Seeking a Brain

I finished this piece last night. It's the latest in the "Seeking a Brain" series that has emerged from my studio. Each of the pieces in this series includes an image of Ray Bolger, the actor who played the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz. Years ago, I came across a full page of small images of him (needing lots of micro-cutting) in various dance poses in Life magazine. This piece is small format (obviously from the size of my thumb), and I have framed it without a mat (for effect). The piece is entitled, "Finally Arrived at The Emerald City Laser (Seeking a Brain #9)". The title is collage-like itself, as the strike out of "city" is intentional (an allusion to The Emerald City, of course) and the inclusion of a subtitle. It'll take some effort to inform a curator about the intentional nature of the entire title. 

I think it's worth mentioning a couple of technical aspects of the creation of this piece as well. This is the interstellar base image that serves as the background of the piece. As you can see, the "laser" is actually a green line that was part of the original image (I think it indicated the area that was enlarged in a later photograph... not sure).

 

When I used the entire intact image, it resulted in an area in the lower right hand portion that was too "bright" for the composition, in my mind. So I had to carefully cut that portion out and replace it with a darker area of the same interstellar image. But I also thought it was important to maintain the reddish-orange aspect of the image. Here's what it looked like before I "doctored" it to give a darker image in the lower right "window"...

And again, the final piece...

Details are important ;-)

Finished?

 A couple of posts ago, I claimed that I had finished this piece. And I was quite pleased with it. BUT, when I sprayed it with the UV varnish I use on my work, somehow it created two tiny bubbles (I think). I tried to gently fix it, but it just didn't work.

Here's the blemish; just above the green semi-circle on the right...

Was it really that noticeable to the viewer? It was to me. My friend and fellow artist, David Oster, saw it immediately. SOoo... what to do. I knew if I tried "fixing it" by picking at it, I would make matters worse. I was bummed. So I played around with some "cover up" elements that I might add. Here's how I ended-up covering the blemish. It changes the composition quite significantly. I like it though. I'm just a bit concerned now, that the balance isn't quite right. But I have it matted and framed, and will probably leave it the way it is.

Here's a photo of it framed in the "bulky" black frame that I think is good for the piece. I wish the photo of the collage turned out better. Not sure why the glass made the artwork so much out of focus. BTW, the dimensions are 10" x 6.5".

Art and mortality

On December 31, 2014, I posted an entry for this blog about the concept that every artist will create a "last piece" before they pass away. It was prompted by the sudden passing of an artist friend of mine from a massive heart attack on Thanksgiving day while making dinner for his family. I was reminded of that post again this week, because there was an estate sale of an artist acquaintance of mine -- Sandra DeVisser -- who had passed away last year. Her house was absolutely FULL of beautiful artwork -- mostly hers, but others' art as well. Sandra was such a prolific art creator. I had previously bought a piece of hers, and was always impressed with her beautiful mixed media work. She was SO talented and had a beautiful artistic "voice". She touched many lives as a community art teacher at Munson (formerly Munson Williams Proctor Art Museum). Today was the second day of the estate sale, and there were still hundreds of her pieces hanging on the walls and stacked in various rooms. It is sad to think of what will become of all these creations. Here's just a small sample of what was in the house...

In addition to purchasing a number of metal frames, I ended up buying a small piece of hers, and another piece by John Loy, who also recently passed away. John always came to my openings, and he was always encouraging of my artistic efforts. May both Sandra and John rest in peace... knowing that they both had such a positive and beautiful impact on me, and the entire artistic community in central New York.

Sandra DeVisser

John Loy

Heartfelt "thank you"!

 I started this blog in 2010, after learning the "glueless" collage technique from my art mentor and friend, Jonathan Talbot. I have enjoyed posting my works-in-progress, as well as my finished pieces. And I hope that my writing has provided some of the viewers some form of entertainment or instruction. This year, my views have gone from a couple dozen a day, to hundreds (and sometimes thousands) per day. I realize that some of the views may be the result of bot activity; but I also sense that more people are showing genuine interest. Yesterday, the lifetime views of this blog surpassed half a million. I am grateful for the fact that some folks are interested. So I want to express a simply, heartfelt "thank you"!

