During the first year that I was retired, I was asked to be a featured artist at the Prairie Art Alliance. This is a big event; featured artists can bring 50-60 pieces (depending on size). At the time that I agreed I did not have a artistic medium that I felt would be good for featuring in a large show. I was playing around with altered books and boxes and knew that I would need a large number of wall art pieces. But I wouldn't be featured for 3 years--lots of time to figure out what to do.
Three years was not a lot of time to find myself artistically. I dabble. I want to try everything. A year passed and I was no closer to knowing what to do. But I had to start getting ready. My Woman's Alphabet had sold so I decided to create a Springfield Alphabet. But using photos from brochures and tourist booklets was out because of copyright issues. To solve my problem, I decided to draw all of my images on road maps--since Springfield is near the 90 degree longitude point and close enough to the 45 degree latitude to say that we are in the middle of the hemisphere--and the USA. So I collected road maps of various ages, colors, and regions. I tried to use the original color of the map when it was appropriate, although I did have to start coloring some of the images with colored pencil. I looked for words that were appropriate to the item being illustrated (ie. Horseshoe Bend for my horseshoe plate, Cinderella on my ballerina tutu, Grant, Whitman, and Hooker on the Lincoln home image, etc.). This took time. I did a lot of research to choose the 26 words to use. Q was not going to the the Quick 'n Easy, so I used Quest, as in a history quest--genealogy research. Words changed as I got more ideas--it was hard to fit everything in a category and some letters did not seem to have a category. X became the eXecutive mansion--doubly good since I placed a removable ribbon X over the image since our current governor does not live there. Creating the completed 26 canvases took a lot of time and the space they used was not huge. I had to keep going. . . and going much faster!
Each show at the Prairie Art Alliance has a theme and my show's was "There's No Place Like Home". I decided to run with the theme. The Springfield Alphabet was a good start. Home would be a focus of my art. Another artist created a Lincoln image that was cut out of a black plastic. I asked where he had it done, and discovered another option for my show. I had SPRINGFIELD cut out of a heavy plastic and I collaged each one in a slightly different way. Some had Lincoln images; some had Springfield homes; some had special background papers (made by me) with local businesses, streets, and events listed; some had each state with a Springfield in it--"Find the Springfield & name the state", a few just had a top hat--we are a one hat town. I made about 15 different plaques. And I offered to personalize SPRINGFIELDs with a family's personal names & images. More wall space utilized.
Home brought images of childhood and of family. I created two Memory Boxes out of old cigar boxes: a boy's box was collaged and filled with items that a boy of the 1940s might have had; a girl's box was filled with items from the 1950s. I had a large wooden checkerboard which I used as a backdrop to wood burn a typical midwestern farmhouse image. Then I took old family photos and printed them on transparencies, along with birth & death certificates, diplomas, etc. The images were attached with double sided tape allowing the house image to be seen through them.
Of course, I had to include a Wizard of Oz piece, given the theme. I painted and collaged a chair with the Wizard theme. The yellow brick road spiraled on the seat; the ruby slippers were on the front legs, the witches' turned up toes on the back legs; the lion's tail, the scarecrow's gloves, and the tin man's funnel hat were attached in appropriate spots. The Emerald City was on the back rest bars, Dorothy and her 3 companions were on the top. It was a fun piece and fun to plan.
I decided to alter some musical instruments--most of which I had purchased (broken) at garage sales. I had a banjo & a clarinet, tambourines, and a friend gave me a violin. The banjo was collaged with an old music cover and I added some polymer clay items. The two clarinet halves became two sisters--of the Jazz age with long black gowns and cloche hats. The tambourines were joined together, collaged with gypsy & forturne telling symbols, and lots of ribbons & charms were attached. The violin became a Music Maker(like a Southwestern storyteller doll) with 9 young violins sitting on his knee, shoulder, and at the side. The smallest was a baby in a cradle-board on the back. This image is at the top of this blog page. I loved this violin; I had to solve several problems and win an eBay auction (for all of the small violins) to create it.
At any rate, working on this show forced me to stretch myself. I was a basket-case before (and during) the opening. My work was so different from what the other members were doing. My show looked so different than others. [I was paired with Eda Mae Shafer, who paints lovely watercolors, so we were a contrast.] I felt that I was putting my soul on display. The works were truly a part of me--lots of thought, planning, and time went into their creation. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done, and one of the most rewarding. I am so happy that I did agree to be featured. It has opened new artistic paths for me to follow.
You can see pictures from my show at
