scrapologie

A profusion of roses

 

A profusion of pink roses bending ragged in the rain speaks to me of all gentleness and its enduring.  (The Collected Later Poems of William Carlos Williams)

 

 

 

 

She walks in beauty

 

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that's best of dark and bright,

Meet in her aspect and her eyes...

        Lord Byron, (1788-1824)

You Send Me....

 

 

Ah, love letters. I am from that era that straddled the romance of letter writing and the exciting dawn of the computer age. And though I love my PC and all it enables us to do (we wouldn't have blogs without our computers!) I still believe in the charm of an old fashioned love letter, written with flowing red ink from a gorgeous fountain pen with a golden nib, tucked away into a scented envelope and sealed with sealing wax. Take time to pen a love letter to someone you love this month - a real, old fashioned love letter with all the trimmings. They'll love it and you'll be glad you did!

And thanks for your comments, I read and appreciate each and every one! Have a great weekend!

Castles In The Air

 

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.    - Henry David Thoreau

I wanted to put this up today as an image of gentle encouragement and belief to all of you who have cherished a dream, or seen a cherished dream seemingly disintegrate. Despite the daily news of the economy's woes, in my heart, I know that bleak times cannot last forever, certainly they cannout outlast the indomitable will of the human spirit. Keep dreaming and believing and hoping for better times and don't give up on those cherished hopes. When one door closes, another one inevitably opens. The universe has some greater plan for us as a nation and for the race of humanity in general - and the change we see now is evidence of that. My wish to you is peace, courage and strength to know that better times are ahead, and an indomitable spirit that will not succumb to defeat or despair. And remember, when it is dark enough, men can see the stars. So though it may be dark all about you,focus your vision on the glimmer from even the tiniest star. For even the smallest bit of light can dispel a room full of darkness.

Love,

Ranjini

Cupids

 

 

So this is love...

   

Marie Catoinette Class

I've been asked to teach a class for the Zen Cat Gallery Social Salon here in Columbus on February 22. If you're local to the area and you love cats, you may want to check it out. The Zen Cat Gallery was established as a way for cat lovers to unite over a cause dear to them - their beloved kitty cats.  They have an online art gallery devoted to cats, a small shop and monthly cat-centric events here in town. I'll be teaching a class called "Marie Catoinette" and it's based on a paper doll template  that I downloaded from Mirkwood Designs. I have been loving these templates from Mirkwood and I think I've made atleast three of these paper dolls this month! The Marie Catoinette title refers to the classic cat temperament. The paper doll herself looks a bit more like Colombine from the story of Pierrot and Colombine. The cat image is from Lunagirl. There is something very regal about cats. The piece below is just a sample that I did up with scraps from leftover kit projects. I wish I had used something a bit more cream toned for the base of the skirt. Will have to remember that when I do the actual class project piece. I haven't yet figured out exactly which papers we'll be using for the class project, but the finished piece will look a little like this. I'm thrilled to be lending my hand to this worthy cause. 

 

 

 

Bella Notte & Amore

Call me cheesy, I'm a sucker for Disney love songs. Bella Notte from Lady and the Tramp came to mind as soon as I saw this image:

I was asked to guest design for the Creative Therapy blog and I really enjoyed it. Karen sent me a list of catalysts as a jump off point for an art inspiration project, and I chose "What's your favorite poem, and why?"

Here's my intro and the project I created in response to the catalyst - be sure to check out the other amazing inspirations from the team and if you decide to play along, you can upload your creation to the Creative Therapy Flickr group for a chance to win a RAK. (Details on the Creative Therapy blog). Thanks to Karen for letting me play along and to the team for such amazing artwork!

Ranjini Says:

I love poetry. I have loved words from the time I was very young - I learned to read early on and devoured books. I remember though being profoundly affected by poetry; Shakespeare, Tennyson, Dickinson, Frost and a host of other poets enchanted me with their works. I was charmed by beautiful words strung together in precisely the right fashion so as to evoke emotion and challenge the intellect. I have loved many poems throughout my life and even keep a notebook of my favorites, however the one that has moved me more than any other poem is one by William Butler Yeats, titled “When You Are Old”. The poem inspired me to create this work that is centered around Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in the movie “Roman Holiday”. In the movie, Audrey plays Princess Ann, a princess of an unnamed country. She is on a European tour but longs to escape the strenuous and tiresome duties of being a royal in the public eye. She decides to leave her country’s embassy to explore Rome for herself. In the course of her adventure, she cuts her hair short, meets Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), an American reporter, and finds herself. Unexpectedly, she falls in love with Joe, and he with her. Eventually she acknowledges that she must return to her royal duties and he bids her adieu. He sees her again at a Press Corps meet and greet with the Princess. During the meeting, he hands her an envelope of photos that could have ruined her dignified reputation. She expresses her love and gratitude in a hidden message to him. In the end, he walks away, wondering what may have been between them. I particularly love this movie, and everytime I read William Butler Yeats’ “When You Are Old”, I think of this movie. It is essentially a poem of unrequited love, and Yeats reminds his love that “one man loved the pilgrim soul in you”.

 

When You are Old, by William Butler Yeats

 

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,

And nodding by the fire, take down this book,

And slowly read, and dream of the soft look

Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

 

How many loved your moments of glad grace,

And loved your beauty with love false or true,

But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,

And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

 

And bending down beside the glowing bars,

Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled

And paced upon the mountains overhead

And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

 

The poem gives me chills when I read it, and I liken it to Joe’s character and to Princess Ann - who will never forget their love.

 

The poem inspired my project, titled “amore”. I created this piece by gutting out an old vintage book. I then printed a photo of Audrey Hepburn for the cover, on canvas paper. I trimmed it down to size and then applied glue and clear glitter to her bodice and hair ribbon. I added a small clear gemstone to her ring for a bit of three-dimensional bling. I used Seven Gypsies gaffer tape down the spine and sewed on a few vintage paste and rhinestone buttons. I added the words amore (Making Memories stickers) to the bottom right corner and glued the image to the cover. I added crimson seam binding (crushed by wetting and crumpling it and allowing to dry). On the inside of the book - I added a photo of Ann and Joe from Roman Holiday, the poem printed on cardstock on the facing page, and some small embellishments on either page. I took an approach of less being more as the poem and the photo speak for themselves.

 

Technique Highlight:

Printing on canvas. I used plain Office Max brand premium coated canvas, but there are better canvas papers out there if you want extra high quality. I did adjust Audrey’s image in photoshop by applying some artistic filters. I loved the dimensional and glittery look that the addition of glitter and bling added to the piece. I set my printer on a glossy paper setting when I printed the piece.

 

 

 

La Bella Maria de mi Amor

 

There are only four questions of value in life, Don Octavio. What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same: only love.

    quoted from the movie Don Juan De Marco, 1995

Melissa Frances Project Peeks - CHA

Melissa Frances has some beautiful new releases debuting at CHA. One of my favorites is this brand new collection called French Twist. I loved creating with these gorgeous papers. Here are some of my projects from the French Twist Collection, (I'll share more peeks later this week). Be sure to check out the Melissa Frances blog to view the amazing creations from the rest of the design team!

 

 

 

Here's a sweet illustration for you!