Exploratory phase

At this point, during the "lockdown" of the COVID-19 pandemic, I am still in the "cleaning out and organizing" phase of working in my "studio". My "studio" is my basement, and it is quite a sight to behold (perhaps I will post photos of that soon); in that it is quite chaotic. Some collage artists have their elements filed in drawers or envelopes by color or subject or smoother organizing system. I tend to exist in a creative world of chaos. It has served me well; and perhaps represents the "accidental" and emergent properties of my work. I like to experiment and discover or "re-discover" elements without premeditation. Anyway, I also like to simply explore -- to peruse vintage publications; to discover; to contemplate. And oftentimes, I will explore further, using the internet to learn about vintage products or people. I came across this 1947 advertisement for "Muffets" the other night.

I was particularly intrigued by the fact that the artist signed his work for this advertisement. So I looked-up "vintage Bill Fleming" using Google. I anticipated that I might not get any meaningful results -- that the artist might just be an obscure "ad man" with no notable web presence. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mr. Fleming WAS in the internet ether and that images of his vintage work are still available on posters and other products. Here is a cover he did for a pulp fiction book back in the day:

Collage... always interesting and stimulating for me... even in the clean-up, organizing, and exploratory phase!