It's the Perfect Glorious Spring Morning! It's Good to be Alive!

The weekend is over and the festivities of Mother's Day have come to a close. I enjoyed reading so many of your blogs and your lovely tributes to both your mothers and your own children. I laughed a little and teared up a little a few times. But, on to my less-than-touching tribute to my mother ...
Thanks to Peggy at Peggy's Mixed Up Art, I got the link to send my Mom this little tribute from CNN. Just click here...it's worth the 30 seconds, I think.

Maude Always Dresses for Spring When in Paris

Okay. Here's my entry in the monthly challenge at Mind Wide Open Fragments of Inspiration. Every month, Gail supplies an image and the challenge is to use it in a piece of artwork of some genre or style. This month was a lovely little poster of a showgirl with the Eiffel Tower in the center. Please click on the image above to see all the entries - there are some real beauts! And - if you think you like mine - please leave a vote for me! The winner of this little challenge receives a gift certificate from Gail's shop - and we can all use some goodies to play with, right?! Clicking on the little mini-theatre image above will take you to the contest ... and some really nice art work.

In searching out images to use on my work being produced for the Collage Camp, I found this cabinet card. Now, is it just me, or does this woman look as if she's forty years early to play the Bride of Frankenstein? I know that they didn't have the same access to hairdressers as women do today - but, did anybody think this looked good? ... or that it should be memorialized on film?! I remember girls who stayed home from high school because they had bad perms that weren't as bad as this!

Isn't this photo adorable? A long-lost-and-newly-refound friend, Sue, took this on her lovely upstate New York property. The mother had popped the baby in there to keep him safe from a crow!


Today, I'm going to work on finishing up these two collages that I started over the weekend. The first one here is a cowgirl (whose name escapes me at the moment) who is known as being the first woman to ever wear trousers in a rodeo. I have no idea why the images that are printed on the canvas are so difficult to photograph, but I've given up trying. This still needs some writing and some embellishments and some focal interest. But I like the composition thus far.
Of course, even working with stained and torn fabrics and rusted findings and clumps of lint and threads, I can't stay completely away from sparkle and shimmer! I've used some German glass glitter on this one - as well as putting some gold leaf and copper leaf flakes on the image of the circus girl and her horse. I also think the piece of beaded chiffon (torn from an old dress) adds a nice touch of faded vintage show-biz glamour. Nothing has been actually sew down yet (except the image on top of the cardboards and art papers. I may have to wait to finish this one until my order of red stripe mattress ticking arrives. This one needs a lot of stuff yet! But it's start.
Here's my overnight results of using the instant rusting products! I'm really impressed with how much it looks like rust! Well, I guess it is rust - but it doesn't looks like "instant" rust! I'm particularly fond of the rusted photo corners, which are really pieces of balsa wood architectural details for doll houses! Don't they look like rusted metal now?!

I found this wonderful late 19th century circus toy at an online auction yesterday. I was determined to get it. But, I had to drop out at a couple hundred dollars - too rich for my blood! But, then, this morning I see what a joke it was that I even tried - it sold for $1275. Oh, well. In another life 0r another time 0r another auction. But, I can still enjoy the photo! Isn't it just a magical toy?! I'm sure some child spent hours being enchanted with it ... I know I would have been! Be sure to click on the photo to enlarge and see how beautifully made it is!


Well, I suppose while I'm feeling artsy and gritty and vaguely deluded and artistically challenged, I should go make some art.I'm going to try to make something beautiful ... how about you? Are you up to creating some beauty in the world today? Take the challenge....

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(¸.•´ (¸.•´♥ Tristan ♥