Oh for that Sweet Madness!

“It’s what we call a dolce pazzia…a sweet madness. Once you feel it, you will never want to leave”. – "Juliet" by Anne Fortier

Travel and romance. To me the words are synonymous. I have wanted to use the photo of the woman with the dreamy expression from my collection of Victorian postcards in a project. At last I found a place she might call home.

I will soon be facilitating a collage workshop at a local library. We will use discarded book covers as a substrate.  I was given a deep blue cover to see how it would inspire my work. The map of the romantic city of Venice from the Old World Maps series was perfect for what I had in mind. I started my Design Team project by stenciling in a subdued colour palette of blues and aqua to allow the rest of the collage elements to pop. This is another reason why I love the Artistcellar collection of stencils. They can be bold and the focal point of your work. Or they can be subtle, but just as vital to your art. The inside book cover was smooth and didn’t drink up the acrylics. As I had hoped, there was very little shift in colour.

I have been experimenting lately with transfers on various types of paper. This time I transferred the photocopy of the woman and added it to a blank shipping tag covered with a layer of gesso. I was pleased with the finish and the way the colour complimented the background. I surrounded the tag with textured paper I received from the Netherlands in a paper swap. The gold foil was reclaimed from greeting cards. Cherry tree twigs blown into the yard with the last storm, wrapped in tea stained gauze, became part of the collage. It’s great that with this type of work trash can become a real treasure!

I usually have tiny jewelry tags on my table when I am working. They are a great place to try techniques or to deposit left over paint. I chose a few from this collection. After masking out parts of the Playful Pods and Quasicrystals stencils, I added glittering dots of colour to the design.

I am captivated by the woman’s wistful smile. Could she be thinking of a journey in the making? Or is she returning to her dolce pazzia…the sweet madness of a certain time and place?

We are fortunate that creating Art allows us the freedom to follow our inspiration wherever it may lead. The door is open just waiting for our ideas to burst through. Who is your muse today?

MATERIALS USED:

• ARTISTCELLAR STENCILS: PLAYFUL PODS SERIES (Bodacious Pods), OLD WORLD MAPS SERIES (Venice), QUAISCRYSTALS SERIES (Infra)
• LIQUITEX GESSO
• LIQUITEX MATTE MEDIUM
• PLAID ACRYLICS: Aquamarine, Blue Topaz, Pure Orange, Blue Sapphire, Amethyst
• DECOART: Splendid Gold, Blue Harbor, Peacock Pearl, Sea Glass
• DYLUSIONS PAINT: Vibrant Turquoise, Cut Grass, Fresh Lime, London Blue, Crushed Grape, Squeezed Orange, Bubblegum Pink, Postbox Red
• DYLUSIONS INK SPRAY: Bubblegum Pink
• REEVES: Bronze, Gold
• VIVA INKA Gold
• MEMENTO INK DYE: Tuxedo Black
• RUBBER STAMPS
• NATURAL SPONGE
• PAINTER’S TAPE
• TISSUE PAPER
• GOLD FOIL
• TEA BAGS
• STAINED GAUZE
• ORGANDY RIBBON
• CHERRY TREE TWIGS
• JEWELRY & SHIPPING TAGS
• VINTAGE PHOTO POSTCARD
• DISCARDED LIBRARY BOOK COVER