The Grand Tour 17: Matilda's Decision To Remain in ItalyAnswered The Question That Had Hung In The Air For Weeks

This was one of those nice surprises. I had cut out the women from a Peterson's magazine fashion plate to use in another collage but decided on a different grouping. Then, while searching for an image, I found this golden-infused Italian scene and a new collage was born instantly. That doesn't happen often, but when it does, well, it's pure fun.

I was itching to use the beautiful olive branch, which came from a recycled publishers catalog cover, and had a few ideas about the text when I found this snippet in one of my "word" files. Yes, I'm organized to the hilt when it comes to filing paper and have to resist the urge to subdivide it all even more.

This might be one of my favorites in the series for the "Cincinnati Dreams Italy" exhibition, because it reminds me so much of light-infused autumn afternoons in Tuscany and of the silvery olive trees that lined the walk to one of the first places we stayed in the hills just outside Florence. 8" x 8" on archival mat board. (SOLD)

The Grand Tour resumes ... in Italy

I took a break from The Grand Tour series for a couple of months but jumped back into it head first during the past week with five new collages about Italy. They're for the exhibit, Cincinnati Dreams Italy, which will be held Oct. 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 in historic buildings near the Taft Museum of Art.

The show's the brainchild of Kathy Holwadel, who has a penchant for thinking up cool ideas and it's just one of the events she's cooked up as an offshoot of the Taft exhibit "George Inness In Italy," which opens Oct. 7. There are dozens of Cincinnati artists involved. I'll post details - hours, etc. - as soon as I can; meantime, read more about it on La Piazza, Kathy's blog.

This is No. 15 in The Grand Tour series. I've started adding subtitles; this one - which I admit to changing five times in the last 48 hours - is "The Grand Tour 15: Upon Closer Examination, Elizabeth Realized That Her Guidebook Had Failed Miserably In Its Description of David." It's a hand-colored, antique Peterson's Magazine fashion plate combined with images from vintage guidebooks, maps and brochures. 5.5" x 8.5" on archival mat board with India ink. {SOLD}

New! New! New! At Friday's open studio

As noted a few days ago, I've gone tag crazy again. This time, the batch includes a slew of Halloween tags, some with nifty vintage finds. Check them out, sip some wine, munch some cheese and look for some other new surprises in my studio during Brazee Street Studios' open studios 6-9 p.m. tomorrow (Friday Sept. 9). All the details are on the page just below the blog header above - just click on the shaded blue box.

In the studio? In my dreams!

This how I look when I'm hard at work in the studio. As if. I can't resist sharing the new post on the Paper With a Past blog about my latest great find: the grandiose, 2-volume "The Gibson Book" set published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1906. It contains work from 11 of his titles and is appropriately aged but mold free, bug free, not a torn page in sight and appears to be completely intact. You'll be seeing these in a collage series in the new year.

Gibson's "It Girl" of the early 20th century

I know it must seem like I exaggerate when I say I've had another heart-stopping moment, but that's how I feel when I come across a great find. In this case: two large, dirty red cloth-covered books that caught my eye on the bottom shelf of an antique shop in Columbus, Ohio. Actually, it was the still shiny, stamped gold leaf wreath with the words "The Gibson Book" that stopped me in my tracks.

I had seen the two-volume set just once, years ago while attending an event at Peterloon, the suburban Cincinnati estate owned by Gibson's daughter, Irene, and her husband John Emery. The oversized, coffee table books were published by Charles Scribners' Sons in 1906 and contain the contents of 11 Gibson titles, that is, hundreds of drawings that are by turn satirical and charming. Each page is 11" x 17," so they open into an impressive 34" wide - too large for any of our coffee tables and, unfortunately, for my scanner. Yeah, a new scanner is on the top of my wish list.

The works are meticulously drawn with a keen eye for facial expression that goes far beyond the iconic Gibson Girl whose image swept the nation and is hip to this day. Don't believe that? Well, Urban Outfitters recently touted Gibson Girl wallpaper - with the added touch of red lipstick here and there - and it sold out. The pattern was taken from "Design for Wall Paper," above, which was originally published by Life in 1902 and has the witty subtitle: "Suitable for a Bachelor Apartment." On the next page - below - is an aspiring beauty in 1903's "The Seed of Ambition" from Collier's Weekly.