The inspiration for these pieces came from the envelopes themselves. I have saved greeting cards – and the envelopes – for years.
Envelopes make me think of traveling – after all, they have traveled a long way to reach our mailboxes.
I envisioned sewing the envelopes together to form the basis of a large piece, so that’s what I did for the overlays here: pieced envelopes together and ran them through the sewing machine to create window-frame shapes. I wanted shapes that were unusual and slightly exotic, to enhance the sense of being somewhere extraordinary. The bits of gold leaf add to the exotic effect.
The central images are similar to Finding Balance in how they transition from dawn to dusk, natural to man-made elements.
Here are a few photos taken while I was working on this piece:
Title: Dreams of Faraway Places
Medium: Collage with stitched envelopes, painted and found papers, gold leaf, thread
Size: 24 x 50 inches on canvas
Signed: Yes, on the back
Exhibits: “Delivering Stories” at the BOX Gallery, Akron; “In The Pink” at Hudson Fine Art & Framing; “Trees I Have Known” at the Cleveland Botanical Garden; “Dreams of Faraway Places“ at the Bexley Public Library