Scanning, scanning, and more scanning

I generally spend the early part of my day on the computer, since I do not have one in the studio - and don't want one there. Why? I know I'd be on it too much. One of the things that is done almost daily is the scanning of images into my digital archive. I have no clue what'll become of them, but they are images I feel I have to save before the originals disappear into collages. As you know, photocopies are not used in my work, except to make an occasional image transfer.

Here are some of this week's scans to give you an idea of what's being saved. They range in time from the 1880s to the 1950s. The more recent images, which often are under copyright, are generally radically altered and always used in one piece - and one only - in order to meet fair use standards. Even then, I prefer finding images that are out of copyright to avoid infringing on others rights.

Lila's magical night garden

After starting this piece, I came to the realization that I need more color botanicals. Adding them to my flea market list. This started as an ordinary daytime scene but changed once I found the evening sky - a page proof from a children's picture book received back in the day when I wrote a syndicated children's book review column, and proof that I never throw anything out.

Speaking of that, the flowers are mostly from recycled publisher catalog covers, except for the small red fuschias that are about to bloom - they were snipped from a damaged color engraving in John Lewis Childs Catalogue of 1887 (below). It's the only page I have from any of his catalogs, which were renowned for their artwork, so it's precious. I'm parceling out the rest of the spectacular illustration in a number of pieces. 9.5" x 7.5" on archival mat board with pencil, ink and watercolor {SOLD}

Emma's daily stroll caused quite a buzz

I'm in a spring/summer groove - finally - and working on pieces that are turning out to be whimsical takes on Victorian illustrations as opposed to my usual dark ones. The engraving is from a children's book, whose cover was missing and whose title page I misplaced, but am hunting for. It was tough keeping the umbrella spokes intact but I learned a trick: a coat of clear acrylic spray helps older papers from tearing during cutting - well, mostly.

Most of the butterflies are from recycled postcards, greeting cards and catalog covers. But the sweet bumblebee carrying an elf, yellow butterflies and praying mantis are from the delightful and stylish 1920 children's book "The Turned-Intos" about a girl's discovery of "garden folk." It was written by Elizabeth Gordon, illustrated by Janet Laura Scott and published by Volland - one of my favorite American publishers. I'm an avid collector of their holiday postcards, which often go overlooked by those not in the know. I snap up their books whenever I see them and can afford them, but that's not often enough.

5"x 6.5" on archival mat board  {SOLD}

Shell shocked

I don't know about you but I'm fascinated at the evolution of artworks - whether they are my own or someone else's. I've tried to document "the making of a collage" but discovered it takes far too many photos and seriously interrupts the process. So, I'll try to summarize this one - as briefly as possible.

The bathing beauties from Peterson's Magazine were set aside to use in the Grand Tour series, then, I changed my mind. I sensed they were destined for something else but wasn't sure what. So, I tossed them in with spring and summer illustrations. When I pulled them out again, I knew I wanted a summer piece. At the start, there was much more of the original print with the sea and shells behind it.

Then, as I sorted a cache of new papers, I spotted the shell-strewn sand and blazing sky. Additional background was trimmed until, well, the women were completely cut out. The bottom of the print was saved to incorporate the caption. Shell engravings from "The Popular Educator" (1884) and "The People's Cyclopedia of Universal Knowledge" (1881) were going to be cut out and piled around their feet, then, it hit me that they should be part of their bathing suits. 5.5" x 8.5" on archival mat board with ink and watercolor. {SOLD}

Note: I'll probably add watercolors or ink to the top edge of the caption to help it blend into the shells a bit more.  

Autumn: 2

I promise to move on to spring and summer after this post! I just had to make a second fall collage using a page from a girl's general science notebook that I picked up at a flea market. It's a ring binder from 1923 filled with classroom notes and pages after page of mounted, dried leaves that are still intact. I wanted to juxtapose the dried leaf with a stylized one from a publishers' fall catalog cover. Like Autumn: 1, it can hang vertically or horizontally.  5" x 10" on archival mat board