I feel like this piece contains my very bloodline. My French-Canadian great grandfather, the logger who couldn’t read or write, is embedded in these images. The rural setting, the rough stone tiles, the piles of firewood all contribute to his story.

This base collage has a strong diagonal presence and its own small grid from red checkered paper. Strips from my monoprints, gauze, and musical notation complete it. As I started to add digital layers, I continued the red from the checkerboard pattern, introducing texture from a red collagraph for overall color, with a touch of gray-green for balance. A golden marble composite texture brings in some glow, and my UK stone texture tones it down. Details in this piece range from a prison list of victuals, a Skagit Valley horizon, grids of tile flooring, and lichen in several forms: on bark, on trees, and on cut logs.

Digital collage © 2014 Liz Ruest, 33 layers
Part of the 2014: Building Blocks series
Based on day 032 of my daily collage project, 2013-2014