work

I found these sweet paper dolls and clothes at an auction and just had to have them. Nostalgia of course. I can remember playing with my own paper dolls as a kid. They seem like such a thing of the past now. I can't imagine, with all the things available to kids, that they would hold much allure anymore.

But they have inspired some new work.

each one has embroidered stitches!

I wanted to keep the silhouette from each of the originals that I'm working with, leaving out the details - making it more about the shape and patterns. I'm also playing with background colors, wanting lots of contrast. The orange canvas in the middle has at least 5 layers underneath and I'm not happy with it yet, so there will be even more. Nothing has been attached yet and I'm thinking of adding some stitches of my own.

As I cut out my paper doll clothes I think about the little girl who cut out her doll clothes. Thinking about her little hands adding those careful stitches and feeling her excitement. I'm so enjoying this work.

My dear friend gave me bunches of mock orange. Enough to have our very own small bush. Inside. The scent - amazing! Up there with lilacs and lily of the valley.

xx,
Lisa

nope, it's friday

i've had a cold this week so my days are all mixed up.  here's some new vintage kitsch at the messy bed  

vintage florida souvenir salt and pepper shakers shaped like an orange and a lemon!  what could be better?
find them here

and have you seen these?

i'm hoping to hit an auction this weekend if this cold lets up.  that's my idea of fun.  hope you have some fun this weekend too.

auction finds and some new work in my shop

so we went to an auction for a car and came home with books.  it could be a long story. i'll make it short.  teenage son wants car.  auction has car.  car has long list of undesirable qualities - bad battery, burned out fuses and likewise,  burned out front seat.  looks like someone was trying to set fire to their crotch.  smoking is bad. so instead of leaving by nearest exit, we stay.  and that's how i got these fabulous books.  i'm so excited.  not the least is the fact that said son, who wants car, has actually read the divine comedy and liked it.   i had to get this book for him - it's a 1944 special edition with engravings by william blake.  they all have beautiful illustrations and lovely aged pages.  one of the books has lost its covers, so it's ripe for the picking.  i'm thrilled.  even better, i got them for 2.50 each.

 

 

 

this is the new piece called a way out that i added to my shop.  many times i'm inspired by a poem or song lyrics so i start by writing these words down on the canvas.  in my own very non-religious way, i think of it like a benediction and a way to start.  then comes the color and the paper and the glue.  sometimes the words show, sometimes they are completely covered but i like knowing they are there. the words in/on/of this little canvas, actually a vintage book cover, are lyrics to the song wounded by third eye blind.  if you don't know it, it's about love and friendship and hope and missing someone and more.  just go listen to it.  they do it better than i could ever describe it.  to me, the song is ultimately hopeful and empowering even though it begins with violation and powerlessness.  that's just my take on it.  so playing around with the strips of blueish green painted paper, they became a ladder to help find a way back, or a way out, even a hand up.