In The Realm of the Unconventional

“Knowledge is ultimately available to everyone. Only true intuition, jumping from knowledge to an idea, is yours and yours alone.” – Bill Bernbach

As artists are we naturally drawn to unconventional conduct? Are we guided by intuition to a life without limits? Are we passionate to share our experiences? Is there something in our makeup that emboldens us to reach further than we thought we ever could?

I started my collage with a photo. I have been looking for a place in my work for the image of the women reading. As a fellow bibliophile I recognise the bliss of total absorption in a book. For a background I flipped through a vintage book in my collection. After tearing out a couple of pages from the index I saw the words “Unconventional conduct”. Could the women be reading a work that would change their destiny? Why not?

My substrate is illustration board. I primed it with a coat of gesso. When dried I attached the book pages using matte medium and added one final coat of tinted Mod Podge. I gave the board twenty-four hours of drying time as the pages were especially thick and absorbent.

After framing the work with Rose Red acrylics, still embracing my messy side, I began the stencilling process with one of my favourites, the Halftone Dots series. The layers quickly built as I added a variety of stencil patterns to the collage finishing with the map of one of the most unconventional cities on the planet, Paris, from Artistcellar’s Old World Maps series. Although the stencil has many fine cut outs representing the meandering streets, clean up was easy with no damage at all, ready for many future projects.

To read, to seek, to know...this is the stuff that drives our creative spirit. And as an artist isn’t our calling to follow our intuition whenever it may lead? The realm of the unconventional is where our souls bloom. How will you release the magic of your imagination?

MATERIALS USED

• ARTISTCELLAR STENCILS: HALFTONE DOTS (Highlight, Midtone, Midtone 2, Shadow), BLOCKS SERIES (Open Work), OLD WORLD MAPS (Paris)
• STENCILGIRL PRODUCTS: Seth Apter Number Drips
• HAND CUT STENCIL: Diamonds
• PUNCHINELLA
• ILLUSTRATION BOARD
• MASKING TAPE
• LIQUITEX GESSO
• LIQUITEX MATTE MEDIUM
• VINTAGE BOOK PAGES AND PHOTO
• REEVES: Rose Red, Bronze
• PLAID ACRYLICS: Blue Sapphire, Pure Orange, Sunflower, Bright Red, Pure Gold
• DECOART: Splendid Gold, Peacock Pearl, Desert Turquoise
• DINA WAKLEY PAINTS: Lime
• DYLUSION SPRAY: Bubble Gum
• MOD PODGE: Sheer Orange

No Words...

My thoughts and prayer go out to the people of Paris.

What Is The Best Part Of Your Voyage?

The Adventures of Madeline

"In an old house in Paris
That was covered in vines
Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines."

Do these opening lines hold as much affection for you as they do for me? Whenever I hear author and artist Ludwig Bemelmans' rhymes, I gladly enter his evocative world of Madeline.

I recently took part in a Tag Swap. "Share Your Favourite Book" was the theme.  I am a Bibliophile...with a capital B...and I'm not afraid to admit it! So this should have been a pretty easy decision. But which book to choose??!! Each title on my list was filled with special memories and meanings.

As my list of possible contenders grew, my eye kept coming back to one title...Madeline.

Madeline, the little girl who Bemelmans lovingly crafted his stories around, was self-sufficient, ingenious, and was fearless enough to travel into a part of the world I hoped I would someday discover on my own.

But more than the enchanting story lines, the exotic locations, and the character of Madeline herself, the series is a reminder of a cherished childhood. My Mom and I would make our daily trip to the Brooklyn Public Library and rush home to read the books together. And as we turned each page it was her constant reassurance that, with a little hard work, I could accomplish anything I wanted to in life. Like Madeline, I too could be self-sufficient, ingenious, and most of all, fearless.

