Extraordinary Ordinary Women

"Mum's Story"

mixed media

Extraordinary Ordinary women is a series of mixed media artworks honoring ordinary women.  I started with photos of the woman  at various ages, photocopied these on acid free paper and adhered them to a gessoed board.  Next I added appropriate words which highlighted the essence of the woman.  I completed the work by balancing values, colors, textures.  After exhibiting the series all works except "Mum's Story" were given to the woman honored or family members.  "Mum's Story" was to honor my mother and will be treasured by our family.  It was a joy to complete this series, and I learned more about composition and design in the process.

Paracelsus

I often add phrases,my poetry, or fragments of a poem to my collages.  "Paracelsus" is a long poem by the British poet Robert Browning, and I am using just a fragment.  It is about finding truth within and allowing this wisdom to be revealed.  We are always looking outside for answers, yet we have all the answers we need, if we are willing and able to just be still and quiet.

Art and Tea

Probably because of my British upbringing I have a fondness for tea.  I also make handmade paper, and learned that tea bags are made of abaca, which is from a type of banana tree found in the Philippines and south America, and  is strong and can withstand wet handling.  Just for fun I saved used tea bags, put the tea on the garden, and painted the dried tea bags with acrylic paint.  I then collaged them into a collage.  "Teabag Tapestry" was the result.  Lots of fun!

Western art

We had thousands of people in town for Cheyenne Frontier Days, together with bulls, steers, horses, and cowboys.  After our move to Cheyenne I did an enamel assemblage expressing the western way.  It took many hours of work to design, enamel, and mount the separate pieces.