… Twice More

PAST  GLAMOUR

PURA  LOCURA

° ° ° ° °

After setting up the last posts’ tillandsia photos I wasn’t quite ready to move on. I had to see how these diverse air plants could be used to complement, or accessorize, two faces. I chose two wooden masks from my collection as models, purposely going for a pair that couldn’t be more opposite. One’s a razor-cheekboned glamour girl from the 1940s and the other is a grimacing nightmare apparition from Mexico. For a background I chose a rusted perforated steel panel from a neighbor’s backyard sale. The forms of the tillandsias — grass-like filaments, fine curlicues, floral explosion — suggested how they should relate to the faces, and I arranged them accordingly. Looking at the finished photos (see insets) they looked fine … but needed something. So, I began rooting around in the garage and found inspiration in the form of an old box of photographic slides, specifically the negatives … holding them to the light, I loved their “off” colors and seeming X-ray effect. Inspired, I went back to the computer and opened my original picture files in Photoshop, easily achieving the same negative effect by inverting them. They looked great. But not content to leave well-enough alone, I added textural effects and scratches. Now they were perfect: The glamour girl was even more haughty, not to mention phantasmagoric, and la mascara looked totally insane with its writhing serpents and staring eye (the title translates as Pure Madness).

I’m leaving tillandsias alone for now but I plan to revisit them in the future. There are just too many unusual varieties I have yet to lay my hands on, including some in colors other than shades of green. Imagine the possibilities! Tillandsias for this post were purchased from Etsy shop, PlantOddities. Click here to visit their shop, and here to visit their Facebook page for lots of great tillandsia mounting ideas!