View of the level three collage underway, a rocky scene with a waterfall. I've painted the edges of the cradled wood panels black so that some of my papers will wrap around the edge and expose a bit about the way the collage was assembled. And yes, I work with gallon-sized quantities of glue :)
Inspiration
Composed landscapes
So I set to work. I had done very simple sketches of how the landing imagery would flow upward through the space. As you climbed the stairs, different views would present themselves. Beginning with level one, walking along a stream with broad views into the distance, level two at the edge of a forest, level three passing a waterfall, level four above treeline, and level five depicting the last few boulders at the peak with views of the sky and distant landforms.
Each collage would be composed of many pieces of paper ripped from magazines and repurposed to make new landscapes from my imagination. The studio quickly became filled with piles of sifted materials! These were more detailed and more realistic than any collages I've made in the past… they needed to be wildly interesting at nine times their original size so there was a constant concern about how they would translate once enlarged.
On a quieter note...
Views of the "Overlooked Artifacts" exhibition at Spark Gallery on a quiet afternoon... There were 75 original collages, framed with UV glass and archival matting, each 12 x 9" in size and hung chronologically in a grid. This represented each day's mail from March, April, and May of 2013.
It's always great to have company in the gallery, but sometimes I look forward to a lull when I can take it all in, size it up, and think about where my work may be taking me next.
Recycling Reversal: Art of rubbish event
I'm looking forward to showing my collages and demonstrating some of my working techniques at "The Art of Rubbish," a celebration of found-object/item artwork, on Saturday, September 21st, from 10 am - 3 pm at the Aurora Central Library at 14949 E. Alameda Drive, Aurora, Colorado.Other "Rubbish" artists are Brenda Stumpf and Lily Erb.Meet the artists and work on your own art projects... more details in this Westword blog article: "Create art out of found objects at Recycling Reversal: The Art of Rubbish on Saturday."Stop by and see us... maybe make something out of "almost nothing!"