Hiatus... or, what I did on my summer vacation

I didn't really intend to take a summer vacation from this blog but that's truly how it has turned out. So much has happened since I last posted... here's an attempt to fill in at least some of the blanks!

We decided it was awfully quiet at our house and made the big decision to add a dog to our family. Derby arrived on "Derby Day" in May. She is a spunky, red standard poodle, growing fast! Needless to say, our home has been a very dynamic place lately.

My show at Spark Gallery in Denver was well received and lots of fun. Three of my best friends from college came for the opening reception -- traveling from Oregon, Alaska, and New Jersey to be here. I'm very grateful for their support and friendship over all these years.

The show was written up in the a new art magazine called kolaj. I'm thrilled to be included in the first issue. 

One of my collages was juried into this summer's All-Colorado exhibition at The Curtis Center for the Arts & Humanities.

As Colorado dealt with record-breaking heat and serious fires, I was in the studio working on water-influenced collages for a show at Parker Adventist Hospital's Healing Art Program in July and August. 

I've also been working on new collages for the upcoming "To Expand" exhibition at the Madden Museum. This show was scheduled to open in November... recently we were asked if we could move it forward by a month. Of course we can! So my efforts to get ready are a little more compressed than anticipated -- and I'm madly gluing away, working on the biggest collages I've ever attempted.

Throughout the summer, my graphic design work has been surprisingly busy, forcing me to rethink how to keep all the balls in the air. Still thinking!

My husband and I decided we don't use the family room much with our kids mostly gone... so we took it apart and moved the TV into our living room, a vintage 1910 Craftsman space. This required rearranging all the furniture and artwork, in several rooms! I love that we are now using the living room more though -- it's so cozy -- and the whole house seems fresher, more in tune with who we are these days. I'm lucky Jim is content with his basement studio... since my work seems to keep appropriating space!

Next we moved the computer work station, design supplies/files, my favorite "thinking" chair, and a 9 foot long table into the old family room. Now my old studio space can be used solely for art work. The two rooms adjoin and it just took some out-of-the-box thinking to realize how much sense it could make. The art room still needs a lot of organizational work (where did all these papers come from?!) but I've turned my back on that issue and am just dealing with a makeshift situation in the studio as I prepare for To Expand. After that work is done, I'll be able to return to reorganizing the spaces.

We did some traveling... My daughter and I took a trip to the LA area to visit my Mom, who is dealing with Parkinson's Disease, and my sister and her family. We also had a great visit with my stepson, Hunter, including a fun-filled beach bike ride.

Mid-August found Kelsey and I on the road again, headed to Bloomington, Indiana where she began her senior year at IU. Her car was fully loaded with clothes and IKEA furniture...brought back that scene from the intro to the "Beverly Hillbillies!" I helped with the move-in and flew home.

Then there were all the wonderful little moments -- the art openings, lectures, book club meetings at the Botanic Gardens, bike rides, walks, yoga classes, evenings on the porch, and other social niceties that rounded out the summer. It has truly flown by. I was feeling overwhelmed and needed some summer ease, so something had to go -- it was the blog!

However, I have been updating the Facebook page about my art more regularly! Please consider "liking" it... yes, that means you have to click the button at the top of the page! Then when I post new work, it will show up in your news feed. Click here to check it out.

More soon, promise. :) 

I look rather short...

... and I'm actually fairly tall, 5'9"ish!

Here's the latest photo of the constructed landscape collage, framed and ready to be delivered to its final location at Beaver Run Resort in Breckenridge, Colorado. Eventually I'll take a field trip to photograph it installed.

Above: Janice McDonald with the constructed landscape collage, enlarged and digitally printed on canvas panels (each three feet square) from scan of original paper collage triptych where each part was one foot square.

Intimate to HUGE: scaled-up collage

After the commission was approved, the original collage pieces were scanned at high resolution by Nocerino Editions. The team there works with the scan and software to adjust the colors so they will print as closely as possible to the original. This is no easy feat because of all the different types of paper I've used and the underlying 4-color rosette dot pattern from printing processes. I appreciate their perfectionism!This photo shows the collages in a color corrected light booth awaiting approval. The original pieces (stacked, at right) are compared to samples, printed out on canvas swatches (left) to test colors. Once color was approved, the image was printed at 300% onto canvas, then stretched and varnished.I picked the panels up earlier this week and took them to the framer for final finishing. Below is an image of the pieces laid out on the table at Metropolitan Frame Company, all nine feet of them. Note the hand in the photo to see scale... I had to take this photo from a stepladder! The images look great and I hope the effect will amazing once it's hung.Since this will be displayed in a public space, the three pieces are being set into one very large frame to give them even more presence and keep the three pieces from getting out of alignment with each other.Installation is probably a month or so away but I'll eventually have photos of the piece in its final location to add to this saga.

Collage finished and approved... hooray!

The triptych collage was recently approved by the art consultant and interior designer. At left is a view of the finished original collage. Each panel measures one foot by one foot.Here's a link to the last photo taken while it was underway, in the kitchen — where I'd moved everything so I could walk around three sides to mull over the collage under strong light, and add the finishing touches.Lately I've been posting more process photos to my Facebook page so if that's a good way for you to view my work, I'd love it if you'd "like" me there too. Click here to go there! I appreciate your interest.