“Fine Fellow” is an original, handcut paper/mixed media collage on 5×7 watercolor paper.

I love vintage advertising. I could go through old magazines for hours. One of my favorite parts of an old magazine is the classified section at the back – amazing to look back on all of the offers, the work from home schemes, the free samples, the patterns, the monogrammed gifts! Even better than an old magazine, though, is an old catalog. I found a 1937 Montgomery Ward catalog at an estate sale a while back. It is not in the greatest shape, but I am certainly enjoying almost 800 pages of household goods, clothing, and just about anything else you would have needed to set up house in 1930s America.

I hand-colored the key images in this piece, from the men’s clothing pages of the catalog. A yawning man in pajamas, and some fancy, cuffed trousers. I think he’s a fine fellow, indeed. So, when I came across a little clipping that I had from an old children’s book, with the quote: “What a fine fellow!” said the Squirrel, I knew that it belonged in this work, as well. Some other vintage ephemera make up the background, including colored images from a science book.

“Fisheye” is an original, mixed media collage on 6×6 canvasboard.

The interesting shapes and colors in this piece are from melted crayon. What started out as a very abstract image of melted wax (from one direction, I swore it looked like Janis Joplin!), I layered corrugated cardboard (a favorite material of mine for the texture!), images from magazines and books, and a bit of acrylic paint and handmade stamping.

“Fisheye” also includes some “bling” in the form of small faux gemstones – one on the iris of the eye, and one in the mermaid’s hand.

“What People Think” is an original, handcut paper collage on 8×10 canvas panel.

It’s probably no secret that I love words. And I love old books and magazines, too. Many of these phrases came from some old Time magazines that I scored at a rummage sale. I don’t recall the overall topic, but as I was clipping away, several of the articles had little popularity polls, in little boxes, with the “What People Think” caption.

As I envisioned all of the thoughts going on in my vintage gal’s head, “What People Think” was a perfect phrase to repeat. She’s thinking all sorts of things, but for each thought in her mind, she is wondering what people will think. (I fall prey to that trap, too.)

I added a group shot from an old high school yearbook. In addition to her thoughts, there is a group of people in the background, perhaps judging her thoughts.

What do you think?

“A Delicate Operation” is an original mixed media collage on 8×10 canvas board. It sports a high gloss finish, with added “BLING”.

Black gesso, gold leaf paint, and an old dress pattern’s tissue make up the background for this striking piece. Handcut images of an anatomy lesson and a gloved hand holding tweezers, combine with the little extras that make this collage truly one-of-a-kind. The blingy fabric was rescued from the thrift shop trash pile, as it was ripped, but perfectly usable for my purposes. I added a little “gear” from somewhere, to give the tweezers somewhere to focus. The photo doesn’t really do this one justice – the fabric is dimensional, though the photo makes the hand and tweezers look like they are coming off the page. It is pretty awesome – and very shiny – in person!

“Creeping” is an original, handcut paper/mixed media collage on 5×7 matboard.

Is the guy with the teeth creepy? Is the gentleman kissing our lady’s hand a creep? Are gas prices creeping up again? You decide, in this colorful collage that takes vintage images and purple paint to create a playful or thought-provoking little gem.

“Priceless” is an original, hand-cut, paper collage on 5×7 matboard.

Vintage papers, an oversized playing card, an old catalog, and magazine images.

“Priceless” juxtaposes price tags, price lists, and things that are truly priceless!

“Cool Comfort” is an original handcut paper and mixed media collage on 5×7 matboard.

I love these underwear ads from my 1930s catalog. These two guys are just so comfortable sitting side by side posing for the photo! We also learn how to measure for men’s underwear, which is very important. The background for these two dandies is a magazine image of a woman’s face and her reflection. It is muted behind pink crumpled tissue paper, but hauntingly visible. To top it off, I added “A New Season” text from a vintage ad.

“Pick Up Line” is an original handcut paper collage on 5×7 matboard.

I’m so inspired by my vintage magazine ads and catalogs. There is so much meaning in the body language and facial expressions. This time, however, I decided to cut off the heads of the two main figures. She’s modern (from a more current magazine) and he is vintage. And his buddy is reaching over his shoulder to touch hands with the mystery girl. The pairing and layout of these two images just intrigued me. I added a few more images to spice up the storyline, but I’ll let you draw your own conclusions. Yes, there’s a pig, a lady reading a map, and a vintage matchbook from a hotel in Ohio. What’s the real story here, I wonder.