Pop-up Cards

With February comes Valentines's Day, preceded by my spouse's birthday. This year I began to experiment with pop-ups, making little Valentine cards for the grandchildren using a free pattern from Robert Sabuda's wonderful website at robertsabuda.com. After studying pictures of book artist/paper engineer Carol Barton's work I thought, "I can do this!"


Birthday Odyssey pop up accordion card

The lucky recipient is a huge mythology buff and Homer's Odyssey was a childhood favourite. Hence the theme for the Birthday Odyssey accordion card. The background ocean images are from one of my photopolymer etchings touched up with watercolour washes. The cut out images were photoshopped after I downloaded them from the British Museum website. This site has a fabulous search engine that allows you to zero in on your chosen subject with marvelous precision. The images were found on vases in the museum collection and are copyrighted to The Trustees of the British Museum.


Etched and tinted ocean images glued to card


Odysseus and his men prepare to blind Cyclops



Odysseus and the Sirens




Odysseus and Circe

The Odyssey incorporates the great love story of Odysseus and Penelope. What better theme could there be for a card for my Valentine? Pop-up Penelope!




Pop-up Penelope







The images also came from the British Museum. Note that I've blurred the handwritten note on the card.

Shadow Box: Emily, Ted and Me.

In November 2009, the Grey Bruce Youth Literacy Council hosted a shadow box fundraiser. 50 Local artists were each given a 5" x 5" box and invited to create something to be exhibited and sold during the annual Words Aloud Festival. My box turned into an accordion book.



I made a lid for the box to which I affixed an encaustic collage that included photos taken on a hike over Haworth Moor to the reputed site of Wuthering Heights and a photo transfer of Emily Bronte. This then formed the front cover of the book. A second encaustic collage was placed inside the box to form the back cover. A poem by Ted Hughes - who grew up in that part of Yorkshire formed the text.





I was delighted that the piece sold on opening night.