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| Vintage French Post Card, c.1900-1910 |
The flower which is single need not envy the thorns that are numerous.
- Rabindranath Tagore
A Vixen Valentine Giveaway
It's that time of year again ... Time for the 14 Nights of Valentine's Day Movie Marathon Giveaway! Now in its fourth year, the annual giveaway is growing by leaps and bounds. This year participants can enter to win an amazing $400 Prize Pack featuring goodies from 15 Etsy shops, including collage sheets from JUNKMILL and vintage labels from JUNKMILL [relics].
Stop by the Laughing Vixen Lounge blog for multiple chances to enter. While you're there, check out the movie of the day, get to know the creators and curators behind the contributing Etsy shops and check out the fabulous jewelry from the head vixen herself. Contest ends February 14th.
Eerie Oddities
A few oddities I stumbled across recently. Above, an old painting of young contortionists performing for a private audience. Below, a souvenir post card depicting an Alaskan witch doctor. Quite unrelated in their subject matter, yet somehow strangely similar in their eerie and exploitative overtones.
New Strange Beasts
I often receive requests from readers for tutorials on creating altered books and various collage projects, and I would love to deliver a detailed how-to on the process ... but therein lies the challenge, as I really have no tried-and-true process.
That being said, I recently happened upon another book in the "Strange Beasts" series, and rather than simply posting the end results, I've decided to chronicle my adventures in collage starting from the beginning. Not quite a tutorial, but perhaps it will offer some inspiration. And, forcing myself to focus on the journey might just offer new insights along the way.
I'm starting with a vintage children's book titled "Strange Beasts of the Present," and like my previous art journal, created in a copy of "Strange Beasts of the Past," I have no theme in mind, not idea of what the book might become over time. It's simply a journal, each page standing alone as an isolated event, and (hopefully) at the end those individual pages will have some strange cohesion.
This weekend while tinkering with my Rastatt book, I spent several hours preparing Strange Beasts for future collages, which basically entails making it "not new." Even old, worn-out books seem a bit intimidating and overwhelming with their "blank" pages. It's the same reason I have a rather substantial stash of blank writing journals: Once you start, you're committed, but where to start?
With all of my altered books, I start by ripping out pages. As these tend to get a bit chunky with all the added layers of papers, fibers, embellishments and found objects, I proactively make room for all the junk to come. I tear out about a third of the pages, then turn around and glue some new ones into the spine.
These tip-ins come from my stash of strange and unusual book pages, large images torn from books and magazines and drawings from my sketch book. During this session, I added several full-page color illustrations from other children's books, a few personal sketches and several pages from an antique book from Germany. The book itself wasn't salvageable as it had considerable water damage and a thoroughly decimated spine, but it had the most beautiful end papers and a lovely aged full-page inscription in German cursive.
The process isn't linear ... I tear out a few pages, glue in a few new ones, shred the discarded pages and glue the bits and pieces to the remaining pages. Along the way I grab the ink and paint to add color and texture. I primarily use Tim Holtz Distress Ink Reinkers, but frequently turn to acrylic paint and texturizer, watercolor paint, bingo dabbers, gel ink and chalk to create the depth and layers.
One of my favorite techniques is creating ink blots on facing pages. I wet down the right hand page using a big paint brush, add drops of distress ink in random patterns, then smash the book shut. I let the pages sit for five minutes or so before opening the book to let the pages dry. I'm always mesmerized by the results ... and if it doesn't turn out quite right, I add more water, more ink and smash the book shut again.
I'll keep posting my progress as the book unfolds ...
Vitamin Donuts & Beer for Baby
An assortment of amusing vintage advertisements.
(When I see ads like this, I can't help but wonder what future generations
will make of our Kia Soul Hamstars and Kmart Shipping commercials.)
Artist Trading Cards
Another stack of Artist Trading Cards. As always, these employ layer upon layer of grungy, distressed collage work, a hefty dose of transparencies and three-dimensional embellishments and found objects, including a little baby bracelet and a real fossilized trilobite.
Liger
My very first Artist Trading Card. My collage art started with altered books. Ever since I can remember I've been gluing little pictures and scraps of paper into secret notebooks and journals, which led me to band up with other collage artists for long afternoons spent cutting and pasting and drinking coffee and chatting. It was during these scrap sessions that I was introduced to the world of Artist Trading Cards and promptly delved in with a flourish. This one incorporates copper pipe tape, rub-on transfers, enamel ink, and multiple transparencies, most notably one of Napoleon Dynamite's liger sketch.
Christmas A Go-Go
Stop by the Laughing Vixen Lounge Blog for entry details, shop profiles, holiday movie recommendations and crafty Christmas ideas. Contest ends December 15th ... Good luck!
Surviving the Cold War
I recently received a stack of atomic bomb survival pamphlets from a fellow ephemera enthusiast, and what a treat! These pamphlets, published in the 1950s, offer a fascinating look into the national public consciousness at the onset of the Cold War.
Initiated by the U.S. government in response to the Soviet Union's first atomic bomb detonation, the little booklets and leaflets were intended to quell fears and help citizens prepare for an a-bomb attack. They offer advice on everything from preventing radiation burns to protecting food and water supplies.
The initial atomic bombs were relatively small by today's standards, so much of the information is out of date and doesn't take into account modern studies on the long-term effects of radiation, which makes for an intriguing and often humorous read. My favorite advice in the booklets relates to cleaning your house following the fallout:
Unless you are careful, some radioactivity is likely to be tracked in by people or pets ... but don't worry. There isn't much chance really dangerous amounts will pile up in the house. ... You can get rid of all the radioactive dirt you've picked up if you keep scrubbing.
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