Song Without Words

There is soon to be one less unfinished project in my studio! Because assemblage is something new for me, I have trouble committing to projects - which means getting out the glue or nails and permanently attaching stuff. With bead embroidery, I usually know what will work. With assemblage I'm still stumbling around wondering if this glue or that paint or this paper will do what I want it to do. There is also the problem of making everything precious. If it's old, it's precious. If it's handcrafted, it's precious. An awful lot of vintage fabric and antique lace has been sold in my Etsy shop simply because I couldn't take scissors to it and use it myself!

OK! So, I've been working on this piece inspired by a tin type photo I found at the flea market last weekend. Ideas have been floating around in my head for the past week and today I made myself dive in. Here's the list of found treasures I've used so far:

A very old rusty tray - bought at a garage sale sometime in the previous decade
Tintype photo of a Victorian era couple - found at the flea market
Vintage brass flower brooch - also found at the flea market
Half a wire heart ornament - from the "valentine" table at the local thrift shop
Some drawer hardware pieces I've been hoarding
Vintage metal buttons with crowns
Old sheet music books and a 1920s dictionary
Pattern tissue paper

Store-bought necessities include:
Soft gel medium - matte
Silicone Glue
Bristle paint brushes
Smooch Spritz (not really a necessity...)

Also, water and rags to wipe things off with!

I started by sealing the tray with a coat of matte medium...

And then collaged some pattern tissue and a dictionary page to it...

Thinking it looked a little plain, I spritzed it with some Smooch Spritz in Spun Sugar...

Confession time: The Smooch spray was an impulse buy at Michaels. The jury is out on this one... not sure I'm a Smooch fan quite yet. 

After that, I got braver and started collaging layers of pattern tissue (I really love using vintage pattern tissue!!) and distressed pieces of sheet music. Totally cool...

Then I started playing around with placement ideas...
Here's an early idea (notice the tray hasn't been collaged yet) - the photo off-center, the heart cocked to one side, a layer of tea stained lace and antique wooden drawer knobs (this was before I found the cool buttons). Too busy... too cluttered.... I do love the lace and the knobs, though, and I'm keeping them close for future use.

I finally decided that the photo and heart should be centered and upright. A sweet song title was also found in one of the vintage music books - "Romance Sans Paroles" - which means "Song Without Words". Perfect!

As I was finalizing the placement, there was a corner on the tintype that was bugging me so I snipped the lower corners off! Eek! This is something the "old" me never would have done to something so "precious". Such a momentous occasion called for a photo...

While I still would like to add some lace to the piece - I am proud to announce that I committed and started gluing stuff in place! No turning back now! Here are a few shots of the nearly finished assemblage - I hope you like them :)

Just a few parting thoughts....

Antique photos are some of my very favorite "precious" items and I love this tintype photo. The people here were probably a young married couple. Not being very well-off, this was more than likely the only formal photograph they ever had taken. As I wonder who they are, their names now lost to history, I realize they are long passed. Were they happy? I hope so... Did they have a family? Where are their descendants? How did this photo come to be in a basket full of other miscellaneous ephemera at a flea market in Dubuque, IA? Why wasn't it precious enough to keep in the family? Just things I was thinking about as I worked on this piece...