AN ARTFUL SUMMER

"REFLECTIONS ON CLAIRE"

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I have been a busy girl this summer, making pages for an altered book round robin that I'm participating in. I always do double pages.

I think you can click on the pictures to enlarge them. If not, the words below "Reflections on Claire" say: "She loves the beach....in winter"; "Names her dogs after ex-boyfriends"; "She's been down the Nile and up the Mississippi"; and "Even my mother likes her."

I've had the clipping of the woman and the quotes for ages, but only recently though of putting them together. I like this spunky woman.

"GRACE"

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This one might be confusing. Her name isn't Grace, but Opal, as signified by the "O" in the lower left corner. Grace is a state of being and I feel that this lady, whom I also like very much, is the epitome of grace. The sentence says "In a room with a thing of beauty, you are never truly alone."

All those white lines on the left page aren't really there - they're just reflections.

"STAR STUFF"

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This collage was generated by the Carl Sagan quote: "We ourselves are made of star stuff."

The other quote says: "It is easier to accept the message of the stars than the message of the salt desert. The stars speak of man's insignificance in the long eternity of time, the desert speaks of his insignificance right now."

"WHERE ARE THEY NOW?"

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The left-hand caption asks: "Where are those little girls we once were?" The right-hand caption answers: "They are not lost, they're still here inside."

The tags can be pulled out of the pockets. Below those pictures, I wrote: "Those girls who: turned cartwheels, skipped rope, played jacks, caught fireflies, dressed cats in clothes, sang often and lustily, danced through sprinklers, played hopscotch, played with paper dolls, loved puppies, climbed trees, blew bubbles into their chocolate milk."

"WILD WOMEN"

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This collage was inspired by the picture on the top left. I suspect, as does the cowboy, that those ladies are not drinking tea. The caption says: "Let them talk." The cowboy sez, "There's more than just tea in them cups, I'll wager."

The snooty woman is saying: "Ladies, we must maintain decorum at all times."

The bohemian man (a famous writer, whose name I cannot recollect), believes "Women must be allowed artistic expression."

The lady on the top of the right-hand pages would like to join in, I think. She's saying: "Hmm, that looks like fun."

The two men are thinking: "Those crazy wimmin."

The one seated lady asks the other: "Did you hear what those hussies Lizzie and Lila did?" (Lizzie and Lila are two of the wild women in the round robin.)

The three old broads at the bottom are sure that the wild women will "come to no good."

FLYING DREAMS

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Do you have dreams of flying? I have a lot of them! The caption on the left says: "Flying dreams are common and are often associated with ambition, personal empowerment and breaking free from limitations." Oh, really? That makes me feel better.

The caption on the upper right says: "Dreams are illustrations...from the book your soul is writing about you." Don't you love that?

The caption on the bottom right says: "You may never look at sleep the same way again."

"FOREIGN TRAVELS"

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The poem reads: "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" ~ Mary Oliver.

These pages also feature a hang tag with a stamp of a 19th century woman on her Grand Tour.

"BLUE BIRDS"

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Some of the items in this collage were given to me by a friend, and I am happy to pass them along to another friend via her altered book.

The Chinese Proverb on the left says: "If I keep a green bough in my heart, the singing birds will come."

Another Chinese Proverb, on the right, says: "A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song"

"HERE'S THE SCOOP"

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"Love is the greatest refreshment in life." ~ Pablo Picasso.

I used a paper napkin for the background, which gives an interesting, wrinkled effect. I also used real buttons but I didn't have to sew them. They are threaded, but they have adhesive backings so I just pressed them on.

I did lots more collages this summer, but I don't want to overwhelm you with all of them at once, so I'll show more later.