The Sisters

I finished another collage on Friday while at the downtown studio. I'm getting into a kind of 'routine' down there. Routine sounds dull, doesn't it? This particular 'routine' is NOT dull, however, as while in it....I am finding ways to create some little pieces of artwork from whatever is on hand there and doing it in little bits of available time. It's kind of an exercise, I think. Not only to keep my mind 'going' (you know I'm not getting any younger!), but to keep me entertained. It's such great fun!

I've definitely decided to sew at the home studio and paint and "play" at the downtown studio. It seems to be working quite well and I'm not getting things nearly as mixed up as I was earlier. By that I mean I am now not confusing myself with which 'ingredients' are at home when I'm down at the studio....and at the studio when I am at home. That has been a big improvement.

As you can see, I ran across this picture of two girls I choose to regard as sisters. Aren't they sweet! So, being interested in the picture of the girls, and having thousands of ledger pages....the idea popped into my head to make this collage. Now, bear in mind that I make these for my own amusement. It doesn't really matter to me whether anyone else feels anything for them or not. Nice when it does, but it's not a requirement. I enjoy creating them and when done I will price them and add them to the inventory at the studio...if they never sell, well, I'll take some home, give some away or something. What's wrong with that? As it is....I've sold nearly all of them. Odd how that happens, isn't it? I think I will be taking some of these to my quilt retreat on the 7th. Just for fun. You never know...someone else may be inspired to have fun making these too!

So, let me tell you about those ledger pages before I forget. My son-in-law's family had a retail clothing store in Searcy for many decades. (In the early 1900's, the store sold everything you could imagine!!) It closed eight or ten years ago. There were lots of things in the building which had to be removed so the building could be sold. My son-in-law let me choose lots of stuff from it...including the sewing machine they used in the alterations department. A Singer, it still sews beautifully! Let's see, I've got ornamental tin from the ceiling. No, I didn't tear any off the ceiling...on the third floor, there were several pieces left from a tear down many years ago. Actually, the first floor still has the original tin ceiling. The new owners have had it cleaned, repaired and freshly painted...it's gorgeous!!! I have a wonderful wooden door propped up against the wall in my living room...it's from there. Two screen doors. You've seen the one going into my pantry. It's from there. All kinds of neat things here, given to me by Rick. I LOVE them.

One of the neatest things...well, two, actually, are old ledgers. He gave me two. He has several stored away that are in beautiful shape...but there were several that had not aged well and needed to be disposed of. From those, two found their way to my house. Two SIX INCH THICK ledgers from the early 1900's. Love em. And, here on this collage, behind the girls, is a page from one of those ledgers. Notice the date, Saturday, June 27, 1914. So cool!!!!!

In making this collage, I also used painted wallpaper to make the hearts...you saw where they came from if you read my post on 'the Pumpkin Shell', several posts back. I cut the little hearts from a leftover piece of that painted wallpaper. Well, waste not, want not. The little bird, (yes, it's awfully homely, but it IS a bird), I added with a rubber stamp, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get a good impression. Ended up just brushing some paint over it. We know it's a bird, so that's all that matters!

I painted the vine....fun. And, yes, I know it's not all that great, but like I said...it's for my own amusement, so it works! I have a zillion old postage stamps, so chose one of them for the lower corner...and the flower is actually a paper one from the scrapbooking section at Michael's craft store. I painted it to change the color, however.

Then, there IS that frame. Oh, I LOVE making these frames...thank you so much, Claudine Hellmuth, for writing the book that taught me how!!!! I've tried painting the frame AFTER I added it to the canvas. I've tried painting it BEFORE I added it to the canvas and then, this time, I painted the frame at the same time I painted the canvas. Guess what....I like all three methods! For some reason, making these frames makes me feel like a 'woodworker' of sorts. It doesn't take much effort, no special tools, and is pretty much 'easy as pie' but, since I've never made frames before....I feel I'm "building" something. And, they look good too. So much fun!! (By the way, these frames are made by actually nailing the wood pieces one side at a time to the actual canvas. FUN!)

Did I say this piece is 7 inches x 14 inches? Just so you know. And, oh yes, Mr.G, if you read this, I know you will be wondering what the words mean, as you have expressed wonder at me adding words to my artwork without explanation. "To the near and distant, to the present and to the past," well, the truth is the words don't really mean anything unless YOU want them to. I choose them 'at random' and just think they sound "pretty and rather poetic." I hope you enjoyed my little 'collage' story. I'll be showing you another one before the week is over. It's tiny. Meantime....I hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday....and have a wonderful week! Stay cool...pat