CoLLagE MIXED-MEDIA
An Exploration of Con Contempo temporar rary Contempora Cont emporar ry Artist Arti sts, s, Meth ethods ods,, and Materials
HOLLY HARRISON
MIXED-MEDIA
CoLLagE
MIXED-MEDIA
CoLLagE An Exploration of Co Cont ntem empora porary ry Artists Artists,, Methods Me thods,, and Ma Material terialss
HOLLY HARRISON
© 2007 by Quarry Books All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced reproduced in any any form without written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced reproduced with the knowledge knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted accepted by the producer, producer, publisher, or printer for for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately accurately comply with information supplied. supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have have occurred and will resolve resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book. First published in the United United States of America by Quarry Books, Books, a member member of Quayside Publishing Group 100 Cummings Center Suite 406-L Beverly,, Massachusetts 01915-6101 Beverly 01915-6101 Telephone: (978) 282-9590 282-9590 Fax: (978) 283-2742 283-2742 www.quarrybooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Harrison, Holly Holly.. Mixed-m Mix ed-media edia collage collage : an exploration exploration of cont contempora emporary ry artists, metho methods, ds, and materials materials / Holly Harrison. p. cm. ISBN 1-59253-316-7 (pbk.) 1. Co Coll llag age. e. 2. Art Artis ists ts—U —Uni nite ted d States States.. I. Ti Titl tle. e. TT910.H358 2007 702.81’2—dc22 2007004531 CIP
ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-316-9 ISBN-10: ISBN10: 1-592 1-59253-3 53-316-7 16-7
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Design: Dawn DeVries DeVries Sokol
Printed in Singapore
To my mother, Christa Harrison, who can make make somethi something ng out of nothi nothing ng better than anyone I know
and to my daughter, Mira, whose mixed-media explorations inspire me every day.
Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................8 ........................................................................................8 Collage Basics .................................................................................. ..................................................................................10 10
Section I Contemporary Profiles: An In-Depth Look at the Work of Five Contemporary Mixed-Media Artists ...................................................... Artists ......................................................12 12
Chapter 1: Engineering Art with Laurinda Bedingfield .......... ..........14 14 Chapter 2: Creating Faux Encaustics with Barbara De Pirro ............................................ ............................................26 26 Chapter 3: Exploring the Image–Word Connection with Paula Grasdal .................................................. ..................................................38 38 Chapter 4: Celebrating the Natural World World with Sharon McCartney ..........................................50 ..........................................50 Chapter 5: At Play with Teesha Moore .................................... ....................................62 62
Top to bottom: Laurinda Bedingfield, page 14; Paula Grasdal, page 38; Sharon McCartney, page 50; Teesha Teesha Moore, page 62
Top to bottom: Tracy Spadafora, Spadafora, page 110; Keith Keith Maddy, Maddy, page 104; Dorit Elisha,, page 84; Ann Elisha Annee Lewis, page 100
Section II
Gallery: A Sweeping Look at Work by Twenty Contemporary Mixed-Media Artists ...................................................... ......................................................74 74 Feature:
Collage as a Writing Tool Brainstorming with Scissors and Glue by Jennifer Crusie..........................................................78 Crusie..........................................................78 Why I Never Graduated Collage by Alisa Kwitney............................................................81 Kwitney............................................................81
Feature:
Artists and the Internet How the Internet is changing the lives of conte contempor mporary ary artists artists .............................................. ..............................................120 120
Appendixes: Photo-Transfer Techniques .......................................................... ..........................................................122 122 Encaustic Collage .......................................................................... ..........................................................................123 123 Product Resource Guide ................................................................ ................................................................124 124 Artist Directory .............................................................................. Directory ..............................................................................126 126 About the Author ............................................................................127 ............................................................................127 Acknowledgments .......................................................................... ..........................................................................128 128
Introduction
When I first started thinking about writing another book on collage, I knew there would would be some changes. chang es. For starte starters, rs, my my Collage Collage for the Soul collaboSoul collaborator,, Paula Grasdal, had moved rator moved back back to Canada, makingg the easy makin easy,, dayday-to-d to-day ay collaboratio collaboration n of that first volume an impossibility. impossibility. I also didn’t want to repeat a thematic, more project-based project-based approach approach because becau se I had already already done done it. But more more than that, I was interested in going deeper: showing more work work per artist and letting their style and techniques drive the book’s book’s content. I wanted to look more more deeply at the artistic process, process, delving into not only what inspires different people to create but how that initial spark turns into fully realized artistic expression. expression. And I wanted to find a way to comprehensively share techniques without undermining the ineffable naturee of what makes natur makes a creation creation art. I felt readers readers would be most interested in learning new forms and adapting them to their own original content, content, style, and favorite favorite materials. materials. Finally Finally,, I wanted to work work with new artists, but I also couldn’t couldn’t resist bringing bringing in some familiar voices from previous books. What developed developed was a two-part approach. In the first part of the book, book, I present present in-dept in-depth h profiles profiles of fiv fivee accomplished accom plished and inspiring inspiring artists. I sought out people working working in differ different ent media, media, some of of whom I already knew and others whom I got to know during
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the writing process. process. The profiles profiles include several pages of artwork with accompanying accompanying texts texts that explore how the artists were were inspired to create create them. They also include a photo-driven technical section in which each artist breaks down their approach into steps that detail their techniques and explain how they use the materials.. I was able materials able to interview interview the artists, inviti inviting ng them to share their thoughts on creativity, creativity, favo favorite rite materials,, their personal materials personal artistic artistic histories, histories, and their advice to people starting to explore mixed media. The second part of the book is a gallery that features the work of of twenty artists working working in a wide range range of styles with diverse materials materials and approaches. approaches. Again, the text visits the idea of how inspiration inspiration leads to creation while at the same time providing a sense of the proces processs and a handy list list of mate materials. rials. The gallery gallery texts are meant to be a guide rather than a step by step, and readers are encouraged encouraged to adapt the ideas and techniques described and make them their own. Mostt of all, both parts of the book Mos book are meant not only to explore inspiration and creativity but to incite it, to encourage readers readers to browse browse the pages in search search of ideas ideas,, tech techniqu niques, es, and images images that that will invite them to set set aside the book, roll up their sleeves, sleev es, and start making making art. —Holly Harrison
Collage Basics Techniques One of the most common common caveats shared shared by collagists is how important important your choice choice of adhesives is. is. Finding the right one is the key not only to being able to join the often wildly w ildly disparate materials mixed-media mixed-m edia encourages the use use of, but it will help guarantee that a piece is archival, archival, which is especially important if you plan to exhibit or sell your artwork. artwork. Rubber cement, for example, example, is easy to use but degrades over time time and loses its adhesion, so for something that is meant to to last, it’ it’ss a terrible choice. The best glues for paper are acid-free PVA, PVA, which dries clear and won’t won’t yellow over over time, or acrylic mediums, which dry clear, clear, allow some some repositioning, repositioning, and can add translucency translucency to lightweight lightweight papers. The latter are available in glossy glossy and matte finishes. When collaging onto a paper or board board support, you can minimize warping by coating both sides with acrylic medium as your first step.
what to expect from your materials. An alternative way to use found imagery is to use a photocopytransfer technique (see page 122) to transfer the image onto an acid-free acid-free paper or fabric, or even directly onto your your collage surface. An advantage to this method is that it retains the original image, which can be reused. reused. Some artists reference reference the same images often, creating a personal personal lexicon. Finally, to minimize fading in mixed-media mixed-media artwork, consider adding adding a coat or two of an acrylic varnish that contains a UV UV protectant. This is particularly important for pieces that include self-printed photography or ones that cannot be be framed. Always test a product you are planning to use on scrap materials firstt to see if firs if it will affect affect the the color color or sheen sheen of you yourr artwork’s surface.
Basic Supplies For heavy heavy objects, or metal and plastic pieces, pieces, you you’ll ’ll need a craft glue such as Aleene’s Tacky Glue series, E6000, or an epoxy epoxy (if you don’t don’t mind mixing mixing parts). And always consider alternative ways ways of joining materials: mate rials: Colo Colorful rful tapes, tapes, mask masking ing tape, tape, strai straight ght pins, pins, staple sta ples, s, stri string, ng, thr thread ead,, ju jute, te, wir wire, e, tac tacks, ks, gro gromme mmets, ts, and brads are all effective and also add interesting details and textures. While it’s best to use acid-free papers where possible, most found papers (newspaper (newspapers, s, magazi magazines, nes, vintag vintagee papers) aren’ aren’tt pH neutral. At best, you can try to minimize discoloration discoloration by encasing pieces in acrylic medium, but they will still change somewhat over over time. This is no reason to avoid avoid them—found them—found papers add character to your work and their ephemeral nature is part of their charm. But it’s it’s good to know
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Mixed-Media Collage
In addition to the materials specified for each project, you you’ll ’ll need at least least some of the following following supsupplies: newspaper or plastic to to protect your your work area, sharp scissors, craft knife and self-healing self-healing cutting mat, bray brayer er,, meta metall ruler, ruler, twee tweezers zers,, penci pencill and eraser eraser,, archival pens, artist’ artist’ss and foam paintbrushes in assorted assort ed sizes, sizes, wate waterr jar, paint palette, palette, palett palettee knife, and low-tack masking tape. For some some projects, projects, you you’ll ’ll need basic household tools tools such as a hammer, hammer, awl, screwdri scre wdriver ver,, wire cutters, cutters, needl needle-nos e-nosee plier pliers, s, and sandpaper.. Some artists recommend sandpaper recommend working with a viewfinder (an empty picture-framing mat to assist building your composition) but others prefer to “eyeball it” it” as they go along. You can reduce reduce drying time with a hair dryer, dryer, but most people find it it easiest to just work on several several pieces at once, letting some pieces dry while others are being assembled.
Glossary Appliqué — To — To form a design or motiff by sewing moti sewing shaped pieces pieces of fabric onto a foundation fabric. Assemblage — Sculptural — Sculptural or three-dimensional three-dimensio nal collage that is made by assembling diverse materials and found objects.
1 4" (5 mm) plywood Lauan — ⁄ veneer,, often used as a support veneer for encaustic.
Monoprint — A — A print made from a painted printing plate with elements such as texture or imagery repeated in successive prints. Each print is unique because it is painted in varying ways each time it is printed.
Claybord — Masonite — Masonite board that Tracy Spadafora, see page 110 is coated coated in a thin thin layer layer of clay clay.. It supports a wide array array of media and the surface can Monotype — A — A print made from a painted Plexiglas also be inscribed. plate that produces a one-of-a-kind image. Collage — Artwork — Artwork that is created by adhering images, imag es, mate materials rials,, and ephemera ephemera onto a surface. surface. Chine-collé — A — A process whereby thin papers are collaged onto printmaking paper during the printing process. proc ess. The papers papers are placed on the inked inked plate, plate, glue side up, up, with the printing printing paper on top. top. The plate and papers are then run through the press thereby simultaneously gluing and printing the papers. Encaustic — An — An ancient technique of painting with pigmented hot wax. Encaustic medium — A — A combinati combination on of pure beeswax and damar resin.
Montage — The — The techniqu techniquee of asse assemblin mbling, g, ove overlayi rlaying, ng, and overlapping many different materials to create an image or artwork. Overprinting — The — The technique technique of print printing ing onto paper multiple times for a layered effect. Photomontage — The — The technique technique of combining several photographs or parts parts of photographs to create a composite picture or artwork. Photo transfer — A — A process by which an image is transferred from a photocopy to another surface using solvent, acrylic medium, medium, or transfer paper paper..
Gesso — A — A mixture of plaster and glue or or size that is used as a background for paintings (or in sculpture).
PVA glue — Polyvinyl — Polyvinyl acetate is an archival adhesive that is transparent when dry and is excellent for working with papers papers of varied weights and textures. textures.
Impasto — The — The technique technique of applyi applying ng paint thickly thickly on a surface so that brush or knife strokes can be seen.
Vellum — The — The translucent papers available in many colors and patterns in art supply stores.
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Section 1
Profiles:
An In-Depth Look at the Work of Fi Five ve Con Contemp tempor orary ary Mixed-Media Artists
D
iscarded tea bags, porcupine quills, terrible vacation photographs—an photographs—anything ything and everything is up for grabs grabs as collage materials for today’ today’ss mixed-media mixed-media artist. artist. Original, idiosyncrati idiosyncratic, c, delightful, this catch-as-catch-can approach to making art is inspiring and can have eye-catching results,
but it also also has its own set of technical challenges. challenges. The first section of Mixed-Media Collage allows Collage allows you to be a fly on the wall wall in the studios of five talented talented mixed-media mixed-media artists, viewing their artwork up up close, while taking a comprehens comprehensive ive look at their techniques and sensibilities.
Engineering Art with
Laurinda Bedingfield A longtime resident resident of Somervi Somerville, lle, Mass Massachu achusett setts, s, artist Laurinda Bedingfield creates work that displays a distinctly urban mood while not quite crossing over into what might be called gritty gritty or tough. tough. She went to art school but then enjoyed a successful career as an engineer before ultimately quitting to pursue pursue art full-time. full-time. A printmaker and book book artist, she combines combines her artistic and engineering skills to create three-dimensional collage constructions and limited-edition artist books. book s. Man Manyy of these pay pay homage to to the streets streets of Somerville and feature feature cut up photographs of of building facades, facades, backy backyards ards,, and archite architectural ctural details. details. Her technique for creating 3-D collages is broken down into detailed steps in this chapter while insights into other formats are are provided in the presentation presentation of a variety of of other artwork artworks. s.
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Creating Fa Creating Faux ux Encaustics with Barbara De Pirro West Coast artist Barbara De Pirro Pirro is one of those people who finds a way to express her creativity in even the simplest of things. A walk to pick pick up the mail becomes an opportunity to build a sculpture sculptu re out out of twigs and flowers flowe rs or a shrine shrine of rocks rocks.. With the the mail tucked tucked away at home, home, she will venture venture forth with her camera, recording the sculptures scattered on her property so she can then use the images in photo montages and mixed-media mixe d-media collages. collages. She has developed a technique that is uniquely hers whereby she paints and collages using layer layer upon layer of acrylic gel medium to create create an effect that is very much like encaustic but doesn’t requiree a heating palette or beeswax. This technique requir technique is presented presented in detail in this chapter, chapter, with a special emphasis on how she uses different acrylic products to add texture texture and dimensionality dimensionality to her artwork.
Exploring the Image–Word Connection with Paula Grasdal An avid reader, reader, Canadian artist Paula Grasdal Grasdal created a series of collages for this this book that were inspired inspired by texts, allowing her to explore explore how the written word word can be represente represented d and reinterpre reinterpreted ted visually. Though she enjoys working with a wide range of techniques, Grasdal favors using monoprinting as a way to generate one-of-akind collage materials. She finds that printmaking techniques encourage experimentat experi mentation, ion, allowin allowingg her to transform basic papers into colorful and textured shapes. shape s. Insp Inspired ired by by the beauty of handm handmade ade papers, papers, she often collages with translucent ones as they allow her to create complex surfaces and an illusion of depth as she floats images beneath multiple layers. This chapter presents Grasdal’s approach in detail while also showing how her choice choice of contemporary free verse and more traditional Sufi poetry lead to very different results. Celebrating the Natural World with Sharon McCartney Images Ima ges of bir birds, ds, nes nests, ts, ins insect ects, s, fr frogs ogs,, and oth other er denizens deniz ens of natur naturee inhabit inhabit the work of Mass Massachu achusetts setts artist Sharon McCartney. McCartney. She works across multiple multiple media, creating altered books, encaustic paintings, fiber works, works, acrylic canvases canvases,, and book sculptures. sculptures.
Drawing on both her inspiration from nature and on her skills as a painter and draftsperson, McCartney creates a dialogue between her own representational representat ional drawings and the abstract mixedmedia surfaces she creates using natural findings findings and paper ephemera. ephemera. Here she shares some of her techniques techniques for working working with sewthrough interfacing to assemble wall-piece book constructions as well as miniature shrines.
At Play with
Teesha Moore Journaler,, artist Journaler artist,, publi publisher sher,, and art-event ar t-event coordinator, Teesha Moore wears many hats, so perhaps it’ it’s not surprising that the characters that populate her work are often wearing funky chapeaus chapeaus themselves. Seattle, Washington–based Moore’s approach is intuitive, quirkyy, and playful, quirk playful, and one gets the feeling feeling that for her, a perfect day is spent tooling tooling around in the studio interacti inte racting ng with paper, paper, pain paint, t, artis artistt crayons, crayons, and perhaps, occas occasionally ionally,, her husband husband (and partner-inpartner-incrime) artist Tracy Moore. Moore. Pages from several of her journals journ als are prese presented nted here, here, with insights insights into into how how she approaches creativity and makes her splendidly vivid compositions.
