Mended Pages

More often than not it is the imperfection of a thing that makes it special. When I'm browsing through old books for collage material the pages that have flaws are the ones that stand out to me. Whether they are mended, scribbled, torn or stained these blemishes are what I seek.

All images gleaned from The New Beacon Primer by James H. Fassett. Illustrated by Blanche Fisher Laite. Published by Ginn & Company, Boston, USA, 1921.

Treasure Trove of Books

As many of you know I'm a collector of cast-off books that may have something to offer my stash of collage materials. While we were in Illinois last weekend my aunt gave me two large boxes filled with books she thought I may be able to use. They are a treasure trove and I'm still going through everything but I took some images of favorites to share with you today. A big thank you to my aunt for these books!

I especially loved the color and design of these book covers and the more ornate ones below.

An old Boy Scouts handbook from 1925 is generously illustrated with detailed images, charts, diagrams and unique advertisements from the 1920's. There is some wonderful collage material here!

Among the books was this pile of Workbasket magazines from the 50's and 60's. They are filled with amazing crafty images, patterns and much more vintage goodness. I can hardly wait to get out my favorite scissors and start clipping!

1950's Newsprint

I purchased this June 7, 1953 issue of The Courier Journal Magazine from Myra Melinda and it arrived in the mail last week. The bright, bold graphics and generous use of color throughout the magazine make it ideal collage material. Before I start clipping it up I thought I'd share some of my favorite portions including some of the lovely 1950's summer fashions, a bizarre looking men's underwear advertisement and Saran plastic seat covers for the "discriminating motorist". Happy Monday!

Work In Progress

The obsession with shredded paper continues to grow. I'm loving these jeweled tones and working within the constraints of gluing down one strip at a time--side by side--watching a pattern emerge. It's kind of therapeutic and I found myself falling into a meditative trance while working on this piece. Kind of like the time lapse video I watched recently of Buddhist monks creating a mandala. Hmmmmm. Anyhow, I really think this piece has a "Chinese restaurant" vibe going for it right now. We'll see where it ends up in a few days.

Paper Shreds

Patrick was shredding some old bills this weekend which influenced me to borrow the machine and shred a stack of 1950's newspapers I'd been saving for collage work. I incorporated these paper shreds in several assemblages I've been working on the last few nights. I'll have them ready to show you in a day or so. Just keep an eye out!

A Vicious Cycle

There is a bit of randomness to the way I contain my collections of objects and they are constantly getting mixed up, used in my artwork, resorted and/or borrowed by Lizzie. As Patrick likes to point out, "there are no sacred objects in our house." 

So, I'm continually pondering ways to better organize all the junk in my studio. It's a constant battle of sorts and has been known to get out of control rather quickly. I would have to say my solution (when asked) is that I have learned to collect containers: tins, jars, boxes, etc. so that I always have somewhere to place my "somethings".

And...as I always say (about more than one thing in life), "it's a vicious cycle".  

Doll House no 336

Doll house no 336 was completed over the weekend and is now available in the shop. I kept my camera on hand while working on the piece so I could share a few images of my process with you.

The image I chose to adorn this doll house was taken from an obstetrics manual published in 1884. It is a diagram illustrating the blood vessels of the female pelvis.

Once the image is adhered to the front of the doll house I collage the other surfaces with old pattern tissue.

Piles and snippets of pattern tissue take over my workspace when I'm working on these pieces.

Finishing up the back of the piece with one last section of pattern tissue.

After the piece dries overnight a dark patina is applied to the entire surface and the doll house is ready to varnish and display in the shop.

Ephemera Acquisitions

Today I thought I'd share some recent acquisitions to my ephemera collection. Who knows--I may find time to play around with some of these this weekend! Thanks to Patrick I now have a handful of these old card-catalog cards found in a "scraps" pile at the KSU library.

An assortment of found papers and a map tucked inside a recent book purchase.


Just a sampling of some old-school design goodies included in an Ebay lot Patrick purchased recently. (Yes, I took them all!)

These composite portraits of bearded scientists came from a very mildewed 1885 edition of the illustrated journal, Science. The guy on the top right and bottom left look very similar. There are some distinct differences but they appear to be pre-Photoshop edits of the same image. I have a feeling this point will continue to be disputed around here over the weekend. Feel free to offer your opinion!

Sorting Snippets

I'm spending this last day of 2009 in my studio getting ready for the new year. There is nothing better than sorting through piles of paper and snippets of collage material after a busy season here at Sushipot. If all goes well, a bit of much needed dusting may also occur. Wish me luck!