Premature, but...

After finishing the piece that I posted yesterday and working more on finishing-up the piece I posted before that, I was experimenting with some other elements in the studio last night
, when I created this sketch. I probably shouldn't post this yet (at all), since I'm not certain it will become a finished product. BUT, I am so excited about the saturation of the colors in this piece, and by the fact that the fish elements are such a strong match with the colors of the substrate. I realize that the composition might be somewhat cliche (i.e., fish out of context), but I really like this so far. My plan is to use a transferred image of a beautiful drawing of a diatomic organism as "the sun". But as those of you who have experience with transfers know, sometimes transfers don't "work out" (and can thus actually ruin a composition). I will need to give it my best shot and see what happens; because I suspect that if it does work, it'll look really good!

Tentative title: "In the Garden of Currency"

 Once again, I have been enjoying my time in my studio, since the "oppression of the semester" has ended (submitted my grades yesterday). Here is a piece for which all of the added elements to the base etching came from pieces of one-dollar bills. The eye of the woman is the eye which appears above the pyramid on the bill. I was going to replace the light blue mat with another color (perhaps something to match the distressed color on the frame)... but it is kind of growing on me. Let me know what you think.

Emergence example

As promised, I am sharing some sketches from the past couple evenings in my studio. These photos hopefully provide some documentation about how my creative process emerges as I spend time exploring and experimenting in my creative "laboratory". As I peruse the many magazines and books I have in my studio, I come across potential elements that strike me as either interesting, beautiful or evocative. I rip out the page, or cut out the image, and it either goes "on the pile" (I have thousands of individual elements in various stacks in my studio!), or it gets coated and goes on a wire rack, or it "floats around" from tabletop to tabletop for a while. Sometimes I get to a potential element right away; sometimes the element is untouched for years. These photos show several such elements. The skull and torso/half head images were fairly recently extracted form a medical textbook (a book I was given by a fellow artist whose OB/GYN husband recently retired). The pinkish/purple element was form a science magazine (I think it's a type of pollen spore, magnified with an electron microscope?). The dark B&W photo of the buildings came from a book recently given to me by my friend Goody, from Boston. I have been experimenting with various combinations of placements with these elements (you can also see the "collage" of my studio table with other elements as well). With design considerations in mind (e.g., matching patina; depth; color complementation; linear continuation), and through a bit of trial-and-error, a working composition begins to emerge from my experimentation (from my "creative play"). Of course, then the work begins, in terms of precision cutting, final arrangement, layering of elements, and tacking down of individual elements. This particular piece is yet to be finalized, as I am considering placement of a transfer element in the center of this piece. I am a little nervous with that decision; as sometimes a transfer can be incomplete (not matter how good you are with the technique). I wouldn't want to "ruin" the piece with placement of the final image (i.e., after ALL of the prior work has been complete). I will decide soon. One of the points of this post is to convey the fact that my work is very rarely ever a result of some preconceived thought about what I want to create as a collage -- my work is most often a result of what emerges from the interplay of experimentation and evocative elements. It's almost like getting lost on a road trip, sometimes you find that some of the most enjoyable times are experienced when you get lost and come across a great "find" that wasn't planned ahead of time.

COVID update

Well, the good news is that I am alive and "well" and have managed to avoid the COVID virus thus far. My last post occurred two months ago, because I have been a bit overwhelmed with the work I had to do to manage what I think turned out being a somewhat successful semester. The school -- Utica College -- at which I teach psychology classes, did a GREAT job keeping faculty, staff and students safe (although we had 40-50 COVID cases; none of which were serious enough to require hospitalizations, because of constant testing and contact tracing). Anyway, the level of stress caused by juggling on-line and hybrid classes for close to 100 students , as well as staying healthy, was quite challenging. And I will admit, I am still grieving over the death of my sister Kathy and my "baby girl" dog Frida. In addition, one of my best friends lost both parents this summer/fall, and I lost another friend with whom I had dinner every other week (pre-COVID). Another friend of mine lost her mother to COVID; and I also found out that my graduate school advisor passed away from a brain tumor as well. Yes, so 2020 is the year that just keeps on giving <sarcasm, of course>. Too much death. In addition to that, one of my best friends and his family currently are working their way through being positive with COVID; and the guy who does my framing and his family have it as well (IT'S REAL FOLKS!). And of course, American politics has been a depressing mess. My desire to do anything creative seemed to die this fall as well (even though you might think I could find "refuge" in my creative endeavors). I have been worried about it too -- depressed really -- and that, in itself was contributing to the nadir of creativity, and the stress (a vicious cycle, as they say). BUT... more good news is... since I have completed the grading for the semester (I have just some finishing touches left), I have been down in the studio several times and feel great about exploring and creating again! I will be down there again today, of course! And I'm happy to say that I have a few sketches that might turn into finished compositions. That's a good thing -- especially now, since I am scheduled for a solo exhibit in April at 4 Elements Studio, in rica, NY!!! I only hope that COVID will be under control so that we can have an in-person exhibit. I will post some of my sketches and works in progress very soon. I hope this post finds all y'all well. Be safe, and be kind.

Update

I wanted to explain to anyone who might be concerned, why I haven't posted much recently. I started the semester and, although everything is going relatively smoothly, teaching 5 college classes during a pandemic is taking more of a mental toll on me than I had anticipated. I don't seem to have a reservoir of creative energy like I normally do. BUT, I can feel the urge start to swell, and I will soon be at it again. I am particularly buoyed by the fact that I was just notified that I will be having a solo exhibition in April-May at 4 Elements Studio in Utica, NY. I am very excited about that! So now it is imperative that I get back into my creative space. Having the golf season come to a close will also help. More to follow...soon! 

Anthony Morgan

Yet another COVID-related artwork. This collage was created by my fellow artist and dear friend Anthony Morgan; and is entitled "And the Royalty Leave the Room" (11" x 17"). Great job brother!

Quickie pareidolia

 This piece came together the other night very quickly (although I had been experimenting with the elements for a while). I really loved the beautiful "yellow-orange" patina of the upper piece. I have been a little interested lately in mechanistic elements. Even though the composition is "busy", it consists of only two elements -- I do love minimalism in collage. As you can see, it also takes advantage of "pareidolia" -- the phenomenon by which we are prone to organize our perceptions into "faces".