flashlight

i worked on this new print all day.  it's about 9x30 inches.  i'm liking everything, except i may put in a bit of white in the light beam.  it seems just a bit too busy.  i'll overprint the white, and the it will take some of the letter jumble away, making it easier on the eyes.  the orange was not the best of color choices, i guess.  unfortunately it was the first color printed, and you really don't know how it's gonna work until the other colors are put in.  i may re-do the whole dang thing in a different color scheme...maybe a red flashlight?

let me know what you think...more white in the light beam, or leave it alone?

i'll post a finished shot once i resolve my dilemma.  for now it remains taped to the table so i won't lose registration if i decide to do something else!!

collecting cigarette cards

i have been collecting cigarette cards with bizarre imagery for about 10 or 12 years.  it all started with a set of chinese swimmers.  at that time, you could get a really cool set on ebay for just about nothing.  now it's a different story.  i look for cards that aren't in complete sets now.  or ones that have damage or creases.  they are still a bargain, and perfect for me.  

another collection of mine is old first aid books and other medical stuff.  as you can see, the card in the piece below fits both categories.  i am working on 5 pieces for this series.  i have the center blocks all done.  they are 5x7 blocks of birch plywood, which i have covered with old letters and then various found objects.  cut up tins, window marker tacks, tiny nails.  under the block, there is a monoprint, an overall pattern.  i thought it re-emphasized the text from the tins, and gave a modern twist to the work.  the whole deal will be placed in a deep frame.  haven't decided if i will just seal the piece or use glass to protect it.

right now, the series is comprised of cards with first aid imagery.  but maybe there are more to come.

new stuff at the shop and on etsy!

i've been busy assembling for the last few days.  i just listed the items above on etsy (click here for a link to my shop), and am going to bring them down to the shop tomorrow for public viewing.  

believe it or not, i am completely out of items to make any more game piece boxes, and the crosses aren't looking too good, either.  i think over 2 years of making these kinds of assemblages has taken their toll on my inventory of objects.  i have been scouring the antique malls, etsy, and ebay for the stuff i need to renew my stash.  and it's been quite frustrating, really.  i even drove up to fort collins this past weekend (thanks john for the company!xoxo) to see if i might be luckier there.  and i came back muy empty-handed.  so i guess what i am saying is that if you want a box, better get one now because the larder is looking pretty bare.

im thinking of maybe going to the midwest this spring or summer on a buying trip.  i was always lucky with stuff when i lived in iowa and missouri.  maybe it's the same deal there?  could the world of antiques and junk actually be running out of stuff??

ok.  time to get myself out of my PJs and into some sort of working mode.  oh, and i guess i still haven't had breakfast!!

eager to know

eager to know

another in the series.  one more coming soon.  

collage, collage

rollerskates

ice cream man

letter to texas

a couple of new collages for the show at sk3tchbook! on may 20th.  two more to come in this series.  they are 5x7 inches.
they are all collaged on to an old letter (and its envelope) from 1948.  it was sent to belchville, texas.  belchville...what a name!  

diagram w

i worked at the shop two days in a row.  and while i was there i created some prints.  these are big, on hot-pressed watercolor paper that is about 14x22 inches.  i am still playing around with letters and numbers.  this new set of prints is adding the diagram to the mix.  this one has 5 layers of ink.  i wanted it to look a bit naive, so i hope i was able to get that look.  i also did one that's a diagram of a dress from an old dry cleaning ticket.  it's pictured below.  funny how that light blue keeps showing up in my work.  don't know why, but it's definitely been creeping into most things i've been creating lately.  

prayer meeting!!

i just HAD to show everyone my new sign.  it's a riot.  the bottom of the sign is painted over another sign that originally welcomed american express cards.  old fashioned re-purposing! it's double sided and very similar on each side.  i'm not really the religious type, but who doesn't need a prayer meeting once a day?  i haven't decided where exactly to put it, but i will find the perfect spot.  right now it's at the shop.  you can see the rest of our treasures in the background.