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Chapter 1
Engineering Art with Engineering Laurinda Bedingfield
A printmaker printmaker,, book artist, artist, and photographer, Laurinda Bedingfield has been a lifelong resident of Somervi Somerville, lle, Mass Massachu achusetts setts.. She finds finds insp inspirati iration on walking through through her urban environment, environment, digital camera in hand, and using the images she records records to make books. books. Although she studied art while growing up, she spent many years working as a civil engineer, engineer,
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Mixed-Media Collage
a career she left behind in 2002 to pursue art fulltime. Her interest interest in engineering continues continues to influence her creative creative projects, from her choice of subject matter to an ongoing fascination with structure.. Us ture Using ing her photograp photography hy,, print prints, s, and building building skills, she has invented invented the three-dimensional three-dimensional book construction shown here.
Backyards
12" ✕ 18" (3o.5 ✕ 45.7 cm) unmounted 20" ✕ 25" (50.8 ✕ 63.5 cm) mounted
“I loved reading books as a child,” child,” says Bedingfield. “Even my adult ambition to create a world within a book—the book as sculpture—pr sculpture—probably obably comes in part from my fascination with the cartoon characters Gumby and Pokey walking into books to begin their adventures. adventure s.”” In that spirit, she built built Backyards , an accordion accordi on book that can be displayed on a wall as a relief reli ef sculp sculpture ture.. The fixed fixed nature nature of the piece piece enabled enabled her to do more in three dimensions, dimensions, since she didn’t didn’t have to worry about the book being functional. The
dimensionality makes makes it more more of an environment, environment, inviting the viewer to step step inside. The main compocomponent is the artist’ artist’ss digital photography printed onto heavy matte paper. paper. Bedingfield also included included a photograph of her cousin (the baseball player) player) and a childhood photo photo (the chair), adding a personal gloss with these elements, which she further emphasized by printing in sepia tones. tones. For steps detailing detailing Bedingfield’ss technique for creating three-dimenBedingfield’ sional books, books, see pages 16–19.
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Technique Highlight:
Building a Three-Dimensional Book Sculpture
Shortly after creating Backyards Backyards (see (see page 14), Laurinda Bedingfield Bedingfield was approached approached by a gallery intere interested sted in her work. work. The gallery’s gallery’s location location in Gloucester Gloucester,, Massac Massachusetts, husetts, a fishing town on the rocky coast coast of Cape Ann, Ann, inspired inspir ed her to want to make make a piece piece that was relevant relevant to the location location of the gallery. gallery. A book sculpture, sculpture, with its photographic photograp hic elements and three-dimensio three-dimensionality nality,, seemed the perfect form for conveying conveying the feel of a place or setting, so she set out with her digital camera camera to record record her version of Glouces Gloucester ter,, a town she had visited often often with her family during her childhood. childhood. These images became Everett’s Place , which expresses expresses not only the artist’s artist’s personal connection to the town (her paternal grandmother is from Gloucester) but also her melancholy over the diminished diminished importance importance of the fishing industry industry as the area shifts its identity from from blue-collar fishing fishing port to an upscale residential and tourist destination. Materials
• heavyweight matte photo paper • heavyweight backing paper • thin aluminum dowels or bamboo skewers photographs • photographs • computer
1
• color printer with colorfast inks • archival varnish for UV protection* PVA A • PV • basic supplies (see page 10)
Make an accordion support:
Using a computer program such as Adobe Photoshop or Pagemaker,, begin by assembling Pagemaker images for the background. Select six photos photos and adjust them to create same-sized panels, then join them to to make a single image. Print the image onto heavyweight matte photo paper, then cut and fold the printout along the panel edges to form an accordion structure. This will give the work its relief. relief. To do this project without a computer, computer, join six samesized photos or drawings by gluing them in the back with with stiff paper hinges. hinges.
*Self-printed photography photography can fade when exposed to sunlight. Because this piece is so dimensional, framing is tricky. tricky. Always use archival archival printer inks and and consider coating all self-printed photos with two coats of archival varnish before before starting the project. project.
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2
Assemble materials, cut images, plan the composition:
To create dimensional pages, print, cut, and gather any any images you you want to lay over your folded background, backgr ound, playing with comcomposition until you are satisfied. Plan the pages so that each one (this could be an assembly of several images) will fit onto one panel panel of the accordi accordion on background. backgr ound. This is a planning planning and layou layoutt stage, stage, so hold hold off on gluing things for now.
3
Reinforce the pages:
Begin to reinforce the images that will compose the pages against warping (due to moisture and humidity) by gluing wood strips or skewers to the back of each one in a triangle, square, or strip configuration configuration to fit the image shape. The triangle is the strongest strongest layout layout and useful for most shapes.
Laurinda Bedingfield
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4
Anchor the
5
Arrange and glue on images:
background:
Glue the accordion background to a heavyweight backing. backi ng. The one shown shown is glued to white printmaking paper.. Attach the backing paper paper to to a piece of foam core core or gator board to stabilize its shape and make hanging possible.
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Glue the prepared images onto the accordion accordion panels one at a time. Depending on the angle, some pages will need to be supported supported while they dry; you can do this by by inserting little pieces of balsa wood to to prop them into place. PV PVA A dries quickly, quickly, making it an ideal ideal adhesive adhesive for this project.
Mixed-Media Collage
6
Display your art:
Once the piece is dry and the supports are removed, removed, it is ready to be displayed. displayed.
Laurinda Bedingfield
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In the Studio with Laurinda Bedingfield How long have you been an artist? art ist? Off and on it’s it’s been been a lifetime, lifetime, but I never never did it fullfulltime until I left my job as an engineer in 2002. Between 1996 and 2002, I was making the transition by taking art classes and exploring various media. media. I had an interest in art at an early age, and it continued continued until high school. Summers I worked worked as a muralist for a city arts program that I developed. I left that interest interest when I began studying to be a civil engineer at MIT. How did you come to be an artist? This is is a toughie. Well, probably because of my mother’ss encouragement when I was a little kid. My parents er’ signed me up for the children’s classes at the Boston Museum Mu seum of Fine Arts, where I learned learned how to to use a multitude of materials and figure out out problems. problems. But I think that I mostly learned that it was okay to be an artist and do this kind kind of work—whi work—which ch is a big deal deal considering conside ring this society’s and most parents’ dim view of the arts as a profession. profession. When I had achieved achieved all that I wanted to as an engineer, engineer, I began to drift back to this beginning, first without my knowing knowing it, then more consciously. consciously. Proces Processes ses like that are not linear, linear, but things would happen happen like I would go to a bookstore to buy a novel and end up finding The would say I became Artist’s Way . So I would an artist today through a process of rediscovering who I was and how I wanted to express my creativity. When did you start to work in mixed-media collage? I have done mixed-media collage off and on for the past six six years. What does the term “mixed media” mean to you? By “mixed “mixed media” media” I mean that I use
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Artist book cover
more than one type of art-makin art-makingg technique technique to create a piece. For example, example, I might combine combine a backgro background und image created originally as an etching or monoprint with digital photo images attached either physically or digitally. Do you feel that it is different from other media? I think it can be be a freer proces process. s. It lends lends itself to experimentation and play. play. But in in my art-making, I feel the same excitement excitement of discov discovery ery as with other art forms. forms. I guess it could could be a little little more of a mystery because there are “no rules.” It’ It’ss not like l ike learning the techni technicalit calities ies of pain painting, ting, drawi drawing, ng, printm printmaking aking,, and then making something based upon practicing that technique. Mixed media media offers an infinite combination binat ion of mate materials rials and art art forms. But like like all art, you can’t can’t just sit down and say,“I say, “I think I’ll do a mixed-media mixed-m edia piece.” piece.” I do mixed media in response to the subject or objective objective of my piece. piece. Do you work thematically? Yes, I guess so. so. I do have a favorite favorite subject subject matter matt er for for my art: art: noti notions ons of of plac place, e, hom home, e, loss, memories memories,, and associat associated ed feelings of mine toward toward these things. things. What are your favorite materials? This one is easy! Rusty metals, paper,, wood paper wood,, and old old prints. prints. Sometimes found objects objects if they are really interesting. How do you get started on a piece? To start a piece I usually devise some kind of a challenge for for myself myself like, “Let’ “Let’ss see what I can do with five of these leftover monoprints. monoprints.”” In some cases, the materials dictate the subject. I have been known to
Polaroid transfer
run outside looking for for a cigarette pack, squashed in the gutter, gutter, to finish a piece. I start by playing with the the materials. And sometimes I’ll see something something I like in an art book or at a gallery and give myself the “assignm “as signment” ent” of maki making ng one, too too.. I have have rec recently ently given myself myself the assignment to make one collage collage York Times Sunday magaevery week from the New York zine section. Its imagery inspires me me and compels me to make my personal statement statement in response. I don’t know where it it is going, but I would like like to make a long ribbon of these collages and display display them around a room somehow. How do you work up a composition when you are making a collage? I’d like to say I don’t know but that’s probably not helpful. It’ It’ss a messy process process to say the least. For me, collagee is a very loose, freew collag freewheeling heeling kind kind of proc process— ess— more so than any other art form. When I do collage collage it is with a playful approac approach—cut h—cutting, ting, placi placing, ng, and replacing pieces until I like like the effect. There is a composition because that is what ultimately satisfied me and tells me, me, “OK “OK,, this is it. it. Stop Stop..” But I don’t don’t think think or visualize the exact composition composition before before I start. It just happens. Sometimes I am informed by it it rather than the other way around. I suppose I try to arrange pieces by color color,, textu texture, re, shape, and content content until until the whole flows as one piece. I’m glad collage exists as an option option in my art-making because I have so much material to recycle from my my printmaking days. Printmakers generate quite quite a lot of “d “duds” uds” befor beforee they get that one final good print. We are always experimenting with layering in printmaking, which also suggests using the “leftovers “lefto vers”” or “unsuc “unsuccess cessful” ful” prints in a collage. The collage process is like magic. I keep playing with materials and ideas until something something feels right. I need to take breaks because too much composing can ruin the feel of the work. work. Looki Looking ng “right “right”” means a balance balance of of color,, textu color texture, re, shapes shapes.. Somet Sometimes imes I need to leave leave it for
a few days and come back back to it with fresh eyes. Usually my first impression and intuitions are the ones I go with. Whe When n I get into the the flow flow of the collage, collage, I know know by the way things come together—it becomes an organic, free-floating process. When I have have tried to make a second collage collage similar to the first, it never looks as good or works the same way. Do you have any particular influences? The way I see it (and feel it) everything influences my collage art. But I guess the pieces pieces reference reference places I’ve been, been, my daily daily environm environment, ent, my memories memories,, and experiences more so than cultural or political references. My personal is also also my political in many many cases and my resulting pieces can be interpreted by others in a societal or political way. way. Making art allows me to deal with and come to terms with losses and perceived injustices. injustices. So these are the influences for my making art, but I can be inspired inspired to use certain elements and forms by a variety of things and places: places: art galleries, galleries, art books, books, trade magazin magazines, es, publi publicc art, talking to to friends, friends, artist talks. Do you have any advice for people who are just starting to do mixed-media collage? I think collage should be a spontaneous and freewheeling process. process. So my advice would would be to do it for fun. It seems to be most most successful when when it surprises you as you create. That kind of process is fun and yields an easy, more natural-looking piece piece of art.
Laurinda Bedingfield
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Neighborhoods Merged
22" ✕ 28" (55.9 ✕ 71.1 cm)
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The best ideas for art seem to come out of experience and deep knowledge. For Laurinda Bedingfield, Bedingfield, there is a strong connection between what she expresses artistically and her background in civil engineering. The Spark: A show featuring art made using maps inspired her to build a piece on a city assessor’s map. At the same time, time, she was burning wood and paper discards in in a steel chiminea chiminea in her yard, yard, and she was fascinated fascinated by the ash remains. remains. Lovin Lovingg the delicate folds, folds, shapes shapes,, and color shades, shades, she wanted to use them. The Process: Bedingfield found that by repeatedly spraying the fragile ashes in situ with an acrylic coating (drying between coats), the formations held together. together. She very carefully pulled out sections and began creating the “island” “island” in her collage with the map as a background. She cut a strip from a photograph of some pavement and collaged it onto the surface. The placement suggested a pavement river—just right for her urban layout. She then created houses by wrapping wood blocks in newsprint and coating them lightly lightly with gesso. Whil Whilee those dried, she glued down the ashes, then added the blocks. blocks. She installed installed the fragile piece into a shadow box frame with a clean white mat for contrast. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used backing board, a city assessor’s map (glued onto cardcardboard), board ), ashes, spray acrylic acrylic fixativ fixative, e, wood blocks, blocks, a digital photogra photograph, ph, newspr newsprint, int, a computer computer,, an ink-jet ink-jet printer, and PVA. PVA.
Seamlessly integrated, The Paper Mill draws on several photographic techniques: digital and conventional conventional photo collage, collage, as well as Pola Polaroid roid transfer. transfer. The Spark: During a time when she was photographing old brick industrial buildings in her neighborhood, Laurinda Bedingfield came across a Polaroid transfer she had made of a piece of mill equipment. equipment. It occurred occurred to her her that the the two kinds of images seemed right together.. Her father had worked at the paper mill and they were visiting it together when she took the together photograph. The collage reflects her sense of nostalgia for her own childhood childhood as well as for a bygone era of heavy industry and fascinating machinery. machinery. The Process: She began by scanning the transfer into her computer and, working in Adobe Adobe Photoshop, she layered it in different ways with the digital photographs she had taken taken of the brick buildings. buildings. When she was satisfied with the composition, composition, she printed the digital photo collage onto heavyweight heavyweight matte photo paper several times. Using one printout as her background, she cut out different parts of the other ones and collaged them onto the the background to add a subtle dimensionality. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used heavyweight matte photo paper, digital photographs, photographs, Polar Polaroid oid transfer, transfer, a computer, computer, an ink-jet printer, and PVA. PVA.
The Paper Mill
18" ✕ 24" (45.7 ✕ 61 cm)
Laurinda Bedingfield
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Random Walks
12" ✕ 38" (30.5 ✕ 96.5 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Reading the book Women book Women Who Run with the Wolves long Wolves long ago left an image of the goddess Baby Yaga Yaga and her house (on stilted legs with chicken feet) in Laurinda Bedingfield’ Bedingfield’ss imagination. That image pops up in her art now and then, including the stilts that bind and support this book.The Spark: What got her started on this project was mostly having an abundance of incomplete test prints left over from from practicing different diff erent processes: processes: gelati gelatin n print prints, s, phot photoco ocopy py transfers, solar plate prints, and old monoprints. monoprints. The gelatin prints were on textbook textbook pages, reminding her of college, so she decided to put together a loose, visually abstractt narrative abstrac narrative of the random walk walk of (her own) own) life. The Process: Bedingfield assembled her materials and spread them over over a large workbench. workbench. Then the fun began: She experimented with overlaying print pieces and cutout images on top of textbook pages that were interesting interesting enough to hold up visually
against the collage collage elements. Once the panels were completed, completed, she glued tabs on on each edge of each panel so that she would be able to slide a round dowel dowel into the tabs of two pages to bind them together. together. The tabs had to be located so as not to interfere with each other but allow the pages to be even when the book was assembled and standing up on its stilts. The whole piece was assembled using PVA PVA glue, which dries quickly quickly and is strong. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used printmaking paper, water-mixable oil oil paints (as inks), textbook pages, photographs printed onto onto heavy matte matte paper, recycled recy cled monoprints, monoprints, phot photoco ocopy py transfers, solar etchings, etchings, gelati gelatin n mono monotypes, types, woo wood d skew skewers, ers, a rubber stamp, a computer computer,, an ink-jet ink-jet printer, printer, and PVA.
Laurinda Bedingfield
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Chapter 2
Creating Faux Encaustics with Barbara De Pirro
An artist for whom creativity is not a thing apart but integrated into into her daily life, Barbara De Pirro works in many media: photograp photography hy,, painting, and sculptur sculpture, e, with forays forays into wearable wearable art, text textile ile painting, painting, and printmaking. She lives in in the country southwest southwest of Seattle, Washington, where she finds finds inspiration inspiration in in quiet moments in her garden, garden, walks on the beach, beach, or sifting through through materials in her studio. studio. A typical day (when she’s not traveling and teaching) might find her in the garden arranging and rearranging collecti coll ections ons of twigs twigs,, shell shells, s, and stones stones to create create shrines, shrines, borders, and sculptures. sculptures. With her camera and sketchsketchbook always handy, handy, she captures images images that later become ideas ideas for paintings. Over the past several years, years, De Pirro has developed developed a technique technique for collaging collaging on wood with photographs photographs and monoprints. monoprints. By adding multiple mult iple layers layers of acrylic gloss gloss gel, she achieves achieves a translucent depth that mimics the the look of encaustic but has the advantage advantage of not requiring the the use of beeswax, bees wax, encau encaustic stic medium, medium, or the regulating regulating of temperatures with a hot palette.