The substrate for my Tag is illustration board. The background is a combination of various coloured Distress Inks. I scratched into the board to give it texture and applied rubber stamped swirls. Over the background is a selection of vintage images, Washi tape, handmade paper, a Bonne Maman label, and of course Ludwig Bemelmans' lovely illustration and text. I finished the Tag with stencilled acrylic paint.

But wherever my childhood dreams encouraged me to wander, Ludwig Bemelmans' words still ring true for me...

"The best part of a voyage

By plane,

By ship,

Or train

Is when the trip is over and you are

Home Again."

What is the best part of your Life Voyage? May you always find that delicious place you call Home.

Ever Hopeful...

PARIS SEWED UP - Digital Collage

Ah...Paris in the Springtime. And Spring is such a dreamy season. It is when we finally are able to shake off this icy Winter weather. It won't be long before the season of warm sweet breezes caresses us. I am ever hopeful.

The next challenge for the Lunagirl Moonbeam Design Team is "Sewing".  I do appreciate the talent of anyone who can sew. Although my Mom is an excellent seamstress, it was a skill I never mastered.

When looking through the beautiful Lunagirl images, the woman with the wistful smile appealed to me.  When I think about sewing, this is how I feel. As I hope for Spring, I am ever hopeful that someday I will go beyond my very skillful button replacement sewing and hem stitching upping. So when I think of sewing my thoughts run to Fashion and Fashion comes home to Paris.

I wanted the woman to take center stage in the work. From my own digital ephemera collection I started the piece with a postcard of the Eiffel Tower with postage stamp. I added pattern paper complete with directions. And a dream isn't a dream unless you have a limitless sky surrounding you. I finished the collage with the joyfully optimistic yellow roses...perhaps a symbol of her future in Fashion Design!

I guess my sewing dreams, like thoughts of Spring, will continue. Is there a skill you are ever hopefully wanting to master?

What Does Your Work Say About You?

The Can Can - ATC

I love France. I love the French. The country and their people intrigued me from the time I was a child. I guess you could say I was born a Francophile.

Before I learned to read, my Mom and I would walk to the Brooklyn Public Library six days a week. And there in the children's section, was my treasure trove. I would run to the books with the opening lines that set my imagination free... "In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines... the smallest one was Madeline." How I adored Ludwig Bemelmans' Madeline series!

And that was just the beginning. I dreamed of France...of seeing for myself the beautiful streets described in Bemelmans' books. I wanted to experience the art, the culture, the sights, the smells, the food of that wonderful country.

All those feeling came rushing back to me when looking through my collection of ATCs. I found my homage to the dance I performed  at our "Christmas Around the World" school play. Ah...The Can-Can! At last! The play that year was my chance to experience Art Nouveau Paris and The Moulin Rouge. Visions of Lautrec danced in my mind!

It was years later when living in England that I made my pilgrimage France. With that first trip my feet were finally planted in the country of my childhood dreams. And everything was even better than I had hoped. The French could be "difficult", I was warned, especially in Paris. I had also heard that about my home city, New York. I knew it wasn't true about New York...could it be the same for the City of Light?

With my extremely basic hold on their lyrical language, I ventured into the streets of Paris. I found a small bistro off the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and did my best to order an omelette without the sausage. The waiter was patient and wonderfully helpful. And he responded to me in his equally basic English. What arrived at my table, honestly, was the greatest meal of my life. Imagine my surprise when the waiter said if I didn't like it the chef could make me something else!

This exchange set the tone of my first trip and for all the ones after. Regardless of national origin, we are all the same...sharing the same hopes, dreams, and desires. The French say it perfectly...joie de vivre...a philosophy of life.

I used a standard manila ATC card for the substrate. Text from travel brochures, and dictionary pages were added.  I found a vintage image of the dancers and finished the card with rubber stamped images and acrylic paint.

As artists we have the unique opportunity to bridge the gap we sometimes feel when taking a journey to somewhere new. Everyone, everywhere, wants to be treated with respect. We all want to feel that we do matter. Our work says more about us than words can ever convey. What does your work say about you?