2026 05 Lost Eyes Whose Sight Will Not Be Restored

 This is the second mask I made for the Michael deMeng on-line workshop, Mythic Masks and Junkyard Gods. 

When I was auditioning stuff in my basement to make a new mask, I came across these two toy automobiles. The black one is a Hasbro Marvel Black Panther Vehicle while the wood one appears to be a hand made soap box derby car.

More parts were harvested to create the mask. 

The basic construction can be fairly rough as there is going to be a lot more done to these parts to make it mask-like.

The derby car, without its wheels, becomes the nose. 

The curtain tie back becomes a moustache. 

Texture is added. Then it is time to paint. 

Thus we have Lost Eyes Whose Sight Will Not Be Restored. The title comes from Sue Owen's poem A Basket of Buttons. It is 14"H X 13"W X 6"D. It consists of Hasbro Marvel Black Panther Vehicle, Wood Soap Box Derby Toy, Wood Toy Wheels, Curtain Tie Back Hook, Clock Pendulums, Plastic Printer Part, Doll Eyes, Plastic Wind Up Key, Sari Ribbon and Paint.

2026 05 What Awful Joy

Photo taken at Shake Rag Alley

When I was at Karen Robison's Paper and Book Camp 2.0 at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point, WI, I made a collage that I really liked. So that meant when I got home I wanted to find a good box to make the perfect match to the collage.

I picked this Climax Smooth Plug Tobacco Box. It is a glorious old box in the roughest shape. I decided that I would use it anyway so that meant I had to strengthen it with some Aves Clay. The nails I like to use on many of projects, in this case, helped to hold the box together. 

Thus we have What Awful Joy. The title comes from a piece of text I added to the collage. It is 16"H X 10"W X 3"D. It consists of a Climax Smooth Plug Tobacco Box, Masonite Board, Nails, 3 Hole Wood Piece, Metal Numbers, Tea Dyed Papers and Paint.

2026 05 Assuage the Thirst That Rises From the Throat of Loneliness

 I recently bought two old canteens to collage on. This is the first effort to use one of them.

Thus we have Assuage the Thirst That Rises From the Throat of Loneliness. It is 8"H X 8"W X 3"D. It consists of a Canteen, Rust Dyed Paper, Collage and Paint. The title comes from Selections From the Notebooks of Leonard Cohen.

2026 05 Bee Smokers #1 & #2

 While shopping for cool stuff recently I cam across these two bee smokers. 

They make perfect surfaces to collage on. When I was mentioning these to my cousin Marilyn she started laughing at the thought of a bee actually smoking. 

OK, now I have my theme. 

Thus we have Bee Smoker #1 and Bee Smoker #2. They are 9"H X5"W X 9"D each. It consists of two Bee Smokers, Braces, Pot Holder (remnants), Collage and Paint.

The Eyes Forget The Tears They Have Shed

Here are the items I selected to do an assemblage based on a velvet eyeglass case I recently bought.

The address house plate is one of those things that I bought without a clear idea of what I wanted to do with it. 

The background collage is made from ink dyed papers I made in a recent Shake Rag Alley workshop with Karen Robison.

Of the million cabinet cards I owned, this is the only one I have that contains a person wearing glasses. I wonder if that was a need of the process back in the day.

Nothing makes a topper better than some cocktail forks. 

Thus we have The Eyes Forget The Tears They Have Shed. It is 12"H X 9"W X 3"D. It consists of a  Round Wood Substrate, Address Plate, Cabinet Card, Eye Glass Case, Appetizer Forks, Tea Dyed Papers and Paint. The title for the piece comes from the James Russell Lowell poem What Is So Rare as a Day in June?