Art & design, musing no. 1

 

I've been thinking a lot about my efforts to balance emerging art/collage interests with my long-established design practice. There have been times when I felt I could walk away from design and focus completely on collage. Then I have moments, like today, when I'm mulling over how to visually re-position a business and can't imagine not having that interaction and challenge in my life. 

I'll always think like a designer. It informs everything I do. It certainly contributes significantly to who I am as an artist. 

Balance could be wildly over-rated. Heading full-tilt in the direction of what I'm most interested in at the moment may be the best approach. One creative endeavor feeds the other. At this time of hybridization and collaboration, perhaps a renaissance approach suits me best. 

And then there's the overlap. Many of my design clients also collect my artwork, while many of my artist friends ask for design advice. My card says artist/designer. Maybe it should say artist+designer... It's all connected. 

(Photo is a pattern of light through moving tree branches, cast across a wall, just another random but visually intriguing moment in my day!)

Santa Fe road trip novelties

Random photos from a road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico a couple of weekends ago. It was very inspiring to visit the galleries along Canyon Road. A few details jumped out at me -- not sure what they mean, but these oddities along the way were surprising and visually intriguing. It's fun to encounter something mysterious now and then!  

International Society of Assemblage and Collage Artists

Over 100 artists who work in the collage and/or assemblage mediums have joined a Ning Network website to post and discuss their work. This project was begun by Cecil Touchon in association with the International Museum of Collage, Assemblage and Construction so that members of the museum's email group and community can share their work and ideas in a more multi-media environment. If you are working in these mediums (or simply interested in them), the site is a resource with nearly every kind of work imaginable.

Full disclosure: I have recently started to moderate the site and try to keep it clear of spam. (Where do all these spammers come from?!) The good part is that I'm visiting more often and seeing some really amazing work, a real treat, plus being exposed to the breadth and depth of work these artists are creating.

Experimental figurative collage

Here are the quick experimental cut-out collages that I did for part of the commission proposal -- really needed to see if this was something I could pull off! The test, not to scale, helped me figure out how to approach the entire scene of multiple people, pets, and the tennis ball. The collages were just leaned up in the window seat at home so that I could get the ball up in the air for my photos. It's hard to see the black outline around each one. When installed, the collages will be mounted on a neutral gray wall and will stand out from the wall so that shadows will help to animate the scene, with some imagery falling behind others and appearing to be more distant. I'm just getting going on the final pieces... can't wait to start on the leaping dog I envision going after that ball! Fun to be working on something so whimsical. (Also challenging not to get too cute.)