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Mixed-Media Collage
De Pirro created Opening Opening after after a visit from an old friend, a meeting that held great meaning to her. Stepping into her studio, studio, she was suddenly seeing her materials with fresh fresh eyes. Examining her painted painted papers through the framework of of a circle template, template, her design began to take shape and reminded her of life’ss cycles and the circular life’ circular nature of relationships— the way things can change while the core remains the same. Working with a wood-panel support, acrylic paints, gel mediums, mediums, and the circular paper cutouts, cutouts, she was inspired to create a peaceful meditation on the nature nature of cycl cycles. es. The subtle subtle variat variations ions of colo colorr and texture and the use of shadows keep keep the eye moving across the surface while the many layers of acrylic medium create create depth, giving the work a strong visual presence despite the understated palette. For steps detailing De Pirro’s Pirro’s unique unique technique,, see pages 28–31. nique 28–31.
Opening
24" ✕ 12" ✕ 2" (61 ✕ 30 ✕ 5.1 cm)
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Technique Highlight:
Achieving the Look of Enca Encausti ustic c with Acrylic Gel Mediums
As an artist sponsored by Golden Artist Colors, Barbara De Pirro travels throughout the northwest United States to teach workshops workshops and demonstrate techniques using the company’s company’s products. A particular interest in acrylic mediums led her to experiment with layering the material over paintings and collage, and over time, she developed a technique technique that allows her to create create a thick, textured surface surface that mimics the look of encau encaustic stic painting. painting. Her medium medium of choi choice ce is acrylic gloss gloss gel, whic which h even in multiple multiple layers layers dries clear and layers easily over monoprints, photographs, photo graphs, and other collage materials.
1
Prepare the support, add collage imagery:
To begin this project, make or purchase a wood-panel support (De Pirro builds her own, then sands sands,, prim primes, es, and seals them with acrylic wood sealant). sealant). Collag Collagee imagery onto your your prepared prepared surface, burnishing out any any extra adhesive. adhesive. The panel shown was collaged using monoprints and painted painted papers papers.. (Tip: Soft gloss gloss gel is a good adhesive for this part of the technique; it is archival archival and also thick enough to handle handle most weights weights of paper paper.) .) Allow the panel panel to dry overnight, overnight, then seal the surface by coating it with a thin layerr of soft gloss laye gloss gel. The collaged collaged paper paperss must be totally dry, dry, otherwise they could could buckle or wrinkle as layers layers of gel medium are added.
Materials • wood-panel support • acrylic wood sealant • gesso • light molding paste • soft gloss gel
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• soft semigloss or matte gel • fluid fluid acrylic paints paper ephemera • paper • card stock • basic supplies (see page 10)
2
Add dimension and texture:
Create stencil designs designs out of card stock. Lay the stencil on the collaged board and apply a thick coat of light molding molding paste paste (thick gels gels can also be used), used), and using a palette palette knife, gently press the the paste into the opening of the stencil, smoothing and texturizing texturizing it. While the paste is still wet, very carefully remove remove the stencil. The raised design design should hold its shape, standing out from the collaged surface (as shown,, right) shown right).. Crea Create te as many many designs designs as desired, then allow the piece piece to dry overnight. overnight.
Tip: Light molding paste is archival and
allows the creation creation of a wide range range of of textures; it dries to a very porous surface that responds beautifully to water mediums.
3
Add layers layers of colo color: r:
Mixing fluid acrylic paint with water allows it to respond like watercolor with one notable notable excepti exception: on: Once dry, dry, acrylic is not resoluble, resoluble, so you can lay color upon color without pulling up the previous layer. Using Usi ng a brush, buil build d layers layers of colo colorr within the raised raised stencil design, allowing the thinned paint paint to pool, puddle, puddl e, and soak soak into into the surface surface.. Once finis finished, hed, let it dry for an hour.
Barbara De Pirro
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4
Seal the surface:
Using a brush, coat the entire entire surface with with a thin application application of soft gloss gel. gel. This seals seals the surfac surface. e. Let it dry for one to to two hours. hours. The image above shows the surface surface while wet; wet; the image on the right shows it once it has dried.
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5
Build up layers of transparent gel:
Now it’s it’s time to build up the deep transparent layers that will mimic the look of of encau encaustic. stic. The matting matting agent agent in in acrylic, when applied applied in a thick thick applicatio application, n, can dry to a foggy appearance and potentially block out your collagee imagery, collag imagery, so use heavy gloss gloss gel, which is the the most transparen transparentt when dry. dry. (If you prefer prefer a matte or semigloss finish, you can modify modify the surface as a final step.) Apply an even coat of heavy gloss gel using using a palette knife knife (as shown, shown, right). The product product maintains the appearan appearance ce of the wet textur texturee when dry, dry, so you can can manipulate manipulate the the surface surface to add as much much or as as little texture texture as you like. like. Once you are satisfied satisfied,, let the first first coat dry for a couple couple of of days. It is complet completely ely dry when the whiteness of the product turns turns clear. Apply as many coats as you wish using this technique, making sure to let each coat dry thoroughly. De Pirro uses up to six layers on her pieces.
6
Finesse the sheen:
After your transparent layers are completely dry, dry, you can tone tone down the shine of the surface surface by applying applying a thin coat of soft semigloss semigloss or matte matte gel.
Barbara De Pirro
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In the Studio with Barbara De Pirro How long have you been an artist? art ist? All my life. Even before before I was able to hold something in my my hand, my mother says she could tell by the way I moved my hands that something was up. As soon as I could hold something, I started drawing. The older I got, the more she introduced me to different media. media. She’ She’ss a textile artist, and so I was surrounded by that growing up. I also have have a lot of of relat relatives ives who are artists in different media. My brother brother and father are not artists but are very mechanical and creative in that way.
able to really see and feel things on a very deep leve level. l. A lot of of tim times, es, peop people le aren aren’t ’t willing to take take the time, because they get get caught up in a lot of things and don’t don’t allow themselves the time to just sit and relax. That is a very very important part of the process.
What does the term “mixed media” mean to you? A mixture of of different materials materials that are are blended together to create a piece. Do you feel that it is different from other media? I do. Not everybody everybody can work in in that way.. I work with a lot of different artists and there’ way there’ss a large group group that that focuses focuses in one medium. medium. If they have have too many projects or media media going, it’ it’ss overwhelming to them. them. If you work work in mix mixed ed media, media, you not not only have the ability to work in different media but it inspires you you to do that. That’ That’ss what I find with myself. mys elf. All the differen differentt things I do, I find that they don’tt distract from each other, don’ other, but one inspires the other.. Everything in my other my world inspires inspires my art.
A sculpture the artist created out of natural materials in her garden.
When did you start to work in mixedmedia collage? I guess I’ve always always had the interest. interest. When I was young, whatever I had available available to me, me, I would try to create somethin somethingg out of of it, whether it it was a collecti collection on of shells and rocks rocks I had gathered or papers that were were lying around around or little bits bits of fabric. I always always had the the interest inter est of combi combining ning a range of differ different ent materials materials together.. We didn’t together didn’t have a lot of money growing growing up, so I would save save everything, or I would go to thrift storess and find objects that looked interesting. store interesting. At an early age, I had an interest in all these different different shapes and objects and was looking at them from a design viewpoint. So it’s it’s always always been a part of of my process. process. Even Eve n the arrangement of of objects that that I use as my materials in my studio, studio, I’ll see something that maybe I can do a sketch from or photograph to make a three-dimension three-di mensional al sculpture sculpture out of it. You moved to the country a couple of years ago. Has that affected your art? Definitely Definit ely.. Part of the reason reason I had to move move out out to the country was that I was getting too much external stimuluss from the city and it was distracting. stimulu distracting. Coming out here, when I’m able able to have my my creative creative time, I’m
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Do you work thematically? I have in the past. When I was just beginning beginning to show my work, work, there would be themed themed shows and I would create within within a theme. For the most part now, now, I don’t create thematic works per se but what does happen is if I’m working working on a larger piece I may may also be working on some smaller panels and that theme may carry over into those those pieces. I’m not doing it it consciou cons ciously sly to create create a thematic thematic body of work work,, but sometimes I find find if I work on a large and small piece together, together, I end up coming up up with new ways of exploring ideas because because I’m looking at things differently.
Do you have favorite materials? Acrylic products I would say, say, which seems like an obvious one. It’ It’ss not my only my only favorite, favorite, but I use them quitee a bit in the majority quit majority of my media. media. Becau Because se of my exposure to the product through my job and my relationship with Golden, I do more with them. I’m very experimental. I like them because there there is such a broad bro ad spectrum spectrum of diff differen erentt gels and media. media. For the most part, part, they are one one of the safer safer products products to work work with from from a health health point point of view view.. Also Also,, becau because se I do sell my paintings, paintings, acrylic is important because because it’s archival.
together, but I’m more interested together, interested in challenging myself to create create in different ways. But because because I have developed a style, my work is more more cohesive cohesive than it was in the beginning. Can you tell me something about your Bali paintings? My visit to to Bali was one of my most amazing amazing trips. The colo colors, rs, text textures ures,, patt patterns, erns, soun sounds, ds, scen scents—t ts—they hey all had a life-changing effect on me. I attempted to to photograph phot ograph my percepti perceptions ons of this place. place. Retu Returning rning home, I submerg submerged ed myself myself in my my images, images, arrangi arranging ng them in groupings, groupings, clustering them together to express how I had experienced them.
How do you work up a composition? How has your work changed over time? I have an idea or I’m playing with materials or an The designs in my work are becoming very simple idea comes from the arrangement arrangement of objects or but within within each each of the layers layers there there is is a lot of com com-materials that I’m working working with, and it’s it’s just a part plexity.. I try to find balance and stay grounded. plexity grounded. of how I create. create. For examp example, le, I’m a photographe photographerr, but for the longest time I never never referred to to myself as a photographer, photographer, because I originally started started photographing as a reference reference—I —I might record the patterns on bark or a lava pattern or some plant life and then use that as a referenc referencee for my drawing or a painting. The images themselves all end up translating tr anslating in different ways. ways. Maybe there’ there’ss a pattern pattern I like, like, so I’ll scan it in my computer computer so that it flattens flattens it out. Or maybe the color is distracting distracting to me, so I’ll scan it in grayscale so that it’s black-and-white to see what patterns surface. surface. Then I’ll end up with all these these papers that I’ve printed printed out. I’ll make photocopies photocopies of them, turni turning ng them into into collage collage materials materials.. De Pirro created Bali using color photocopies of her own Do you find it useful to work on series? Not as often any any more. There was a period when I did quite a few series because I was working toward creating a show and I wanted wanted it to be cohesive. cohesive. When I came back back from Italy Italy,, I created a body of of work out out of that experien experience. ce. No Now w I’m at a point point where where I’ll occasionally end up with a grouping that works
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photography and her signature faux encaustic technique (see pages 28–31).
Do you have any advice for people who are just starting to do mixed-media collage? Allow yourself yourself to freely explore explore your ideas without judgment. Don’ Don’tt create boundaries that will stifle your creative creative process.
Barbara De Pirro
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Loosely Structured
31" ✕ 23" ✕ 2" (78.7 ✕ 58.4 ✕ 5.1 cm)
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Barbara De Pirro is an avid gardener who finds inspiration in the natural environment as she prunes,, weeds prunes weeds,, and digs. The Spark: For Loosely Structured , she was intrigued by the structur structuree of a plant cage she had had built using apple-tree prunings and English Ivy Ivy (see photo, photo, right). Inspiration led to her use of vertical lines lines and circular circular imagery, imagery, not a direct representatio representation n but more of a visual paraphrasing. The Process: This piece was created using the same basic technique described on pages 28–31, but with some key key differences. differences. Instead of starting by adding texture with light molding molding paste, she created an underpainting using acrylic paints mixed with medium. In strong contrasting colors, she painted loose patterns and shapes that would read easily through the layers layers of gel she would later apply. apply. She let the panel dry overnight. overnight. Next, she built up layers layers of opaque fiber fiber paste, letting each coat coat dry to the touch touch until it was fairly fairly thick; she then let the panel panel dry overnight. overnight. (Tip: Fiber paste creates creates a paper pulplike pulplike surface that can be be sanded, yet it is also absorbent and creates wonderful wonderful results with water media.) She sanded the panel to expose some underpainting, then applied a wash of fluid acrylic paint mixed mixed with water (water breaks breaks down the binder in the acrylic paint, allowing the the color to float, float, pool, and absorb into the the textured surface). surface). When the surface surface was dry, dry, she painted a faint faint pattern down the the center,, then added paper collage center collage elements, adhering them with acrylic acrylic transparent gels. After again letting the the panel dry overnight, overnigh t, she added multiple multiple layers of of acrylic gloss gel, as described on page 31 in in step 5.The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies listed on page 28, the artist used opaque opaque fiber paste, acrylic medium, and handpainted archival archival papers.
Mixed-Media Collage
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A city dweller until just a few years ago, Barbara De Pirro left the urban environ environment ment she knew so well to move to the country. To prepare her gardens for planting, she spent hours digging in the clay outside her home.The work was physically physically exhausting, she found real beauty in the textural layers of the Spark: Although the work earth. Waterlines is one of a series of paintings completed completed during this transition time. The Process: This piece was made using the same basic technique described on pages 28–31, but with some key differences. Instead of starting by adding texture with molding paste, she cut and tore designs out out of her collection of monoprints and adhered them to the support support using acrylic transparent gels, burnishing to squeeze out excess gel, then letting the panel dry overnight. overnight. Next, she sealed the surface with two two coats of of soft gel gloss gloss and let the panel dry overnight. She adhered strips of masking tape to her piece, positioning them them as a stencil to create an exposed band. band. After burnishing burnishing the edges, she used a palette knife to spread coarse coarse granular and pumice gels onto the exposed surface. She carefully removed removed the tape while the product was still wet and again let the panel dry overnight. overnight. She then added added multiple layers of of acrylic gloss gel, gel, as described on page 31 in step 5. The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies supplies listed on page 28, the artist used acrylic medium, medium, acrylic fine and coarse pumice pumice gel, acrylic coarse alumina, alumina, acrylic clear granular granular gel, and monoprinted archival papers.
Waterlines
16" ✕ 12" ✕ 3" (40.6 ✕ 30.5 ✕ 7.6 cm)
Barbara De Pirro
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Art Studies Studies
6" ✕ 4" each (15.2 ✕ 10.2 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Like most people with a passion for collage, collage, Barbara De Pirro saves her leftover leftover paper scraps, storing them in loosely organized organized boxes boxes in her studio. Sometimes she will simply simply sit down and start arranging, cutting, tearing, painting, and gluing paper bits onto card card stock to make small studies.The Spark: Working without a plan in mind, she creates quickly, quickly, always following following what feels feels right in the moment. The spontaneity of the process process leads her to new ideas and unusual unusual combinat combinations ions of shapes shapes,, patte patterns, rns, textu textures, res, and colors, colors, taking her away from from old pathways pathways into new territory. Once the studies are done, she can hold them in her hands and shuffle through through them occasionally occasionally,, like a deck of cards or a sketchbook, sketchbook, sparking ideas when she is ready to work larger. The Process: The pieces shown have all been mounted onto card stock reused from product packaging. De Pirro collages collages with scraps of handpainted and monoprinted monoprinted papers as well as her own photography, photography, both as prints and abstracted into sketches. She arranges each card quickly, quickly, gluing the pieces in place with semigloss or matte soft gel. To give the surface a waxlike waxlike appearance, she coats the studies twice with a matte acrylic gel. The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies listed on page 28, the artist used card card stock, gesso gesso,, acrylic medium, medium, paint painted ed papers, mono monoprint prints, s, and color color photophotocopies of her photography photography..
This piece is part of a series Barbara De Pirro created during a retreat retreat in Canada.The Spark: To tap into a more spontaneous energy, energy, she bounced between several several paintings at a time, intuitively applying images, texture, pattern, and color. color. She finds that working working in this manner inevitably brings forth new ways of looking and creating. The Process: De Pirro used the same basic technique described on pages 28–31, but with some key differences. She used a wooden box lid as her support, prepping it as she does the wood panels. After applying a coat of molding paste, she used a handcarved handcarved stamp to imprint a pattern. When the panel was dry, she added a wash of acrylic paint mixed with water (water breaks down down the binder in the paint, allowing the color color to float, pool, and absorb into the textured textured surface in intriguing intriguing ways). She let the panel dry for several several hours. She added an image transfer using a black-and-white photocopyy of one of her abstracted photos photocop photos and soft gel gloss. The highly highly textured textured surface of the painting broke up the image, image, an imperfection embraced by the artist. To complete the the piece, she added multiple layers of of acrylic gloss gel, gel, as described on on page 31 in step 5.The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies listed on page 28, the artist used acrylic medium, medium, acrylic varnish with a UV protectant, protectant, photocop photocopy y transfers, and a handcarved block. block.
Canadian Retrea Retreat t
5" ✕ 7" (12.7 ✕ 17.8 cm)
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Barbara De Pirro
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Chapter 3
Exploring the Image-Word Connection with Paula Grasdal
Finding inspiration in the natural world, world, Sufism, poetry, and Persian Persian art imagery imagery,, artist Paula Paula Grasdal employss a variety of printmaki employ printmaking ng techniques techniques to create the images and textured materials she uses to assemble multilayered collages. She enjoys monoprinting because the process encourages experimentation (like printing the “ghost” “ghost” plate or adding elements such as cut shapes to the printing plate), and the end product is is a series of unique prints. Collagraphy (making prints from a textured board) is another favorite as it adds texture and other embossments. “I really like the process of experimenting with materials and techniques without an end result in mind and just playing,” playing,” she says. “Often I’ll have have a general idea of what I want to do, like an aesthetic I want to get get across or a theme, but I won’t won’t have a definite sketch sketch in mind, so it frees me up to be intuitive. For me it’s it’s all about the process.”
