It’s beneficial for my swirling ideas to come out—especially when they come through writing/art. I’ve made a gluebook dedicated to Catherine of Braganza and am working on one for Michal because their stories have so much too offer and are so moving. I still want to do some for other women I’ve researched.

When it came to Marie Antoinette and the other great women of her time, I saw doing their gluebooks far in the future. I really do plan on getting to their books, but they have enough research behind them…or do they? Perhaps, but it never hurts to share the goodness of Marie Antoinette!

The last couple months, I’ve dove back into Marie Antoinette’s life—rereading books and articles as well as reading other resources about her. I realized that I want to continue researching, but present my thoughts in another artistic way. For right now, I’ve decided to present my thoughts not through a gluebook but rather through a sort of museum. Perhaps a cabinet of curiosities.

Learning about what’s been considered the first museum has been fascinating. Definitions of what a cabinet of curiosities vary, but basically my definition is it’s a cool collection of things you want to display.

They started as signs as powers—you’d see objects from travels and rare finds that would start conversations. I think we’re surrounded by cabinets of curiosities. They’re all over! From our homes to workplaces, we share what we have!

The paintings by Frans Francken the Younger contain collections—including cabinets of curiosities. Here is one of my favorites:

My Work in Progress

My latest “draft”:

The messiness is part of the creative process, I promise!

Seriously, though, exploring history through art really gives historical figures another dimension.