Sparkle Studio Chromo Collage Greeting Cards

Over the years I found that I had an affinity for making different kinds of greeting cards. I tried as often as i could to send out handmade cards for the holidays and for birthdays. Working with antique fabrics and trims for as long as I have, I incorporated textile fragments that were too small to make anything else out of, and these even sold fairly well in our antique shop. Because most of what we carried in our shop was of a French origin, I became familiar and knowledgable with chromolithography. This was a technique of art reproduction used widely in 19th c. France among other places that allowed a larger number of reproductions to be made with out the tedious element of handcoloring. Artists who traveled abroad to document other people, botanicals, animals etc., were able to share images of their journeys with a wider number of people. Also, figures and flowers were reproduced to be used by young girls as sort of paper dolls, for them to create their own fantasy world.

I bought a cache of smaller sized chromos at a flea market next to Versailles, figurines, flowers & animals, and most seemed to be from the late 19th century. This small collection has been a constant source of inspiration for me, and incorporating them into my greeting card designs was one outlet. As can be seen here, I am currently working on reproducing images from my collection and placing them on backdrops of either real settings for a slightly surreal effect, and placing them on a fabric background. I plan to make them in limited numbers, and they will be available for purchase at Sparkle Studio.

Linocut: My First Attempt, Part 1

I have been interested in trying my hand at linocuts for a while now. This is the technique of making an image by first drawing it in reverse on a linoleum block such as the one below. I purchased at the art store a few blocks to experiment with, in the same size as the cards I will be printing on for the upcoming website, 5 X 7 inches. I also picked up a set of linoleum/woodblock cutting tools, although after watching the videos at the end of this post in addition to others on YouTube, the one that seems to work the best to cut fine lines was not in my set of tools.


The idea for a greeting card that i have been tossing around for a while now was to have a cherry tree with cherry blossoms, and have a golden birdcage hanging from the tree. Sitting on the branch above would be an origami folded crane. I reversed the sketch I had come up with and drew it in pencil directly onto the linoleum block. I then carefully dug out all the spaces in between my drawing. I found that a steady hand comes in handy. I was, however, having to try all the tools to find which dug out larger areas better, and which ones enabled me to get into very narrow areas, or areas that came to a point.

So this is how my first linocut block came out. I thought to myself that printing would surely show the several times my hand slipped, or that I was struggling to cut out fine lines. When it came to printing I realized a couple of things: first, that I did not have pink paint for the flowers, nor did I have brown for the tree. And how was I going to have several different colors in one print? Then i realized that the pros had one separate block for each color. For the tree, everything but the tree would have to be cut out, then everything but the cage would be cut out, and so on. So I printed out a few using black and gold, trying to apply paint with my fingers, but also using a Brayer. So that's why this is Part 1, I have to get the right colors and perhaps clean up more off my design, etc... I'll be back!

Below is a great depiction of the process of making a linocut. Chris Ridenour is an artist that has put several videos of his linocut work on YouTube. I browsed YouTube mostly to find any tips that might make the cutting process shorter, but other than using the right tools and having a steady hand I did not experience any sort of divine enlightenment. It is, however, very helpful to see these videos and be able to watch other artists in action.

The Crane...

As I continue on this bumpy journey, I realize that i must push myself a bit harder to be consistent with blog posts. I made a verbal commitment to strive to reach my goal of one post a day, setting a small block of time to share a few thoughts. It has been two days since I caved in and FINALLY joined the facebook bandwagon, and I am wondering what I have unleashed. The bottom line is though that I am interested in reconnecting with old friends as well as making new ones, and as well as putting the talents I have out there for others to respond and react to. As I browsed my portfolio photos as well as those others that served to inspire, I came across this photo of a hat/headpiece someone created for a runway show. I loved the boldness of the design and color, but it also reminded me so much of life growing up in Hawai'i and learning how to fold the origami crane. As a young man I was asked to create a centerpiece for a family friend's wedding. I found a quite large piece of a tree that had unusually formed branches I just knew would work for what I had in mind, and I stuck the dried up tree in a large bucket of beach rocks and to it attached 1,001 red cranes that I had folded myself...somewhere there is a pic. Then, in 2004, between my sister and myself we designed a centerpiece for our annual Thanksgiving weekend party. She folded 2,004 gold origami cranes, sent them to me, and I created the dragon below. I mounted 2,000 cranes on red velvet in the shape of a dragon and the star is made with the final 4. WOW.