Postcard swap redux -- a peek at my first two collages

iHanna Postcard Swap
What has 4 sides, is paper thin, and flies hundreds of miles in just a few days? A postcard, of course!

Last fall was my first time in iHanna's DIY Postcard Swap. I made 10 collaged cards, sent them off, then received 10 cards from artists around the worldI had so much fun last time that I signed up for the Spring 2014. 

I just finished cards #1 and 2. Well, almost finished. They're not done until they slip through the slot at the post office.

Here's the first one. It took longer than I expected. I kept choosing, moving, then abandoning images.

postacard for iHanna Postcard Swap
While I was pulling the pieces together, I wasn't really sure what I was doing. (Can you tell?) Now, though, I see a storyline. The poor man in the middle is caught between his conventional, straight-and-narrow life and a wide-open, bohemian existence devoted to beauty. 

I also labored over card #2. I'm still not sure it works, exactly. But I like it.
postacard for iHanna Postcard Swap
My interpretation:  The woman in the foreground wears an apron but takes the posture of a fighter. She cooks, cleans and keeps house, but she's no Suzy Homemaker (that's what we used to call them in Junior High). I'm tempted to change the word "Millinery" to "Military." Too obvious?

To make the cards, I practiced a layering process I learned at my collage workshop last weekend.
Steps for making a background layer in a collage

How to make a collage background

  1. Glue torn paper swatches to card stock using matte medium.
  2. Cover the swatches with white gesso.
  3. Apply paint and tissue paper.
  4. Create a horizon line with stamps.
(These steps come from John Arbuckle, our workshop instructor and expert collage artist.)

More cards to come…and there's still time to sign up for the swap here.

Comments

  1. Fun and rather mysterious postcards Claudia, I think you could interpret them in a lot of different ways but it was interesting reading your thoughts about them. Thanks for joining the swap, and linking to it, I appreciate that. :-)

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    1. Thanks for checking in! I just finished #3 and 4 and I think they're probably just as mysterious. Thanks again for facilitating the swap.

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  2. HI, Claudia! I really love your collages! If you're interested in swapping postcards/small pieces, just email me your address. I can send you one of my orange/magenta "masterpieces" ;-)
    I would have sent you the No Way one, but I just stuck it in the mailbox to someone else this morning. (sorry!)
    lbgbishop@gmail.com

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  3. These are great cards. I'll have to try this technique STAT! :)

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  4. I really love the colors, texture and composition of this, no matter what it means :)

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