Inspiration
Random photos from a road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico a couple of weekends ago. It was very inspiring to visit the galleries along Canyon Road. A few details jumped out at me -- not sure what they mean, but these oddities along the way were surprising and visually intriguing. It's fun to encounter something mysterious now and then!
Over 100 artists who work in the collage and/or assemblage mediums have joined a Ning Network website to post and discuss their work. This project was begun by Cecil Touchon in association with the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction so that members of the museum's email group and community can share their work and ideas in a more multi-media environment. If you are working in these mediums (or simply interested in them), the site is a resource with nearly every kind of work imaginable.
Full disclosure: I have recently started to moderate the site and try to keep it clear of spam. (Where do all these spammers come from?!) The good part is that I'm visiting more often and seeing some really amazing work, a real treat, plus being exposed to the breadth and depth of work these artists are creating.
Here are the quick experimental cut-out collages that I did for part of the commission proposal -- really needed to see if this was something I could pull off! The test, not to scale, helped me figure out how to approach the entire scene of multiple people, pets, and the tennis ball.
The collages were just leaned up in the window seat at home so that I could get the ball up in the air for my photos. It's hard to see the black outline around each one. When installed, the collages will be mounted on a neutral gray wall and will stand out from the wall so that shadows will help to animate the scene, with some imagery falling behind others and appearing to be more distant. I'm just getting going on the final pieces... can't wait to start on the leaping dog I envision going after that ball! Fun to be working on something so whimsical. (Also challenging not to get too cute.)
While I love to work with original collage, I'm also interested in its application for reproduction and potential use in illustration and public art. So, when I heard that Keds shoes could be custom-designed, I was excited about using my imagery to create a pair. (What a fun blank canvas and certainly a good conversation starter!) The shoes arrived today and I'm really pleased with the way they turned out.
Above is the original collage, "Directions," measuring 36 x 24" that was used to create the design. Below are the resulting Keds, size 8.5. This design is available through Zazzle for order, should you want an identical pair. If you are inspired to design your own pair, please send me a link/photo so I can see your creation. Meanwhile, I'm considering my next collage-inspired design(s)!
