–Making an Altered Playing Card Series —

September 27, 2026 marked the second anniversary of Helene’s slamming into the Carolinas, along with other states.  I made an altered playing cards series about the trees we lost from the storm.  The first card represents tees in fullness, then the cards progress to depict rain, wind, and the devastation to wooded areas, with the last card suggesting the burning of dead and damaged trees. Applying layers over playing cards with a black background added depth and drama to the loosely rendered images.

I enjoyed the narrative aspect to this small project and would like to try others! Below you can find my YouTube video about the process.

(Poetry Friday from my author blog.) Here are the handmade cards and poems I sent to my swap partners this year. Thanks to Tabatha Yeatts for coordinating the Summer Poem Swap!

https://www.robynhoodblack.com/blog/posts/48477

New bookmark set to help you get your semiquincentennial  celebration on! Both feature vintage eagle illustration images and original art including gel plate prints. The “250” was originally stamped from antique classroom rubber stamps. The “We the People” celebrates the US Constitution (1787) with a stenciled image and a copy of the actual Constitution in the background. Click here to see in my Etsy shop!

Catherine Rains’s “Collage Joy” online series has been great fun this spring! I’m glad to have access to the class material even after this final week is over – lots of fun tips and tricks. I’ve veered off course several times, in regard to time (traveling and work!) as well as following instructions (I do a lot of my own thing). But it’s been a blast, and Cat and her fellow leaders have been generous and wonderful. Above is a 6X6 collage featuring cools and neutrals, and an 8X8 collage (“Expectation”) featuring warms and neutrals, both matted to 12X12.

Fun “Glue and Go” collage session today with @catrains.artist as part of her online Collage Joy series this spring; this fast-paced exercise is great for those of us who, ahem, might “overthink” a bit….;0)

For the last Poetry Friday of National Poetry Month, here’s a link to my Week 4 “Poetry and Art” video featuring the making of a collaged journal cover celebrating this week’s word/theme, LIBERTY. YouTube: https://youtu.be/k5IS9ALAnDE?si=Jy27cyNA0NJKuCAZ

Such a wonderful weekend with Lynne Perrella and seven other attendees at the “Spirit Messengers” mixed media art retreat in Winchester, Tennessee. I borrowed a bunch of stencils from Lynne to use on this Bristol board triptych featuring several (copies of) antique and vintage images/manuscripts I brought. Deepest thanks to Lynne for such a soul-nourishing weekend!