Inspiration
...not to mention paper of all kinds, glue, chaos, order, scraps, synchronicity, ripped edges, wild color, subtle patterns, layering, negative spaces, texture, stripes, printed napkins, forms/grids, postcards, pages of books, ribbon, cardboard, packaging, and unexpected daily "finds" to add to my collection of collage ingredients!
May we all find someone or something to love. I am grateful to have found both.
Lawrence Argent's Red Rabbit
Landing at the airport in Sacramento, California this week, I was surprised to be exiting my flight into a new-to-me terminal with lots of public art. I've just finished reading an extensive article about the new art pieces that have been installed. Lots of great photos and information compiled by David M. Roth, the editor and publisher of Squarecylinder, is available for perusing here. I'm looking forward to further exploration later this week when I fly out of Sacramento to return home!
I'm thinking today of all I have to be grateful for and the list is long and crazy-wonderful, from great big things to fortuitous little details. There remain struggles and challenges but overall, wow, life is good.
High on my list is how thankful I am to be surrounded by a creative and supportive family of wonderful characters. Case in point: at Thanksgiving, the entire family looks forward to seeing the results of a turkey-themed watercolor tradition that my husband and stepdaughter have managed to keep alive through the years, and now, across the miles.
The turkey saga usually incorporates world or family events, particularly travel, and the potential subject matter is a much discussed topic. Last year the turkeys explored Costa Rica...
Hope you and yours will enjoy your Thanksgiving rituals and traditions, whatever they may be!
"One of the exciting things about collage is its primary use of discarded paper media which ultimately keeps it in motion, constantly changing like a chameleon. A quick look at the diversity of styles, concepts and technique found in contemporary collage proves it’s moved well beyond simply cut paper and glue.
I suspect many artists find it alluring for not only its immediacy but its unique and inherent nature to reinvent the familiar into something mysteriously new. Collage also has a long history of integrating itself in to political and cultural movements so it seems natural there’s a collage revival happening in these uncertain times."
— from an interview with "All That Remains" exhibition curator Charles Wilkin, posted to the Hyperallergic blog by Hrag Vartanian.
I couldn't agree more with the thoughts expressed in the interview. Opportunities to look at collage are increasing in galleries, museums -- and wonderfully, also online.
Collage works from the "All That Remains" show are available for viewing here. The exhibition is an international one, curated by Wilkin, and on view at Picture Farm in Brooklyn, New York through November 19, 2011.
To peruse even more collage, consider visiting the 27th Annual National Collage Society exhibition site, viewable online here. (I have one in there somewhere...)
Image above, included for its chameleon-like coloration, is: "Composure," collage on paper, 10 x 8." © 2001, Janice McDonald.