Winter Women Collage

Winter Women

mixed media collage
matted 16x20 inches

This is the most recent collage in a series featuring found vintage photos of people in wintery scenes, and altered papers.  One is currently in a show at St. Mary's Hospital, the second in a show at the Beloit Fine Arts Incubator in Beloit, and this one may be headed to Raven's Wish gallery in downtown Janesville, as soon as it gets a coat of varnish and is framed.

I love seeing how tiny black and white snapshots from the past look when they are used this way.  For one thing, when I scan them, enlarge, and print on kraft paper, they are easier to see.  I was drawn to these ladies' long coats, broad brimmed hats, and especially the huge fur muff the woman on the left carries.  I never know how the final effect will be on pieces like this, and I spend more time arranging and rearranging the papers I've selected than I do actually adhering the papers or adding painted embellishments.  

This one features the old photo, with most of the background details painted out with gesso, an altered page from an old National Geographic, some spray painted stencil work, a bit of an old children's book, some gummed page reinforcements, and a couple different maps.  Oh, and there is a bit of an old telephone bill I found in a cigar box in the attic, from a previous owner of our house.  So I feel like whether it shows or not, there is history built into the collage.