Collage by Dan

My cousin Dan is a collector of Mexican movie memorabilia (mostly posters and books) and other ephemera. So it's not surprising that when he has been up from Guadalajara to visit, he enjoys working on collages. I taught him the Jonathan Talbot technique and , of course, this has allowed him to exercise his creativity without worrying about other "messier" techniques. Dan has created some really nice collages; but I think this is one of his best. Color composition is exquisite and if you notice, he uses a depth cue which is not too common. The background is printed in a way that makes it look somewhat blurry (especially relative to the crystal clear face). This creates something akin to atmospheric gradient and enhances the depth in the piece. Enjoy!

where have I been?

Argh! I have really been neglecting this blog over the past weeks. The problem is that I am on sabbatical. You might think that this is a good thing, and at some level it is of course. I am working on a book (a textbook perhaps) about research design. It's pretty dry stuff indeed. It has turned out to be much more difficult writing it than I had anticipated. But probably the biggest problem for me in terms of artwork is that my work day (and work week) is very open-ended. There's not much of a defined end to my day or week so that I can say at some point, "Cool, it's time to create some art!" As most of us are aware, creating art and playing music are the first casualties of a busy "work" or family schedule. Fortunately, these "problems" happen to coincide with what I am perceiving as a natural break point in my work. I have had a very satisfying and successful couple of years. But I do have a little something to share in terms of a new image. My mother-in-law went with us to Italy recently and loved it. For her birthday (today), I decided to do a souvenir-type collage. I think she'll like it. Enjoy!

from the sea

On Friday evening after dinner, MC, Dan Sue and I sat down and poured over the sea glass and tumbled stones we brought home from Italy. We each "designed some jewelry pieces" (nothing was fixed) and shared with each other our favorites. It's almost like jewelry collage. What a fun time! Enjoy!