Snow falls, falls, turning night night to poem The light from the street is bright through the window Old love ticks dully in the mind There is a word for it Snow cloaks 100th Street, and poetry won’t won’t coalesce Are you happy? Body illumined, does the soul hover transfixed? Night droplet melts to consciousness Movement remembered Kindles the heart
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result of a collaboration between Night Poem is the result the artist and a writer friend friend (the author author of this book). Using a poem as her her starting point and printmaking techniques techniques as her method, Grasdal sought to evoke the the message of the writing without without illustrating the text (reprinted below). below). She accomplished accomplished this by focusing on the colors mentioned—blue mentioned—blue glass, shadows, whit whitee snow—and snow—and the wistful wistful mood. She embossed sheets sheets of damp acid-free acid-free printmaking printmaking paper to create unique unique collage materials, and added light and shadow to the completed piece with gesso, paint,, and graphite. paint graphite. The interplay interplay between between the deep blues and the chalky whites evokes a snowy night and the glow of a solitary moon against a night sky. sky. For steps steps detailing Grasdal’s Grasdal’s use of printmaking techniques in in her collages, see pages 40–43. 40–43.
Snow falls, falls, lulling poem to silence A light in the window Slate shadows conjure phantom skin, wake desire Psyche’s dreaming cues night’s passage Psyche’s As snow whitens a city beyond blue glass Memory Kindling like snowfall —Holly Harrison
Night Poem
12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Technique Highlight:
Printmaking and Collage
Printmaking is not only an art form in in and of itself, but it can be a great way to to create beautiful beautiful and unique unique raw material for making collages. Paula Grasdal enjoys printing printing on rice paper and tissue paper because the translucency of the paper allows allows her to to build up a richly richly detailed surface surface in a collage. At the same time, she is able to create create the illusion of depth by floating images inside inside multiple layers layers of paper paper.. Reef , the developm development ent of which is shown shown here, was inspired by the tidal pools pools and ocean life life of the Pacific Pacific Northwest. Northwest. While Grasdal’s Grasdal’s work is abstract, abstract, the monoprinting technique can be be easily adapted to other styles, incorporating drawings, drawings, photocopy transfers, and other images. images. For this project, you do not need to use a printing press. press. Materials
• stretched canvas or wooden panel (this one is 12" ✕ 12" [30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm]) • assorted translucent papers such as rice paper and tissue paper • water-mixable oil paints* • chalk pastel plain newsprint • plain
1
• Plexiglas printing plate • Plexiglas for pressing the paper • burnishing tool (a wooden spoon works well) • spray bottle PVA A • PV • basic supplies (see page 10)
Prepare paper for printing:
Paper that is damp will absorb paint more readily readily,, so start by cutting or tearing the rice paper into pieces (the ones shown range from 3" ✕ 5" [7.6 ✕ 12.7 cm] to 6" ✕ 10" [15.2 ✕ 25.4 cm]), cm]), misting every other sheet with water and pressing them under a piece of Plexiglas, Plexi glas, with the damp and and dry sheets alternating. alternating. Ke Keep ep pressed for 10 minutes or until you are ready to use them. Tear plain newsprint into strips or shapess and set aside. (These shape will be used as masks when printing, print ing, see step step 3.) *Water-soluble *W ater-soluble block-printing inks can be substituted, but these could smudge slightly when they come into contact with the diluted PVA.
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2
Ink the printing plate:
Roll a brayer in paint until it is evenly coated. Roll the paint onto the printing plate (you can do this as a solid solid block of color or in in patterns using different colors).
3
Mask out areas on the printing pl ate:
To create patterns on the paper when you print it, arrang arrangee the torn strips strips of news newsprint print (masks) (masks) on the painted plate. You can also use stencils, but keep in mind that the print will be a mirror image, so letters should should first be flipped. flipped.
4
Print the pap paper: er:
Place the damp rice or tissue paper on the printing plate, cover with with newsprint for protecprotection, and burnish the paper to transfer the paint. (Tip: You can remove remove the torn shapes shapes from the plate after the first print and reprint the same plate.. This will give plate give you a negative negative of the previous previous print.) print.) Repeat Rep eat the printing printing process process on a variety variety of paper papers; s; this is an opportunity to get to know know the inks, seeing how they react to different papers. To keep colors pure and intense, wash your plate between prints. Howeve However, r, letting the paint paint build up on the plate will allow for beautiful accidents to occur when colors colors mix, making the resulting resulting prints rich in texture. texture. When you have have generated enough collage material, allow the printed papers to to dry. Paula Grasdal Gr asdal
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5
Overprint the paper:
There’s no limit to how many times you can print on a piece piece of of pap paper er,, vary vary-ing colors and patterns to add complexity. To create strong contrasts, let the paper dry fully before before overprintin overp rinting. g. Altern Alternately ately,, printi printing ng onto freshly printed paper will allow the inks to interact in unexpected ways. Another variation is to rearrange the paper masks on the inked plate before overprintin overp rinting, g, as was done here.
6
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Mixed-Media Collage
Arrange and glue the papers:
Tear or cut the printed papers, papers, then assemble them on the canvas (or wood) support to create a layered layered effect. While Grasdal has used mostly abstract shapes and patter patterns, ns, the same technique can be used to build a still life, life, landsc landscape, ape, or portrait. portrait. Adh Adhere ere the papers with PVA that has been slightly diluted with water. water. Ke Keep ep adding layers of plain and printed paper until you have created a rich surface. surf ace. Allow to dry thoroughly.
7
Cut and glue paper
8
Add finishing touches:
shapes:
To add linear elements, create drawings on tissue paper and layer these over the collage surface. To add dimensionality dimensionality,, draw a design on heavier rice paper and cut it out with small scissors or a craft knife. knife. To build up the surface, surface, you can use use the sheer rice paper to layer images over shapes cut out of opaqu opaquee papers. papers. Allow to dry. dry.
To add further dimensionality, adhere the cutout to the surface and highlight it with a chalk pastel (white was used here). You can create a finished edge by collaging the the sides of the canvas with with leftover scraps scraps of printed paper paper..
Paula Grasdal Gr asdal
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In the Studio with Paula Grasdal How long have you been an artist? art ist? I think for about twenty years. How did you come to be an artist? I sort of fell into it at school school because I was taking a program that was art history and fine arts combined combined.. I wanted to be a curator and then I liked the art part better,, so I decided after my better my first year to be an artist. Being a curator is all in your head so that wouldn wouldn’t ’t have been suitable for me. When did you start to work in mixed-media collage? I think it was probably about ten or twelve years ago when I was doing the textile program. program. We started doing collages with fabrics and found objects, sewing on found objects and using paper with textiles. The program progr am included papermakin papermaking, g, dyei dyeing, ng, and appliqué. appliqué. It was very process-oriented, process-oriented, so I intuitively intuitively latched onto working more with paper and experimenting. Before then I was basically painting. Now you use almost exclusively paper, right? Yes, I think it’s it’s the most beautiful material. I love love paper. paper. What does the term “mixed media” mean to you? I think it means freedom freedom,, because you’re you ’re not not tied down by traditional traditional rules. You’ ou’re re able to experiment with as many different media as you like, and you can combine them in any way that you you like. I think it does help help to know know some rules, too, but I think think it really implies freedom to experiment. Do you work thematically? Yes, I do. It makes makes things things easier easier. It’ It’ss
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quite a lot of work just coming up with an idea in the first place, so it makes makes sense to exhaust exhaust it. Why keep reinventing the wheel? You want to explore the idea, you don’t don’t want to just drop drop it right away. away. And sometimes you come back to a theme but from a different diffe rent angle, angle, espe especially cially if you are switching switching media media or techniqu techniques. es. I think a lot of artist artistss have have a set of inspirations that they just keep coming back to.
What are your favorite materials? I like translucent paper and Japanese Japanese paper, paper, to be specific. I also really really like plain plain brown paper paper.. I love gesso and and the chalkines chalkinesss of it, and the fact fact that you can sand it or inscribe into it. And I like like mesh. Those three are the big ones. Beyond that anything anything goes. How do you get started on a piece? It changes depending depending on what I’m doing. Right now, now, because I’m I’m monoprinting monoprinting on rice paper, I start by inking up a plate, plate, tearing up shapes shapes from plain plain newsprint, newsprint, and putting putting them on the plate to block out areas. Then I put the plate through the press, pre ss, rei reink nk it, and put put the same paper and plate plate through the press, press, so that I’m getting layers. layers. I don’t don’t care too much about it as a print because I’m thinking thinking of it as collage material. material. It’ss very playful, so it’s It’ it’s a good way to get started because I’m not thinking about perfection.
Untitled six-panel collage
How do you work up a composition when you are making a collage? I don’t don’t do it beforehand. beforehand. At the most, I’ll do a thumbnail sketch. sketch. Usually what happens is I’ll have all these printed papers, and I’ll kind of lay them them out out in front front of me. Then I’ll I’ll
Do you have any tips for handling creative block? I’ve experienced experienced that a lot, so I would woul d say say a couple couple of thing things. s. One is to organize your your things, handle your materials, and set up to work. That gets the juices going. You might not even make anything that time, but it helps to to get things started. Another is to to make somesomething to throw throw out. Then you don’t don’t have this this idea of perfection in in your head. And usually you you don’t don’t end up throwing it away.
glue stuff stuff down and compo compose se as I go. So I’ll put down down a layer and think,, “Ok think “Okay ay,, what work works?” s?” Then I put down another another layer, layer, and I’ll think, “W “Well, ell, that’ that’ss a bit too busy busy,,” and then I might obscure some areas. I am basically basically composing composing by laying out materials, placing them and gluing them, them, and then composcomposing again again on top of that layer layer.. It’ It’ss a process of creating maybe maybe three or four preliminary compositions to create one final compositio composition. n. You’re reacting to what’s there until it’s done. Exactly.
Transformation
Do you find it useful to work on series? Definitely.. It’ Definitely It’ss a valuable thing because you can explore a technique and a theme and exhaust it, and it becomes becomes richer. richer. If you keep keep reinventing reinventing new new ideas, idea s, it takes takes a lot of ener energy, gy, and it’s it’s not not necessaril necessarily y inspired insp ired.. If you have have something something you are really really passionate about, about, it shows in in the work. How long might you work on a theme? Years. I’d say say up to three years. How do you handle “mistakes”? I don’t don’t think there are any any mistakes. With printmaking, and monoprinting monoprinting especially especially,, you don’t don’t know what you’re you’re going to get. Almost everything everyth ing is a surprise. But because of that, you might paint over it or or you might rip rip it up, and it might work work out better. better. It gives you you the freedom freedom to alter it. it. But if it’ it’ss a beautiful beautiful print, there’ there’ss no way I would alter it.
Do you have any particular influences? Joseph Cornell. Cornell. It used to be his aesthetic, but now his influence is more his sensibility. sensibility. He was quite poetic in the way he put together images, he was so nonlinear nonlinear and intuitive. He worked worked visually like a poet puts together words. I’m also really interested in Wabi Wabi Sabi,, the Japanese Sabi Japanese philosop philosophy hy of simp simplicity licity and rusticness, celebrating the ephemeral and seeing beauty in things that are are weathered. Things that are ordinary but also really beautiful. Do you have any advice for people who are just starting to do mixed-media collage? Yes. I would say that there are so many options that it can be overwhelming. overwhelming. If you you’re ’re just getting getting started, really limit yourself. Say Say,, limit your your palette to to monotone or sepia or something something like that. Or limit your your theme to one thing like “forest “forest floor” and work with that and see what happens. happens. So limit materials materials or color or theme or all three. Sometimes the best stuff stuff comess out of limit come limitation ations, s, becau because se then you have have to be more inventive.
Paula Grasdal
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Shadow Garden
box: 1 2" 6 ⁄ 2" ✕ 7 ⁄ (16.5 ✕ 19.1 cm) book panels: 1 1 2" ✕ 5 ⁄ 2" 5 ⁄ (14 ✕ 14 cm) 1
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Intrigued by the mystery mystery of old boxes boxes and the pull to open them, Paula Grasdal altered altered a cigar box, box, then created a surprise to store inside: a multipaneled accordion accordion book that stretches to 29" (73.7 cm). The Spark: The panels form a loose visual narrative that reflects the artist’s artist’s love of Sufi poetry and Persian miniatures miniatures and are filled with botanical images and sensuous abstract shapes. The Process: Grasdal began by cutting shapes out out of thin card stock and mesh. mesh. Next, she made embossed prints by painting on a Plexiglas Plexiglas printing plate with oil paints, paints, placing the cutouts (some (some of them also painted) painted) on the plate, pressing damp printmaking paper on on top, and running the whole thing through through a small printing press. To build pages for an accordion accordion book, she cut five equal-size panels out of illustration board. board. Next, she cut plant and bird bird shapes out of the embossed prints and collaged collaged them onto each panel, planning the compositions compositions as a series.
Mixed-Media Collage
To create shadow shapes shapes (like the flying bird), bird), she coated some of the embossed prints prints with gesso, let them dry, then burnished them with powdered powdered graphite graphite to create a subtle metallic metallic effect. As a last step, she aged and sealed the panels with tinted finishing finishing wax. To assemble the book, she spaced the panels1 ⁄ 2" (1.3 cm) apart and joined them with mesh strips. Grasdal altered the box exterior exterior using old book pages and a cutout she burnished with graphite. graphite. She lined the interior with crinkly silver paper aged with graphite powder.The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used illustration board, printed and embossed acid-free printmaking paper, thin card stock, stock, mesh, a cigar box, box, silv silver er paper, paper, book pages, pages, water water-mix -mixable able oil oil paints, paints, gesso gesso,, graph graphite, ite, fini finishing shing wax, wax, a Plexiglas printing plate, a printing press, and PVA. PVA. For an alternative alternative to using using a printing press, see pages 40–42.
Paula Grasdal
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Silent Garden (diptych) 12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm) and 9" ✕ 12" (22.9 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Using basic printmaking printmaking techniques and drawing on the color palette and visual motifs of Persian art, Paula Grasdal created a diptych that evokes the stillness of a courtyard in a Persian miniature.The teachings, serves as the inspiraSpark: Sufi poetry, with its sensual botanical imagery and philosophical teachings, tion for this collage as well as for Shadow Garden (see Garden (see page 46). In particular, particular, Grasdal had in in mind “The Insightful Indian Sage” by Nezami, Nezami, which reads in part: part: “A Hindustani sage passed passed by/a perfumed garden …where each rose/girded its loins in in a blood blush…and the ephemeral tulips tulips slept out brief lives/in a pretty stupor.” The Process: Grasdal first cut cut shapes out of thin card stock and mesh. She placed the shapes on sheets of dampened printing paper and ran them through a printing press press to emboss the paper. She then cut up the embossed papers and placed placed them on the wooden support, playing with them to create a composition. She applied gesso to the papers and after letting letting them dry, highlighted the raised areas with chalk pastels. She also cut up metal mesh, adding patina to some shapes with an instant-rust kit and gessoing others. Finally, she assembled the collage collage on the wooden panels using PVA, PVA, first gluing down the painted paper, paper, then adding the mesh. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used wooden support panels, printed and embossed printmaking paper, paper, water-mixable oil paints, card stock, stock, mesh, fauxfaux-rust rust patina, patina, gesso gesso,, a printing printing press, press, and PVA. PVA.
While not all artists find working thematically to be useful, Paula Grasdal enjoys revisiting revisiting ideas and places that inspire inspire her. her. Much of her work celebrates the the beauty of the natural world.The Spark: Tide , wit with h its reef patterns and blue-dominated blue-dominated palette, palette, was inspired by walks taken along the beach beach near her home in the Pacific Northwest. Northwest. She sought to capture that sense of how patterns are formed formed when you look through through the ripples in the water’s surface at plant plant life, shells, coral, and other objects below.The Process: “I like to build a complex complex surface with layers layers of translucent printed papers,” says Grasdal. “The layers partially obscure and reveal underlying underlying images to create a mysterious mysterious effect. I’m interested in in ecosystems, organic shapes, complex patterns, layers, and translucency. translucency.” Within the complex-patterned complex-patterned surface, she made made sure sure to leave areas of calm for the eye to rest. She created collage collage materials by monoprinting monoprinting a variety of translucent rice papers and overlaying overlaying the patterns with collage. collage. For a description of her technique, see pages 40–43. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a stretched canvas, canv as, assort assorted ed rice and tissue papers, plain newsprint, newsprint, water water-mixa -mixable ble oil paints, a brayer, brayer, a burnishing burnishing tool (such as a wooden spoon), a spray bottle, a Plexiglas printing printing plate, and PVA. PVA.