Finishing and starting

Well... I finished what had been another ongoing project the other night. I was not going to post an image of it until it was in the frame (because the frame is an important part of it). But I am waiting to get a mat cut (I don't do my own matting); so I thought I would post the image now...

Yes, this composition is a bit of a departure from what I typically do. The base image is from a book about steam power from the early 1900s. I love the intricate mechanical detail, and the clarity of the image.

So, since this was the last project that was "in the works"; it was a great time to clean-up my work area a little bit and start playing with other elements that I have been collecting. These are some of the combinations I was having fun with last night...

And I was also playing a little with these elements, and took a photograph. I LOVE the way the shadows are adding to this "composition". It is not literally a collage (and I can't capture anything physical with the shadows), but I love the image...

And this begins, the start of more potential projects in my studio! Who knows if anything I was experimenting with last night, will materialize into a finished product. But I love the exploration! Here a shot of the studio table from last night's activities...

Finished pieces

I had posted this image previously. I had been working on it for a while. I thought that it needed another element on the right side; but was kind of stuck on what it should be. I experimented with a number of elements, but nothing seemed to be working. It was actually weighing heavy on my mind. 

Yesterday, after finishing this piece (as a way to "move forward")...

... I finally found an element that seemed to work. So I finished it! I feel good about the way it worked out. Great color "pop", I think.

The working totle for it, is "Envisioning Beauty" (11" x 14" framed). The other one is entitled, "An Eye for an Eye, for an Eye" (8" x 10" framed).

  

Re-discovery

A coupkle days ago, I was going through a bunch of materials I had put in a map drawer years ago. I ended-up re-discovering this little gem...

It's titled, "The Orphan"... although the clothes that this young girl (or boy) is wearing certainly doesn't look like anything an "orphan" would be wearing (not to mention having a dog). Because I am still struggling with what to do with the main project I am working on right now, I decided to "play" with this image, and some of the scraps that I have laying around my primary work space. I started with this addition...

Then, I added a couple "accents"...

I felt that the semi-circle on the right was a bit too bright, so I tried some other reds. I finally found another piece that came from the same source as the red area on the left. I also shifted the vertical element slightly. I think shifting it has made it more compelling because of the interaction of the eye of the orphan, and because it "opens up" the dog's face a bit more. Not sure if this will be the final composition, but it's getting close to being done.

Fruits of our labor

It's always nice when a piece of my work gets accepted into an exhibition. The annual arts festival at Munson Museum of Art features many of the best local artists in the Utica area. The festival coincides with the annual 15K Boilermaker Road Race -- which is probably the biggest community event of the year. The art event used to be the "Annual Sidewalk Show" and they would have the artwork hung outside. I had a watercolor painting in that event years ago. But having collage work out in the hot summer weather, doesn't really work. They now have the event inside the museum; so I have submitted and gotten accepted in the last two years.

Visual beauty -- golf and collage

Golf season is in full swing (pun intended), and the weather has been splendid. So what does this have to do with collage? Well, I am spending more time on golf courses lately, than in the studio (that's why I haven't posted in a while). But what I find interesting, is that I think there is a connection between golf and collage, at least for me, personally. Both activities involve an appreciation of visual beauty. And both involve dedication and problem-solving skills. Last week, several of my long-time friends treated me to a week-long golf and kayaking vacation in northwest Maine. I am profoundly grateful. It was beautiful (and challenging)! I do have two ongoing projects in the studio, with others waiting to emerge. But for now, I thought I would share the visual beauty that I experienced in Maine.

