Libraries - Sharing the Passion of Learning

The Journey From There To Here  - Collage

Is there anywhere more wonderful than a Library? From expansive to diminutive all share the passion and joy of learning.

If you are in the Carlisle, PA area please stop by the Bosler Library on West High Street near Dickinson College. Carlisle Arts Learning Center (CALC) exhibits member's works at the Main Entrance. This month I am taking part.

To read more about the beautiful Bosler Library and the exhibit, please visit this link:
EXHIBITS AT BOSLER

My Grandfather pictured in the collage was a great lover of Libraries and Museums. He and my Mom spent wonderful hours together discovering the joys that were there for the taking. My Mom passed this passion on to me. Libraries helped to shape my life. They give my artist's soul wings! Visit your local Library today!

Love Is A Rebellious Bird!

 Love Is A Rebellious Bird - Collage

February is a month of hearts and flowers, of Cupid and his bow, of love in the air, and when all things Romantic merge on February 14th.

And when I think of Romance, music fills my soul. Opera intrigues me. The stories are timeless. The music inspiring. I wanted to know more. But which Opera? It was then my Muse directed me towards Georges Bizet's "Carmen". It had everything I was looking for to warm our snowy Pennsylvania February.

First performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1875, "Carmen" is a story of love, jealousy, intrigue, and murder. The Habanera certainly intrigued me. In it Carmen sings of love as a rebellious bird. She sings of freedom and being, above all, true to herself. She is fearless and would rather face death than compromise her emotions.

The debate over the representation of Carmen continues. Was she a femme fatale or a strong woman ahead of her time? Should she be considered heroic for being the master of her heart and body at a time when this was a radical notion? But is her intelligence and feminist persona compromised by her blind devotion to fatalism and superstition? When reading her fortune in a spread of cards, Carmen believes her fate is set when she sees "Diamonds and Spades", the cards of death.

One thing is certain, Carmen is a complex character who fascinates us to this day. She is a challenge and a joy to any mezzo-soprano who has the opportunity to play her.

The collage is a diptych using two gallery wrapped canvases. Using this type of canvas enabled me to continue the images on all sides. I set the background with Distress Inks and acrylic paint. The image at the bottom of the canvas, attached using the image transfer method, is from an antique book on the history of War. A vintage opera poster supplied my Carmen. I cut my own diamond stencil to use with metallic acrylic paint. I finished the collage using art papers, metallic paint, and ephemera.

Although Carmen came to a disastrous end, may you find a Valentine who cherishes you for your unique and fearless self.

Home Is Where Your Story Can Begin...

"Where Your Story Can Begin"  ATC

Today is the opening of the Second Annual Artist Trading Card Show and Swap at the Carlisle Arts Learning Center, Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Up to one hundred cards will be on display. The theme is "HOME".

My second entry is "Home is Where Your Story Can Begin". When I think of "Home" more often than not I think of moments and people, rather than buildings and objects. I think of stories I am lucky to have passed down to me from my parents and grandmother...and stories about my grandfather passed on to me from my Mother.

Looking through my collection of photos I came across this wonderful group shot. I thought it would be perfect! I decided to use a page from the telephone book as a background. The Muse was working with me again...I opened the book to a random page. It fell on the page with my Mom's entry!

The substrate is illustration board. The photo is circa 1920. I also incorporated hand made paper. The photo was altered with Golden Interference Fluid Acrylic paint. I love the purple shimmer it gave to the photo. I added Distress Inks to the telephone book paper and then covered it with Golden Interference Gold Acrylics. I wanted a "warm and fuzzy" feel to the card. The final touch was the quote with words cut from an old dictionary.

If you are in the Carlisle area do stop by. The show runs from today until October 12th.

Who says unlucky things happen on Friday the Thirteenth!