Oenone

OENONE

One of the joys of digital art is that in the creation of one image one often finds another one inside it. My work process is actually an act of vandalism as it involves mashing up perfectly lovely digital scrap elements and papers until even their designer's no longer recognise them. This image grew out of and evolved alongside my latest William, John and Jane card. It draws no reference whatsoever from the Oenone of Greek mythology, but from a beautiful Julia Margaret Cameron Albumen print of the same name.

William, Jane & John: The Wages of Conscience

THE WAGES OF CONSCIENCE
Links to other images in this story sequence:

Another Eden
Distillation
River Street 1861: The Shadow and Solace of Temperance

William, Jane & John: The Shadow and Solace of Temperance II

THE SHADOW AND SOLACE OF TEMPERANCE
Reworked

Although I was happy with the first version of this card, as an image, I hadn't explored everything that I'd wanted about this particular episode of the story, so I've spent time re-working it. As usual, I have produced about ten versions, some close to the narrative but conveying different aspects of it through colour, such as the first two posted here. Others, I enjoy simply as images, such as the last of the three.

Credits
Background: paper developed from a photograph that I took inside the old school house in Foy, Herefordshire in 1998 and another in Lille, France in 2000.
Overlaid with:
Paper: Bohemian Krafty by Miss Vivi
Paper: Bohemian August available at Miss Crow's Magickal Emporium
Letter: Bohemian August available at Miss Crow's Magickal Emporium
Wings (recoloured): Altered Wings by Vera Lim
Keyhole: French Market by Laura Deacetis
Torso is extracted and altered from a photograph by Frantisek Drtikol
Ink Splat: The Necessities Collection ~ Note it by Lori Wiley Designs
Photo matte by Holliewood Studios
Texture overlays by Ninian available free at Flickr

William, Jane & John: Shadow and Solace

RIVER STREET: THE SHADOW AND SOLACE OF TEMPERANCE



Representing the ideals of self-control and self-denial, the Temperance Movement epitomized middle-class Victorian values. That one should at all times be in total control of oneself was of utmost importance to the Victorians...A man who indulged himself in leisure was not considered a "true man," for a "true man" denied himself pleasure and practiced self-denial. The "long pledge"...forbade anyone under the pledge oath from serving alcohol in his or her home. For the middle class, this provided serious social problems because few socialites cared to dine in someone's home and not drink wine. Also, the "long pledge" disallowed the giving or taking of sacramental wine. In lieu of these strict rules, many middle-class people who supported temperance but still wished to drink wine with their dinners, were not supportive of the teetotal movement. However, women at marrying age during this period were encouraged by teetotallers and non-teetotallers alike to only marry men who were teetotal.
Taken from The Temperance Movement and Class Struggle in Victorian England by Rebecca Smith

I'm working on another, slightly more colourful version of this image which I may post later in the week.

Credits
Backg

Art Journaling: In The Moment

IN THIS MOMENT
digital collage journal page 12ins x 12 ins

This is a first for me as hitherto, I have produced pages that I considered to be journaling in that they expressed very clearly how I felt at that particular moment but I let the image do the talking rather than words. Recently, I have begun to keep a written diary, of sorts with the intention of creating journal pages, but this one, with just a few words, is a transitional piece. Over the past two years, my partner and I have been working with a wonderful bereavement councillor who has been helping us to rebuild our lives following the loss of our daughter. This week, we discussed being in the moment which is a very challenging concept for this goal-orientated perfectionist who spends a lot of her time looking into the past.

Gone

GONE

Digital scrapbook layout 12in X 12in

The photograph is one of collection that I found in a street market at Kaunas, Lithuania. The photographer's name: J. Baksaviclaus is stamped on the back. Nothing else is known of its provenance but it would appear to have been taken before the Second World War and so I can't help but wonder what became of all those little barefoot village children and their pretty school teachers.


Credits: Most of the elements and papers, recoloured and blended are from Opal by Britt Bree and available at Pretty Scrappy. Also items from Vintage Overlays available at Miss Crow's Magickal Emporium; texture freebies by Ninian available from Flickr and commercial overlays from Digiscrap Boutique