Black Friday

It's so discouraging that people make such a big deal out of a commercially-driven shopping day. Consumption, consumption, consumption! If 10% of the people who are in constant consumption mode would turn some of their energy to PRODUCTION, I think the world would be a better place. There SO much unused creative energy in the human race. So of course, I spent my entire day in my work space. It was awesome! I decided that spending some "quality time" in my collage space would be my top priority. I ended-up finishing a piece that I had conceived earlier this week and I created another "from scratch" out of a prepped substrate that I have had hanging around for a while. I will show the finished pieces for now, but I may do another post tomorrow showing some of the intermediates for the flower portrait piece (there's some things worth discussing methinks).

Teaser question

Okay, this is a little teaser for an upcoming post (I hope). It is a philosophical question for all y'all. Is it possible to create a collage with only one element? I suppose that it depends upon your definition of "collage". Do you need at least two elements to create a collage? Input will be greatly appreciated...

intense lighting

I absolutely love this element -- it's black-and-white; it's "earthy"; it's dramatically lit; and it's surprisingly large for the subject matter. I MUST use it in a piece, of course. Last night I started with some sketches.

time to "flow"

As I get more "serious" about my artwork (actually, I really don't believe I am too much more serious... but I do care more than I used to ;-)... I have come to realize that it takes some time to get into a state of creative "flow". I have learned to be patient (although it's not always easy for me) and just "plug away" at it. Today/tonight it seemed to take a while to reach the level of "flow"... but I think it finally happened. I am really liking the sketches that I did with this B&W church pew substrate and the other elements. I will probably go with the "art woman" as the focal element (can anyone help me identify her?).... although I do like the foot too. I thought these might be "cool" enough to share now...

A blast from the past -- "1153"

This is the first piece that I ever submitted to the National Collage Society annual juried show. It was before I started this blog and I don't believe I ever posted an image of it. It was destroyed in the shipping process (by FEDEX!!!). Here is the "artist's statement" that went with the piece...

“1153”

by

Steven Specht

     This piece is inspired by the “Doomsday Clock”, created in 1947 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists in symbolic recognition of the international accumulation of atomic weaponry and the state of geopolitical equilibrium across the globe (see:www. thebulletin.org/doomsday_clock/timeline.htm). In 2002, the clock was moved from 9 minutes until midnight to 7 minutes until midnight (i.e., 11:53). According to the atomic scientists, this change was prompted by the following: “The United States rejects a series of arms control treaties and announces it will withdraw from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Terrorists seek to acquire and use nuclear and biological weapons.” It is interesting to note that in 1991, the clock was designated to be at 17 minutes before midnight. The middle panel of this piece suggests the interactions between religious and scientific/techno-logical forces which contribute to global tensions and which may actually have a common ancestry as alluded to with the iconic fish and mortality (i.e., skull) imagery.

nota bene: the sound of static may be added to enhance the impact of this piece by adjusting the volume using the small black knob at the right-hand side of the digital clock mechanism.

My friend and fellow artist Tom Nettle

A dear friend of mine (for over 30 years) is a civil servant in the field of Human Services and is also  an accomplished oil painter from Syracuse, NY. He recently saw a Van Gogh painting of the poet Eugene Boch and thought of me when he saw it. So he asked if I would "sit" for him to do some sketch studies and potentially paint a portrait of me in the style of Van Gogh's Boch piece. I was interested and willing. We discussed the fact that it might not work out. But I admire Tom's motivation and courage to try it. It may be difficult to "see" me sensorially, when he has known me personally (and "psychologically") for so many years. I'm interested in however this project turns out.

New prep

Whilst I was on the porch last night attending to the intermittent halloween visitors, I decided to start prepping (i.e., sanding) my next project. I'm going to try to do a collaged guitar body!