treasure ...

Last summer, I posted an item about "Wark's Modern Educator," an encyclopedic book from the early 19th century. I bought a copy at a dirt cheap price, because it was missing pages. I happened to mention that I'd love to find a complete volume. On the post, I added the book title as a label.

Well, fast forward to a few weeks ago when an e-mail arrived from a bookseller in Princeton, N.J., telling me that she had been searching the web for info about Wark's, and came across my blog post. She had a complete one. We messaged back and forth.

In between the e-mails, she took a look at my web site. Her next e-mail asked if I wanted something else: her great grandfather Paul Phillips' scrapbook from 1890. It was little more than a pile of crumbling pages inside its worn covers, and she didn't know what to do with it ... 'til she saw my work.

A few days later, the Wark's and scrapbook arrived. As nice as the Wark's is, it's the scrapbook that is the stunner. It's filled with colorful scraps and trade cards. Some are scraps I'd never seen, such as sets with fairy tale characters and a series of morality tales. Many are huge, filling entire pages. In fact, the flowers are the perfect size for a commission I just got to create a large-scale collage for a Cincinnati restaurant. Today, I'll remove the scraps from the pages, which can be done by soaking them. Trust me, it works, and doesn't damage the scraps (a trick learned from a veteran bookseller/paper collector).

Of course, I had to scan some pages to share with you ... no doubt my friend Shirley Tenhover will be oooohing and ahhhhhing when she sees these ...

  

More yumminess ...

Having more yummy fun related to the birthday/anniversary celebration of Cincinnati's BonBonerie Bakery. A birthday exhibit opens 8-11 p.m. Friday (April 12) in the bakery's cafe.

I created a trio of cakes for the show. The first two are purely decorative, a departure for me. But as I said in a Facebook post, there are times when you have to give into your inner sugar. The third one, has a story behind it. 

All are on Ampersand's cradled Claybord panels, which have a hardwood base. The wood sides are coated with clear varnish to allow the wood to show. I like that look. Since they'll hang as is - no protective framing - each is sealed with multiple layers of Mod Podge's Hard Coat (which is less sticky when it dries than some other sealers).

The wedding cake - made up of layers of Victorian needlework illustrations - also has piles of Victorian scraps in wonderfully muted colors. Most were a gift from my friend Shirley Tenhover, who I'm sure will appreciate how they have been used. She is, after all, a former cooking teacher and restaurant consultant. 

© Classic 14 Layer Marble Cake

$175

Mixed-media collage by Sara Pearce: original antique trade card and
color charts  (Textbook of Art Education: Book 6, Prang, 1904); vintage
 blueprint  (King Machine Tool Co., 1947); recycled hand- and machine-printed
marbled paper; fluid chalk, acrylic paint, ink; acrylic sealer & varnish; 
hardwood panel. 12" x 12" x 1" (2013)

© Love's Offering

$175

Mixed-media collage by Sara Pearce: original antique embroidery 
engravings (Godey's Lady's Book, Feb. 1858,  April 1859, March 1860, 
Jan. 1864,  Feb. 1865; Peterson's, Jan. 1862, July, 1868, April 1870, 
Nov. 1873, April 1880;  Delineator, April 1891)  and scraps; 
recycled wrapping paper; image transfers;  fluid chalk, acrylic paint,

 ink; acrylic sealer & varnish; hardwood panel. 12" x 12" x 1"  (2013)

The Beginning of the End:

Eve Offers Adam a Piece of Fruitcake

$175

Mixed-media collage by Sara Pearce: original vintage prints and scraps 
(Treasures of Venice, 1963;  Great Prints and Printmakers, 1967); 
recycled wrapping papers;  fluid chalk, marker, ink; acrylic sealer & 
varnish; hardwood panel. 12" x 12" x 1"  (2013)

From the scrap pile: Victorian wackiness

I visited my friend, Shirley Tenhover, last week in North Carolina. And we did a trade. Shhh, don't tell my husband. She got a Social Butterfly box collage. I got a box of fantastic Victorian scraps. They range from teeny-tiny people to oversized holiday greetings. Here are a few of the more, um, interesting pieces. Now thinking about how to use them in collages ...

 

Score at Covington's 4th Sunday Antiques Show

I woke up early this morning - well, 8:30 a.m. is early to me - drank some coffee, then, headed across the river to Covington's historic MainStrasse for its monthly antiques show. I hadn't been to any show in ages and since this one is small, I knew it would be manageable both in terms of my stamina and my pocketbook.

I usually don't find much here, but there's always that off chance. The vendors were fewer than I remember seeing in past years even though there was a decent crowd.

I was striking out until ... hitting a booth with boxes and boxes of paper. None of it organized. So the digging began. At this point, I look for specific things that will be used in collages. I've learned to become focused as my stash, er, archive - has grown. Too much stuff is crippling.

The digging paid off, first with a marvelous batch of 18 Arm & Hammer bird trade cards. Some are in awful shape, and that made them all the more appealing. After snapping up those tiny treasures, I spotted some Victorian flower scraps and oversized trade cards, multiple copies of a baking cookbooklet (not copyrighted!), a few cabinet card photographs of men (for a series I'm about to begin for a November exhibit) and other odds and ends.

So, it was well worth the time and I spent a mere $9. Score!

 

The artful calling card

This stunning salesman's sample booklet was part of a new trove of Victorian treasures sent to me by my friend Shirley Tenhover, who I've mentioned before. She's an inveterate collector of all kinds of cool stuff - heavy on Victoriana - and is sifting through it all now.

As she jettisons some of it, she's been generous in sending bits along to me. And, boy, am I grateful. Not only because it provides paper for my collages but because it also opens my eyes to materials I've never seen before. Like this folding sampler. Isn't it a beaut?

It's amazing that it's intact given how thin the paper is. And look at those cards - they're in mint condition with glossy finishes and vibrant colors on the scraps and crisp edges on the cards. On this style, the name is printed below the scrap, which is flipped open for the reveal.

The back of the sampler is just as fascinating as the front even though it's not in color. As always, I'm on the fence about the future of the sampler - use it or frame it?

From the scrap heap

My friend Shirley Tenhover has been collecting Victoriana and vintage paper - among many other things - since the 1960s. Although she has downsized a few times, and moved, and jettisoned some of her collections she seems to have an unending array of paper.

It turns up as notes and cards to friends, on theme-decorated dining tables, in her own crafts and - luckily for me - in my mailbox! Every now and again, I get a surprise package from her new home in North Carolina. It's always thrilling to open.

This week, a selection of beautiful Victorian scraps turned up, along with the Holy Grail of paper collectors these days: Halloween (I'll post those later). The scraps here are about a third of what she sent, there are more butterflies, tiny animals and people, and lots more of the birds, some of which are being turned into a series of small collages already.

It's wonderful to have friends who share their largesse and who, in the process, inspire new work!