Monday, June 7, 2010

The Picnic Dress (collage on plaster)

She wore this dress to the picnic, and memories of the day lingered in its folds. 
Day 2 of Creativity Boot Camp, and the creative prompt is "picnic."  WTF???  I take a deep breath and think about some of the things I have been wanting to do with plaster (my chosen media), and one of them has been to create certain shapes and collage on them. One of the shapes I have contemplated is a simple dress or shirt.  I figure I can make a nice, spring dress that someone might wear to a picnic and then collage on a variety of flowers and heritage images of women.
As I look through my collage images, I find one of my favorite images. . . I don't know who the couple is exactly (beyond friends or relatives of my Aunt Vera) or what the circumstances are, but this photo always reminds me of budding romance.  I imagine that the couple met each other while attending a picnic.
As I start to sketch the picnic dress on to the plaster panel, I am having trouble imagining it as a freestanding form, but I really begin to like the idea of it as a dress hanging on a clothesline.  I have always been fascinated  by clothes hanging on a clothesline, and you can see a favorite photo here and the art journal page it inspired here.  As I continue to paint and collage and create, an idea is born for a series of collages on plaster.  The series is titled "On the Clothesline," and today's collage is the first in the series, "She wore this dress to the picnic."  On the back, I have written, "She wore this dress to the picnic, and memories of the day lingered in its folds."  ETA: I came up with the words to tell the story; they aren't a quote from someone else.
I hope you enjoy my creation (and its story).

24 comments:

Mommy2CVC said...

I love it! I hope you don't think I'm crazy, but for some reason it reminds me of Bridges of Madison County and how the mom never would let her daughter where the dress that she met Robert in because of the memories!

Maria Ontiveros said...

What a great observation! There's also that heartbreaking scene in Brokeback Mountain where one of the actors sinks his face into a shirt breathes in the scent of his lover who passed away. I also know that I have all kinds of clothes that hold special memories and are hard to throw away. But I had not thought of this before.
Rinda

Amy said...

Oh very clever Rinda! I really like the connection you have made today and how the heart has appeared again.
You are going to love prompt three - just appeared here for me but I'm sure you're tucked away in bed now .....

Hello, I'm Vicki said...

ooh i love this, very artistic, you are definitely an artist. the dress is amazing and the picnic picture rocks... xx

krissilugbill said...

I absolutely love this! your work is incredible...great blog as well...hope you enjoy day three!

helena said...

fantastic take on the prompt and I loved reading your creativity journey.

Anonymous said...

It's lovely!I also like the way you have linked it to previous work.

Sian said...

Oh, I love this! Where did those words come from? They are perfect. This is truly an inspiring piece Rinda

Anonymous said...

This might be my favorite piece ever, and I love reading about your artistic process. I'll be looking forward to the rest of the pieces in the clothesline series. Another wonderful quote as well.

Cheri said...

I love how different your take is than - real creativity in stepping away from the literal "picnic"! And I love the quote!

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

I love what you did with this prompt, Rinda, and the quote you used is awesome! :o)

scrappyjacky said...

Love what you have done here,Rinda...a wonderfully different take on the prompt...love the quote as well...though I've never heard it before.

Wendy said...

I love that photo - there's nothing shy about her smile - her smile says, to me at least - I've got a secret. Perhaps they had been together the night before . . . love your picnic!

Anonymous said...

Very cool! I've always wanted to try to get into mixed media.

debs14 said...

What an imaginative idea, I love the quote too - it's perfect. Looking forward to seeing how this idea evolves!

nancy y said...

what an awesome quote to go with your outstanding piece! I love that you are going to have a clothesline series!

Crafting Queen said...

Wow, love your idea behind the artwork and great art work. Anesha

laurie said...

there is something very simple yet festive about this piece. i, too, believe that clothes can hold memories and possibilities within their fibers. and i love the idea of a series - can't wait to see more.

Unknown said...

Great idea and interpreted beautifully.

Tammy Lee Bradley said...

Excellent! Can't wait to see what you do tomorrow!

Heather said...

I have a thing for washing on a clothes line too! I took a picture of jakes baby clothes on the line once because I was so proud to finally have a baby. I'm really looking forward to the next installments :)

Cheryl said...

I love your take on the prompt and that quote is so lovely x

Connie Lutz said...

Nancy was telling me about this class - I'll check out the link. Great idea to use plaster - it looks wonderful!

Connie said...

Ohhhh! This is a fabulous piece!
I hope this is what you are going to teach at the studio!