Tide
12" ✕ 12" ✕ 3" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 ✕ 7.6 cm)
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k a l o P n h o J
Chapter 4
Celebrating the Natural World with Sharon McCartney
Mixed-media artist Sharon McCartney uses collage in a variety of forma collage formats, ts, crea creating ting altered altered books books and book sculptur sculptures, es, encausti encausticc paintings, paintings, fiber works, works, acrylic can canvases vases,, and, most rec recently ently,, a series series of book book-like panels that hang from vintage folding rulers of
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which Blest Foreboding is Foreboding is an example. example. Her work work is characterized by a dialogue between her own representational representati onal drawings and watercolor watercolorss and the more abstract mixed-media surfaces she creates using natural details, watercolor and acrylic paints,
Blest Foreboding
14" ✕ 24" (35.6 ✕ 61 cm) and ephemera such as hand-printed hand-printed papers, botanica botanicall engravings, engravi ngs, stamp stamps, s, and old corr correspon espondenc dence. e. She embellishes surfaces with stitching and beading, showing the hand of the artist on every level. McC McCartney artney is a life-long collector collector of natural objects and her work is a celebration celebration of natur nature. e. Her subject subjectss are birds, birds, wildflowers, and insects, insects, which act as personal icons representing representi ng themes of vulnerability vulnerability,, transformation, and survival. Blest Foreboding — and the other works in what McCartney calls her Lesson Sampler Series — was inspired by the artist’s interest in vintage needlework samplers. During the eighteenth eighteenth and nineteenth nineteenth
centuries, samplers were used by British and American American girls for practicing individual embroidery stitches and to display personal accomplishments accomplishments.. McCa McCartney rtney calls her invented format a “wall-piece book construction” and treats each panel panel as an individual individual page, always keeping in mind mind the interconnectednes interconnectednesss of the panels and the narrativ narrativee flow of the whole. whole. She works works on several panels simultaneously, simultaneously, which not only is a practical way to keep going while each panel dries, but also encourages an interaction between images, ideas, and embellishments as the piece becomes becomes a cohesive whole. For steps detailing how to make make and connect the panels, see pages 52–55.
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Technique Highlight:
Assembling a Wall all-Piec -Piece e Book Constr Construction uction
To create the multipaneled, mixed-med mixed-media ia piece Blest Foreboding , Sharon McCartney McCartney built up a series of 1 panels made of ⁄ 4" (6 mm) sew-through interfacing, interfacing, a material traditionally used for making making hat brims and studio quilts. The interfacing keeps the panels from warping warping and adds structure to almost any paper, paper, reinforcing the surface for sewing. Because they are lightweight, lightweight, the panels can be easily easily combined combined to create larger pieces by hanging them from a support rod or grouping them to create a mobile or kinetic sculpture. The artist uses the same basic technique for making shrines (see pages 60–61).
1
Make the panels:
To begin, choose a paper that will serve as the background for your collage panel and cut it to a desired size and shape (the rectangles shown are 14" ✕ 5" [35.6 ✕ 12.7 cm]). To back the paper with interfacing, interfacing, cut to size and attach it using an acid-free iron-on adhesive. McCartney makess many of her own papers make papers using various low-tech printing techniques, such as gelatin printprinting, past pastee paper paper, phot photoco ocopy py transfers, transf ers, and a sun-p sun-printi rinting ng method that uses the light-sensitive paint Setacolor. Setacolor. She then combines combines these with vintage and other decorative papers. Materials 1 4 " (6 mm) sew-through interfacing • ⁄ • acid-free iron-on adhesive • supporting rod fasteners such as ribbon, r ibbon, twine, embroidery thread, • fasteners
and wire • assorted handmade and patterned papers found or created imagery • found
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Mixed-Media Collage
• embellishments and found objects • PVA glue • matte or gel medium • embroidery needles • dressmaker’ dressmaker’ss wheel w heel 1 8 " (3 mm) hole punch • eyelet kit and ⁄ • basic supplies and household tools (see page 10)
2
Apply imagery imagery,, add stitching:
Begin to apply imagery using PVA. PVA. Here a gelatin print has been glued onto the background paper to serve as the background for another another image. For a more defined edge, add a borde borderr of stitch stitching. ing.
Tip: Use a dressmaker’s tracing wheel to
perforate holes for straight stitching and an awl to plan out and poke holes for individual stitches. This makes it easier to sew through all the layers and eliminates the risk of unwanted holes.
3
Create Crea te la layers, yers, wo work rk in multiples:
Continue to layer paper onto the panels, keeping in mind mind the contrasting patterns and surfaces. Pilfer from a wide array of sources to assemble assemble your ephemera. ephemera. For example, the artist uses uses her own own drawings, phot photocop ocopyy transf transfers, ers, water watercolo colors, rs, cutouts from old botany and zoology books, book s, and fabric scraps. scraps. Mak Makee numerous numerous image panels at one time—more than you need for a project—and experiment with scale, shape shape,, and com composi position. tion.
Tip: You can apply images directly onto the
background using photo-transfer techniques (see page 122).
Sharon McCartney
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4
Add embellishments:
While McCartney tends to use paper and fabric to build her her collages, collages, the panels can support a wide range of mate materials rials and found found objects. Because the interfacing interfacing can be sewn, you can attach practically anything by using thread or wire instead instead of (or along with) glue. Her Heree a row of of sewn-o sewn-on n metal sequi sequins ns adds sparkle along an edge, in contrast to the soft matte surface of of the paper. paper.
5
Play with composition, add dimension:
To make your panel more dimensional, sew on borders or glue on ribbons and chunky threads. This will allow you to vary the composition by highlighting some of the images with framing. Also try stitching shapes across images or backgrounds to produce a more tactile and visually interesting surface (the panel on the left l eft features embroidered X’s; X’s; the one on the right right has been filled with French knots). Notice how the artist plays with a grid structure, structure, creating tension between the rigid lines of the grid and the sinuous sinuous,, natur natural al forms forms of the images. images.
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Mixed-Media Collage
6
Add finishing touches:
Once the panels are complet complete, e, seal each one with an acrylic glaze, comb combining ining matte matte and gloss for a satin finish. You can also use matte or gel medium. To back the panels, attach plain or patterned paper using an acid-free ironon adhesive. adhesive. This helps keep keep the panel from warping and hides the stitchi stitching. ng. Seal the backing backi ng with glaze as well. well. As a final fin al step step,, if des desir ired, ed, run the tracing wheel around the panel edges and bind with a whip stitch. stitc h. To use use twine, twine, wire, or leather leather cor cording, ding, you can use an awl or paper punch to make larger holes. Alternately, create a border using using bookbinding tape or a thin strip of of patte patterned rned or plain plain paper, paper, or finish finish the edges with a sewing machine.
Tip: When the panels panels are done, done, use acrylic
paints along the panel edges to integrate inte grate them with the rest rest of of the work. work. This elimi eliminates nates the the very slight raw raw edge of the paper. paper.
7
Assemble and Join the panels:
Attach eyelets into the top corners of each panel following manufacturer’s manufacturer’s instructions. You’ll need to find or make a supporting supporting rod: Consider using branches, painted or paper-wrapped paper-wrapped dowels, dowels, knitting needles, metal piping, piping, an old recor recorder der,, or wood stripping that has been painted or collaged. Attach the panels panels to the rod rod by threading a fastener through the eyelet holes; wire,, leathe wire leatherr cor cording, ding, safety pins pins,, thre thread, ad, twine or fine fine ribbon ribbon would would all work. work. If desi desired, red, add holes at the bottom of of the panels for for hanging embellishments. Because her work work is nature themed, them ed, McC McCartney artney favors favors feath feathers, ers, ston stones, es, beach beac h glass, glass, seed pods pods,, tiny toy toys, s, small bones bones,, buttons, butt ons, bead beads, s, and small small figures. figures. k a l o P n h o J
Sharon McCartney
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In the Studio with Sharon McCartney How long have you been an artist? ar tist? I have been an artist pretty pretty much all my life, but it has been my profession for about fifteen years now. How did you come to be an artist? Oh, that’ that’ss a hard one because I feel like I have always been an artist. I have done crafts and two-dimentwo-dimensional sion al artwork artwork since since I was a kid. I did a lot of ske sketchtching, atten attended ded a lot lot of class classes. es. I did just just about about every every single craft you can think of, and I just kept going going with it throughout throughout high school and college. college. I took a brief detour into into art history and then decided decided I couldn’t couldn ’t be happy without painting. Professi Professionally, onally, I got started doing traditional tr aditional watercolors. watercolors. When did you start to work in mixed-media collage? I kept wanting to go back to needlework and embroidery,, and I kept collecting things like lace and embroidery different decorative decorative papers, looking for ways to incorporate them into into my work. So I started working with the idea of of Japanese scroll paintings. Those were were the first pieces I did with different layers layers of paper and watercolor and cutting out images and superimposing representational art over pattern. What does the term “mixed “mixed media” media” mean to you? It’ss not just It’ just a mixture mixture of materials, but the idea of being able to say something better using a variety of approaches than with a single medium. If you you’re ’re doing mixed media, media, there’ there’ss got to be a reason to be doing it, and it can’t can’t be just embellishment. For me it was that combination combination of wanting to play play with surface patterns and wanting to explore the abstract qualities of collage and then adding adding to these representat representational ional depictio depi ctions ns of my subjects. subjects. Do you feel that it is different from other media? It definitely is about collecting and accumulating. I’ve always always had piles of little papers and things things that
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Mixed-Media Collage
have either inspired me or become actual pieces in artwork. I’m able to use use those collections to build build layers and create create different different levels of surface design design and to combine these with representational images. Overall it’s it’s less about the “window” “window” illusion and more about addressing the work as an object. Is it hard for you to use your stuff? It’ss hard for me to use some It’ some of the vintage papers I know I can’t can’t replace. But I’ve never never been an artist who photo photocopi copies es a lot lot of vintag vintagee stuff stuff to use. use. I like like the physical physical texture texture of of vintage paper, paper, the softness softness of it, and the way way that that watercolo watercolorr responds responds to it. If you keep just photocopying photocopying the vintage stuff, stuff, you lose something in the executi execution on of your work. work. What exactly? I think you lose the real tangible tangible link to the past. It dilutes the image to present it on really shiny new paper.. I will use photocop paper photocopies ies of black line drawings and will transfer them onto old paper. paper. These transfers sink into the old paper differently because that paper was often unsized or its surface has broken down a bit. I use the same transfer process directly directly over old writing and shorthand, and then watercolor watercolor over that. Why are you so interested in old wr iting? I like the craftsm craftsmanshi anship p of old writing. writing. I think in past past times writing was a real art form in itself—people practiced penmanship, they used better material, and they applied themselves to writing beautiful and thoughtful though tful letters. letters. I love the gestures gestures of old handwriting, writin g, the extra curls curls and loops, and sometimes sometimes I’ll I’ll even cut those into fragments and use them as shapes and marking. The other thing I like is how how people used to value paper. paper. People wrote wrote letters across a page and then turned it around and wrote overtop ove rtop of their writing. writing. The patterns patterns created created by this are amazing.
Do you work thematically? I don’t tend to do that so much as I think in terms of series. I often prepar preparee six to ten ten pieces pieces at a time time and I think think of them as a collectiv collective. e. I carry ideas ideas from one piece to another. another. I find it takes the pressure off of gettin gettingg too precio precious us on one one piece. piece. What are your favorite materials? I still love working in watercolor watercolor,, but I also use acrylic in similar similar ways. Painti Painting ng is primary primary in my work, work, but the other materials I enjoy using are any kind of stitching stitch ing and threadwork. threadwork. I also absolutely love making my own materials for collage. I use Setacolor, Setacolor, gelatin printing, printing, or sometimes sometimes just paint on old paper.. Found objects paper objects (especially natural ones) and vintage textiles also figure prominently in my work. How do you get started on a piece? I tend to start by working in my sketchbook for a few days, coming up with ideas ideas and making thumbnail thumbnail sketches of things I want to try. try. Then I go to my reference photographs photographs and collection collection of my drawings and choose subjects that I want to use. How do you work up a composition when you are making a collage? I will prepare six to ten backgrounds and start working with groups groups of my materials materials,, laying them them out, out, picking things that will work well well together. together. I’ll have maybe six different different compositions, compositions, and I’ll come up with different color and textural combinations and see where they lead me. And sometimes the form I’m working with dictates the compositio composition. n. Do you have a favorite shape you like to work in? I tend to prefer less traditional formats like squares or long long panels. These lend themselves themselves well to dividing the composition into a collection of shapes where every component is important and you
can create a dynamic tension and pathways between them.
How do you handle “mistakes”? Sometimes I will cut up the piece and use use it somew somewhere here else. If I’m having trouble trouble with a piece, piece, I try to leave it it alone for a few few days. I rarely give up completely completely.. With collage, you can always always cover over something somet hing and go off off in a differdifferent direction. Do you have any tips for handling creative block? Again, Agai n, I think working working on a number numb er of diff differen erentt things at once helps. And also making making collage materials—it’s materials—it’s fun, it’ it’ss loose, and there’s there’s no right or wrong. Do you have any advice for peo ple who are just getting started at doing mixed-media collage? Take a lot of worksh workshops, ops, because they allow you to get other people’s approaches and to get your hands dirty. dirty. Don’ Don’tt be overly hung up on the right way to do something. thin g. One of the beau beauties ties of mixed media is that you can find more than one way to accomplish something. somethin g. I advocate advocate a lot of experimenting and keeping a journal or sketchbo sketchbook. ok. Write down ideas and things that work for you, and collect swatches swatches of colors and textures textures you like, like, and postcards postcar ds of artists who inspire inspire you. you.
Sharon McCartney
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Abide
and If Se Seed eds s are are Allowed Allo wed to Ripen Ripe n 1 4" 10" ✕ 5 ⁄ (25.4 ✕ 13.3 cm) and 1 1 4" 9 ⁄ 4" ✕ 5 ⁄ (23.5 ✕ 13.3 cm)
k a l o P n h o J
Part of a series Sharon McCartney created for a small-works small-works exhibition, the pieces shown here are cocktail cocktail napkins she altered altered using favorite favorite techniques: techniques: photocop photocopyy transfers, painting with watercolors, watercolors, and handstitching. The Spark: Working small provided the artist with an opportunity to do riffs on elements of her larger pieces, pieces, exploring more more intimate moments while while making use of her collection of drawings and experimenting with composition composition and combinations combinations of materials. It also allowed her to recycle recycle leftovers from other projects that were too interesting to throw out. The Process: Integral to all of McCartney’s work is is the layering layering of imag images es and materials. materials. By adding adding and subtracting subtracting forms, forms, imag images, es, patter patterns, ns, lines lines,, and areas of color to each piece, she is able to produce produce a rich history history that is as unique as the found found object she works on. To alter the napkins, she began by stiffening them with fabric stiffener to create create a more workable support. She chose a main image panel for each piece piece and surrounded it with supporting bits of ephemera and lace. After everything was glued in place and dry, dry, she stitched over each piece, adding buttons, beads, and other embellishmen embellishments. ts. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used vintage finds such as cocktail napkins, letters, botany and zoology zoology books, books, sheet music, music, stamps, as well as photocopy photocopy transfers of her own own drawings, drawings, handprinted papers, embroidery thread, buttons, beads, lace fragments, fragments, fabric stiffener stiffener,, water watercolo colors, rs, graphi graphite, te, and PVA. PVA.
k a l o P n h o J
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Mixed-Media Collage
k a l o P n h o J
Like many many mixed-media mixed-media artists, Sharon McCartney McCartney is a collector of cool stuff. “I’ve been collecting collecting old handkerchiefs handkerchi efs and domestic textiles for years,” she says. “I love their patterns, the careful handwork, handwork, and attention to detail.” The Spark: Reluctant to cut up the pieces she treasured, treasured, McCartney altered them by adding transfers of her own drawings, drawings, ephemera, and surface design techniques. techniques. The square format is a favorite and, in a similar vein vein to the altered books books she also makes, she enjoys the challenge challenge of an existing pattern. The Process: To soften the palette, McCartney treated the the handkerchief handkerchief with transparent lightreactive paint. paint. She also masked out areas by scattering rice and barley onto the painted painted surface, then exposing it to sunlight. Once the paint dried, she brushed off the grains, revealing white patterns patterns on the fabric beneath. Next, she used fabric stiffener to stiffen stiffen the cloth, then collaged the the surface with paper paper panels featuring her own drawings and marks made with watercolor and acrylic paints. After further embellishing the surface with ephemera, she enhanced the white patterns with white thread and a seed stitch, creating a raised texture that pulls all the elements together. The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies listed on page 58, the artist used a vintage handkerchief, handkerchief, transparen transparentt light-sensitive light-sensitive paints, teabag paper, paper, and a fossil leaf. She used an iron-on adhesive to adhere the larger panels and PVA PVA for the smaller elements.
