You want respect?

I'll show you respect! True to my promise, here is "Respect," the final cornerstone of that societal edifice we call Marriage.  Don't know why I didn't include it in my original four, it's much more apropos than "Wisdom," don't you think?

There's really no rhyme or reason to how I choose the pieces of clipart to use (beyond compatibility of style.) There's Chinese cranes juxtaposed with nouveau florals, punctuated by 19th-century typographic ornaments. The text has to remain readable and can't be obscured too much, though I do definitely appreciate a cluttered, Victorian aesthetic. (You should see my house, ha ha.)

Tomorrow I'm going to share some of the vintage valentines (circa late 50s/early 1960s) that I found on my recent trip to my childhood home in Southern California. Some great stuff, and their copyrights have expired!! Stay tuned!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

What was I thinking?? When I was choosing which qualities to embellish that are necessary for a good marriage, why would I not pick "Respect"? (Slapping self on forehead) Must create a "Respect" graphic... immediately!

Peace Mandala

So lately I've just been sprucing up the shop and reading up on how to improve my blog, advice I seriously need. But until I begin actually showing improvement, I won't credit the people who are helping me, so I won't embarrass anybody.

After embellishing noble words with my Dover archive of Art Deco type ornaments (and deciding they'd be perfect wedding gifts,) I wanted to move on to playing with symbols. My first thought was the Om, symbol of peace and centeredness. But as you can see, the Om is a profoundly unsymmetrical figure, and somehow embellishment didn't suit it. 

I dunno; I created this

 and this,

neither of which really excited me. What do you think?

 
Anyway, I moved on to the Peace sign. I set out to do something highly decorated and ornate that would establish a working style for FeelGood Graphix. ("Get yer highly ornamented '60s hippie symbols here!") When it was done I colored it in Photoshop just to see what it would look like. I tried different backgrounds and settled on a jet black because it contrasted with the colors so beautifully. After looking at it for a while I realized it was like a mandala with blue sky in the middle and detailed decorative painting all around it, as if Mr Toad had gone on from painting his gypsy-wagon to this.

Then I decided it needed some text to make it a truly outstanding t-shirt/coffee mug/tote bag, so I ratted about in the old font cupboard and found Ziggy, a psychedelic trip from the 60s that perfectly embodied my message: "Peace is Beautiful."

 

What do you think? I think it captures the 60s vibe. Now my husband, of the Transcendental Brass Band, says it would make a good cd cover. So stay tuned, we'll see how it all shakes out.

All artwork