Ginkos I and II

These two collages were actually done back in March and I failed to photograph them before submitting them to an Atlanta Collage Society Show. The show came down while I was in Ireland and I went up to Atlanta to get them this past weekend. I figured I'd post them even tho' they're not hot off the press! Both are mixed media collage using hand tinted & textured papers w/ dried ginko leaves.

"Two Lilies"

This is another piece I've done for a local fundraiser....this will be my last donation of the year. We have some calla lilies that bloom by our pond every year. I don't know if it was because of the unusually cold winter we had or just what but where we typically have 12 - 15 (+) blooms this year we only had two.....but they were beautiful!

"JOY!!"

My most recent collage was a commission for The Ronald McDonald House here in Augusta, GA. The local chapter of a teacher's sorority commissioned me to do the piece and they wanted the finished product to be a collage that was bright, cheerful and uplifting.....so this is the result. It will hang near the entrance to the garden at our local Ronald McDonald House on Green St.

"Arioso"

This is the third and final piece I've created for the Art Factory fundraiser scheduled for March. It's entitled 'Arioso' because the music (which is barely visible in the background) is from "Arioso" by Jean Sibelius a Finnish composer (1865 -1957). Sibelius was a prolific composer but I'd be willing to bet that "Arioso" is one of his most recognizable pieces. Like "The Meditation from Thais"(see previous post), "Arioso" is also one of those pieces that is part of the repertoire of most classical music students. This is another piece that I played years ago while studying with my violin teacher, Eloy Fominaya.

"Gealach" (pr: gay-lock) - Irish Gaelic for 'Moon'

Another collage completed for the upcoming fundraiser for the Art Factory. The title - - with the help of translation - - is self explanatory......

'THAIS'

This is a piece I've done for a local fundraiser that's coming up in March. It started off being just an abstract design where I planned to use some Ginko leaves I'd saved from the fall. I'd worked on it to a point of feeling that it was 'almost' finished but needed something else and my husband, Bill, took a look at it and saw the woman's figure. She'd been waiting patiently on me! So I put a head on her shoulders and fixed her hair but she didn't get any arms.....read on & you'll understand.

Thaïs (Pronounced tah-eess) is an opera by Jules Massenet to the music of French composer Louis Gallet. The 'Meditation from Thais' is a classical piece that any serious violin student would have played. Even tho' I almost exclusively play traditional Irish music these days, I still have all my classical music and occasionally use it in my collages....my former teacher, Eloy Fominaya would be proud! (Incidentally, I use photocopies of the music...I don't destroy the originals!)

(A little background on the opera helps make sense of the piece.Thaïs, a female, is the main character of the opera which takes place in Egypt, where a Cenobite monk, attempts to convert Thaïs, a devotée of Venus (that's why she did't get arms!), to Christianity, but discovers too late that his obsession with her is rooted in lust; while Thais's true purity of heart is revealed, so is the religious man's baser nature. The work is often described as bearing a sort of religious eroticism....got this from Wikipedia so it's a fact!)

"Thinking of Ireland"

Anyone who knows me very well expects the subject of Ireland to come up within about 10 seconds of being around me! The subject is frequently reflected in my artwork as well. I haven't done any 'Irish-related' artwork in quite some time so I thought I'd revisit the place. This piece was a pure joy!