The Wandering Wasp

My Friend Marianne was gracious enough to ask me if I wanted a huge pile of art magazines before she recycled them. Of course I said yes. They are great for helping ideas flow, an example is this little tidbit from my other art friend Seth Apter.

 

As I was looking for something new and fun to do with this board I had AND I have this vintage set of  dictionaries my daughter gave me, this was the perfect project. I followed Seth's directions exactly. 

Then came the dilemma of what to do with the board. I had recently acquired this red frame at a moving sale of the reuse market which resells used donated goods to artists and schools.

The illustration I got off a Google search for a copyright free image of a wasp or bee and traced it onto a piece of transparency. The empty nests I found in my yard, while I was working on this piece while I was trimming my honeysuckle bush. I knew they would have to be added. And I made extra sure no one was home!

I like my pieces of art to have a story if possible. This is a true story.  I have not been bit by a stinging insect since I was a little kid,  but in the past few months I have gotten stung three times! all while mountain biking up at Bogus Basin Ski Resort. The first two stings were in my bra at the same time, not sure how the little buggers got in there. The third was on a second trip and on a different trail and this sting was under my arm and I was wearing short sleeves!

To finish it off, instead of framing it I glued it to a board I painted black and the edges of that board are painted the same red as the frame. I like to use double alliteration titles when possible, this piece is Called The Wandering Wasp. It is 11" x 17"

E is for Eggplant

"E" is for Eggplant  2 1/2" x 4" x 3 1/4" $35

 This piece started out with the definition of eggplant from a 4 volume dictionary from 1899 that my daughter gave me. She bought it from Goodwill for $24.99, said it was worth $100 but couldn't find a buyer, so I decided to use it for my art.

Since I decided to cut up the dictionary I took the scissors to another vintage item, circa 1958.

I used Plymer medium to glue the painting to the sides of the box. 

 

I measured and cut colored tissue paper for the front of the box. 

I used A Bar at the Flies-Bergere, by Edouard Manet mainly for the colors that went well with the piece- greens and purples. 

Side view

Top view

Bottom view

Final touches were adding a translucent purple acrylic stain. Glueing the miniature eggplant and large letter E and adding the green dots to the E. I think I had eggplant on the brain as I recently made an eggplant lasagna for a vegan friend of mine and her husband who's vacation condo we were invited to stay. She and I both love eggplant.