Comic rollerskaters

 

I landed this group of four Victorian images in a box filled to the top with fantastic trade cards. But there was a problem: the bottom of the box had gotten wet, so some cards were stuck together and a few - luckily, just a few - were damaged beyond repair. I managed to separate the ones stuck together with minimal damage, because the book store owner who sold them - who was upfront about the water - clued me in on how to do it: submerse them in water and let them sit for a while. I know, it's counterintuitive. But it works. These inks are permanent, and trade card paper generally is thick and sturdy.

After some research, I discovered that a blank white band on the bottom of the cards had been trimmed and that these were part of a set of 14 stock cards. That is, cards left blank on the bottom and on the back so that they could be ordered by any business to advertise. These were printed by Clay & Richmond of Buffalo, N.Y., but you'll find plenty examples of the same cards printed by other printers - as well as other roller skating cards - at tradecards.com.

I'm not sure how I'll use these yet. But love the image of the two girls. The first roller derby queens?

Butterflies ...

I can't explain it but butterflies are popping up in many recent collages. So, I decided it was time to create a few pieces that focused on butterflies. Initially, I was inspired by a simple, crafty greeting card with a triple-layered butterfly that I spotted in a catalog retrieved by a friend from a recycling bin. "I can do that," I told myself, thinking I was getting into a relatively easy series. Wrong. As you will see in the photos that follow, "easy" isn't in my vocabulary. Ignore the mats, I use them as cropping devices.

The original easy idea (above). Stacked butterfly. Background. Piece o' cake.

Larger version. I've been itching to use the 12" x 12" mats bought last month. The background is from a vintage book on drawing animals, the quote is from a photographic essay about butterflies and the red butterfly was clipped from a recycled greeting card in the stash. Oh, the main butterfly; it was cut from a combo of a greeting card, a catalog and vintage wallpaper.

  
While on my butterfly binge, I cut four large butterflies from a variety of sources. This one is typographic and placed on a calligraphic background from a 19th century book on penmanship. It's in a shadow box and that was the final evolution of three of the pieces. I've almost wrapped them up and you'll be seeing the finished collages within the next few days.

You don't know what you got 'til it's gone

During last night's open studio, I sold "Domino effect," the first post on this blog.

The reason I'm bringing this up? Well, a few months ago a former editor of mine, Jan Leach, asked me whether I would miss a collage once it was gone. I was pretty cavalier about it, shrugging off the question with a quick "Nah." I've sold plenty of pieces since with no sense of loss ... until this week.

I lived with "Domino Effect" for close to a year and grew to like its simplicity and wit. Beyond that, I had a sentimental attachment to it, because it was one of the first pieces I made after moving into my first studio, which was at the Woman's Art Club of Cincinnati in Mariemont.

There, I was welcomed and nurtured by Diana Taylor, president of the club. The Barn - yes, it is a beautifully renovated barn - houses a handful of studios. Much to my surprise, most of the artists were never there. So, Diana became my sounding board. She has a keen and critical eye, and let me bounce ideas off her when she could spare a minute or two from her hectic schedule. She also was a fantastic cheerleader, boosting my morale and giving me confidence.

I moved to my current studio at Brazee Street Studios after six months at The Barn for a number of reasons; primary among them: I can walk there, the studio is bigger, the complex houses close to 20 artists - and most of them are at work nearly every day. This group offers the same support that Diana did and have made me feel part of the larger artist community. But I still miss her - and now I miss the collage that reminded me of how welcoming and patient she was to an emerging artist with a lot to learn.

Yum! More tag mania

Well, I did it. During the past week, I focused solely on one theme for the tags. Food, well, a sub theme: dessert. Even at that, I ended up with an unusual number of cakes. Partly because I'm saving pies for a future project and partly because while combing my archive, I realized how few images of other desserts are in it. Time to shop. Oh, about the circles, its a new shape for the line. I don't think these will be mistaken for bookmarks.

Tag mania

I spent much of last week working on the Fit To Be Tied® line. Each is an original collage and were intended to be gift tags, but since people keep asking if they are book marks I changed the sticker on the package to read: "Gift tag? Bookmark? Greeting card? Framed art? You decide." 

While working on them, I ended up all over the place in terms of theme. That became a problem as I started pulling out papers to fit each new subject. Result: a mess that reached a point where I couldn't find pieces of paper I'd just held. So, I've decided to work on one theme at a time. Today: food.

I'm building up inventory so that I can begin shopping the tags to area retail outlets.