$1.30

 $1.30 . . . Strangest Blog Title Yet 

Today’s art class with Pamela Vosseller provided not only joy but a profound realization of the beast of inflation. The focus of the lesson was “The Wonder of Paper.” She took me on a stroll through the history of paper, an invaluable material that is integral to daily life, with special emphasis on papyrus. Fascinating!

The substrate for this collage called for a canvas board, which I did not have. What I did have, however, was a pad of Dad’s very old canvas paper. How old? A pad of 10 sheets cost $1.30! Since this was today’s substrate, I gessoed it first.


The first layer was drawing a face with charcoal pencil. Slick choice of  drawing tool, as adjustments were easy to make with a damp paper towel. 

  

Then a stroll down memory lane with a journal entry on an old envelope that contained a letter addressed to my parents from when I lived in Northern Maine. I wrote about the painting that was inside the paper pad … a painting that I did when I lived in Maine. How do I know? Because it depicts x-c skis stuck in a snow bank in front of a cabin, likely the cabin I lived in Westmanland, ME.  (My art has certainly come a long way!)

I
This is what my work table looked like. Working in this mess of stuff was confine but fun. Papers and tools  everywhere! Lacking the papyrus the instructor used, I chose cheesecloth for its texture. 


Here’s the collage base. One of the papers used was an old bridge scorecard that evoked memories of my parents who loved playing cards. 


More texture . . . cotton string, embroidery floss, thread, raffia.


Now a little scribbling on deli paper.


 An overnight rest in order to thoroughly dry. Then PAINT…and grungy mark-making. The seashell foreshadowed a much-anticipated vacation to the ocean with a friend, a place and a person from which I source hope. Upon reflecting on this tutorial, I’m proud that I ventured into a style with which I am unfamiliar. 


It needed an appropriate beachy quote, and this is where coincidence struck. I loved this quote by Virginia Woolf and, interestingly, this journal page connected with its facing page in that both quotes contained the word tattoo. I don’t think that word has EVER appeared in my journal, and now here it is on two consecutive pages. 



 


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