I am happy to share “Winter Woman,” my entry for the Papirmass / Brown Paper Bag Collage Contest, on the theme of “Landscape.” Much of my work is inspired by location and I felt a strong urge to continue with this theme when I was thinking of ideas for this project.

The contest began with an interesting premise, aside from the theme, we were paired with a fellow collagist, with whom we were to exchange collage material and include some of what our partner sent in our final work.

Our collages will be judged independently, but I thought it was a great way to create community and send/receive fun packages, since Papirmass provides a mail-based art subscription service. Many inventive illustrators follow and are featured on the Brown Paper Bag blog on Tumblr, so I was excited to be randomly matched with Bárbara Scarambone, an artist in Sao Palo, Brazil.

Sadly, the package Bárbara sent to me was lost in the mail, but I asked her for an idea list of materials that I could scavenge so that I would still be able to participate in the spirit of the contest. Three of the items she suggested are in my illustration: a city/world map, a vintage dress, and legs.

I’ve submitted my jpg to the contest and the deadline is March 15… hopefully I will have good news, but even if I don’t win, it was so much fun making this since I had taken a break from my collage style. It’s good to know I’ve still got it in me!