This was my first effort in using diluted wallpaper paste, a way to attach papers to cloth thereby having an easier time sewing by hand and with sewing machine and allowing less rigid edges. What is nice is after the glue drys it is still possible to lift a piece of cloth....I'm always changing my mind! The center piece and the circle piece were created in part using the flour paste resist process and the result is a crackled design which I like very much. I took the photo of an oasis while watching my DVD on tv and it came out a little blurred...also turned it into sepia toned. Funny, I bought this newspaper when I was in NY about 25 years ago....the ever wonderful gifts of the collage box!
Thinking about the journey in the desert brought to mind my own traveling. We drove across this country in our twenties and for years we took family road trips. We planned ahead with reservations and all but occasionally the road and circumstances would leave us entering our destination after sunset. The gas stations lights glaring, street shadows and neon signs flashing gave a rather unnerving feeling to our road weary selves. So it was easy to wonder about the ancients traveling in the Sinai. Approaching an oasis with babies crying, animals hungry and everyone tired and thirsty. Again moving shadows, a place of safety or not? Settling into sleep and bundling for the desert cold...hoping for the morning light to chase away the fears. Actually daylight has a wonderful way of calming worries.
