Even the Cat Was On Edge

I've been deep into Halloween for a few weeks now, so expect to see a few more collages. This one has a vintage cat decoration - courtesy of my friend Shirley Tenhover - as its centerpiece and a cast-off watercolor painting in the background. Yeah, I found it in a dumpster. The translucent paper behind the cat is embedded with a spider web pattern and came from a University of Cincinnati theater program from the 1920s. I didn't know it was in the program until I opened it. I still have more of it but am using it sparingly! 4.75" x 4.75" on archival mat board. [SOLD]

Holy Grail of paper collectors? Halloween

During the past fews decades Halloween has become a major adult event. And why not? It's a holiday with costumes, sugary treats and cool tricks - and one minus the baggage of other holidays. No long hours in the kitchen - well, unless you're Martha Stewart. No family reunion, er, not that I don't love my family and not that they haven't been behaving unusually well at Thanksgiving.

The holiday has always been a decorating op but never more so than now. Along with its surge in popularity among adults has come an equally strong desire for Halloween anything from collectors. I have as much nostalgia as any baby Boomer for the now-vintage Halloween decorations of my youth but refuse to pay the skyrocketing prices that come with them. I do trawl for Halloween bargains and nailed this one at a flea market for a mere $6. Topping that off: the box held 10 stickers not 6. Bingo!

Along with Halloween, products made by the Dennison Manufacturing Co. have become highly collectible during the past decade or so. The company merged with office product giant Avery International in 1990 to become AveryDennison, so its easy to tell whether you've got a genuine vintage product by looking at the label.

I also keep my eyes open for Dennison stuff - gummed labels, cloth reinforcements, tissue paper booklets - to use in collages. I already used two of the labels from this box on collage tags. I can hear the collective gasp! from collectors as I type.

Autumn's Call

I mentioned last week that I was playing around with semi-transparent and translucent papers - and here's another example. A brown, flower-patterned vellum sheet recycled from an invitation covers the antique scrap and sheet music, as well as the autumn leaves from a vintage greeting card. It mutes everything with a painterly kind of wash.

At the moment, I'm trying to get as much as I can from my papers before resorting to paint, ink, etc. It's fun but challenging, because vellum, tissue-thin papers, etc. are difficult to glue down flat. I work them from the middle, bit by bit. Even then, I sometimes have to go back in with a razor blade to cut bubbles and wrinkles, then slip more glue underneath and burnish them until they are flattened - praying all along that I don't tear anything.

Originally, the bird - cut from an antique Christmas post card - was also going beneath the vellum. But I liked how vibrant it appeared when it was when plopped atop the vellum and decided to keep it there. What doesn't show in the scan is the glittering gold paper behind the leaves. But, trust me, you can see it in person. Stop by the studio and take a look! 4.75" x 4.75" on archival mat board. Matted to fit a standard 8" x 10" frame.

Mad Women: There Was No More Penny PinchingNow That Helen Was The Primary Breadwinner

I'm on another Mad Women tear. Something about the coming holidays inspired me to add more collages to the series, which tweaks 1950s stereotypes about women. Note the festive red-and-green color scheme supplied by the vintage trading stamps and recycled coin wrapper. The green background behind the couple was in the original illustration from an ad in Ladies Home Journal and blended so well with the stamps that I decided to keep it. 4.75" x 4.75" on archival mat board. (SOLD)

Tonight: Mini Madness at Brazee Street in Studio 2A

Here's a glimpse of the 5"x5" collages that will be shown at tonight's Open Studio (6-9 p.m., more info here, including directions). Top photo: my paper collages. Bottom photo: painted-canvas collages by Susan Mahan. Nice contrast between the two. Hope to see you later ... (oh, Susan's collages will be up through Oct. 31, and can be seen by appointment by contacting me).