Currently Collaging: Prints for Our Little Girls' Room

When we found out that we're expecting a second little girl, I began thinking through ways to update the current nursery (Vi's room) into a place for two little ladies. We didn't find out Violet's gender, so the kids' room was decorated neutrally, with a few girly touches added on once Vi came. But since we know that little Beatrice Severn Somerville will be joining us in the spring, I got to work designing the space and picking out prints to frame (for David and I, our vision for any room begins and ends with the artwork on the walls).

In addition to a few other pictures, the two above will be added to the mix: a collage, made by me (ampersands are a little part of the room's theme), and a graphic print featuring a favorite quote from Lemony Snicket, designed by David (since we inadvertently named both our daughters after characters from A Series of Unfortunate Events, we thought it was appropriate. What can I say? I like slightly macabre, old fashioned names). It's always sweet to be able to add a little personal touch to a room, especially a room that our daughters will play and dream and grow up in.

Collage: All Kinds of Stars

This was a "quick, I'm feeling inspired!" collage I made one afternoon a few months ago.

The feeling I wanted to evoke was watching shooting stars through a skylight, in bed (it's a little dream of mine to have a skylight in my bedroom). I used the following details to follow through on this theme:

• Shooting stars are "Lucky" and used to make "wishes"
• The navys/blacks with the contrast of oranges/sunflare yellows create a night sky feel, plus a day/night contrast
• "Sun is better" -- the sun is the biggest star / provides a day/night contrast
• The tribal textiles evoke the idea of bed & blankets, along with the picture of the skylights
• Plus multiple kinds of star shapes (duh)

I know, it's not exactly airtight. But I think that's part of what art is: a mixture of things that provoke a specific associations for the artist. These things connect for me, based on my experience and what I want to communicate. Putting them together in a collage is my attempt to help you see and feel the same experience.

Inspiration Board: December

I have two huge bulletin boards hung in my "foyer" (aka the piece of wall that you see when you enter our apartment, the end). I use them as a place to display my monthly or seasonal inspiration board -- it's like rotating wall art (i.e. a big collage) designed according to my mood and the month of the year.

I always look forward to hanging pieces for the December/January/holiday board, because it adds an extra wintery decoration to our little place. Below are the beginnings the current design, made up of magazine scraps, catalog pages, some wrapping supplies, and old Christmas cards. I've been adding on as I've collected things that inspire me throughout the month. What's inspiring your holidays?

Collage: The Human Torch DOES Use His Firepower to Light a Match

This card was for a fun-loving kid type.

I've found that the best way to start a collage is to sort through my box of scraps, match up colors and patterns, and then see if I can sift a story out of what I found. This one came easily: the bright colors easily divided into a sky and grass background, with the silly comic strip providing the focal point, humor, and interest. Because of the dialogue on the comic, I went back into my box and found a candle & flame, and the card's story was complete: the Human Torch's firepower has been ironically used to light the birthday candle.

Collage: For Pete's Sake

A card for a middle-aged gentleman, with a sense of humor.

The scraps I picked dictated a "mountain man" sort of theme... with a Mt. Rushmore focus. (Anyone else kind of rolling their eyes at how pretentious I'm making this sound?) The mountains, the plaid, tribal markings, and the wildflowers all worked together.

This was another card I had some trouble with. I wanted to make it slightly amusing (cue the mini Lincoln and the old man phrase, "for Pete's sake") without making it too irreverent. I feel like it came out a little boring, I'll be honest.

Collage: Thanks Much

A thank you card for a very special lady.

The customer this card is for is a little older and very sweet, so I wanted to make something unique, but tasteful and feminine. I had a lot of the pink & white floral you can see in the background, so I started with that as a base, and then layered on the burgundy/fuchsia polka dots. I'm really loving deep reds with blush pinks right now. To continue with the dot theme, and add some more delicate details (to balance the bold "much" and fuchsia), I added a smaller polka dot scrap, along with the circle mirror details.

To finish it off and provide some contrast (and pull in more black & white to carry the "much" through the whole collage), I added a piece of striped washi tape -- a nice foil to all the polka dots.

Collage: Architectural Holiday

I've had more card orders come in, so I'll be showing you a few of my recent collages over the next few days/weeks. Oooh aaaah. Feel free to keep in mind that I'm a "learning" artist?

To be honest, the card below got away from me a little. I started out with the idea of "rustic holiday" and put the wood background with the twinkle lights, but it was too flat and was begging for some texture. I built out the holiday idea by adding some plaid. It also needed some interest, some kind of quirk. But here's the thing... when you're making cards for people that you don't know very well, and you're making them to be given by someone other than yourself... you have to be a little more tame than usual. 

I did go ahead and add the cartoony little street light, to mirror the twinkle lights, and because the word theme I ended up going with was "especially bright," I threw on a volcano as well -- it's small enough that hopefully it'll make you smile when you squint at the card, but won't be too obnoxious at first glance.

I'm still learning how to be appropriately tame for my customer's sake without sacrificing my voice. Not sure if I'm succeeding. Art friends, chime in!

In any case -- the twinkle lights make me excited for the holidays! As we like to say in the Tiren household (thanks to my lispy little sister Emma) happy Hanksgiving everyone!

Birthday Cards, pt. 2

My grandmother, aka my biggest fan aside from David, asked me to make her a stash of cards that she could use for family birthdays. I was happy to oblige, even though I have like 9 siblings, 15 cousins, 2 nieces, and a partridge in a pear tree. I made nine to start, but these six were the ones I liked best...

For Andrew

A sort of get well card for my brother - he had surgery a few days ago. He's one of the bravest guys I know, so... Spiderman kind of fit the bill. I wanted to channel a little San Francisco, a little superhero, and a general sense of "I know you'll kick that surgery in its hindquarters."

Birthday Cards

Big cards, little cards, cards that climb on rocks...

I've been feeling inspired recently, so I've been making cards for family members as their special days pop up on the calendar.

Here are a few. Excuse the photography... I must ask you to always excuse the photography. That's just one of the many artistic bones I am missing in my body.

"Sparkler" - For Erin: Her birthday is in early July, so her collage is a proper mixture of patriotic bday enthusiasm and a dash of citron, one of her current favorite colors to wear.

"Dear" - For Laura: The girl loves horses, so this was an easy one. The texture of the polka dots mirrors the fuzziness of the horse, the strawberry (look familiar?) and the unicorn keep it from being too serious (she's 14 for crying out loud). Laura has a sweet spirit, so I wanted to capture a little of that in her collage as well.

"The Best" - For my mom: Simple, pretty things with a beachy feel - a lot of what my mom loves. "The Best" is an inside joke, and also true.

Father's Day

A quick post for today. Here's the card I made for my dad this year.

I went with blue and tweed - what's more fatherly than that? Besides Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four, of course. An odd reference, I know, but it reminded me of my dad since he gave some of his old Fantastic Four ViewMaster reels to my brother and I when we were little. The stars (an old event wristband) work with the superhero theme.