New Work - Collages

Been a busy bee this week. My output of art always goes in collections, so I will do a batch of one style and then onto the next one. I think I am in a slightly surreal state of mind.

Invading the Victorians

Victorian street scene from 1866 newspaper, 1960 images from a boy's Lion Annual, hand colored with watercolor pencils. I still love coloring, it was one of my favorite things as a child.

Listen Carefully Pete

Vintage Sheet Music, 1950's image of a girl and the Lion Annual again. The little man, Pete, has his name printed on his front.

Mechanical Men

AA Map of the UK, 1930's image reworked into a greyscale photo, cut out and all adhered with Wax.

Sunshine on My Garden

1950's Embroidery images, AA Map of the UK, Bible pages cut into leaves and a bit of scribble with a Sharpie.

Troks Marching Orders

1950's French Adverts and the Ladies heads from a Fashion Magazine, AA Maps and speech bubble from the Lion Annual.

We Can't Hold ON!!!

Victorian Images from 1866 Newspaper, 1950's girl images and yet another speech bubble from the Lion Annual.

All are on a background of watercolor paper, dressmaking tissue paper with acrylic glaze. I've used wax for the first time to adhere and color some of the collage. Rest is stuck down with my favorite Heavy Structure Gel. All are 8 x 6 inches in a 10 x 12 cream mount. Backed and ready to frame.

I do hope you enlarge the images as the words in the speech bubbles just make the images work. It's so funny taking the speech bubbles and adding them to another scene, I've really had fun with these.

Freebie Friday - Free French Fashion Illustrations

Just a few images today as I am off to organize my art at the Chelmsford Pop-up shop.

These are from Le Petit Echo de La Mode. A French magazine showcasing the latest fashion patterns, from 1950's. Scanned at 300 dpi. 

To practice my drawing I often make pen and water colour sketches of these sort of images.

Hope you have fun with these.

Last Doll's before Christmas

Had a really rough week with a bad bout of depression, but determined to carry on making my doll's as they brighten my day. Retro Diva's all finished, well just got to sew on their hankies.

Pompii has sneaked into this group picture.

This is Diva 3, not got names for them yet. A lovely 1950's flowered curtain for her dress and spotty legs.

Such big blue eyes and lush pink lips. 

Diva No 1 A little more demure another 1950's curtain scrap for the dress.

My lovely friend Julie gave me a bag of fabric and most of the hair and legs came from that bag.

Diva no 2 onto the 1960's for this dairy and stripe curtain fabric. She's a bit of a square girl especially in the leg department.

Amazing how you can make a lovely flower hair decoration from the dress fabric. A white damask napkin has been used for the face and arms.

Next it's onto surprise dolls for ???

I seem to get on better with machine embroidered faces, rather than sewing by hand. All their legs and arms are sewn and stuffed. Tomorrow I'll sew up the bodies, stuff and then sew on the legs. Also got to make clothes for them as well. Then hair and find some trinkets to finish them off.

No more posts of these until after Christmas.

Happy Christmas to my band of followers and friends.

x Joan

Little Treasures, Ready for Stuffin' & Clothes

Here are my friends naked and awaiting clothes. They've snuggled up in the cream and white doilies and lace box.

One of them is made from old curtain lining and the other two are damask or linen table napkins. Those lucky two have tablecloth boots with embroidered flowers on.

Some less finished cousins, legs 1/2 stuffed or flat and saggy.

She's finished stuffing them  yesterday. So now some fab scrappy costumes are being made. And she's had some great ideas for hair.

So now I'm sitting on the Little Treasures shelf  which is really an untidy bookcase where she dumps things that she loves.

Must run now as I can hear her coming. Lots of Love 

Bluebell xxx