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?

Don't Be Tamed!

Born To Be Wild - Collage

Colour surrounds us. It defines our world in so many ways. It enhances the environment in which we surround ourselves...from the way we decorate our homes to the clothes we wear...and even the colour of our hair! How often do we, without even thinking about it, use colour in our speech? We could be a true blue friend, or get the green light on a project, or still be caught in a grey area. We react instantaneously. We love or hate certain colours. I like the quote by Murasaki Shikibu: "Beauty without colour seems somehow to belong to another world."  How fortunate we are to live in a world that embraces colour!

The remains of Autumn in Pennsylvania today are quietly covered in snow. It is on days like today that I appreciate colour even more. The deep browns and blacks of the limbs of the trees and the odd yellow or orange leaf peeking out from the snow, the vibrant reds and blues of the cardinals and blue jays as they search for the bird seed I have out for them all remind me of the romance we have with colour.

Which leads me to my collage. I came across a quote by the celebrated dancer Isadora Duncan: "You were wild once, don't let them tame you." Considered a Muse, she inspired those around her to step outside the conventional social mores of the day. You could say she led a colourful life on and off the stage.

The photo of the high kicking women from my vintage photo collection intrigued me. Where were they? I wonder what brought them to such wild abandon! What a perfect way to compliment the quote. Exploring the symbolism of colour the reds, pinks, and golds...the high energy pallet complimented with colour on the wing...called to me.

The substrate is a canvas panel. I stencilled and rubber stamped the background with various shades of acrylic paint and Distress Inks. The high kicking women, type from an old dictionary, and butterflies completed the work.

Colour is a Muse, always there to guide us. We can follow her and live a life filled with all spectrum of colour if we never tame our authentic Dreams.

The Muse Moves in Mysterious Way...Like Seven Evening Stars

A song came on the radio last week. The singer/composer is Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam.

I have been working on a postcard sized collage. I was stuck. Everything I tried just didn't seem to "fall into place" as it does when the Muse is my guide, taking me along on a journey of discovery.

Then I heard Angelsea. It was serendipitous. I had come across a vintage photo of a folk dancer.  Two lines of the song kept going around and around in my head...

"She moves like and angel 

And seven evening stars..."

I knew I was moving in a better direction.

The collage uses a canvas panel as a substrate. I covered it with sewing pattern paper. I applied Ranger Distress Inks to give it a warmer feel...the feeling you get when the heat of the day is leaving and night is swiftly approaching. 

A shipping tag, again altered with Distress ink and rubber stamps, handmade paper, mulberry paper, printed tissue paper, pressed flowers, Polyester Organza fabric, and the image of the Dancer all became part of the collage.

If you are in Ohio and wish to see this collage, it will be on view with the National Collage Society's 16th Annual Postcard Show. The exhibit is held at the Downtown Gallery, School of Art, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio from June 19, 2013 to July 20, 2013.

Sometimes the Muse moves in mysterious ways....

Dance As Inspiration of a Digital Nature

A Raqs Sharqi Valentine

I know there is a debate among some collage artists concerning digital vs. conventional collage techniques.

The collage, "A Raqs Sharqi Valentine" is a digital work. It was inspired by my love of Egypt and Egyptian Raqs Sharqi.

The photo of the Pyramids was taken the last time I visited Giza. The stamps are from a letter I received. The cyan design element is from Egyptian money. The dancer on fire is from a photo I manipulated in PhotoShop. The Arabic writing says "Egyptian Moon", the name of the Egyptian Moon Dance Company.

I am a dancer. I danced from the age of three...first at a neighbourhood Dance School in Brooklyn, New York...then on to the June Taylor School of Dance in Manhattan. I studied Egyptian Raqs Sharqi, the dance also known as Belly Dance first while living in England and then in Egypt and the United States. I have had the pleasure of dancing with our Troupe,  Troupe Raqesi al-Qamar al-Masrion, for the last eleven years. I have never met a group of women more pleasant or dedicated.

The first time I saw an Egyptian Dancer I was captivated. Such a variety of interpretations...The balletic style of Samia Gamal, the passion of Tahia Carioca, and the fluidity of  Sohair Zaki, the fire of Nagwa Fouad, the strength of Fifi Abdou. I could see in their Dance the Art I translated from heart to eye to paper. They formulated pictures with their movements. They made the music visible. They drew from their passionate hearts and told a story...the same as I had on paper.

It was a powerful, women's dance. It was magical. I wanted to be part of it.

I have always loved the Middle East. My Mother was an Egyptophile. My Father did business with several Middle Eastern countries. My interest in the Dance was a just a natural extension of the influences I was exposed to growing up. 

Back to the collage, I feel digital work is on par with conventional. PhotoShop, my scanner and a computer is no different to me than scissors, Matte Medium, and art papers. It's just another form of cut and paste. Being able to change from one media to the other keeps it interesting for me as well.

I suppose the debate will go on...but for me, I have my feet planted in both camps.