Fish Tales #2 – Millie from Milwaukee (part of a series)
Meet Millie, the hostess with the mostest. She knows that Schlitz is the beer that made Milwaukee famous, but her cheese puffs are the hors d’oeuvres that made her cul-de-sac notorious! The secret is a dash of….oh, you thought I was going to share Millie’s recipe? Not on your life! She might tell you, but she’s enjoying her fish tail a bit too much at the cocktail parties.
🔴 SOLD!
Fish Tales #1 – Delores from Des Moines (first in a series)
Meet Delores, a fabulous 50’s housewife, living the dream with her matching appliances and wall-to-wall kitchen carpeting. At a recent cocktail party, Delores retreated to the kitchen to refresh the pimento dip pinwheels, and nearly knocked over the cheese ball with her new tail! What’s a gal to do, but continue the party conversation, as a mermaid, and keep refilling the Manhattans?
🔴*SOLD*
“Breezin’ Along” is an original handcut paper collage on heavy watercolor paper.
I’m always smitten with old school books with notes and writing inside. This collage highlights a vintage textbook’s Index, along with tons of notes. In order to maintain this focal interest, I kept the design simple and monochromatic – a vintage car and some intriguing text – the viewer is welcome to draw their own stories and conclusions!
“Book Smart” is an original handcut paper collage on an actual book cover. Some imperfections in the substrate are part of its charm and one of a kind status.
I love books and I love all things vintage, so original collage on book covers is a natural. This lovely green novel featured a map, to which I added the ominous sounding “Street St.” from a penmanship workbook, and an actual library checkout card. A typed announcement for the church ice cream fundraiser is matched with the actual registration card from my vintage Smith-Corona manual typewriter. The guy might be Moses – I don’t quite remember, but he appears to have some tablet with writing, keeping with the book theme. His rather confused expression made me chuckle when I added the text “You can look thrillingly smart.” Thus, Book Smart was born.
“Kodachrome” is an original, handcut paper and collage on 5×5 watercolor paper.
A monochromatic trip down memory lane, Kodachrome features actual Kodacolor film, a camera manual and other fun, vintage ephemera. Better than a selfie and an Instagram filter, this mini work of art will turn the conversation to nostalgia and a simpler time.
“Funny Face” is an original, handcut paper collage on 8.5×10.5 cardboard.
This guy is an explosion of nostalgic ephemera: sheet music, advertising, book pages, hand-written correspondence. All combine to draw our focus to the upstanding, well-dressed gentleman, with a line drawing for a head. His visage is further enhanced by comic book eyes, a random smile, and a vintage hat to top off his ensemble.
He’s a quirky guy, and the hand sort of points this out. I think being a “Funny Face” is a bit of “a trial” to him, but we are all somewhat funny-faced from time to time.
“Contestant #3” is an original handcut paper collage on 5×7 matboard.
This vintage catalog gal, with her hat and her fur, is definitely a winner in my book. The background of random magazine text is off-set by the prominence of the number 3 sticker. I do love experimenting with the juxtaposition of old and new, and I always love using words and text. I added some circles, stamped in black ink, to break up the words a bit. I also love the colorization of the woman’s image – amazed at the detail and colors that I am seeing in such an old catalog. (The descriptions are pretty awesome, too – I wonder how many copywriters they had for a 700 page catalog back in the 30s!)
🔴 *SOLD*
“Framed” is an original, handcut paper collage on 5×7 matboard.
I do love the beard guy in this piece. He is echoed by the large mustache on the other gentleman, but the main focal point, to me, is the use of old Kodak film to “frame” the images. Other photos, and a piece of a gold frame round out the piece.
Aside from the film, which was tucked into an old photo envelope, chock full of negatives and film processing ads, the other unique vintage find is from a set of Chicago Cubs baseball playing cards. Each card features a player or broadcaster, and is a trip down Memory Lane for this transplanted Chicago gal.
“True Blue” is an original, handcut paper collage on 5×5 watercolor paper.
A monochromatic mini combining sewing directions, bits of road map, and a “True Confession.”
“Exquisite Silk” is an original, handcut paper/mixed media collage on 5×5 watercolor paper.
Anonymous gals pose in exquisite silk slips, while recliner guy gets comfortable.
