Talbot workshop

This weekend, Jonathan Talbot conducted a wonderful collage workshop at Utica College. I met a group of really great folks. Three of the participants made the trip from north of the border to join us. What a treat! My goal for the workshop (something Jonathan asks us to write at the beginning of the workshop) was to enjoy the synergy that emerges when a group of creative people

work individually AND as a group in this type of environment. I enjoyed the workshop VERY much. Jonathan did a great job, methinks. And the participants created a number of beautiful works! Here's the group and a couple of shots of Jonathan in action (as well as a photo of Jonathan's 3" x 3" work). Scroll down through the earlier posts to see some of the works of others. BTW, there were many other wonderful works created by other participants that I have not included (or I'd be posting for hours). Enjoy!

tress, hands and skulls

Among the many pieces that were created over the weekend, these two were a couple of my favorites. Briana Linder made the piece with the trees and the hands. What's particularly interesting about this piece (in addition to its aesthetic impact) is the fact that it is created with only two elements (reminiscent of Italian collagist Daniel Villa's work). Simple elegance, I think. Its a testament to the fact that not all collage has to be "complex" and involve many (sometimes too many) elements. Beautiful. The other piece shown here was created by Julie Angerosa, an art teacher from Vernon-Verona-Sherrill School district. Students are lucky to have her as a teacher! Julie's 3" x 3" piece shown here is beautiful. What's really cool is that she had no a priori intention to create an image suggesting a skull. That image "came out" of the smudges of white paint initially applied spontaneously. I love the contrast of the black and white with a muted palette which makes up the rest of the composition. Nice work! Enjoy!

Canadian contributions

I enjoyed meeting and interacting with everyone at the workshop this weekend. We had three guests from north of the border (from Montreal and from Toronto). I particularly liked the work of Nicole Kagan from Toronto (who is getting ready for her first solo exhibit). Nicole is a mixed media artist who uses Jonathan Talbot's transfer technique to place her photos of trees (and other images) into her compositions. Love the work! Enjoy!

The new switcheroo (as opposed to the ol' switcheroo)

During the recent collage workshop with Jonathan Talbot, we did an exercise which involved masking our work area with special tape. Once the piece is created, the tape is cut away to make a 3" x 3" composition. One of the workshop participants -- Trish Craig -- decided to see what it would look like to rotate the cut away portion and "re-apply" it around the composition. Very interesting, methinks! I love this kind of novel and creative thinking that can be shared in a workshop setting! Nice finished work as well! Enjoy!

Jonathan Talbot Workshop Day 1

Today was the first of the two-day collage workshop Jonathan Talbot is giving at Utica College. Such a joy to be part of it! He's a great artist (a "master" as some would call him) AND a great teacher! The group is comprised of a great mix of creative folks. Enjoy!

The final four

Here are the final four collages made by my students from the Psychology & Visual Arts class. They did a good job! Enjoy!

Camera man!

Enjoyed a nice chat about art and creativity with my friend Tim Fahey at the Green Onion Pub this afternoon. After our conversation, he said "Steve, I want to show you something". We went out to his car and he showed me the camera that he made... from scratch... with no plans. Talk about a work of art!!! What a beautiful piece! Mahogany with brass detailing. Simply beautiful!!! BTW Tim, thank you for supporting my artistic endeavors. It's greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

"Not a Villian"

I'm not quite sure this piece is done (perhaps I should wait before I post). When I first thought it was "done", I was still not comfortable with the lower left-hand quadrant (the green) because it seemed too "open" (although I didn't mind it). I search my studio area and found this wonderful chain. I REALLY like the inclusion f the chain, but now I am wondering if it is too "heavy" on the left. Perhaps it needs something on the upper right-hand side (or perhaps I should just leave it as it is). Either way, I will keep you posted. Just thought it would be interesting to post the process a bit. Enjoy!

Power of N... again!

I am VERY excited to announce that Joel Lambeth has posted the call for "The Power of N" collage project for this year. See more at: http://tothepowerofn.joellambeth.com/

more student work

Here are a couple more...

PSY507 student work

These are some of the 4 x 4" collages that my students made. The class is entitled "Psychology & The Visual Arts". I think they did a REALLY nice job! Enjoy!

"Choices"

Here's a new piece I did as a demonstration at the Kirkland Arts Center in Clinton, NY on Sunday. I have decided to donate it to help them in their fund-raising efforts. I entitled it "Choices" because the characters seem to have made various choices in life. Enjoy!

Kirkland Art Center "Great Continuous Collage Project"

Had a REALLY nice time yesterday at the Kirkland Art Center for the Great Continuous Collage Project! They have paper up on the walls and plenty of materials for folks to make collage. It's an on-going community event. Go try it out! See "kirklandartcenter.org" for more details. Enjoy!

The end of a blog...

Looks like I'm gonna have to close this blog down. Seems as though the copyright laws have finally caught up with me. Thanks for your interest and support over the past couple years. It's a sad day. Collage is dead.
Star date - 04-01-12