International Women's Day. Shelby Pizzarro ATC

Life Is A Song  -  ATC

Today is International Women's Day. The theme for the 2014 celebration is: “Equality for women is progress for all”. The day is a clear reminder of how far we have come...but yet we still have a long way to go. When I look back on the opportunities and resources available to my great-grandmother, grandmother, and mother I can appreciate there has been progress. But just not enough, not fast enough, and not globally enough.

"Life is a Song...Sing It", is a passage attributed to Mother Teresa I read in the Grand Circle Corporation book of quotes. It inspired this Artist Trading Card and I feel it is echos the spirit of today's celebration. We all have a unique voice and together we open doors for each other, not only on one day of the year, but every day, every year.

My life is shaped by so many women. I imagine my Muse to be a woman as well. She isn't a singular being, but rather bits and pieces of the women who have influenced my life. She has the business savvy of my maternal great-grandmother; the intelligence and forward thinking of my maternal grandmother; the fortitude of my paternal grandmother; the work ethic of my paternal aunt; and finally the nurturing compassion and sound judgement of my mother.

My Artist Trading Card is a mixture of a vintage photo, Distress Inks, and acrylic paint stencilled and rubber stamped on to the illustration board substrate.

As International Women's Day draws to a close, show your appreciation to all of the powerful, influential women who make a difference in your life. Women are inspiring. Who inspired you in Art and in Life?

Sisterhood of the Muse

Life Is A Mystery. ATC. Shelby Pizzarro

Life Is A Mystery ATC 

Mystery. I  love the word. For me, it conjures up images of smoke and mirrors, the positive and negative aspects of religious fervour, the secret of the inexplicable. Was the reason for the birth of the word in the 14th century much different from our use of it today?

Mystery spurs us on, a kind of Muse who quietly nudges us to explore, discover, and find our ultimate truth...in essence, to "know".

I chose to illustrate this line, attributed to Mother Teresa, from the Grand Circle Corporation book of quotes . The substrate for the card is illustration board. Dreamy shades of Distress Inks and acrylic paint set the background. In addition to the art paper and a wrapper from a Hershey's Kiss, I rubber stamped images using metallic acrylic paint. The thoughtful woman pondering her fate was over stamped with a Fleur-de-lis, a symbol representing wisdom, faith, and chivalry.

Our paths are many, but mystery and the search for answers and meaning in our Art and in our life, inspires us all.

Where would you be today without mystery in your life? 

Sisterhood of the Muse

Whispers In A Dream. ATC. Shelby Pizzarro

Whispers In A Dream ATC

One hundred sixty-five years ago today, the Pre‑Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded by John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Their movement was dedicated to producing compositions with grand complexities, vibrant colour, and copious detail. They had the gift of talent, technique, and the unbridled enthusiasm that only youth can enable. Reading their history was like fondly remembering an old friend. I too had the proverbial "fire in the belly" during my time at the York Academy of Arts. Rules were made to be broken. Debates were heated and passionate. Art was everything.

It was with pleasure that I saw a post by Sue Marrazzo about an ATC exhibit. The Carlisle Arts Learning Center, is hosting an exhibit of ATC's with "Home" as the theme. They are hoping to get one hundred cards to exhibit and trade. As I was looking through all things Pre‑Raphaelite,  a quote from William Morris got me thinking:

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."

I suppose as the Seasons change and Halloween approaches, I decided to take a rather macabre approach to the ATC. I have always loved William Holman Hunt's "Isabella and the Pot of Basil". The work is inspired by a narrative poem by John Keats. The ghost of Isabella's murdered love comes to her in a dream. She retrieves his head, buries it in the pot of basil, and pines for her lost love.

Whether encouraged by a ghost, a Muse, an anniversary, a Season...home and beauty...it's all in your point of view.

Sisterhood of the Muse

There Is No End. Artist Trading Card. Shelby Pizzarro

There Is No End. ATC

The closing of Summer is bittersweet. Days infused with an unrelenting heat slowly melt into clear, crisp nights and frost covered mornings that welcome the start of Autumn.

It is on early Autumn nights that my eyes gaze skyward. I always find something magical about the night. There are so many curiosities to discover. Night sets the unconscious free. To quote Vincent van Gogh: "I often think that the night is more alive and more richly coloured than the day."  I find the inspiration I need, and very often over look during the busy hours of the day.

I recently took part in an Artist Trading Card swap. The theme was "Circles".  Staring at the sky brought back memories of one of my favourite paintings, Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night. Seeing it for the first time at the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan took my breath away. But it wasn't until I made my pilgrimage to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence that I fully understood the inspiration that motivated Vincent.

The substrate is a standard manila ATC card. I found a print of The Starry Night to use as the base of the work. I am a great lover of Chinese food, and with Chinese food comes fortune cookies. The messages in the cookies are a treasure for collage artists. I pulled one from a bag of saved fortunes. It read:

"There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life."

Perfect. Was it a lucky pick or did my Muse guide me?

I followed Vincent's mystical arcs and rolling curves with the fortune. I added handmade paper and stencilled circles from a template using metallic acrylic paint.

The ATC challenge came at the perfect time. The circle moves on. Seasons...Change...but it's the passion we bring to the circle that truly imparts meaning to this thing we call "Life".

Sisterhood of the Muse

"I Was A Love Cult Priestess". ATC. Shelby Pizzarro

"I was a Love Cult Priestess" ATC

Such drama...such intrigue...The Roaring Twenties. It was a time of change from the dramatic acting of the "Silent Movies" to "Talking Pictures"...an innovation that could make or break many a career.

Looking through an old magazine from the 1920's I came across this vintage photo. It was quite daring and I felt she need to be in an equally daring setting. From the various art and handmade papers I had on my work table, thoughts of Sheena, Queen of the Jungle raced through my mind.

That "come-hither" look, the exotic papers, it all directed me to a design of a woman who was "brave, bold, and brilliant".

The image was perfect for an Artist Trading Card, also known as ATC's. For a collage artist the ATC concept is fantastic! First exhibited and traded in Switzerland in 1996 by artist M. Vänçi Stirnemann, ATC's are an extremely popular method of trading art.

My Card is on manila stock. I used hand made and art papers, tissue paper, inks, and dyes. The text was cut from various sources.

The Twenties, like today, was a time of innovation and striking change. Thankfully we have the Muse to nudge in the right direction.

Sisterhood of the Muse