a tradition like no other... Thoughtsgiving!

Here are the collage lapel pins I made for this year's Thoughtsgiving Day festivities at The Green Onion (Utica, NY). Featured here also is Molly; who is the only person to have all 8 lapel pins (from eight years of Thoughtsgiving). The holiday has actually been in existence for 9 years,; but their were no pins for the first year.

while weekend working

Last night and this morning, while prepping some of the eyes for the collage lapel pins I'm creating for "Thoughtsgiving", I was playing around with some collage sketching. I'm happy to say that I finished this piece this afternoon. It's entitled "On Dreams' Edge".

weekend work

This Wednesday is the 10th anniversary of a holiday I created (with the help of Brad Emmons and Jason Denman) called "Thoughtsgiving". I have written about it for this blog previously. One of the traditions that this holiday involves is my creating a bunch of lapel pin collages for people. I enjoy doing it... once it's done! It does create a bit of a stressor for me as I want to create good collages and they have been thematic in the past (i.e., I try to do duplications of related collages). This year, I think I am going to do something like this. I can find a variety of eyes and a variety of words or numbers to place in the eye. I'm kind of liking it!

comparison

The next-to-last post featured a "sketch" for a possible composition. Last night, I finished the piece. I thought it would be interesting to put the sketch next to the finished piece for comparison.

National Collage Society Annual Juried Exhibit reception

Had a really nice time at the opening reception for the NCS exhibit Thursday evening at the Cummings Gallery at Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania. It was nice to see Gretchen Bierbaum again, and to meet Will Ursprung.

tonight's sketch

This piece is not finished (as can easily be seen), but I thought I'd post it anyway. I've been trying to clean out some materials that have been laying around the studio for a while. The nautical map and the vintage image of the boy and man have both been around for over a year in my studio. I absolutely love the color of the boy and man; and I am really intrigued by the boy's expression (or lack thereof). The structure on the horizon is an ornate vase which I had prepared for the piece with the rose... but had mentioned that it was to intricate (it would have "competed" with the flowers). The women statues on the side and the borders are all from those 1870s publication The Art Journal. Such beautiful elements!
BTW, an update about my previous post... it was NOT accepted into a juried small works show at Main Street Gallery in Clifton Springs (NY). I was kind of bummed about it. I thought the piece was VERY strong; and I really wanted to show at that venue again. It's really a nice place! But I don't know... this is the second year in a row I was rejected; and I thought I had very strong pieces each year. Oh well.
Hmmm... not letting me upload the image right now. I'll post later.