funny story...i was bidding on this sign on ebay, and saw that the seller was in the denver area.  so in order to save some $$ on shipping, i emailed her and asked if i could pick it up if i won.  she emails back, and i find out she is the owner of the antique shop that is half a block away from our shop!  so i walked down the street today and picked it up!!  how funny!!  she always has great stuff there.  so if you are in downtown littleton, stop in and see genna at prince st. dry goods and tell her ruth sent you!

thrift shopping

i have been shopping for vintage stuff for the past week. i have been in a bit of a lull on the vintage stuff. i just haven't been able to find any cool stuff lately. john and i went to an auction about a week ago thinking that was the answer, but after about 5 hours of waiting for the "good stuff" i ran out of steam. i lost it when the auctioneer moved from the front of the room and started auctioning off things one at a time on the tables. it was too much for me to handle. i would not be able to do the auction thing very often if i had to.

so i decided to look around this week for stuff in other places. i went to lots of thrift stores, and was pretty lucky. i also asked john to go through some of the old tools he has, and we came up with a box of cool things. i also went to the outdoor paris flea market down on santa fe. and i came out with a bag of fun items.

ben had a race in winter park this weekend, and i went up on saturday after the paris market. it was nice and cool up there, which was way nicer than denver where it is HOT. john and i drove to granby this morning to check out a little antique store there, but alas, it had the "closed" sign on the door even though they said they were open on sunday. drag.

i drove back after lunch (did i ever mention how much i hate driving in the mountains? well, i do hate it, and was very happy to be done with berthod pass, thank you very much). anyway, i decided to go to the thrift stores on broadway on the way home. i found the letters pictured above!! now i know what the ceramic letters i have been using are for! they were made as title letters for home movies! you could spell out whatever you wanted on a background and then film them. or you could glue them to glass and shoot through them. so awesome. the neat thing was you could light them, and since they are 3-D they cast a shadow, making a cool effect. did i mention that they were only $1.49? deal of the day!! i am thrilled beyond belief.

the race...ben did okay, and was feeling good about it. he raced dual slalom, and tomorrow he races downhill, which is more of his passion. i hope he does well, but really it is about being out there more than anything else. he really looks like a man this year. i guess he is no longer my little boy. sigh.

upper and lower

another new one, finished last night. this is a very different color scheme for me. light and pastel-y!

this piece is in-keeping with another i did about a year ago, called "gossip", which is now sold. i really liked the look of the small frame within a frame layout.

these letters are plaster (or ceramic?) and have pins or nails embedded in them so that you can press them into a material to create a sign. when i got them they were in their original cardboard holders, which had gotten wet. so each letter was rusted into the cardboard, and had to be picked out with nimble fingers and tweezers. it was worth it, though. i love them.

off to the studio today, and again on saturday. i don't know what i will work on today. maybe more prints? i have found it almost impossible to work on boxes there. i need too much stuff, and i usually don't find the right combination until i try many many many objects. so painting or printmaking is usually a better fit for me there.

i still need to fit the back and add hanging hardware to this one. then it will be added to the website for sale.

letters

this is the box i have been working on this week. i used a set of old type-written letters from a guy living in italy to his mom to cover the box. i tried about a million things in the center, and nothing would work. i spent all day sunday putting different things inside, but it all looked either forced or lame. this morning i was walking into the kitchen and saw this nest i made from wire and string sitting on the ledge...and that was it! all i had to do was add the red thread and sew the glass beads inside. that little nest took me a couple of hours to make. i don't know how the birds do it.

anyway, i like it! when i went to look for some scrap of ephemera to put behind the nest, i found another letter home from italy--this time from another person. on the back i have adhered an air mail envelope from italy, too.

this one won't go into the shop until the show on may 21st either. but i just can't resist putting it on the web.