Art project, on the wing

I rarely participate in traveling/mail art projects however, every once in a while, I jump in.

While traveling in February, I had a chance to visit with artist Bonnie Ruttan who had received a passport-sized book to create artwork in and then pass along. It was so compact and interesting. It had originated in Austria, then traveled to Ireland, and now was being passed around in the US. Eventually it will (hopefully) make its way back to Kevin Geronimo Brandtner who started the project.

Inside cover of the mail art project book.

Intrigued, I decided to participate. The pages were small and had some stamps already in place as a background. Most artists were giving a nod to the passport/travel theme in their collaged responses. One of the fun things about the package was that it included a small packet of business cards and paper ephemera from artists who had participated before me, along with earlier mailing envelopes with scars and stamps.

The starting spread…

Here’s an image of what I started with and another of what my page spread looked like when completed.

My finished contribution to the project.

I included a ticket from Denver’s light rail A-Train to the airport that features a squiggle of reflective holographic security foil, plus other imagery that related to the colors and design already on the page. A nice departure from my usual work in the studio and the book is now off to its next stop in New Mexico.

Fun!

And yet another... Salvaged Elements exhibition

Soapbox collages in shadow box framing, each 10x10.” Shadows add so much!

I've loved working on the ThroughLines series of collages and plan to extend that thinking to more work eventually but, for now, I've returned to working with ideas generated from the "Unboxed" collage series that debuted in a 2016 exhibition.

This next show is coming up fast so I quickly reset the studio, put away all those beautifully ripped strips of paper, and pulled out the flattened boxes that I'd been saving for just the right moment. I've made more than two dozen collages on flattened hotel soap boxes, along with other pieces that have been on my mind since the original show of Unboxed collages. I'm still finding it really intriguing to respond to the irregular shape and fold lines with found paper elements. The collages are currently in the process of being framed.

In the past, I've made collages on flattened boxes that were first painted black and that work continues... They are such interesting shapes on their own that I'm also working on a large installation of flattened and painted boxes to animate the space in the gallery under a black metal stairway. It'll be a wall scaled collage, composed on the spot, out of black flattened boxes.I'll also be installing some experimental work on an arrangement of hangtags (the kind that typically describes clothing features). It's inspired by the racks of formica chips I used to see hanging at hardware stores. My version will be a lot more varied and freeform, with each tag hanging from its own nail and combining to whirl up one wall in its own composition. At least that's how I'm envisioning it... can't wait to see how it turns out!

I'm totally enchanted by the the very graphic nature of the papers that are being created as I'm preparing the boxes and tags with black gesso... it's bound to turn up in future work.

Salvaged Elements will be on view December 7 -28 at ReCreative Denver Gallery. I'm showing with fellow collagist Lili Francuz. If you're in the area, please come by sometime during the run of the show -- or for the opening on Friday, December 7 from 5-9pm when you can also enjoy the festive Luminariaevent associated with First Friday in Denver's Arts District on Santa Fe. (If you haven't been to ReCreative before, note that you have to walk to the back of the Creative ReUse Store to access the gallery... assuming you can get past all the potential art/maker supplies you'll encounter on the way!)

The stairway at ReCreative gallery where the “black box” installation will go…

Paint patterns on the paper protecting my work table.

Black-painted flattened box with applied collage.

ThroughLines Exhibition Opening / Views

I'm loving having this series of collages on the walls at Spark Gallery... I always gain perspective on my work by standing back and studying it.

My artist statement for the ThroughLines collages:Recurring issues can confront and confound us, occupying our thoughts. Technology distracts us with incoming stimulation. Daydreams intrude...These collages are visual riffs on all that we carry within: explorations of the processes in our minds as we address issues of bandwidth, multitasking and overwhelm—alongside goals of simplicity, mindfulness and purpose.Each collage represents a moment in time, full of multi-layered and competing thoughts, hopes, fears, dreams, and memories—all moving forward and influencing each other—glimpses of the landscape of my mind.The collages are made from ripped strips of contemporary repurposed paper using a wet working technique.

ThroughLines exhibition on a quiet evening.

For those who were unable to be at the opening of my show at Spark Gallery, click below for a quick tour of my show as installed.[embed]https://youtu.be/rcNdlxrYNq8[/embed]To see each collage in detail, view the ThroughLines: Virtual Exhibition on my website. Pour yourself a glass of wine (or beverage of choice) and see the whole show at your leisure!If you have questions or are interested in adding one of the collages to your collection, please get in touch. Cheers!

ThroughLines show prep

ThroughLines collages drying in the studio after varnish application.

Sideview: ThroughLines collages lined up and ready to box for transport to gallery.

I've been working steadily on collages for my ThroughLines show... recent weeks have included looking hard at them and making any last minute adjustments to the artwork. Then I varnish each one with a UV-resistant matte finish, adding hanging hooks/wires and title/care/inventory labels.All of the work has been sent out to be digitally captured so that I have high-resolution, color-corrected files that could be used to print the images as enlargements, should there be interest in using the work that way.It's amazing how much time goes into the unseen aspects of making art, not to mention marketing.Hanging begins on Monday. It seems odd to be able to get all the work for a whole show into just a few boxes, but all the work is small this time, just 10 x 10 x .75." Having never hung a whole show of such small work in such a large space, I'm really excited to see how it will look on the walls! As always before a show, I have a little trepidation, too -- but hopefully they will be like little jewels, drawing people in to look at them more carefully. I haven't been able to see the collages all together, with adequate white space between them, so I'll certainly enjoy studying the work from a distance once it's hung.Here's hoping some of you can drop into Spark Gallery in Denver to see the work. The show begins September 20 and runs through October 14. The opening reception is Friday, September 21 from 6-9pm. You're invited! And if you can't make it, I'll be updating my website prior to the show opening so that you'll be able to view the finished series there.