Collage with Vintage Papers and Maps

Great news the Chelmsford Community Pop-up Shop is to re-open. Lucky for me I have been working on some new collages.

The Word is on the Fashion River.

Using a mixture of pages from Boy's Annual 1901, Bible 1890, Who's Who 1974, Dictionary 1913, Butterick Patterns 1980's, AA map 1970's and modern tissue paper, the sort that bleeds when wet. 8 x 8 deep canvas. 

The Word is on the Center of Paris Fashion.

Same as before but the map is 1940's European one and the figures are from 1950's French Sewing magazine. 10 x 10 square canvas with sloping sides, no sharp edges.

The Word is on the Fashion Square.

Same materials as picture one. 8 x 8 narrow canvas.

The Word is on the Fashion Pattern.

Same materials as picture one. The figure is cut from a photograph of a 1930's pattern. 8 x 8 deep canvas. 

All the canvases have texture. I really like doing collage on a textured canvas. It adds a different dimension to what can be a rather flat picture.

Next one is 20 x 16.

The Word is on the Beachy Habitations.

I used the European map pages, a little of the East and South Coast from the AA map, all torn into small pieces and images from The London Illustrated News and other similar periodicals, dating from 1850 to 1900. 

This was a lot of work snipping all those tiny images and working out the architecture of the houses. 

Did you know that a 1913 dictionary does not have the word Seaside in it? Also lots of words seem to have changed their meanings since 1913. 

I am really liking the tissue paper, that colour blue makes the pictures really zing. When you are sticking it you get blue glue. This spreads into the other papers. I have edged the large picture with the blue tissue, but not used it in the main part.

These will all be heading off to the Chelmsford Community Pop-up Shop.

For those new to my blog, the Pop-up shop is a charitable venture that takes over an empty shop in a smart shopping center. You can read more from an earlier blog post  here .