Mended Words, a new series

(Above:  Mended Words III, The Lady of Shalott.  Original late 19th century engraving, ripped and mended, collage of letters clipped from mostly vintage sources.  Stitched to an acid-free mat measuring 16" x 20".  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Years ago, Mouse House (my business) was a full service custom picture framing shop with up to fourteen on payroll.  Full-time employees enjoyed covered health insurance, paid vacation time, and over-time pay. Although we framed for just about every government agency in the state and hundreds of local companies and individuals, our specialization was actually antiquarian prints. Every week I made a trip to Charleston, picking up and delivering framing orders to all the high-end antique shops on King Street.  I had several walls in an antique mall outside of Charleston ... for twenty years.  I worked CONSTANTLY ... until I finally admitted that I wanted to be an artist "when I grew up".  That was in 2001.

 (Above:  Mended Words I, The Exiles.)

Very few people really understood why my husband and I decided to "kill" our very successful frame shop. It doesn't make much sense to downsize a business that was still growing by double-digits ... but the fact of the matter was simple:  It was killing me. My creative soul was dying!

It took two years to finish long term commitments and to help employees find suitable jobs elsewhere. It took two years for me to find a studio and get "serious" about making art.  It was a gradual transition from "full time picture framer" to "artist".  (I still frame pictures for "a living" ... but now only "part-time"!)  Eventually, I gave up the walls in the antique mall and hauled off most the antique prints to an auction house outside Washington, DC.  Yet, there are still a few half-forgotten shelves and drawers on which antiquarian prints are stacked.  Every once in a while I come across a pile ... and recently I decided to rip, mend, and collage clipped letters onto a few.  It's been a fun way to start each day.   

 (Above:  Mended Words II, Homeless.)

I've really had a great time researching quotations that seem appropriate to the engraving's subject.  For Mended Words II, Homeless I found a great statement by the musician Gustav Mahler who felt like an outsider no matter how influential and talented he was.  

 (Above:  Mended Words VI, The Confidence Broken.)

Then the next day, I found a great quotation by William Blake.  Though the engraving suggests an ideal "confidence", the ripped paper forebodes a different outcome.  Hence, I added the word "broken" to the title.

 (Above:  Mended Words V, Shakespeare.)

One morning, I spent almost an hour reading quotations from Shakespeare's many works.  It was hard to select just one for his portrait.  Finally I settled on "Words without thoughts never to Heaven go" because it implies a warning to other writers and poets.  To me, this makes sense of the ripped-and-mended engraving.


(Above:  Mended Words, The Duel.)

While reading lines from Shakespeare's plays and consulting the engravings I had, I was stumped on this scene from The Twelfth Night.  The illustration is obviously perfect for the torn paper but I didn't like any of the quotations.  Finally, I googled and found one by Toba Beta.  I admit it. I'd never heard of this Indonesian poet and fantasy syfy novelist ... but the quotation is wonderful!

 (Above:  Mended Words VII, Hamlet.)

There were plenty of quotations from Hamlet that could have been added to this engraving but I really liked the princely reference since the portrayed actor was so handsome.  Then, I noticed the name of the actor ... Edwin Booth.  Yes!  Edwin Booth was quite famous and some theatrical historians claim he was the greatest 19th century actor in the role of Hamlet.  His fame, however, was eclipsed by his younger brother John Wilkes Booth, a man who assassinated President Lincoln.  So, I added "Sic Semper Tyrannis" at the bottom.  Why?  Well, supposedly John Wilkes Booth screamed this after shooting Lincoln but more importantly in this context, it also comes from legends of the Ides of March ... from Julius Caesar, another Shakespearean play.  It means "Thus Always to Tyrants" and is the motto of the state of Virginia.  It seems fitting for a ripped engraving of Hamlet too.

(Above:  Mended Words VIII, Macbeth.)

I'm really having a great time researching Shakespearean quotations and applying them to ripped engravings.  Macbeth brought back memories from tenth grade English literature.  I've got other engraving to transform too.  I'm not really spending too much time with this series.  It is just a curiosity, a morning exercise, a way to combine literature and stitch, and I'm enjoying it!