A Noteworthy Magazine

I just came across a blog about "Taxi" magazine. It was a fashion mag in the 1980's that had the most interesting articles and fabulous visuals. As soon as I can dig them out of storage, I will post some of the photos.

Creating Collage, Assemblage and Photomontage

Collage and assemblage art are compositions of various elements such as paper, wood, fabric, leaves (and most any other object that you can imagine) pasted down with an adhesive glue or paint. Photomontage is the technique by which a composite photographic image is formed by combining images from separate photographic sources. A photomontage need not necessarily be a montage of photos; it can be photo and text, photo and color, photo and drawing.

Collage has allowed me to bring the artwork that I envision in my mind's eye to life utilizing various mediums. Artistic expression is an ongoing process that brings much fulfillment and satisfaction. It is difficult for me to imagine my life without art and the joy that it brings.

Visit my website
http://www.itsmysite.com/elusiveart

Wishing For A Jeannie Bottle

The one thing on my to do list that I simply must get around to doing is to paint my own Jeannie Bottle.

Jeannie's famous bottle was actually a special Christmas 1964 Jim Beam liquor decanter commissioned from the Wheaton Glass Company containing Beam's Choice Bourbon Whiskey. The show’s director, Gene Nelson, saw one in a liquor store and brought it to the show's creator, Sidney Sheldon. The studio prop department painted the bottle to look like an antique and the rest is history.

Yes, you too can have the bottle that we all coveted back in the sixties. Ebay always has these Jim Beam bottles up for auction. The tricky part is painting it to look like the actual bottle used on the show. There are a number of kits that are available, but I have never seen them up close. I do not know if the paint is included, but I would imagine there is some type of stencil provided. There are bottles that are already painted for sale, but they are pricey.

After writing this, I am somewhat inspired, ambitious and feeling a bit nostalgic. Please excuse me while I log onto my Ebay account.

Gifts From Nature

Very often the most satisfying posessions are not the ones that cost a week's salary or acquired from a mail order catalog. These are treasures that might be found while walking in the country or along the seashore. Each time I stumble upon a perfectly formed seashell or weathered piece of driftwood, I feel as if I have won a prize. The perfection of a pine cone or a speckled bird egg is a testimony to the artistic talent of Mother Nature.

One of my fondest memories is beachcombing in the Bahamas. The abundance of beautiful shells was amazing. My hands were so full of shells that I could not pick one more up without dropping others. I had nothing to put them in and I was about to turn around and head back to my room, when there it was, another gift from nature. A broken coconut shell had found it's way to the shore about fifteen feet away from where I stood. I retrieved it and placed my shells into this quite appropriate vessel. It looked so beautiful that the shells remain in there to this day.

Confessions Of An Addicted Collector

Buying a perfume that makes me gag because I simply had to have the bottle. Purchasing a book for the illustrations, without any interest in the literary content. Passing up bringing home an esthetically pleasing item that called to me only to wind up staying up until the wee hours hunting for it online. Sound familiar? Well, then you too have been bitten by the collecting bug. When I think about how many times I have tried to convince myself that once I owned a particular item, my addiction would be cured, I would be sated. Yeah, sure!

Is this hereditary? Has anyone discovered the gene? My father has always been an avid collector of stamps and coins. To be fair to myself, I will say that I have restrained my penchant for collecting quite a bit over the last few years. I think getting older and contemplating my own mortality has had some influence on tempering my accumulation of things. When they say, "You can't take it with you" are they speaking the truth?

I often wonder if the Pharaohs built their pyramids solely for the purpose of taking their valuables with them to the afterlife. Why leave them behind if you can own them for eternity? Makes sense to me. I most likely will not be erecting a pyramid in the near future, so which lucky individual will inherit my cherished stuff? Who will be worthy and appreciative of such riches? One of my nieces, whom I dearly love, is on the careless side. My nephew does take better care of his things, but will a person of the male gender appreciate the things that are of a more feminine style? I do spend a lot of time with my youngest niece, so I can possibly instill in her the responsibility of owning treasures.

Do you see the dilemma? I am not speaking of items that are worthy of hanging in the Louvre or being put up for auction at Sotheby's, but they are priceless to me nevertheless. I will conclude with some words of wisdom from my dearly departed grandmother..."You do not own things, they own you." (Very Zen-like coming from a Polish immigrant bubby.)