As Promised, "The Curse"

This is one of my first assemblage pieces that began with the Midol tin.  I didn't want to make it vulgar, but did want to capture the feeling of what has been called The Curse, Your Time, etc.  I'm one of those persons who doesn't usually make 'cutesy' art but rather would focus on the subjects that others would probably never even touch.  My pictures are obviously not professional, and the glass makes it difficult to see inside the shadowbox so I included a picture of the inside of the box before I put it together.  This was one of those projects where you have to say STOP because I could have just kept adding more embellishments on the outside of the box but I didn't want to take all of the focus away from the picture and objects inside. 
This started with a Dollar Store shadowbox that I think I paid 50 cents for and the Midol tin that I picked up at a vintage/antique store for a buck.  I couldn't resist that tin because I remember taking those things and they sure didn't work for me, but my mind and creativity just took off from there.  As a woman who doesn't have to deal with The Curse any longer (thankyou Doctor!), I guess I can just laugh at what really was a nightmare for me for most of my life.  For me this was great fun to put together because I got to paint.  I love to paint which I think goes back to my ceramics phase that I went through in the late 80's. 
What are your thoughts about the subject matter of this piece?  Do you enjoy the dark humor, or do you feel it is just plain wrong?  What would you have done different with this piece?  Would you have taken it a step further or would you have thrown it in the garbage deeming it innapropriate?  I would love to know your thoughts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hope you all enjoyed your Christmas.  My family was here at our home for Christmas Eve as is tradition, but it was bittersweet as our Mother was not with us this year as she passed away last April from ovarian cancer.  As a tribute to her, I made a pendant for each of my siblings from some of her vintage jewelry.  I got the idea as I was going through some of her old jewelry (lots of Sarah Coventry-yum!) and spotted her charm bracelet that I always remember her wearing when I was a child. 
The bracelet had a silhouette of each of her children with our names and birthdates engraved and I got the idea that each of us should have their silhouette.  So I took the bracelet apart and created a new pendant for each of us by adding other charms, a pearl from another of her pieces, and hung them from a large hoop earring so the silhouette hung exactly in the middle of the earring.  For one of my brothers though, I used a vintage key instead of the earring.  This key is from our Uncle Joe's house in Brooklyn before he died in 1975.  I didn't take any pictures of my creations but once I finish mine I will add a picture of it so you can get the idea of how they all looked.

On a much lighter note, you probably notice that my blog looks a bit different and my pics are all missing.  I had time this evening to 'tweak' my blog and managed to delete the pictures.  "Good Intentions" right?  I should have all of them back up in a day or so. 
Till soon!

New ATC's

Well Christmas is sneaking up on us and I haven't even had time to do much in the way of Holiday art though, as usual, I have lots of ideas and plans that just haven't come to fruition.  These ATC's were made by me in the past year.  I love the one that uses the vintage picture negative that allows the heart to show through. The second reminds me of an old teacher that I had as a child who had absolutely no sense of humor.  And the last is a Japenese Maple leaf over a playing card that is partially covered in dictionary pages.  These are some of my favorites and I hope you like them. 
I was in Joanne's not too long ago and saw that they were selling packs of different types of paper that were already cut for ATC's.  I picked up packs of vellum, watercolor, and another type of paper (the name escapes me at the moment) that these were made of.  I hope that the ATC craze continues as it is a quick and easy way to get that burst of artistic need out and on a piece of paper even when pressed for time. 

Speaking of pressed for time, I will be uploading pictures of my latest mixed media altered shadow box that all women will "get" as it is called "The Curse."  Can you guess what it is about???? 
Till Soon! Marianna

ATC's

What I am attempting to do is post a couple of pics of some ATC's I made recently. They are "Ann Taintor"-esque. Just love her sense of humor along with the vintage pics so I had to try a couple of my own.

Well, here I go!

I am finally doing it.  Blogging that is. 
With this blog I hope to: 
1.  express myself via my art.
2.  connect to others who have the same interests.
3.  find people who "understand" my art.  (This is not an easy thing to do according to most of my family and friends) 

Once I figure out how to get my blog set up, I will be posting pictures of some of my art and welcoming feedback.  I will also be posting pictures about all things vintage--one of my great loves. 
Tune in next time...