Great minds think alike?

I admit it; and I accept it. My studio is a mess. It's an arena of chaos -- filled with lots of books, magazines, and other ephemera, old and new. I know there are other collagists who have a much more organized work space; but I actually prefer the chaos. It's a bit like the nature of my monkeybrain. And as I have written in the past (and in my most recent article for Kolaj magazine), I enjoy how my compositions emerge from the chaos -- I rarely have a preconceived notion for my collage compositions. I suspect there are other collage artists who feel similarly. And in the collage world collectively, I can only imagine the number of images and elements we collage artists consider for our compositions. It's inevitable, I suppose; but it still intrigues me when I see a collage posted on social media, that includes an element that I have seen or used before in one of my collages. This happened the other day when I saw a piece posted by fellow collagist Meikel Church. If you are not familiar with Meikel's work, you should check it out. Great stuff! The gears element that he used, is identical to what I had used in a piece I did several years ago (although I separated some of the gears). It's not surprising that we both saw the potential in this fun, mechanical element.

Steven Specht

"Freedom"

Meikel Church

"That Thing You are Not, Until You Are"

Anthony Morgan collage

 I don't know the title of this piece (or the dimensions), but I LOVE this recent piece by my friend and fellow collage artist Anthony Morgan. Great color combinations, and use of transfer images...

backgrounds and "vibes"

As I have written many times, my collage process (like others, I presume) consists of lots of experimentation. In fact, trial and "error" (and lots of it), and experimentation, is what takes up most of my time in the studio. I LOVE it! Sometimes folks are surprised when I give a presentation and tell them that the vast majority of my collage compositions are not the end-product of some pre-conceived idea that I bring with me to the studio. I consider myself to be an experimenter, and perhaps more importantly, a "recognizer". I feel that I can recognize when elements coalesce into something worth pursuing. It is then that the process of honing and detailing begin. But that occurs late in the creative process. Here is a piece I have been working on over the last couple weeks. I especially wanted to share how changes in a background element, can change the entire "vibe" of a piece. My friend and fellow collagist, Anthony Morgan, always teases me about using so much "space" in the backgrounds of my works... so I thought I would include some of the other options I've tried here (although I will probably end-up with a galactic background in the end).

"Good Advice"

Another end-of-the-year collage. The dimensions are 7" x 10". I have done some experimenting, and I think it will be surrounded with a dark blue mat. Interestingly, last night while I was doing the finishing touches, I made a "mistake" and put part of the donkey's head outside the 'mentor border'. As it turns out, I think it adds a lot to the composition (i.e., to have the nose go onto the border). Serendipity!

"Cupid '97"

 Here's the final piece. I entitled it "Cupid '97", because the base element is from a photograph from 1897 (copyrighted as well).

teaser

Well... I'm always a bit hesitant about posting any "teasers" for up-coming pieces; but I really like the way some of these "sketches" started to emerge in the studio last night... so I'm posting. Stay tuned...
 

Anthony Morgan (toenyunknown), "Say His Name: Robert McDaniels 04.13.1937"

I've written about my good friend and fellow collagist a number of times on this blog as we have done a number of collaborative projects, and have exhibited together over the years. This post is all about him though. He did this very compelling piece recently, inspired by the Black Live Matter movement. He recently showed this work at Dirty Frank's in Philadelphia, and not only did it win "Runner-Up" in the show, but he got a wonderful write-up as well. Congratulations @tonyunknown