Personal Imagery

I quite often use images of myself as a child in my work, but I've never really thought about why.

I recently came across a lovely book which deals with just this topic. It's called 'The Art of Personal Imagery' by Corey Moortgat, and it's full of interesting ideas and techniques to help the reader find their own personal imagery and symbolism, which can be used in any kind of artwork. Here's a simple page using collage and some gold foiling over a pink wash.

Scrapbooking Meets Altered Art

I'm a scrapbooker as well as an altered bookmaker, and at the moment I'm really enjoying the experience of fusing and mixing up the two crafts in this book.

I wanted to make something really personal, so the book features altered photos of myself, my friends and family, combined with the usual mix of collage, stamping, paint, fabric etc..

I particularly like to use high-contrast black and white images, cut from their background and set against new (more interesting!) ones. Here a 'reject' wedding photo gets a new lease of life.

Floral Birthday Card

With all this grim wintery weather I've decided to look forward to spring, and have started making some Easter, Mother's Day and Birthday cards - all with a floral theme.

I love these pretty Crate Paper patterned papers (Katlin collection). Thave have a slight shabby-chic look but are still colourful and pretty enough to work with a touch of glitter.

Look Deep

Look Deep (Left Half)
Ink, collage, acetate, mixed media, pablo pencil.
I'm fascinated by the tiny and complex beauty of many insects, and I use their images often in my artwork. Butterflies, moths, beetles and bees...I love them all!
The inspiration for this page comes from a wise and wonderful quotation from Albert Einstein - "Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better."
The beetle image is so striking that it only needed a simple frame to complement it. I inked over the text, then collaged a frame and mounted the beetle under acetate.

Deaths Head Moth

Death's Head Moth

Image printed onto page, collage, stamping, ink, pablo pencil.
Please don't mention Silence of the Lambs! It's a shame the association between this moth and that film is so strong, because it is a strange and fascinating creature. The unusual markings on the moth's body really do resemble a human skull, giving it a slightly mystical quality, which I have tried to reflect in the collage. I'm also feeling autumnal at the moment and enjoying the changing colours of the trees, so those seasonal colours and textures are featuring in my work.

Magenta Door

Magenta Door

Acrylic glaze, altered photo, collage, pablo pencil

I find the architecture in Brighton quite inspiring, particularly the grand seafront buildings. I took this photo because I loved the weathering on the doorway, as well as the patterns of the brickwork and tiles.

I altered the photo using Photoshop and carried the aqua/magenta colour scheme through the rest of the page using acrylic glaze and some red/pink collage elements.

Books and Bees

Books Bees (Left)

Collage, mixed media, pablo pencil

"Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind".
I love this notion of books as bees, spreading knowledge like a dusting of pollen, and I wanted to interpret the idea in this page.
I combined images of educational text and a honeycomb pattern, then added some embellishments and pencil detail.