A "good" conundrum

Okay, so I have done some cutting, and trimming, and experimenting; and have identified the beginning of what I think is a good composition. I think these colors work very well together, and I love the dimensionality of the sketches. But I find myself at a "fork in the road" at this point. I think that inclusion of the guy's muscle portrait works well. But I also like the elements without the portrait -- and perhaps it creates even stronger dimensionality. If I don't include the head, I might place some colorful orbs within the "tentacles" of the blue field. I certainly will play with that. On the other hand, the head element is so powerful (and I don't have another one... and I don't do photocopying) and fits well with the strength of the other elements. What to do? A real conundrum. A good conundrum, to be sure. But I am feeling rather "stuck". I'm heading out of town for a week-long golf trip to Maine; so I will be away from my studio for a bit. Maybe when I get back, I will feel less torn (... then again, probably not ;-)

More science inspiration

I'm playing with another portion of the science classroom poster/map that I used for another collage I posted a while ago. So excited to explore and see what comes of this!

 

Inspired by science

 I finished this pair of pieces last night, They are entitled "Prelix Supra" and "Prelix Infra". The pieces are 3" x 5" (8" x 10" framed). The letters represent the complementary amino acids found in the double helix of DNA. In this case, the string of amino acids in each composition are unpaired (although the sequences of each individual composition is complementary to the other). That's from where the first part of the title comes -- "Prelix" (before "helix"). BTW, the small "u" in the composition represents "uracil" which is found in place of thymine in RNA translation of the DNA pairs. The "supra" and "infra" part of the title simply refers to "above" and "below", respectively. That's the arrangement of this pair that I intended (i.e., one above, and one below)

The Making of "The Sacredness of Comfort and Care" -- imspirations, parallel processing, and emergence of a collage composition

Check out my new video on YouTube about my process of making a collage...

https://youtu.be/S_gWqImwO7E?si=iva1czZcpE6RQbby 

detail follow-up

I wanted to follow-up on the last post with an illustration of the perceptual impact of subtle changes in composition. If you focus on the urchin (the spherical element) in the bottom right area of these two images, you will see the subtle shift in the position of the element. The first image shows the urchin encroaching on the golden braid. The second image, has the urchin placed so that it is not overlapping. Of course, overlap is a key cue for depth perception, so it is not surprising that the different placements suggest differences in "depth". I ultimately chose the placement in the second image, as I think it elicits the perception that "looks better" to me (and I hope, to the viewer). The bottom image is the completed collage (with the blue element adjusted to the horizontal).

Iconic

Finished this piece today. The mat dimensions are 8" x 10". I have not settled on a name for it yet; but wanted to post it because I'm excited about it.

 

Mixed feelings

On April 1st, I posted photos (and narrative) of "The Sacredness of Comfort and Care", stating that it was one of my favorite collages I have made. That is probably one of the reasons that I am now experiencing mixed feelings about its sale at the Cooperstown Art Association Gallery. I mean, I'm very happy that someone liked the piece enough to buy it: But perhaps I was not ready to "let it go". I like it too... a lot. I also have been focused on generating high-quality pieces for my upcoming two-person exhibit at The Other Side (Utica, NY), and thought that "The Sacredness..." piece would be an impressive centerpiece for that show. The last time I had a solo show there, I sold 14 pieces. I want to have a strong follow-up to that exhibit. I assume that I could perhaps borrow the piece from the new owner for that exhibit: But I am also cognizant of the fact that having a "NFS" piece means potentially less commission for the gallery (and I like to support galleries, as well). So, I can sincerely say that I am happy for the sale, and I assume that it will bring joy to the new owner. But I do have mixed feelings about it.

Another find; another kind

After finishing d.h.k., I decided to experiment a little with some elements that were laying around the studio. I decided to try some arrangements that are a bit different for me (but still in my "voice"?). These were different enough, that I thought they were worth posting. Not sure if something like these will become a finished composition, but interesting nonetheless. I have also included in this post, a beautiful red cover of a 1937 publication about contract bridge (another example of something I forgot I even had).