What Lurks Between The Covers?

Pulp - Collage

Books. I love them. All of them. From the tiny mini books sold at the registers in stores to the lavish coffee table publications, each have a place in my heart and my life.  The printed word. I can't live without it.

I can chart the years by my books, and I can usually remember where I purchased them and why. I note cities I've visited not only by name but by the bookstores they possess. And Heaven on earth to me is a Public Library.

While trying to reorganise my bookshelves, I came across my small collection of pulp or pocket-book fiction. Although normally associated with the mid twentieth century, Argosy Magazine started the genre in 1896. Portable, accessible, and cheap to produce and purchase, the books were available at bus and train stations, drugstores, and newsstands. Westerns, War, Detective, Science Fiction, Horror, Romance...no topic was taboo. Who could resist titles like I Am A Woman, Murder In Paradise, Nude In Mink, or Halfway To Hell with suggestively illustrated covers guaranteed to bring in sales?

Tereska Torres' Women's Barracks, "the frank autobiography of a French girl soldier", was just what I had in mind for my collage.  The substrate for the collage is illustration board.  I cut the cover into strips and wove it together with art paper, handmade paper, and text from within the book.

Pulp is now part of the National Collage Society's 17th annual Postcard Exhibit, and is one of the award-winning collages. I am delighted...and honoured...to be in such fine company.

For me, pulp fiction will forever conjure romantic images of steamy train stations and glimpses of forbidden lives with each turn of the page.  So, what does lurk between the covers?

Are You Ready For A Great Adventure?

Remains of the Afternoon

Do you ever design a piece with nothing in mind but the thrill of colour and texture? Does a certain shape appeal to you in a way you can't explain...but you, and your Muse, just knows it's "right"?

One of my favourite shapes is the Triangle.  I love the balance of it..the feeling of unity and calm I get whenever it becomes part of my work.

There are many meanings surrounding this symbol. In Christianity it represents the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We Americans encounter the pyramids a symbol of future prosperity and strength every time we handle a dollar bill featuring the Great Seal of the United States.

The Greek notion of the triangle as the symbol of a doorway giving balance to emotions and higher wisdom is intriguing to me.

In the Egyptian tradition the symbol represents the trinity of Isis, Osiris, and Horus. And can anyone think of Egypt without dreaming of the Great Pyramids of Giza?

I approached this collage with a clear mind ready to follow the direction of my Muse. The substrate for the collage is illustration board. I cut up a vintage letter, art and handmade paper, joss and sewing pattern paper into triangular shapes. I added the crystalline paper made from newspaper and flower petals enwrapped in tissue. The final touch was copper acrylics stencilled over the layers.

What symbols and shapes are dear to you? If you heed their call, they will help you open the  door to your creative possibilities.  I don't know about you, but I can never resist going a great adventure!