Breaking up is not hard to do

A few weeks ago I took the ax, er, the box cutter, to "Summer 1" (above). To be honest, it was easy to do, because I never liked this piece. Too static. No focal point. Dull colors. I could go on ...

In any case, the pieces have been sitting on a worktable ever since. Well, I wanted space for other things and got tired of looking at 'em. What to do? Turn them into backgrounds for a couple of Out On a Limb collages. This time, I went bright. There are too many dark birds hanging around the studio.

Out On a Limb: August (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique science notebook (Lillian Mary Shackett, 1918);
 endpaper, book spine, ad and needlework illustration (Delineator, Chatterbox); 
recycled handmade paper embedded with leaves; vintage illustration 
(Reddish Plantcutter and Crested Sharpbill, Birds of the World, 1961); 
watercolor, pencil, ink, fluid chalk, marker, acrylic sealer and acrylic varnish. 
5” x5 ” on hardwood panel (2012)
Price: $85.

   

Out On a Limb: Summer (2012)
mixed-media collage: antique endpaper, book spine, trade card 
and illustration (Chatterbox); recycled handmade paper; vintage illustration 
(Rose-Breasted Thrush Tanager, Birds of the World, 1961);
 watercolor, pencil, ink, fluid chalk, marker, acrylic sealer and acrylic varnish.
5” x5 ” on hardwood panel.
Price: $85.

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 ...

 

New holiday section on the web site

The holidays have arrived on the Paper With a Past web site. Well, not really. But there is a new holiday section in the artwork part of the site. Right now, it's heavy on Halloween and Santa collages.

Some pieces are for sale; some are available upon request as signed, limited-edition prints; and some are, well, just plain sold. Look for more images to pop up in the coming weeks.

Smoke and mirrors

I nabbed copies of the June and August 1899 issues of Harper's New Monthly Magazine yesterday - and for a mere $1 each, I might add. The Harper Brothers launched the magazine in 1850, followed by Harper's Weekly in 1857 and Harper's Bazaar in 1867. The latter still exists, as does the book publishing end of the business - now HarperCollins Publishers.

One reason the magazines were appealing: the ads are in good shape. In most magazines of that era, ads were at the front and back only - the places that get all the wear and tear. So, while they make interesting reading, they don't necessarily make good collage material.

These are splendid. I cherry-picked a few favorites to post, starting with the outrageous ad at top that gives the post its title.

Zig-Zag papers, a guitar and ...

Papers, Scissors, Soft Rock (2012)
antique trade card (Columbus, Ohio, guitar company, 1892) and illustration
(The Delineator); vintage record sleeve (Columbia), illustrations
(Lothar Meggendorfer's International Circus, Kestrel Books, 1979; 
Victorian Fashion Paper Dolls, 1977)  and sheet music (Chappell & Co., 1936); 
found paper;  ink, watercolor, marker; 5.5" x 11.5" on acid-free mat board.
Price: $125 (matted, unframed, available in November)  

A while back, I said the "Scissors, Paper, Rock" series would continue, and it has. "Papers, Scissors, Soft Rock" - cue the groan - takes the work in a new direction. I'm having fun with it, so look for three to four additional collages.

This one happened purely by accident when I remembered a package of Zig-Zag papers I found one morning while walking to the studio. Honestly. Then I recalled a Victorian trade card with a guitar, and, things took off from there.

I wanted Daphne onstage and found the curtains in a vintage pop-up book that my friend Shirley Tenhover sent to me. As it turned out, I  had a copy of the book in my collection but wasn't ready to sacrifice it ... yet.

The background - a vintage record sleeve - came via our basement, where I'm rummaging through the vinyl for more material for the rest of the collages.