Evening Flight 1 2" 12" ✕ 11 ⁄ (30.5 ✕ 29.2 cm)
Sharon McCartney
| 59
Fiber Fragment Shrines
6" ✕ 4" (15.2 ✕ 10.2 cm) to 9" ✕ 4" (22.9 ✕ 10.2 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Working at varying levels of complexity and in widely different size formats allows Sharon McCartney to work through ideas for larger pieces while also completing a sizable body of small smaller er work. work. The Spark: “Because I have a background in art history, I am drawn to unusual forms from different eras, eras,”” she says. “I am interested in European shrines and reliquaries of the late Middle Ages, I love Japanese painting painting on folding screens and scrolls from the Edo period, and I have also spent a lot of time looking at Persian miniatures miniatures and late-nineteenth-century late-nineteenth-century French painters. painters. I often find inspiration in those kinds of forms and translate them to to something shrinelike.” She created these fiber fragment shrines for a workshop she designed to allow allow her students, mostly fiber artists, to make use of their collections of materials and found objects. The pieces are meant to be fun and easy, easy, a quick combination combination of images and details. The Process: By adapting her panel-making panel-making technique technique (see pages 52–55), the artist created small small shrines that can be hung on a wall or framed. To begin, she made a pattern in the shrine’s shrine’s intended shape and cut six versi versions: ons: one of decorati decorative ve paper, paper, two of sew-thro sew-through ugh interfacing, interfacing, and three three of iron-on adhesive. adhesive. One advantage to designing designing the shrine (as opposed to using a found object base) is that the
structure is totally flexible: It can be a simple panel or it can showcase a central image within a window or or behind a peekaboo flap, flap, and it can be cut to any size or shape. To make the shrine front, front, McCartney sandwiched the adhesive between the decorative paper and interfacing shapes, then used an iron to bond it. (Tip: Always use a pressing sheet and set your iron at medium to avoid damaging the materials.) She then embellished the front, front, setting aside large objects objects to be glued on last. To make the shrine back, she sandwiched sandwiched the adhesive between fabric backing and an interfacing shape, used an iron to bond it, then trimmed away the extra fabric. To assemble the pieces, she sandwiched sandwiched the adhesive between between the front and back panels, bonding them with an iron and allowing extra time for the thick panels to hold. (Where needed, she added PVA PVA at the edges to strengthen the bond.) Once the glue was dry, she trimmed away the extra fabric, then reinforced the edges with a wide zigzag stitch. She coated the completed front with acrylic glaze to unify the surface and protectt it, then set it aside to dry. Finally protec Finally,, she inset eyelets and hung embellishment embellishmentss from them.The Nitty supplies listed on page 52, the artist used sew-through sew-through fabric backing, acrylic Gritty: Along with the supplies paints,, water paints watercol colors, ors, and a sewin sewingg machine.
Sharon McCartney
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Chapter 5
At Play with Teesha Moore
Collage artist and journaling pioneer Teesha Moore is used to wearing many Moore many hats. Along with raising two daughters with her husband, artist Tracy Tracy Moore, Moor e, she founded and organizes Artfest, a multiday art-workshop extravaganza in Port Townsend, Washington, that brings together artists from all overr, and Artfiberfe ove Artfiberfest, st, its fabric-arts fabric-arts cousin cousin.. She has also edited and published published several ’zines, such as the four-issue Play , The Studio , an and d Art & Life , a quarte quarterly rly still in production. production. Along with offering workshops workshops throughout the United United States, she runs a rubber-stamp business, Zettiology Zettiology.. Moore Moore’s ’s initial impetus to to make art was the journals she creates that feature her artwork,, writin work writing, g, and quotation quotationss by other writers and artists. She works works intuitively intuitively,, playing with color and graphic design elements. She generally doesn’t doesn’t proceed with a final composition composition in mind, but instead findss herself journ find journaling aling because, because, as she puts it, “It “It’s ’s an activity I simply must do on a regular basis to let my built-up creativity splatter onto the pages.”
journal page shown shown here, here, featu features res a The Egg Elf , the journal delightful Moore Moore creation creation in the form of of a stylishly clad Audrey Audrey Hepburn–like Cyclops. Cyclops. When the artist saw the “weird and almost almost rubbery” coat in Vogue magazine, she liked that it was white white and felt it would make make a nice nice figure figure of some kind. kind. Once she she had painted a vibrant background and added the figure, she kept collaging on bits bits and pieces that were lying around her desk. When those were were in place, she drew on the page with a wide array of pens, integrating the collage collage materials and adding color and personality to the images. images. Because she is a journaler,, Moore considers journaler considers a page incomplete incomplete without text; text; so when the art is is done, she always always adds adds her own thoughts or a quote of some kind that seems to fit. Here the words words give the image a spin, adding a sense of mystery and intrigue intrigue to the coated coated figure and the hidden hidden promise promise of the eggs. For steps steps detaildetailing Moore’s Moore’s approach approach to journaling and collage, see pages 64–67.
The Egg Elf
10" ✕ 8" (25.4 ✕ 20.3 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Teesha Moore
| 63
Technique Highlight: Creating a
Mixed-Media Journal Page
Creating artwork in her journals is a joyful process for Teesha Teesha Moore, one in which she lets intuition take over over as she works with familiar familiar materials, materials, paint painting, ing, cutti cutting, ng, pasti pasting, ng, and writing writing until the pages are complete. To share her process and provide the images shown below, she interrupted her creative flow, flow, stopping at several points points mid-process mid-process to make scans scans of two pages in various stages of development. The development of See of See Into Life , originally inspired by a glossy magazine magazine photo, is shown in its its entirety, entirety, while Circus Curse is Curse is printed in its final form on page 73. Materials
• watercolor 140 lb. (252 gsm) hot press paper • watercolor paints or liquid acrylics paper ephemera (often reworked photocopies of other • paper journal pages) • water-soluble artist crayons
1
64 |
Paint a watercolor background:
Paint a background for your collage. Moore uses uses watercolor watercolor paints, but liquid acrylics could work just as well for this
Mixed-Media Collage
• gel pens (especially neon) • colored pencils • assorted pens • acid-free permanent double-sided tape
process. Work on several pages simultaneously process. simultaneously.. Using different color stories will keep things lively while you work, plus it could encourage you to move move out of relying on the same favorite favorite palette.
2
Add collage elements:
Assemble your collage materials and start playing around with compositions on the different pages. pages. Moore likes likes to place things according according to color color,, for instance, instance, if she finds a pink-and-orange pink-and-orange picture picture of a cupcake she she just has to use, she’ll place it on every page to see what looks best. Her initial initial thought might be blue, blue, but she’ll find that it looks even even better on yellow. yellow. So she glues it down. She also loves borders borders and uses paper scraps to make borders around every page, playing with color and pattern as she she glues. Keep in mind as you work that you will want to leave room for adding text or journal thoughts at the end.
The start of Circus Curse
The start of See Into Life
Teesha Moore
| 65
3
Integrate the collage elements:
Using a favorite drawing medium (Moore uses water-soluble artist crayons crayo ns for this step), draw lines on and off the collage collage pieces. pieces. This will will give give your piece piece energy and movement movement and allow allow you to incorporat incorporatee the collage onto onto the painted background backgro und instead of just having it sit on top. top. It also adds more color.
Midway through See Into Life
Midway through Circus Curse
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Mixed-Media Collage
Teesha Talks Text When you feature a quote as your text, how do you choose it? Sometimes Sometim es if the picture picture reminds reminds me of a certain topic I start there. there. Fifteen years years ago I kept a quote journal but soon soon realized realized that what what can be relerelevant to your life at age twenty-seven can have little or no meaning meaning to you a year later. Since then I’ve marked up the the pages of my quote quote books with big pink X’s. X’s. Now I just open a favorite one and see what jumps out out at me. I’ve learned the the value of using less control control and being more open to what the universe wants to say on my journal pages.
4
Add fine details and the text:
To finish the artwork, go crazy with colored ore d pencils, pencils, penc pencils ils,, gel pens, pens, mar marke kers, rs, and fine line black pens. pens. Consi Consider der adding shading shading with color, doodli doodling ng (for which the various various pens work well), well), and any other elements that show your hand at work on the collaged surface. surface. Wit With h the artwork in place, it’ it’ss time to journal or add quotes.
Tip: Neon gel pens bring light to the page and are particularly useful for writing and doodling.
For the lettering lettering,, do you do calligraphy? Or is it mostly stamped letters? Do you ever use alphabets designed by someone else? I don’t know calligraphy but have always been entranced with graphic text. I play play around around with letterforms in my journal, sometimes imitating styles I see in magazines or Ink Bottle Inspiration graphicc design books. graphi books. I love alphabet rubber stamp sets. I generally stay with a basic typeface as it reminds me of the early days of mail art when I first got sucked into the crazy world of art. Do you ever do a page without text? I suppose there are a few, few, but I consider them unfinished. unfini shed. So the answer answer is no. It’ It’ss a journal. For me, word wordss are part of the page. page. I don’t don’t want want to lose lose the integrity integrity of the journal, journal, otherwise it it becomes a sketchbook.
Teesha Moore
| 67
In the Studio with Teesha Moore How long have you been an artist? art ist? I have been an artist all my life. I think everyone is an artist in something, something, perhaps their artistry comes comes out in music or dance dance or cooking. Mine happened to to be visual. Creating always always made me me happy and seemed to satiate a hunger I’d always have. How did you come to be an artist? I wanted to go to art school really bad. I wanted to immerse myself myself in learning everything I could could about it. it. But my parents said they would only pay for my education if I went to a Christian college. college. I enrolled in Seattle Pacific University as an art major and lasted one quarter quart er.. They started started me off with math, math, phy physica sicall education, cati on, art history history,, and one drawing drawing class. class. I would live live for the drawing class. But all we did was go through through the Betty Edwards book Drawing on the Right Side of showed up for the first class and the Brain . The teacher showed we saw saw him twice after after that. I figured figured if college was was simply a matter of going through through books books and learning, learning, I could do that that on my own. My boyfriend boyf riend droppe dropped d out, too too.. He proposed to me two months later and we were married four months after that (and twentyfive years later, later, we are still together). He worked worked in construction and I worked from home making stationery and custom wedding invitations. We supplemented our skills by attendin atte ndingg workshop workshops, s, read reading ing voraciously, and just “doing. “doing.”” I’m happy it worked out the way it did and have no regrets. When did you start to work in mixed-media collage? It was when I started journal-
68 |
Mixed-Media Collage
Breathing Out
ing, actually actually.. I started out out by pasting pasting anything anything and everything from my my day onto the pages: busine business ss cards, car ds, wrapp wrappers, ers, rec receip eipts. ts. Then Then,, as I’ I’d d leaf thr through ough magazines, I’d see something something that I really really liked, liked, so I started pasting in pictures. pictures. I started to make images from the collage pieces. pieces. For instance, instance, I made a lot of of “people”” using odd things “people things for arms and legs and bodies and hair. hair. All the other media came into into play because I’d be experimenting and so I’d try it out in my journal. Some things I liked liked and some things I didn’t. didn ’t. For instance, instance, heavy acrylics do not not work well within a journal, while crayons crayons add so much color color and energy. What does the term “mixed “mixed media” media” mean to you? Using a variety of products. I don’t don’t really really consider consider myself mys elf a mixed-m mixed-media edia artist, artist, but I guess guess I am. I’ve just never classified myself. myself. Do you feel that it is different from other media? Well, mixed media is is a freedom to do anything and everything. I don’t don’t go much for titles. I’d think it would be terribly restricting to make up business cards stating that you are a painter paint er,, or a sculptor sculptor,, or you work in pastels. pastels. To me, an artist is someone who creatively expresses expr esses herself herself visuall visually. y. Wh Why y limit yourself? Even the title of “mixed-media “mixedmedia artist” almost seems limiting. Do you work thematically? No,, not really. No really. It’ It’ss just whatever comes co mes out out,, co comes mes out out.. If I happen to be inspired by something somet hing I see, then I will do
some pages related to that. But usually I like the surprise of not knowing knowing how how the page page will end up. What are your favorite materials? Withoutt a doubt, Withou doubt, Caran d’ache Neocolor II crayons. You can add water and turn them into Fresh Eyes watercolor, watercolo r, they provide rich colorr, and I love colo love the look of cray crayon on lines. lines. I also adore adore pens and have have tons and tons tons of colors and ink ink types: gel, souf soufflé, flé, felt tip tip,, perma permanent nent mark markers, ers, highli highlighter ghters, s, fine line, line, and so on. I also really really like like all all types of pencils, cil s, too too.. Do you find it useful to work on series? Well, if you mean mean several several pieces pieces at at once, once, yes I do that, but I don’t don’t necessa necessarily rily think think in series. series. OK, I take that back. I have done a few few things in series. But it is moree of an obsession mor obsession with with a particular particular idea. idea. I will keep doing doing it until I’m I’m sick of it. How do you handle “mistakes”? I love mistakes, mistakes, because they give you an opportunity to create something even better. You now have a task—to turn something that isn’t looking so good into something something that looks looks great. I love these moments. I can’t always turn a piece around, around, but more times than not, it pushes me to do things I would have never never thoughtt of befor though before. e. My favori favorite te pieces pieces are ones that weren’t working and I felt compelled to make them work. Mistakes are always welcome in my my journal. Do you have any tips for handling creative block? Get out your journal journal and just play play.. If you don’t don’t feel like getting out all your media, media, just start doodling. You need to do something to unlock that creativity
door that sometimes can be all chained up. You’ ou’d d be surprised at how doodling so easily breaks breaks the chains. chains. In the same vein, vein, just get out a little litt le paint, paint, a piece piece of pape paperr, and a brush, brush, and start making making strokes. strok es. Don’ Don’tt worry about making a picture, picture, but instead instead play with color and see what happens. Do you have any particular influences? Absolutely. Absolute ly. Graphic design has influenced influenced me the most. I adore it and can never never get enough. enough. Certain music can really influence a trancelike state when I am creating so that it is easier to tap into that creative force that can flow right through you onto the paper. Certain artists at certain times in my my life. These are always changing but have have included Gil Bruvel, Henrik Drescher,, David Mack, Dave McK Drescher McKean, ean, Chagall, Modiglia Mod igliani, ni, Raph Raphael, ael, and Lane Smith. Smith. Mo Movies vies also can influence me, like Moulin Rouge , The 5th Element , Dark City , What Dreams May Come , Jam James es and the the Giant Giant Burton on’’s movie movies, s, of cou course! rse! Peach , and all of Tim Burt Do you have any advice for people who are just getting started doing mixed-media collage? Start with something simple, simple, like painting your background. Once you’v you’vee done that, you are are halfway there. ther e. Then play play.. Then if it isn’ isn’tt working working,, put a littl littlee more thought thought into how how to fix it. Lastly Lastly,, too many many people stop too soon on a piece as far as I’m concerned. cerne d. Push yourse yourself lf past the point point when you feel feel like if you do do anything anything else else to it, it, you will will ruin it. All work has this point at least twice. You need to push past it, it, becau because se a piece piece of of art is never never done. Ther Theree is always something more more that can be done. Whoever said,“Mo said, “More re is more more”” is my kind kind of wom woman! an!
Teesha Moore
| 69
Wee Friends
10" ✕ 8" (25.4 ✕ 20.3 cm)
70 |
Mixed-Media Collage
Many artists fall in love with special materials or objects and Teesha Moore is no exception. The Spark: Because she loves colorful butterfly wings, she was looking for a way to use them. She started out by creating a sort of “specimen wall.” But being more interested interested in expressing alternate realities than she is in recreating what we already know, she gave it her own playful (and affectionately creepy) spin by adding human heads. When she she was done, done, she told told the story of of the theWee Wee Friends in Friends in the spaces she had left behind. Moore’ss work is all made using the same basic approach, which The Process and the Nitty Gritty: Moore’ can be described as a process of adding layers using using different media. First, there is a watercolor watercolor layer, layer, where she paints the background and establishes the dominant color of a page. Next comes the collage layer,, where she thumbs through piles of stuff she has in her studio and uses it to create colorful layer colorful borders around each page. Then comes the crayon layer, layer, where she uses artist crayons crayons to make make lines on and off the collage elements, adding color and movement movement and connecting the collage to the surface. And for the final layer, laye r, she uses colored colored pencils, pencils, penci pencils, ls, gel pens, mark markers, ers, and fine line black pens pens to add detail lines, shading, shadin g, more color, color, and the text. For more more on her techniques, techniques, see pages 64–67. 64–67.
Sometimes an accidental collision Sometimes collision of seemingly unrelated unrelated ideas can provide provide an artist with the subject of a piece. The Spark: Teesha Moore is entranced entranced by round things, things, so when she found the images of sea urchins, urchins, she had to use them. At the same time, time, she had been thinking thinking about the premise premise of the sci-fi movie movieThe all just figments figments of our own imaginations. imaginations. Somehow joining joining the floating floating planetlike planetlike Matrix , in which we are all urchinss and the off-cent urchin off-center er figure with her searching, soulful eyes created created a visual expression of Moore Moore’s ’s thoughts. She does confess to messing messing up on the quote. “It ended up getting twisted twisted around,” she explains, “but I found the end result even more interesting.” The Process and the Nitty Gritty: To get started on a journal page (or any collage), Moore suggests suggests painting the background so there is no white. It’ It’ss easy and all you have to do is pick a color. color. Her next step is to start putting the collage in place and allow ing a picture to take shape. “I work up a composition composition through instinct instinct and keeping my mind mind out of the process,” she says. “I try to go w ith first inclinations inclinations and just trust the process. process. It usually knows knows better than I do. A good motto to use: ‘Don ‘Don’t ’t think, think, just do.’ ” For a detailed detailed description description of her techniques, techniques, see pages 64–67. 64–67.
