The "Art of Rubbish" was planned as an outdoor event but, due to recent flooding in Colorado and high water in Aurora's City Center Park, it was moved into the adjacent library's community room. Art in Public Places provided the set-up (grid walls, easels, tables) which was great -- I've never shown in a festival-type format and don't own the gear associated with outdoor art exhibitions.
Traffic might've been stronger had we been outside, but the people who did seek us out seemed genuinely interested in the art and how all three participating artists were re-using found materials. Along with the artists' displays, there was a large work area filled with materials for people to experiment with.Meanwhile, I was able to demonstrate the wet working technique that I use most often in my collage-making. I had several 5 x 7" wood panels coated with black gesso that I was using to make small collage compositions. In the photo it's easy to see, by the streaks, where I have painted the matte medium that I use as my glue. By the time these are completed, all the black areas will be coated with a matte finish and look the same. As I worked, I kept thinking about how challenging it would have been to demonstrate outside... my little scraps would've been tossed about like confetti! (If I ever do outdoor demos, I'll need to think through how to incorporate lots of paperweights into my table setup or block the breeze in some manner.)It was a fun day -- thanks to all who came by -- and to the Aurora Art in Public Places commission who were so incredibly helpful and kindly provided stipends to the artists. I really enjoyed discussing my work and the larger issues of re-use and recycling with everyone. Hopefully this will be the first of many such events.
Collage Art
Recycling Reversal: Art of rubbish event
I'm looking forward to showing my collages and demonstrating some of my working techniques at "The Art of Rubbish," a celebration of found-object/item artwork, on Saturday, September 21st, from 10 am - 3 pm at the Aurora Central Library at 14949 E. Alameda Drive, Aurora, Colorado.
Other "Rubbish" artists are Brenda Stumpf and Lily Erb.Meet the artists and work on your own art projects... more details in this Westword blog article: "Create art out of found objects at Recycling Reversal: The Art of Rubbish on Saturday."Stop by and see us... maybe make something out of "almost nothing!"
Uprooted & installed again: collage commission 6
in Collage Art, Design
Well, the decision was made to uproot "Rooted Together" and move the collage to the adjacent wood-paneled wall. The wood frames it nicely but I wish the metallic lines didn't intersect the piece. If I had known it was going to be placed there, I would have made the collage as one piece, rather than on four panels.Most people will never know it wasn't intended to go there though. And the client is the ultimate "decider." Hopefully many people, strolling by, will enjoy it. This location does allow people to approach the collage more closely for a look at the details.
Finished and installed: collage commission 5
The art consultants, Noyes Art Designs, have hung the collage in the surgical waiting room as planned. Unbeknownst to them, outlets for a flat screen television were installed late in the process and the area is now compressed. I'm not happy with how it looks — the lines of the white tree trunks are confused by the adjacent white boxes. 
Still, people seeing the work for the first time at the grand opening tell me they were drawn into the work and didn't even notice.Over 7000 people attend the grand opening and most all the commissioned artists were there to discuss their work, including me. What a beautiful hospital. The views of the mountains are stunning.There is talk of adding another television, to the two already in the room, and moving the collage to the wood-covered wall about ten feet away (you can see a bit of it at right in photo). It seems that there will not be even one area of the waiting room where someone can get away from the visual stimulation of 24-hour news coverage! The wood wall also has a grid of silver detailing which I think may not relate well to the grid structure of the collage panels... But we'll see.