It's a surreal world, after all

Sometimes, I buy a book for one image. That's the case here. I was in an antique shop in South Jersey last month and spotted a small book with beautiful, gilded lettering on its dark green cover. "Little Stay-at-home and her friends." I was thinking that the book cover might be something I could work with. Then, I opened it to the page with the lithograph above - "The Baby On the Beach." Sold.

The book - a series of poems about animals, fairies and flowers that, I think, was intended for preschoolers, that is, little stay-at-homes - was written and illustrated by L. Clarkson and published by Philadelphia's F.W. Robinson & Co. in 1879. Clarkson is touted on the title page as the author of "Gathering of the Lilies" and "Violet, with Eyes of Blue." I'm on the hunt for those, because if the illustrations are as surreal as these, well, I'll be snapping them up.

The two illustrations below are already being put to use in a new series of collages. I have high-resolution scans of all the prints, just in case I come up with some other idea for them.

Finally, a look at the new studio

Yes, I got around to uploading photos of my new studio on the first floor at Brazee Street Studios ... which is officially open whenever I'm there. That's just about every weekday. Generally after 11 a.m. So, feel free to drop by if you're in the Oakley neighborhood or nearby.

One collage becomes two

BEFORE: Summer 2

Yep. I've been revisiting more "old" collages and transforming them. In this case, the wrapped canvas piece above was cut down and used for new pieces in the Out On A Limb series. I liked the piece when it was created but looking back at it, well, it was too static and without a real focal point.

When I spotted the beautiful birds below perched on branches of bright spring flowers, I knew the old summer collage would make a perfect background for them ...  

AFTER: Out On a Limb: 25 
mixed-media collage: antique postcards, trade card,
& illustration (Peterson's Magazine 1886); vintage illustration
(The Butterfly Book, Doubleday, 1902) & postage; handmade
paper; ink, watercolor, gesso, acrylic sealer and varnish; canvas.
5"x5" on cradled hardwood panel. 
(SOLD) 

AFTER: Out On a Limb: 26
mixed media collage: antique trade card, sheet music
(Chatterbox magazine) & postcard (postmarked
Wamsley, Ohio, Feb. 24, 1913); vintage illustrations
(The Butterfly Book, Doubleday, 1902); handmade paper;
ink, watercolor, gesso, acrylic sealer and varnish;
canvas. 5"x5" on cradled hardwood panel.
(SOLD)

Julia and Hope: done

© Julia Had a Certain Spring in Her Step (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique engraving, illustration and scrap;
watercolor, marker, ink, acrylic sealer. 5"x7" on archival mat board.
Price: $75 (SOLD)

Hope (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique engraving; recycled book proof
 and greeting cards; watercolor, marker, ink, acrylic sealer.
5" x 7" on archival mat board
Price: $75 (SOLD)

Here are the finished collages I wrote about a few weeks ago. To be honest, not much changed. A Victorian pansy scrap was added to the bottom of Julia to echo the color in her hat ribbon and her dress color was punched up with marker. There's more gold in Hope's her hair and on the sun, and a bit more shading all over.

The pieces will be for sale at the 4th annual Jamie Osher Memorial Fund Gala, 6-9 p.m. Thursday April 26 at Art Design Consultants, 310 Culvert St., downtown (behind the Taft Museum of Art). The fund was created by Jamie's wife, artist Paula Wiggins, to raise money for esophageal cancer research, education and outreach. It's the disease that Jamie died from in 2008.

Admission is $50. A few dozen Cincinnati artists have donated small works of art for the "Wall of Hope." Each piece will sell for $75.     

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?