Junk mail journal collage circa 12.2.11

Another of my little collage studies. All collage elements are from incoming mail on December 2nd, 2011. This one started because I liked the way the half-round closure-type sticker, at upper right, had diffused the beautiful blue color of the paper below. Then one thing led to another! There certainly is a wealth of potential collage materials arriving daily right now -- catalogs and holiday messages galore.

"Junk Mail Journal 12.2.11," contemporary paper collage, in sketchbook, 9 x 6."
© 2011, Janice McDonald.

Big possibilities

"Brilliant" and "Verdant giclees. © 2011, Janice McDonald.

I'm beginning to experiment with enlarging selected collages for reproduction as giclee prints. Here is a photo of the first two giclees that have sold, now residing in a Houston living room. I was delighted to see how well they translated from the original collages, "Brilliant" and "Verdant," and how strong the composition remains at this larger scale.

The possibilities are exciting, people who have seen them have been quite receptive, and I hope that it may allow my work to be enjoyed more widely. The collage imagery can be printed onto heavyweight watercolor paper at numerous sizes -- or onto canvas. The above giclees are 30 x 30" with deckled edges and an image area of 26 x 26," mounted in a slightly larger frame.

Tremendous thanks to uber-generous artist Ken Elliott for the encouragement to give this a try -- and to the client for purchasing the giclees and sending along the photos!

Crazy-wonderful thankfulness (with turkeys)

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...

 

Thanksgiving watercolor: turkey zipline in Costa Rica. © 2010, Jim Leggitt and Gretchen Leggitt. 

The earlier series of 15 can be seen here. Or come by to see the watercolors festooned around the dining room! Can't wait to see what they'll come up with this year. An article from Jim's blog about the tradition and process is here: Thanksgiving Watercolors: A 15-year Family Tradition.

Hope you and yours will enjoy your Thanksgiving rituals and traditions, whatever they may be! 

Contemporary collage "changing like a chameleon..."

"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.