The Art Matrix
10" ✕ 8" (25.4 ✕ 20.3 cm)
Teesha Moore
| 71
Bird Fairy 1 2" ✕ 11" 12 ⁄ (31.8 ✕ 27.9 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Collage is a lot like like musical improvisation. improvisation. Artists often work with whatever materials are at hand, riffing off of images and texts as they piece together a cohesive whole.Bird whole.Bird Fairy is Moore’s older Fairy is from one of Teesha Moore’s journals journa ls (in a size size she has since since abandoned), abandoned), and her style style is rougher rougher and edgier edgier,, embod embodying ying an off-the-cuf off-the-cuff f creativity. The color palette is moody moody and dark, and rather than presenting her texts in the more graphicsinfluenced style of her recent work, she explores personal thoughts and ideas in a meandering script.The inspired by a piece of clothing, in this case a knitted Spark: Like The Egg Elf (see Elf (see page 62), this page was inspired vest in a magazine. magazine. Once Moore Moore had plopped it on the page, she just kept right on going.The Process my work,” work,” says Moore,“I usually like it right when I finish finish with it, and and the Nitty Gritty: “With all my then I don’t don’t like it. It has always been that that way for me. I am satisfied and then not. But it doesn’t doesn’t matter because it is all about the process for me. Whether a page turns out or not is no big deal and therefore it frees me up to be crazy and take chances and not get so caught up with something not working or ruining it.”” For a detailed it. detailed description of the artist’s artist’s techniques, techniques, see pages 64–67.
Like many artists who work intuitively, Teesha Moore often finds personal meanings in her work upon completing it. Sometimes these revelations are even a bit of a surprise. When she was working on Circus Curse , she was collaging collaging with the paper scraps that were at the top of her collage bin. She wasn’t wasn’t thinking about anything but was just letting it happen. The Spark: Once she was done with the artwork, she saw that the positioning of a little man in the background and the circus circus performer looking back over over her shoulder shoul der told a kind of story story.. It made her think think of a lost love, love, so she wrote a little narrativ narrativee about the starstarcrossed couple and their night of enchantment and longing tinged with regret.The Process and the Nitty Gritty: Technically speaking, Moore uses the same basic process to create her collaged journal pages (described in full on pages 64–67). “Doing journal work inspires and informs all the other areas of my life,” she says.“It’s like like breathing, breathing, eatin eating, g, and sleeping. sleeping. I have to do it, whether I am good at it or not. My artwork comes from deep down inside. It seems to come from a source outside myself myself that I channel. I feel like I just go along for the ride and see what happens.”
Circus Curse
10" ✕ 8" (25.4 ✕ 20.3 cm)
Teesha Moore
| 73
Section 2
Gallery:
W
A Sweeping Look at Work by Twenty Contemporary Mixed-M Mix ed-Media edia Artists
hile the Profiles section of this book follows the modernist precept precept “Less Is More, More,”” presenting fewer artists and focusing closely on their work and processes, processes, the Gallery is all about abundance:
twenty artists using differing techniques in varied styles. With techniques techniques ranging from Tracy Tracy Spadafora’s Spadafora ’s combining combining of encaustic medium with wax candies and Peeps to Michael de Meng’s Meng’s assembling of old junk with a caulk gun, Liquid Nails, Nails, and a sense of humor humor,, the artists in in the Gallery have have all found inventive ways to to mix media, bringing together a jumble jumble of materials and techniques techniques to express express themselves more more fully and eloquently than they might otherwise have done. As Maria Keehan Keehan puts it, “Y “You ou never know when that seriously ugly brooch is going to be the perfect solution to all your assemblage problems.” problems.” One thing these diverse artists have in common is their embracing embracing of the freedom that working in mixed media media brings. Jane Maxwell Maxwell has been repurposing manure manure bags, using colorful colorful vintage ones she snapped up at the Brimfield Antiques Fair as a vivid v ivid background for abstract works featuring cut up rulers. Shelby Fischer delves delves into the macabre world of pulp literature, reinvigorati reinvigorating ng the antiheroes and femme fatales of of the genre by by bathing them in colorful glitter and rhinestones. Not only do mixed-media artists seek out interesting materials and processes, processes, they tend not to worry that much about perfection, instead reveling reveling in the mistakes that might make other people cringe. Jen Flores Flores has a background in oil painting but has created a wickedly funny style making assemblages with found objects and painted backgrounds. backgrounds. “I keep an open mind when something goes in an unexpected direction, direction,” she says. “I confess I actually like when mistakes happen; happen; it keeps me thinking, providing fresh fresh ideas and new direction.”
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Mixed-Media Collage
Tracy Spadafora, see page 110
Whatever the message or the content Whatever content of their work, for these artists it always seems to come back to this: Mixe Mixed-media d-media collage collage is a materials-driven proces pro cess, s, one that values spontaneity spontaneity,, intu intuitio ition, n, and an appreciation for (rather than a fear of ) stepping into the unknown.
y b h s A e r i a l C
Aleta Braun Winter Solstice
11" ✕ 14" (27.9 ✕ 35.6 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Just as writers will say their characters sometimes make make their own decisions, visual artists can discover that an artwork has a mind of its own. Aleta Braun set out to make makeWinter Winter Solstice as Solstice as part part of a series, series, but the the piece had its own ideas. The Spark: Braun was inspired by the winter solstice and the life cycles cycles of a tree. She also references references a childhood childhood story: Her mother told told her that if she looked to to the brightest star, star, she would find her late grandfather there. there. Over the years, these protective eyes have have appeared in her work. artist starts with with an idea, colo color, r, textu texture, re, or a bit of paper or or cloth. cloth. She plays plays with The Process: The artist components against against a background before gluing. It’s an organic, intuitive, materials-oriented process process with moments of intentional sequence: realizing some things things will need to be glued glued down first or that that something might have to be sewn. To make Winter Solstice , she painted an earthy earthy red underpainting with oils on canvas board. When it was dry, she painted a darker layer over over it and then scratched back down to the red in places. For the tree, she squeezed white paint paint from a plastic bag to get a fine line impasto. impasto. For texture and visual interest, interest, she added zigzag stitching stitching and handsewed beads to patterned paper, paper, then collaged it in place. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used canvas board, boar d, oil paints, paints, patter patterned ned paper, paper, beads, a sewing machine, machine, and PVA. PVA.
Like many artists, Aleta Braun has a second second career (as a reflexologist); reflexologist); because her studio time is limited, limited, she always plays a particular piece of music first thing, thing, to help open open herself up to the creative process. process.The Hoyt. Braun was still Spark: This piece was made while she was taking an encaustic workshop with Judith Hoyt. learning the technique so she brought along familiar materials. The Process: She knew she would be working on a 12" (30.5 cm) square support, support, so she prepared paper that size in her studio beforehand, beforehand, adding a spiral in zigzag with her sewing machine. In the workshop, workshop, she responded to paper ephemera provided by by the instructor instructor and experimented. She explored explored the new technique, technique, colors of pigment, and was inspired by the the work and energy of the other participants. The result is is a satisfying pastiche pastiche of favorite items, loose and spontaneous, reflecting her her mood of play and exploration. The spiral draws the viewer in while the eyes across the top offer a startling perspective: perspective: artwork that’s looking looking back at you. A dried seedpod provides a prickly counterpoint counterpoint to the smooth wax surface of of the encaustic medium.The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used a wood support, support, watercolor paper paper and paper ephemera, ephemera, graph graphite, ite, a dried magnolia magnolia seedpod, encaus encaustic tic medium, medium, pigm pigment, ent, and a sewin sewingg machine. machine. For information information on encaustic technique, technique, see page 123.
Aleta Braun
Untitled Encaustic, Winter 2006 12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Feature: Collage as a Writing Tool Brainstorming with Scissors and Glue Jennifer Crusie Collage has become really important to me when I write fiction. I believe our stories exist in some comcomplete form in our subconscious, subconscious, and our problem is to bring bring them to the surface surface.. I think most of writing is just getting getting out of my own way way to let the story emerge because I’m always trying to craft the story as I write the first draft, making sure sure everything is going the way my left brain planned it. It’ It’ss really easy to crush the life out out of a story that that way way, but I’ve been writing for so long that it’s almost impossible not to shape it as I write.
computer screen, because it doesn’t computer doesn’t feel like a book when I’m pinning something something to foam core. When I’m I’m typing, I know it’s it’s going going to be published. published. When I’m I’m playing with stickers and rubber stamps, stamps, I’m just fooling around building a fantasy world and making up stories and people that live in it. Anything goes, goes, no pressuree at all. I feel the way I did before I was pubpressur lished, complete completely ly free again.
Collage is a way for me to get to my story, story, bypassing my my well-trained formalist writer brain and jack directly into that subconscious subcons cious soup of of image and object, picking up things because they feel right and gluing them next to each other in a pattern pattern that feels right. right. I move things around a lot as I work, work, whic which h is one of of the reasons why my collages aren’t artworks: there’ there’ss too much Crusie created this collage while writing the novella Hot Toy. unartistic torn paper and glue splotches and scribbled scribbled marker. marker. I slop paint and marker on to change color as shorthand Having said that, the Trudy Trudy Hot Toy collage was one of visuall notes to myself visua myself,, not to make make visual poetry poetry.. If the the most planned collages I’ve ever ever done. Trudy goes storytelling part part of my brain says, says, “That’ “That’ss it!” it stays, stays, into an old toy store on Christmas Eve Eve to find a toy, toy, so even if the artist part of my brain brain says,“Y says, “You’ ou’re re kidding, kidding, I pulled a very splintered splintered old shadow shadow box out of my right?” And because because it it feels like play play,, not work, work, the junk stash stash and used used that that because because it remind reminded ed me of book opens up for me. I’m much much more creative with the old splinted wood shelves shelves in the toy store. store. Then I scissors and paper and glue than I am staring into the glued Trudy and everything that made up her charac-
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Mixed-Media Collage
ter to the frame because she’s she’s at the forefront forefront of the story—the story—t he novella novella is entirely in her point of view— and put all all of her antagonis antagonists, ts, everythi everything ng that was was pushing her from behind behind (the hero, hero, her family, family, the bad guy) guy) into the box. box. And then, becaus becausee it was a Christmas novella, I kept obsessively obsessively gluing on Christmas things. I’d think it was done and then I’d I’d keep gluing, gluing, wond wondering ering in the back back of my mind mind why I couldn’t couldn’t stop. stop. Finall Finallyy I had so much stuff on there it was ridiculous, and that’s when I realized that it looked looke d like Christmas Christmas to me: too much much stuff, too much glitter, glitter, too much much everything, with Trudy Trudy standing in the middle middle of it with her hands on on her hips, completely comp letely exasp exasperated erated.. And, of cour course, se, that’ that’ss when when it looked look ed like like the story story,, too too.. A lot of of the story story came straight out out of the images images in that collage. collage. The broken broken gingerbread motif came from the gingerbread stickers that broke while I was trying to glue them in, and the cow came from a pencil topper I found in a drawer and ripped off off so I could use it. It’ It’ss the subconscio subconscious us at work: I could have have just glued the gingerbread back together and not written in the struggles with the broken cookies, and there were other pencil pencil toppers in the drawer, drawer, but those were the things my brain snagged on and said, “Ooooh, that! ” They went went into into the collage and from there right into the story. The Bet Me collage was even more planned than the one I made for Hot Toy . It’ It’ss a very simple collage collage because it was done after after the book was done, as a way of helping to to focus the the rewrite. rewrite. I divided the world world of the book into three areas: public outside outside (the park), public inside inside (the bar, bar, the restaurant, restaurant, the bridal shop, shop, the wedding chapel), and private inside (Min’ (Min’ss apartment) and chose only the most important images for each. Narr Narrowing owing the images to just a few really made
Crusie created this collage while working on the novel Bet Me.
me concentrate concentrate on what the story needed, not on what scenes I liked liked having written. I had a huge baseball in the bottom bottom layer of the collage that just didn’t didn ’t belong there. I finally took it out and put in three baseball baseball sticker stickers. s. I needed the three-peat three-peat of the three baseball baseball scenes in the book, but I did not need the huge last scene I’d I’d written, so I cut it way back until it was simply the third in a series and the book was much better for it. My ego wouldn’t wouldn’t let me cut it, but my subconscious in the collage told me that scene was sitting in the book like a giant egg the same way that giant baseball had overwhelmed the collage. A better example example of the seat-of-the-pants seat-of-the-pants collage is the Mare/The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes collage (see page 80); that one truly was a glue-on-tearglue-on-tear-it-offit-offmove-it-around work-in-progress for the entire book, and it had a huge impact on the finished finished story. story. Subconscious to paper-and-glue to story—I can’t imagine writing without collage now. Jennifer Crusie is the best-selling author of fifteen novels, a book book of of liter literary ary criticism, criticism, and numero numerous us essays. essays. Her work has been published in 20 countries.
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Jennifer Crusie Mare and The Unfortunate Unfortuna te Miss Fortunes
24" ✕ 16" ✕ 16" (61 ✕ 40.6 ✕ 40.6 cm)
Novelist Jennifer Crusie uses collage to keep herself from getting too bogged down in the writing process. Novelist Working back and forth, forth, writing and gluing, lets her see the story with fresh eyes.The Spark: This collage is a result of the author brainstorming brainstorming for her character, character, Mare, in a collaborative collaborative paranormal novel about three sisters. The Process: She began with a small easel and glued two picture frames to the top, one for each each of Mare’ Mare’ss sisters, and an image of Mare at the top looking looking out over over everything. In brainstorming collages, Crusie isn’t looking looking for exact likenesses as much as attitudes and feelings, so she might use pictures of different people to represent the same character. character. She filled the center center with drapery, the way Mare covers her bedroom walls walls with drapery, and then added the pe ople and objects that populate Mare’s world. The blue glittery stars represent represent Mare’s Mare’s magic, magic, and the rocks, the bed, and the gold glitter glitter at the bottom represent represent scenes from the last act of the book as Mare fights fights the good fight at the end of her journey. journey. photo easel, a wood The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the author/artist used a photo tray,, pictu tray picture re frames, frames, glitt glitter er,, dried leaves, leaves, wrappi wrapping ng cord, cord, phot photograph ographs, s, stick stickers, ers, com computer puter type, magaz magazine ine cutouts, cuto uts, wire, stone stones, s, wrappi wrapping ng paper paper,, sungl sunglasses, asses, artifi artificial cial flo flowers, wers, die cuts, postc postcards, ards, yarn, rubber stamps, stamp s, candy wrapper wrappers, s, nettin netting, g, clear tape, tape, doub double-si le-sided ded tape, tape, PV PVA, A, and Goop. Goop.
Why I Never Graduated Collage Alisa Kwitney
editors, I have Like a lot of comic book writers and editors, always alwa ys been frustrated frustrated by by my lack of artis artistic tic talent. talent. I mean, sure sure,, I can write panel description descriptionss that would not make the artist howl with frustration as he or she attempts to draw from from my script. And I understand how to conceptualize the graphic novel page as a whole.. Wh whole What’ at’ss more, more, I can tell if a cover cover will “wor “work” k” from across across a room. (An image that only looks good close up will not attract a person browsing in a store. This explains explains the preponderance preponderance of pneumatically breasted super heroines dressed in brightly colored spandex.) At At my imprint, Vertigo, we took a different different approach, favoring sophisticate sophisticated, d, edgy images, including inclu ding a fair fair amount amount of coll collage. age. This made made the cover editor think we were a little weird. “What’ “What’ss this,”” he’ this, he’d d say, say, “a nipple on her head?” Comic book Comic book pages are, are, in essence, essence, colla collages ges of imag images es and text, and for seven years I made my living midmidwifing some rather good ones. But I can’ can’tt draw. draw. I can’t even doodle the nifty gorgon headdresses my fellow editors would would whip out during meetings, meetings, all the while insisting they were, in fact, taking steps steps to keep Swamp Thing from shipping late. My feelings feelings of artistic inferiority diminished diminished somesomewhat when I left my job and began to write novels full time. I concentrated concentrated on writing strong strong visuals and forgot about any misguided attempts to draw. And then I met Jennifer Crusie. Crusie. Now Now,, I already felt a little in awe awe of Jenny Jenny,, who not only only writes funny funny and smart and sexy, sexy, but who can also explain the theory of funn funnyy and smart and sexy sexy.. These are are two skills skills that are usually mutually exclusive, exclusive, like the ability to surf professionally and the ability to teach teach applied physics. So when Jenny Jenny explained that whole thing about making collages before she started writing in order to free her subconscious and reveal her book’s underlying unde rlying themes, themes, I was sold. I got snipping snipping and
pasting glossy magazine pages, pages, trying to free my my inner Fauvian spirit and get get out of my own way. way. I wound up with a bunch bunch of glossy men and women women who looked like they were advertising odd products, including Monopoly money and a big-head doll from the broken-toy broken-toy bin. The more I looked at my creation, the more my sense of my story story receded. Then my kids came home from school.“What school. “What the heck is that?” asked my son.“That’ son. “That’ss my Rapunzel Barbie!” Barbie!” wailed my daughter.. “The money is falling off,” daughter off,” added my son. “You “Y ou used the wrong glue. gl ue.”” I went back to my old lack-of-method lack-of-meth od of writing novels. Here’ss how it Here’ it works: works: Firs First, t, I get an idea, idea, like like,, “W “What hat kind of woman would would move to the country country without knowing how to drive?” drive?” Then I add to the idea folder in my head. head. If the woman woman is an outsider outsider,, wou wouldn ldn’t ’t it be interesting to pair her up with a man who looks like he belongs, but feels discordant discordant with his surroundings? I start to to accumulate accumulate images, images, scenes, bits of people I know and others I have have only glimpsed glimpsed in passing. passi ng. I feverishly feverishly write write notes on scraps scraps of pape paperr that I later lose. I drive in my car, blasting bad seventies music or Russian showtunes or whatever odd theme music strikes my my fancy. Then I combine all these disparate bits to make my characters. characters. The characters kind of of make the plot plot and the plot also makes the characters, because really, really, plot is just just a nice nice way of sayin saying, g, “This is how to to torture torture your imaginary imaginary friends in order to make them change and grow.” So I suppose I do collage, collage, it’ it’ss just that I do it in my head, Fran Frankens kenstein teining ing the bits and pieces pieces of peop people le and ideas and combing them into something new. Alisa Kwitney is the critically acclaimed author of Flirting in Cars , Sex as a Second Language, and The Dominant Blonde.
