By Definition

Two posts in one day? Yikes!

The January theme for the Milwaukee ATC group's live trade is "By Definition," and I was somewhat inspired by a book that Robin Kinney made for the exhibit "Serious Fun" at the Bay View Book Arts Gallery in which she contrasted photos of ordinary women with the epithets and insults commonly used against women. I went a little broader in my word choices but was still interested in how a different word can define the character of the anonymous woman depicted.

Gary had given me these ink jet transparencies of vintage photos from his collection, apparently all the same woman with and without a hat. I used these to practice doing gel medium transfers on to ATC backs that I had painted earlier. Some transferred well - some not so much, but that's what gives them character! There was also enough image left on the transparencies that I could cut those faces up and sew them onto the ATCs as well.

The tangled border of thread on "Hysterical" was made by loosening the thread tension on my old workhorse Singer sewing machine and running the card through upside down so all the bobbin thread ended up in swirly loops on the front. (Hysteria was once seen as a particularly female affliction, from the same root as "hysterectomy" and thought to be caused by the derangement of the female parts.)

I had some folks from my ATC group over last Saturday for a impromptu ATC & tea open house while my menfolk were out of town, and so I'll say for my mother's sake that someone else suggested the word I use the word "bitch" (Honestly, Mom! I never would have thought of it otherwise!)

I also learned some new things, for instance that "chaud-medley" is the killing of a man (only a man?) in the "heat of blood or passion." And the "seamy side" of things comes from sewing - the side on which the seams show.


Full series can be seen here.

Crafting 365, Days 17, 18, 19