Saturday, September 29, 2012

relax 'n' scraps





I was back in the studio last night and had a great time (and was productive too)! Here's a small piece (3.5 x 4.5"), the size of which was dictated by a set of small frames I got cheap at a garage sale (or auction?). I'm feeling like I can have a little more fun with these pieces as I'm not spending so much money matting and framing. The small size affords me the opportunity to experiment with some scraps I have laying around. I had the cut woman as a scrap because she was the back of another piece I used. Looking at that piece in isolation suggests that it wouldn't be too useful. When I found another scrap consisting of an aerial view of farm fields, I immediately saw the similarity in shapes and tone of the two pieces. I really liked the combination of the two. But the composition needed some contrast. I looked over at my scissors area and saw the "polyester" element sitting there. "Why not?" I thought to myself. But then it needed some balance (and perhaps color contrast). I think the final muted mauve "punch outs" did the trick. I really like the final product... and it came from "nothing but scraps". I think this was a good exercise for me and got me out of thinking that every step of a collage needs to be something "special". Enjoy!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sculpture Space CHAIRity Auction 2012

Here's a short video clip of my piece being auctioned off at the annual CHAIRity Auction to benefit Sculpture Space www.sculpturespace.org Enjoy!

Thursday, September 6, 2012

black and white with "open" space


Here's a new one I "threw together" from some elements that I enjoyed. Again, I am trying to get back to a "make what I want" approach to my compositions instead of a "I gotta put together something impressive" approach. The former is what I had been doing for years and it seemed to be working. The "down-side" of experiencing some success in the art world I think is the transformation you go through from just "doing artwork" to "trying to do something". I hope that makes some sense as I have written it. Anyway, I had had a colored element added previously for contrast, but I rather like the monochromatic image better. I think it'll look great when it's framed too. I think I will entitle this one "Score!". Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Creativity class

I'm writing this post to you from the sunny environs of my creativity class to show my students how to do a new post. Enjoy!

Monday, September 3, 2012

exploration



It has been TOO long (again) since I have been in my studio doing art. I had a very busy summer and have been concentrating on "school work" for a while now. A couple of cool projects are underway as well as the more mundane work that needs to be done. I am serving as the Chair of the Department of Psychology at Utica College now -- so that takes up additional time. But I have had some time to spend on artwork and have not really been doing it lately. I was beginning to think things like "am I done?"; "do I have more to offer?"; "am I still 'into it'"? I have also been a little intimidated lately because my studio space is such a cluttered mess. I mean, cluttered messes don't usually bother me (I think it's good for collagists), but it's been "clutterier" and messier than usual. I also have been feeling the down-side of my successes over the past couple years. I used to approach my art sessions with more 'open' feelings -- that is, a freer feeling of "just create!". Lately, I have been putting too much 'pressure' on myself to "create something GOOD". I have started a number of cool pieces that remain in my studio space "unfinished" partly because I don't want to "ruin" them; or I want to make certain I use "just the right element" next. I really think I need to just "chill out" a bit with all this stuff. These are the explanations of why I haven't been posting as much on this blog as I used to as well. I don't want my few followers to keep coming back to nothing new. Last night I spent several hours in "art space". I decided to just start doing something! None of these pieces will likely see the light of day (although I will continue with the "High octane" piece). I don't really like the other two. BUT, I thought I would post what I did ("warts and all") as documentation of my loosening-up a little bit and exploring some composition without worrying about "the next piece that will sell". I didn't do that when I started creating and I was very satisfied with many of my works (and they sold too!). So... for better or for worse, here are three things I worked on last night in my return to the studio! Enjoy!