Galvanized for Day of the Dead

I've been wanting to try out some different supports for collage and had some small pieces of galvanized metal in the studio... So I used a 6 x 4" piece to create a collage ofrenda to donate to A Book About Death's Day of the Dead exhibition at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center in Fort Worth, Texas, sponsored by the FluxMuseum.

"Retablo 2010" (above) has acrylic paint applied to the metal, with collage added, and was coated with a UV varnish. The collage elements seemed to adhere well to the galvanized metal and I like the very understated, industrial, sparkle. I will definitely experiment further with using metal in my work. The composition is intended to be somber, thought-provoking, and uplifting all at the same time... hope I've accomplished that in some small way!

Passionate people profile: who, me?!

I'm honored to be featured in life coach Ruth Davis' blog about Passionate People this month. Check it out... an interview including all kinds of things you may not know about me, especially how I acquired and maintain my collage habit! (Thanks, Ruth!) 

The accompanying portrait was taken in front of one of my large and early works, "Yellow Rising,"  a 36 x 24" contemporary paper collage on wood panel, a piece I considered pivotal and kept as part of my personal collection. 

The collage work that illustrates the article is representative of several different series, plus commissioned work -- more of all is available to view on my website.

Blue and white sketchbook collage explorations

I've always loved the color blue, in all its variations, and been attracted to nearly any patterned blue and white pattern/motif (as evidenced above in a quick stroll with camera through my home.) In culling materials for collage, I rarely find blue and white patterns that are large enough in scale to use in my work... but I rip them out anyway, just in case! 

I recently decided to play with the blue and white bits in my sketchbook. I painted rough swatches of black gesso across a spread and am beginning my small-scale explorations in blue and white there. The process is already giving me new ideas and directions for future, larger, pieces. I'm especially enjoying responding to the rough-edged black patches by adding collage elements and have already started another series on paper that experiments with large gessoed areas of black as a basis for further collages. 

 

Finis: subject to interpretation

Several people have asked to see the final piece that emerged from the work I wrote about in an earlier "Chaos of collage composition" blog post.Here's a better view of the collage I eventually titled, "Subject to Interpretation." Once I cleared away the chaos, it had seemed complete.I submitted it to Spark Gallery's open show this summer, "Biennial 2010: Big Themes/Small Works," juried by Jill Crow, and was pleased to be included in the show during July.The collage is 10 x 10 x 1" and is composed of contemporary recycled papers applied to a cradled wood panel. Some collage elements continue and wrap around the 1" edges so it still appears a bit differently when hung.