Vintage Illustrations

I really enjoy old illustrations. There's something about diagrams, dictionary pictures, and old advertising images that get to me. I've been noticing a lot of items on Etsy that utilize these images. A while ago I started collecting these items in my favorites. Sushipot makes a number of items with vintage images adhered to them - above and below, light bulb pendant and pharmacy jars pendant. She also makes art blocks like this bird diagram below.

I've also taken note of SixthandElm, who woodburns images onto wooden boxes. Here is a vintage bike ad box.

A spencerian swallow box.

And a spencerian peacock with magificent plumage.

Then I started stumbling into vintage images printed onto vintage dictionary pages. I didn't even know this was a thing! Pocketwatch by BlackBaroque.

Badger by owlstudio.

Garlic by Winterberrycottage.

Octopus from VibrantWaters.

I cannot explain my adoration for frogs in suits. I found this dapper frog at numberninedream.

The rhinoceros is my most favorite animal (after canis familiaris, of course). Find this one at memorydust.

So with all that background, here's where my brain has been percolating... there is a technique to attach decals to ceramics, pottery, etc. It involves a third firing with the decal attached. For example, you can attach decals to existing ceramics, like this upcycled plate by metalandmud. The possibilities there blow my mind...

And by now we all know I can't do a post without including some Mudstuffing. The genius behind this work takes vintage graphics and alters them to his own (often delightfully bizzare) taste. Take this wood and soda fired yunomi, for instance.

Or this yunomi with the chickadee, which makes me weak in the knees.

Some of his designs are quite elaborate. This lovely teapot, for instance.

The applications of this additional level of surface decoration have been keeping me up at night. You could label your canisters, like this one from fetishghost.

Or help your utensils harken back to a simpler time with this utensil holder from dkpottery.

Okay, okay, most of you are probably thinking "but she hasn't even fired her kiln yet!" I know. Maybe this weekend, if the power looks like it won't blow out in a storm. And I would need to get the right kind of printer, and then order some decal paper. But I'm already collecting images. (I highly recommend the graphicsfairy; I have a hard time getting the pages to load, but I suspect that's due to high levels of traffic.) Today is my wedding anniversary, and despite promises that we would not buy each other gifts, my weasel left me a note in my carseat this morning, telling me to look in the trunk. He had stowed a scanner back there. (I told you I'd been percolating [and rambling] on and on about this.) I already have a few images in mind to play with - I like the idea of changing the vintage images to suit your own needs... maybe rhinos in suits...