Saturday, November 17, 2007

Work in Progress - a fighting heart



1940s wallpaper, wedding album tissue, dried weed, plaster fragments, book clippings, snail-eaten paper edging, 19th century letter.


A bit nerve-wracking, this one. The letter I'm using for the backdrop is a solicitor's note from England, and 135 years old! I've never owned anything that old- being in Australia means this stuff is rather hard to come by for an affordable price. God bless eBay.

The writing details an amount outstanding for a bill- the receiver hoped to pay in installments, but the company for whom the solicitor represents have requested a lump sum firstly, then installments.

I already had the little collage in the corner made up on the table, and going through the precious little pile of letters this one seemed to fit the collage perfectly. There were other letters in the pile dealing with wills and failing businesses, and a very mysterious letter which states 'I have thus far been unable to find the boy'.

There must be such a hidden story there. Thisis one of the things I enjoy so much about my process; the everyday things- postcards, letters, buttons with fabric scraps attached -they are remenants of people long gone, countless unrecorded histories of ordinary lives. I like to think I keep a little of that in modern memory, if only for those who see my work.

1 comment:

Susan Kruse said...

I smiled when I read your comment about trying to make this blog professional and not frightening off your customers by ranting on about moving your furniture at 2am. I recently did exactly the same on my blog, for the same reasons! Perhaps it is a very female way of working though and sometimes I like the idea that we do not separate our daily life from our 'professional' one, especially as so many women artists take as inspiration the daily grind. I very much enjoyed looking at your work and thanks for the fairytales link which I followed from Erin's blog and so to you. I hope you enjoy much success.