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mixed media monday - on the shore

On the Shore - a mixed media collage by Kaija Rantakari, 2016 / vintage photo, found antique clay pipe stems, gold leaf, paper, board, vintage ribbon / www.paperiaarre.com Some of my mudlarking finds already put into use! While eyeing the Thames foreshore littered with clay pipe stems I made the decision to bring home a ton. I knew if I only picked up a few I'd end up using them on anything. Having a large quantity lowers the threshold of putting the finds into use remarkably. It also opens up the possibility of creating mixed media pieces using a ton at once, which I love! Today's On the Shore piece is a very small one, but I still get a certain satisfaction in the repetition made possible by using multiples. I know I'll end up making something larger with even more pipe stems once the holiday season is over.

On the Shore - a mixed media collage by Kaija Rantakari, 2016 / vintage photo, found antique clay pipe stems, gold leaf, paper, board, vintage ribbon / www.paperiaarre.com

(vintage photo, found antique clay pipe stems, gold leaf, paper, board, vintage ribbon)

7x12,7x1,1cm  /  2.8"x5"x0.4"

for sale here

On the Shore - a mixed media collage by Kaija Rantakari, 2016 / vintage photo, found antique clay pipe stems, gold leaf, paper, board, vintage ribbon / www.paperiaarre.com

I was happy to find just the photo for this piece in my collection - these two lovely ladies on a shore are just the perfect pairing for the finds I brought home from one, and the sepia tones go hand in hand with the river's.

On the Shore - a mixed media collage by Kaija Rantakari, 2016 / vintage photo, found antique clay pipe stems, gold leaf, paper, board, vintage ribbon / www.paperiaarre.com

There's something very pleasing about the pipe stems; each bit is different, more or less worn by the tides, more or less stained by the Thames mud (some clean off-white, some marbled blue, some orange-y brown), and the clay surface at once smooth and porous. At the bottom of the river shards of gorgeously painted pottery intermingle with the equivalent of modern day cigarette butts (and a ton of other junk + the occasional treasure). The pipes and the broken dishes are both of the same clay origin, but on the scale of femininity and masculinity they are worlds away. It's likely a lot of these pipe stems came from the pipes of men at work and the painted pottery from a woman's kitchen. In the centuries these pipe stems have spent in the river the world has changed a lot and the worlds of men and women have (thankfully!) begun to merge at a fast rate. Traditionally gilt rims were seen on the finer dishware, but I decided to add thin gilt rings around these found pipe stems. Perhaps as an attempt to bridge the gap between the femininity and masculinity, and the world now and then - perhaps simply because I find the combination of that beautiful off-white clay and gold leaf gilding just plain charming.

On the Shore - a mixed media collage by Kaija Rantakari, 2016 / vintage photo, found antique clay pipe stems, gold leaf, paper, board, vintage ribbon / www.paperiaarre.com

I hope to have an extra London blog post up for you in a day or two, and on Thursday it's time for those bunny books I promised, so do come back soon!