after reception glow

Wow... the reception at Arkell/Canajoharie library and the after-party at The Elephant Bistro were both awesome! It was great to see artist friends and former students and family and friends and meeting new folks too. Three pieces have already sold (which is an added bonus). But what is WAY more important to me is that people are so supportive and like the work that I do. I am truly grateful and feel SO fortunate to be able to pursue my creative endeavors AND have people support me in those "travels". Thank you so much everyone! And I know some other folks would have made it if they hadn't had other obligations. Man, I am blessed. I can only hope that my artwork makes the world a little happier place and that perhaps inspires others. I didn't take too many photos because I was busy, but here are some including some from The Elephant Bistro (owner Autumn and Mary Carol are in the one at the bar). I would HIGHLY recommend The Elephant Bistro to anyone visiting Canajoharie for the day. Again, thank you everyone for making it a great day! Enjoy!

Arkell/Canajoharie exhibit preview (cont'd)

Arkell/Canajoharie exhibit preview (cont'd)

Arkell/Canajoharie exhibit preview

Thought I'd post the 17 pieces which will be in the exhibit (artist's reception this Saturday from 2:00-4:00). I'll need to split-up the posts...

Edgey

I thought that some people might be interested in a brief "lesson" in collage technique. I took photos while I was creating "Delicate Rana" (i.e., the blue frog piece) to illustrate the importance of covering edges in collage. Here you see the white edge of mat board on which the collage was created. Simply by using matching paints to cover these white edges, you get a much "cleaner" look which results in more powerful impact (imho). I use a ripped off piece of a foam "brush" for best results (if you use a standard paint brush, it's more difficult to keep paint from "straying" onto the surface of the collage). Enjoy!

"Surgery"

I'm working on a somewhat larger scale piece these days. The primary element is something I cut from a canvas wall hanging that I purchased in New York City last year at a flea market. The wall hanging illustrates the internal organs of the human body and was probably used in an elementary school. Last week one night when I was working on detail cutting, I sort of cracked-up because I realized what I was doing was like some kind of weird collage surgery. Here's a photo of the "operating stage". LOL. Enjoy!

To The Power of N

Thought I would pass along this call for submissions to participate in an interesting collage event. Go to this site for more information

http://tothepowerofn.joellambeth.com/

From their website:
"The medium of collage allows for the expression of concepts, ideas and emotions through the reinterpretation and recontextualisation of an endless array of discarded and then found materials.

But what if there were only a finite amount of pieces to choose from with which to make a collage? Would two collages created by different artists using the same materials end up looking the same, or at least similar? What about ten different collages by ten different artists?

Would a thousand monkeys at a thousand typewriters all eventually write Shakespeare?"