G is for Gymnast

Sometimes I agonize over a collage for far too long and still am not happy with the results.  Other times a collage comes together as easily as hitting a home run.  What?  You don't think it's easy to hit a home run?  OK, maybe it's not.  And yes, I know I'm mixing sports analogies here.  But if you've ever played baseball (or softball), or even just watched a game, you know almost instantaneously when that bat has connected perfectly with the ball.  The batter's swing appears to be effortless.  The ball takes off at an optimal arc.  And you just know that baby is going over the fence.

This collage was kind of like that.

It started with the perfect pitch:  an 1897 magazine article (with awesome photos) on the training of professional gymnasts.

The magazine images connected perfectly with a "G" card from a 1938 game called Quick Wit.  G?  Gymnastics!  Anything with legs?  My fabulous gymnast doing a one-armed hand stand.  (I didn't get a scan of the complete "G" card I used, so here's a sample of an "O" card.)

An effortless swing through my vintage ephemera netted a graphic from a 1942 math textbook.  It showed a group of children playing a bean bag game (G!  Game!).  Turned upside down, the circular image made a perfect mat for my gymnast to balance on.  And hey!  More legs!

Finally, to put my collage over the fence: a bingo card with the exact same yellow and red tones as the other images.

Home run!

As I leisurely round the bases, I have time to tell you that the style of this collage was inspired by Randel Plowman, collage artist and author of The Collage Workbook: How to Get Started and Stay Inspired.  It's one of my go-to collage art books and never fails to energize me.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go out there and swing for the fences.