The International Collage Box Project...

Some of my most pleasurable swaps are the international ephemera swaps hosted by LaWendula. The Collage Box Project is one that was especially fun. A collage box travels around the world to seventeen people. When you get the box, you take out twelve pieces of ephemera and add at least twelve more. Then you create a collage and post it.

When I got the box, I started humming a song I once heard on a children's record called "Peace Is The World Smiling" so that is what I titled my collage. To be honest, I have not done a lot of collage. At all. I focused on using layers for the background, gesso first, then several kinds of tissue paper, then stamping white acrylic through some sequin waste. A whole lot of gel medium in between. (Love that stuff!) I used a Caran D'Ache crayon to go around the globe and some of the circles made by the sequin waste then worked the black in with my finger.  I also made a border of black musical Tim Holtz tape (it's about a song, right?)

On the left, we have smiling women from different countries and different eras.

On the right, we have examples of different languages, included snippets of unique computer "faces" from a German ad.

I was pretty pleased with how the background turned out. I wasn't so pleased with the pictures. They seem to "sit" on the canvas like scrapbook pictures...rather than be integrated into the whole picture.

I enjoyed the process so much. I learned something and I love mucking around with paper and goopy products. I added about twenty snippets of ephemera to the box, signed the little guest book and sent the box on to New York.

I was smiling as it went on its way.