"Collage" project - "The Tower of Scrabble"

 Well, I wouldn't necessarily call this a "collage project"; but I guess it depends on how one would define "collage" -- which I think is always an interesting conversation. But I thought I would post this work-in-progress. After years of collecting Scrabble games at garage sales, I am "piecing together" this work. Eventually it will be called "The Tower of Scrabble". It will be a gift for my sister Debby, who is an avid scrabble player. It's been "in the works" since COVID, but I haven't been "dedicated" to it. I also had initially thought that epoxy would be the best adhesive to use for these Scrabble tiles on wood. Nope. The tiles fell off after the epoxy dried. I switched to simple wood glue, and that seems to be doing the trick (we'll see). I'm re-dedicated to getting it done; and am pretty close, I think (famous last words). I will eventually coat the entire piece with polyurethane. BTW, the paint colors are representative of the special squares on the Scrabble board (i.e., double letter; double word; triple letter; triple word).

new piece

 I have been mostly working on cleaning and re-organizing my studio space (as I have posted... it's been a major project). I was feeling in a bit of a funk today. Tired. Probably drinking too much (self medicating some stressful situations; but also having fun). Anyway, there's nothing like getting into the zone and doing some artwork to "soothe the savage soul". I had done a bunch of sketches and work on this piece in the last few weeks; but it was time to finalized. Painting the edges of the elements was essential with this piece; as the sculptural element was think paper. Also, I wanted to get the placement "just right". I'm pretty pleased with the end product (and I think this frame works wonderfully.

Vintage advertisements (probably version 4.0)

I occasionally post a set of these vintage magazine advertisements. I always enjoy seeing them as I forage for collage images. These are from a 1952 magazine (I think). Some are for foods that aren't around any more (or are very uncommon); some are "mysterious" (e.g., what is Scotty McTape planning to tape to fix the problem?); some are just plain weird. BTW, there seems to be a lot more ads to stop crying babies than what is seen in contemporary magazines. Just looking through vintage magazine is one of the pleasant "perks" of being a collage artist -- nothing to create, just a chance to enjoy visual imagery.

Cleaning and re-organizing

I have spent the last couple weeks, cleaning-up and re-organizing my studio. I tend to work best in a bit of a chaotic environment; but things were getting a little out of control. In addition, after my mother-in-law passed away, I had the good fortune of acquiring a number of metal shelving units. The shelving has REALLY helped me get things off of the basement floor, and re-stacked and organized a bit. The only thing, is that the process "took over" the space on my working tables. BUT, I recently cleared off some space, because I was dying to do some CREATING! Here are a couple sketches from this week. I am REALLY looking forward to creative production again (and I think the re-organization will help that come to fruition).

 

Ray Johnson follow-up

I am currently working on a conference paper about Ray Johnson. As part of that process, I revisited some images of some of the works that were exhibited (and I had seen) at the Matthew Marks Gallery (New York City) in 2017. This work, in particular, struck me. When you first see this two-piece artwork, it appears to be cut an "shifted". But upon closer inspection, you realize that the two pieces aren't "shifted", but rather are still aligned. The parts that were cut out, were done so that it gives the illusion of being "shifted". I think this is a bit of a testament to Johnson's genius.