Wednesday, October 25, 2023

A Man of Industry

 Hi everyone.  It's already another middle of another week. I hope you're week is going well.

Today it's time to post another page for Neet's In Gear challenge at Art Journal Journey. I always seem to get a lot of pages made since I work on multiple pages at the same time. Not at the exact same moment, but you add something to one page and then  it needs to dry, so I start another page while waiting.  ETC.  And since we are in the last full week of the month, I want to make time to post all the pages I have yet to link up to AJJ for Neet's challenge. 

Today's page is not one of my top favorites, mainly because I think the man could have been trimmed a lot closer. Sometimes it's a tough  decision whether to trim images down to their edges or whether leaving some plain areas (around the image) will look better in the finished collage, especially since I don't always plan out my final page before I start attaching the pieces. Of course a tough decision is really a relative term since in the big scheme of things, it's not really a tough decision.

I think of this man as Hiram Whitestone. Hiram owns a factory, and he's at the age when he's starting to wonder if all the time he spends at the factory and in his office is worth it. His true love is his horses, and every day when he's sitting at his  desk making and taking phone calls, he looks at the trophy and the bronze sculpture he has on a shelf across the room.  And on the day this page is referring to, he checks the clock and sees it is only a little after 10 AM. He thinks it's going to be a long one.

The background is collages with some washi tape, some tissue paper, some scraps of paper and an assortment of images.  I used a Sharpie to outline the edge, and I also stamped the quote.

Besides his horses, Hiram also has a whole collection of cars. His factory must do pretty well. 😏 Hiram also has a son, Hiram Jr, and it is the little Hiram  that I used on my latest tag. 


I'm linking my tag up to Sandie's A  Form of Transportation challenge at Tag Tuesday.

I made my background with ink and some messy deli paper (that I painted and outlined on). I added the 2 lines of washi tape to cover a paper seam, but the car stamped images didn't stamp very well on it. Since I probably couldn't line up the stamp images again, and since the washi tape  had matte medium over it, I left it like it is. 

Hiram Jr. looks like he is either used to getting his way or that he just loves to go for rides in any one of his Dad's cars. He even got himself dressed up for the occasion. 

I hope Hiram gets some horse time and Hiram Jr. gets his ride.

That's all for me. Have a great middle of your week.


19 comments:

Tom said...

...actually I enjoy staying close to home.

Valerie-Jael said...

Beautiful journal page, so much to see. Love the and the old telephone dials, those were the days! And a wonderful tag with vintage cARS for Sandies's challenge. Haved a great day, I'm having a shaky day! Hugs, Valerie

R's Rue said...

Well done

hels said...

Good on Hiram for working hard at the factory but still making time for the horses and cars. We all need passions outside work.

Christine said...

Lovely page and tag for these coincidentally mechanical themes.

Divers and Sundry said...

I _always_ stay at home lol but it was not always so. Maybe I should adopt a bit of his attitude :)

CJ Kennedy said...

Wonderful! I bet Hiram has a cottage in Newport, too. Looking forward to the weather today and tomorrow. I hope you haven't closed up your screen porch yet

Angie's Recipes said...

How nice! I love the one with those vintage cars more.

Neet said...

Thanks for another successful entry for my theme at Art Journal Journey. This page is quite industrial with the wire mesh on the right hand side, the gears and the telephone dials. The Optical test is perfect too and the tapes everything make for a great background.
The horse looks as if it is a bronze statue and is on display along with the cup he won for something. Love the hint of a story you wove with the page and how you linked it to the tag and Hiram Jr.
Very clever in every way - both pieces.
Thank you for linking to AJJ.
Hugs, Neet xx

Iris Flavia said...

Hiram Whitestone is a wise man (I love how you create stories behind the faces always!!).
Hiram reminds me a bit of my Dad. He worked hard, had his own business. Many a weekend you found him repairing clocks, glasses etc.
He could afford some luxury, like a Mercedes Cabrio. He opened the car only after he´d left our little town, he didn´t want to appear snobby.

And Hiram´s Son reminds me of my Brother, what fab artwork-history you created!
Bro left the house (he runs the business, but very low-key due to the change in times (peeps buy online etc).
His main interest is what he loves to do!).

See... history repeats itself! Any- or everywhere! Hugs and thank you for your art to enjoy and the memories attached!

Let's Art Journal said...

Wonderful page and tag! Loving how you used all those Tim Holtz bits - gorgeous 😊. Happy wishes ❤️. Hugs, Jo x

Jeanie said...

I could never do steampunk well. I like this!

Matilde said...

Beautiful page! I regret that I noticed this theme so late...

Carola Bartz said...

You really have been busy with journaling and creating! I miss it - maybe I should just make more time for it. Your page has a lot on it and I do like the tag.

pearshapedcrafting said...

Fabulous page Erika! I love those telephone dials. Super tag too! Hugs, Chrisx

Aimeslee Winans said...

Two very thoughtful collages, Erika. My vote is on Junior being a willful sort, lol. Hope your weekend is nice, xoxo

pinky said...

Oh that journal page is amazing Erika and all ties together beautifully. I love your tag, made me smile instantly. Reminds of boring Sundays when the kids were young and wanted to go somewhere lol. Thanks so much for sharing with us at Tag Tuesday.
Pinky

Sandra Wright. said...

Wow, your tag is right up my street, delightfully vintage.
I love everything about it.
Thank you for playing along with my theme at Tag Tuesday x

Gillena Cox said...

Very nice tag

Much💛love