Washi Woman

Awash in the world of absurdity, I have gone too far with this "washi woman."  It's foundation was a contour drawing which by definition lacks precision and accuracy. Then I attempted a mosaic with magazine clippings and later opted for washi tape when it became tedious.

I'm posting it to prove that I embrace my imperfections (it's a self-portrait) and that I have a twisted sense of humor. No, the moon isn't full and I haven't been drinking. If you decide never to return here, I completely understand.

I'm linking to the Monday blog challenge at SSS where the theme is "faces."

Esther, Magda and Ada

From left to right, allow me to introduce Esther, Magda and Ada. Esther and Ada are my great aunts and Magda was their friend. The original photo had them standing in front of a train, ready to depart on their next great adventure.

They were all spinsters who worked full-time, saved their money to take nice vacations, and they went everywhere! I have inherited all their photos and postcards of places they visited and know they were very well traveled.

Born at the turn of the last century, they lived far away from me and I only had the chance to meet one briefly (Esther). Whenever I go through my collection, I always wish I had known more about them.

I chose to use this particular photo for the Monday blog challenge at SSS where this week's theme is faces.

It's just a simple cut and paste, with some ink and paint markings to embellish. The background paper was distressed with sand paper and Picket Fence stain.

As I post this I can't help but wonder if they would appreciate me sharing their faces on the internet. I think not.

Sancta Fides

We've all seen collages made in mosaic fashion from bits of colored paper and I thought I'd give it a go (granted on a small scale) using a manila tag for the base.

Because pages from inexpensive magazines are printed on very thin paper, I'd decided to use that as my source for the colored papers.

I traced the outline of a bird, then cut my shapes and pasted away. The hardest part was not the cutting but instead, choosing what colors to use and where. I now have a new found respect for collage mosaic artists because of this exercise.

I finished it off by masking, then stamping a strip from a Tim Holtz stamp (Math Border) which was embossed with a copper color. I added some book text and tinted the background with colored pencils.

I'm linking it to the Monday blog challenge at SSS for another chance to with the $50 random draw. This week's theme is "start from scratch."