A new beginning

And so let me reveal to you my current project. Welcome to your first glimpse into my attempts to create a collaged folk style. I have begun working on a fairy tale book that I will both illustrate and write. I have been researching the old myths, tales and legends from the Baltics, with particular emphasis on my Grandma's homeland of Lithuania. You have already seen me toying with the key symbol in previous works. That's on the back burner now. My new project is taking me in an entirely new direction.
I would like to create a series of works, including papercuts, stencils and perhaps some artists books that are based on these old tales. The most fascinating part is that I am using motifs that come from vintage stamps and bank notes. I am trying to keep some of this work authentic, by using symbols and designs native to the baltic region. I have this great resource at home, in my Uncle Rays' stamp collection that I inherited. There's a huge amount of Latvian, Estonian, and LIthuanian stamps and Bank Notes and the detail on them is just outstanding and quite inspiring. My goal is to cull ideas for starting points from these sources, and then recycle them in my work. I want to explore these traditional ideas and designs and develop them further in a new context.

For my first attempt here, I am working on the legend of the fern blossom. (I don't know what a fern blossom looks like, and my imagination is fertile with ideas! I love the story line) This piece is an exercise in using new media (gouache isn't exactly new ...well it's new to me! ) and trying to create a folksy look that includes collaged pieces. I am going to re-do this a few times, using various techniques until I hammer down the "look" I am looking for.

The 2-color scheme is my attempt at trying to simulate the idea of a solstice. I really feel my painfully poor painting skills these days. i am a firm believer of the old adage that practice makes perfect. Prepare to see more of this style!