creative
Here is another process photo of the collage I've been working on.Happily, it's now finished and in the varnishing stage, bound for the Spark Gallery Members' Show opening in January.This photo was snapped in my new workspace, just now coming together. More on that in the New Year -- here's to a spectacularly creative 2012!
The wonderful windows in my studio are not as conducive to photography as they are to the creative spirit, but you can hopefully get the idea of where the "Nodes" collage is going as the layers and elements accumulate!
I've made a commitment to spend more time on creative pursuits in 2011. Here's what I'm thinking about as the new year begins...
Art/Collage:
A few days ago I began gluing paper onto the largest collage support I've ever worked on — four feet by three feet! The photo shows the beginning of the first layer. Because of other commitments, I know it is a project that I'll be working on over an extended period of time! Still, nice to get it started.
Gessoing the edges of supports for a triptych of collages, each 18 x 18 x 2", for a residential commission.
Mulling over ideas for a exhibit in intimate space where I'd like to show more casual collage studies.
Collecting materials to revisit the "Jottings" series.
Art/Business:
Thinking creatively about how best to get the work "out there" this year. Considering submitting work for publication online. Researching online venues. Exploring and enjoying social media.
Art/Studio:
Considering how best to share space between my design practice and my artistic explorations as both evolve. Experimenting with how to "file" raw materials for use in specific series. Purging. Simplifying.
Art/Life:
Going to see more art this year and meet more artists. (Excited about upcoming quick trip to San Francisco where I will get to see the Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces from the Musée d’Orsay exhibit at the de Young Museum.) Establishing local collage group, a front range group that would be affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Collage Society. (Get in touch if local and interested.)
Oh, and I also have a graphic design practice to maintain... :)
You'll be hearing more about all these plans/concerns/delights as the year unfolds -- here's to a creative 2011!
Let me preface this post by saying that we live in a neighborhood that takes Halloween VERY seriously... On a typical Halloween we will have 300-400 costumed kids stopping by between 5:30 and 7:30pm, the official end of trick-or-treating. (After which, the adults on our block usually have a party!)
Thought it would be fun to show you the extra-large monster masks that Jim and I made way back in 2003...
I notice that the book we used as a papier/cloth-mache construction reference, Simple Screamer by Dan Reeder, is now out of print. It's a good instruction manual for such a project, if you can find a copy. (Note that I designed my mask to accommodate potential eating/drinking while Jim opted for architecturally ornamental teeth! To each his own.)
Construction of the masks took several evenings, plus quite a bit of drying time, not to mention more time for details like making and baking clay teeth, then painting the masks. It was a great, fun, messy project! Hard to believe we were doing all this in our teeny-tiny kitchen (a truly amazing auxiliary creative space)! I think I'd better go up to the attic and pull them out for an encore appearance this year...
Here are some of the stages... double click to see more details. And here's to a wildly creative Halloween!
