WIPs

Finally my replacement computer arrived! Again I have Photoshop access (and with a mouse rather than a trackpad)! After eight days of thumb-twiddling I have been able to print my first Marvellous Melbourne images and thanks to Little Jack's super-long nap today (it's just gone three hours) I've assembled the shells of my first batch of Marvellous Melbourne covered journals.




The are the four 'designs' I plan to work with, but I hope to make no two the same. I didn't buy huge quantities of fabrics in order to help myself stick with that plan. After spending 2009 in frequent fits of hysterics because I could no longer buy exactly the same shade of tan/green/yellow for my W Class Cushions I'm relishing the prospect of working with whatever fabrics come my way.

I have done a lot of research into the fabrics and decor which was popular in the late Victorian era. While the Regency era at the start of the 1800s was characterised by light delicacy in dress and home, the Victorian period was about heavy clutter. This era saw the invention of new dyes which created colours never before produced along with new methods of printing fabric. The Victorians revelled in the range of options open to them and combined colours and prints with little care for subtlety or harmony. Collecting was all the rage and a stylish drawing room was one where a wide variety of curios were displayed on every surface. My Marvellous Melbourne covered journals use patterns and colours common to the Victorian drawing room.

Many of the photos I am using in this project are by German-born photographer J.W. Lindt. These photos were taken around Melbourne between 1876 and 1894. Some of my covered journals will have altered photos, some will reproduce Marvellous Melbourne more faithfully. And yes, I've even researched Australian copyright limitations on old photographs.

Speaking of old, my ninety-year-old Poppa is Glen Eira's Citizen of the Year. A true Marvellous Melburnite!