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Michael de Meng Monarch
7" ✕ 4" ✕ 2" (17.8 ✕ 10.2 ✕ 5.1 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
When it comes to mixed-media mixed-media artist Michael de de Meng’s Meng’s work, anything and everything is fair game. In fact, he often does not know know the original purpose purpose of the “stuff” “stuff” he uses, only that how how he is repurposing repurposing it in his art is somehow right. The Spark: Inspired by Mexico Mexico’s ’s Day Day of the Dead festival, de Meng’s Meng’s art explores issues of mortality, which are reflected here not only in in the religious imagery imagery and butterfly reference but also in his materials: defunct objects to which his work brings new life.The Process: To create this sardine-c sardine-can an shrine, he began by trying out a number number of found items items until he found found the pair of metal forms that created the wings effect. Placing different collage elements in the center, he let the interplay of materials and shapes guide his composition, composition, gluing things as he worked. To bring cohesion to the disparate elements, he added a coat of rust-colored paint, then layered layered on smaller smaller elements such such as the crown over the man man and the gear on top. Final Finally ly,, to weigh it down, he added the chain chain with the metal plug. plug. The resulting resul ting piece piece is an intrig intriguing uing balance balance of opposi opposing ng elements: elements: light and dark, flight and heft, whims whimsyy and gravity, boldness and subtlety. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a sardine can, various typewriter parts and found metal objects, an unidentified metal plug on a chain (where it came came from is anyone’ anyone’ss guess), rust-colored paint, a caulk gun, and Liquid Nails. Nails.
Like many collage collage artists, Michael de Meng’s Meng’s process process is materials driven. driven. He calls himself a good listener, listener, someone who lets images images and artifacts guide him, him, the juxtaposing of random objects ultimately creating creating unexpected meanings. The Spark: Like most most of his work, work, this piece explores how everyday objects, even banal ones, can be transformed into items items that are seemingly sacred, a process the artist likens likens to mytholomythologizing the mundane. The Process: Wit With h a bunch of stuff lying around around and a caulk caulk gun full of of Liqui Liquid d Nails Nails nearby, de Meng took his carefully carefully cleaned sardine can in hand and got started. Because he is riffing on the actual objects, he is never quite sure sure what direction a piece piece might take. Here he glued and nailed nailed the main pieces together, together, drilling holes as needed for for the metal objects to be joined. Once the outline was established, he added smaller collage collage elements, then applied a mixture mixture of washes and patterns. Finally, he added the the smaller objects, refining the look and message of the piece, and blending with paints as needed. The resulting Santa Canna is a playful personification of of a sardine-can saint, complete with veiled eyes, a crown of of matches, and a scroll-like scroll-like beard. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a sardine sardine can, nails, paper paper,, a book of match matches, es, some mysterio mysterious us but coolcool-looki looking ng items, items, a handheld handheld drill, drill, paint, a caulk gun, and Liquid Nails. Nails.
Michael de Meng Santa Canna
7" ✕ 3" ✕ 2" (17.8 ✕ 7.6 ✕ 5.1 cm)
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Dorit Elisha Art Is Everywhere Everywhere
32" ✕ 33" (81.3 ✕ 83.8 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
A printmaker and mixed-media mixed-media collage artist, Dorit Elisha createdArt created Art Is Everywhere as Everywhere as a page in a giant imaginary imagi nary journal (the start of a series). The Spark: Intrigued by an old, yellowed map of San Francisco, Francisco, detailing an area near where she lives, she thought it would make an evocative background for a collage. The Process: Keeping in mind her plan to use the map as her base (and responding to the faded palette), Elisha began to assemble materials, including screen-printed screen-printed images of antique dolls and vintage papers from her childhood. childhood. Black-and-white contact contact sheets made by her father, a professional photographotographer, provided some some of the imagery. imagery. From another another source, she chose a flying dove dove to reference stories stories of peace she heard growing up in Israel and to symbolize symbolize her own identity as an artist. After gluing the various papers in place and letting them dry, she stitched over the entire collage collage with a sewing machine—a favorite technique. technique. Finally, she antiqued the pages by painting painting over parts with white paint.The Nitty supplies (see page 10), the artist used an old map, vintage and found papers, Gritty: Along with basic supplies photograp phot ographs, hs, scree screen-pri n-printed nted papers, foil foil,, transp transparenc arencies, ies, acryli acrylicc paints, gel medium, medium, a sewing machine, machine, and an acid-free gluestick.
Sometimes a personal theme in art ends up reflecting a universal experience. experience. Such is the case with Dorit Elisha’s My Life as a Three-Ring Circus , part of an ongoing series that uses maps as giant journal pages (see also previous page). The Spark: Her idea was to portray her busy lifestyle and multiple roles within it: mother moth er,, wife, frien friend, d, artist, and teacher teacher.. Man Manyy artists will be familiar familiar with the struggle struggle to find time and energy to create while also living an overscheduled life. The Process: Elisha chose a colorful and visually busy vintage map to use as her her support and background. She selected an image of a woman (a color color photocopy of one of her original screen prints) to represent herself, placing it at the bottom and collaging on juggler arms. Her canvas self juggles five ball-shaped ball-shaped collages that that represent the different roles roles she plays in her life; each ball is edged with machine machine stitching. stitching. Circ Circus us clowns, clowns, juggl jugglers, ers, tandem tandem-bik -bikee riders, and other figures add color and chaos. chaos. Once the shapes and images images were in place, she went back in with acrylic paints to unify the background and create a coherent whole. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see (see page 10), the artist used a vintage map, map, photo photocopied copied screen screen prints, found images, images, acrylic paints, paints, crayons, crayo ns, gel medium, medium, a sewing machine, machine, and an acid-free acid-free gluestick.
Dorit Elisha My Life as a Three-Ring Thr ee-Ring Circus
34" ✕ 33" (86.4 ✕ 83.8 cm)
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Shelby Fischer Spiritual Castaway
12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
The search for materials has taken artist Shelby Shelby Fischer on a w ild, glitter glitter-filled -filled ride. Usi Using ng what some might considerr a lightweight material (not for “serious” conside “serious” artists), she creates vibrant, eye-popp eye-popping ing canvases peopled peopled with renegade, outsider figures figures and fierce animals. The Spark: Drawn to the unembellished magazine images, Fischer saw opportunities for creating a mysterious relationship between the men and the magical ball as well as for glittering the flowing robes. The Process: She began by painting the canvas support with acrylics, then attached gossamer star paper using matte gel medium medium she had diluted with water. She kept adding layers layers of paper until she she got the look she wanted (she (she might use up to twenty). twenty). Next, she turned to her stash of magazine cutouts, cutouts, moving them around around against the background background until she had an “aha” “aha” moment. She then taped everything in place and lived with it for a few days before gluing. Then she added glitter and rhinestones rhineston es to create a vibrant vibrant tableau. tableau. Finally Finally,, she added added a “frame “frame”” of distress ink, gold leaf, leaf, and ink, ink, and coated the background background with glossy varnish. (Tip: Because her work is so layerlayer- and glue-intensiv glue-intensive, e, Fischer lets it dry thoroughly between processes.) The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a stretched canvas support, assorted papers, images from early-twentieth-c early-twentieth-century entury magazine covers, cover s, glitter glitter,, rhineston rhinestones, es, glass beads, gold leaf, inks, acrylic paints, acrylic and gel matte medium medium,, gloss gel/varnish, gel/varni sh, gloss medium/varnish, medium/varnish, and an acid-free glue pen.
Key to the success of Than of Thankk you, Alb Albert ert is is the tension created between the buttoned-down Victorianism of the central figure and her counterpart’s counterpart’s daring leap through and away from from the confines of the noose. And in this sense, the piece is characteristic of Shelby Fischer’s Fischer’s desire to tell powerful, powerful, poignant stories through through the juxtaposition juxtaposition of strongly resonant images. The Spark: Although the artist didn’t realize it until well after she had finished, finished, the piece was influenced influenced by the writings of Albert Camus (whom she thanks in the title). To create her high-flying heroine, heroine, she cut figures from early-twentieth-century early-twentieth-century magazine covers covers and experimented with the different different elements (the noose, noose, a diamond-studded whip, whip, an almost psychedelic psychedelic background backgr ound). ). The resulting resulting piece is a quirk quirkyy mixture of dispar disparate ate elements: elements: fanta fantasy sy,, horr horror or,, and fashion. fashion. most of her collages, The Process and The The Nitty Gritt y: Fischer uses the same basic approach for most working the background background with multiple multiple layers of paper, playing around with cutout images, and loading up the surfaces with glitter and rhinestones. For a detailed description description of the techniques and materials she uses, see previous previous page.
Shelby Fischer
Thank You, You, Alber Albert t 12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Jen Flores Hot Damn Goddess
14" ✕ 11" (35.6 ✕ 27.9 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
A longtime painter, Jen Flores took a detour several years ago into mixed-media mixed-media collage, enjoying the freedom and challenge of working with unusual materials. The Spark: Along with Botticelli, Botticelli, Flores credits British artist Paul Spooner with inspiring her approach to Hot Damn Goddess and Goddess and Venus with Shells and Leather . His mechanical sculpture The Last Judgment shows Judgment shows a life-size wooden skeleton consuming consuming people, who are then digested (via conveyor belt) to either heaven or hell. She refined this idea by drawing parallels to social perceptions of women as either saints or sinners and found the ideal form to to be a diptych.The Process: To create Venus, Venus, Flores recarved an Indonesian balsa wood figurine and slipped on the leather jacket, originally a key chain. She adhered a photocopy of a desert scene and an antique postcard onto a wooden support, support, and painted over over parts to create continuity continuity.. She then used the same process process of gluing and wiring things in place as she did for Venus with Shells and Leather (see Leather (see next page). Attaching the glass bottles was tricky: She glued them onto onto the support with silicone, silicone, then filled the space around around each bottle with a thick glue–glass bead mix. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used a wood wood panel support, support, a balsa wood wood figurine, figurine, a tiny leather leather jacket, glass beads, photo photos, s, hot sauce bottles, bottles, found foun d metal pieces, acrylic paints, paints, a handheld drill, drill, and silicone. silicone.
Working with tongue planted firmly in cheek, mixed-medi mixed-mediaa artist Jen Flores created a two-part homage to Sandro Botticelli’ Botticelli’ss Birth of Venus , replacing the willowy willowy Renaissance beauty with a twenty-first-century biker chick . The Spark: The beauty of the original so inspired Flores that she began to toy toy with the imagery in Adobe Photoshop and invented a more playful Venus Venus that embodied a Saint/Sinner theme. Her Venus is clad in a leather jacket and has boldly flung open her arms to embrace her surroundings: the ocean, ocean, shells, sparkling jewels, and dancing dancing dolphins. dolphins. Meanwhi Meanwhile, le, her muse muse gazes demurely over her shoulder. The Process: After adhering a photo of of the original artwork to the support panel with acrylic gel medium, the artist altered the image with acrylic paints, then attached the scallop shell shell by drilling holes through it and the panel, then adding silicone glue reinforced reinforced with wire. She prepared a cast-clay figurine by dressing it in the leather jacket and drilling a hole in the back so she could both screw and glue it in place (all of the large pieces pieces are fastened as well as glued). glued). Then she created created sea foam out of varioussized glass beads and added embellishments such as tiny shells and starfish. The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies supplies used on page page 88, the artist used a cast-clay figurine, scallop shells, and vintage jewelry. jewelry. She attached attached materials materials using silicone, silicone, weld glue, glue, acrylic gel medium, medium, screw screws, s, and wire.
Jen Flores Venus with Shells and Leather Leather
11" ✕ 8.5" (27.9 ✕ 21.6 cm)
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Lorraine Glessner Blossom
12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Preserving altered silk fabrics and organic materials in encaustic wax allows artist Lorraine Glessner to form a connection connection with the patterns and cycles of of the natural world.The Spark: Blossom seeks to capture an elusive elusive moment, the time of growt growth h just before the the bloom, when the structure structure of a blossom is formed formed but remains enclosed, its beauty promising to unfurl but not yet visible.The Process: Glessner’s pieces consist of intric intricate ate surfaces surfaces created by sealing sealing transparent transparent silks, threa thread, d, paper paper,, paint paint,, and images into into layers of encaustic medium and beeswax. To prepare the silk underlayer, underlayer, she subjects it to many processes such as burning burni ng and branding, rustin rusting, g, deco decomposi mposition, tion, burying burying,, or exposing exposing it to the elements. She then stretches stretches it over over a Claybord support, adding layers layers of of wax and deconstructing them by by burning, branding, scraping, and inscribing inscribing the surface. surface. She adds subsequen subsequentt layers of transp transparent arent silks, silks, thre thread, ad, hair hair,, paper paper,, paint paint,, image, wax, and branded marks, letting the composition composition grow grow in response to the the patterns in the fabric. The repeated grid patterns and geometrical imagery provide a strong visual foil foil to the sinuousness of the organic materials, as well as metaphorically metaphorically referencing referencing the natural natural order of things.The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a smooth Claybord Claybord support, beeswax beeswax,, encausti encausticc medium,, digital images, medium images, transluce translucent nt papers, photo photographs, graphs, oil paint paint on silk, silk, and organic organic ephemera. ephemera. For more more information about encaustic technique, see page 123.
Buried beneath beneath layers layers of encaustic wax, wax, the organic organic materials, altered silk silk fabrics, and photographic photographic images images of Lorraine Glessner’s Glessner’s work work reflect and comment comment on the beauty beauty of the natural world. world. Lightly organized organized by a grid formation, formation, her canvases feature feature repeated images images of circles and spirals, which she uses to suggest suggest layers of meaning, processes, interrelatio interrelationships, nships, wholeness wholeness,, and the the lifecycles lifecycles that order order the universe. universe.The Spark: Bloom celebrates beginnings beginnings and, as is typical of Glessner’ Glessner’ss art, it reflects both both the ideas and the emotions emotions that inform her work. She began to make make the piece at the the start of spring, when she could could just smell things things beginning to grow grow and the chill had left the air. She uses her signature grid pattern only minimally here, allowing for a looser, looser, more playful feel. The Process and The Nitty Gritty: To make Bloom , Gles Glessner sner used the same basic process as she did for Blossom (see previous page), page), but with one exception. exception. Here she used a heated drawing tool that is designed to draw lines with molten encaustic. It was the first time she had used it but she quickly absorbed it into her tool kit, finding that it enables her to incorporate fine lines and increased texture texture into her work. work. (Tip: When working working with wax, she recommends recommends using filtered filtered wax instead of bleached as bleaching chemicals chemicals are harmful and also yellow over over time.)
Lorraine Glessner Bloom
12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Holly Harrison Plaything
9" ✕ 12" (22.9 ✕ 30.5 cm)
92 |
Mixed-Media Collage
Writer Holly Holly Harrison loves the medium of collage and finds that working with her hands is a great corrective to overthinking while writing. The Spark: She used self-printed photographs photographs of her daughter to create a series of 5" (12.7 cm) studies by altering altering them in different different ways, then decided to rework rework one of them on a larger scale. The Process: She prepared the support using the same basic technique as for her self-portrait (see next page). Surprisingly, working larger led her her to simplify the image rather than add more elements. After printing the photograph in sections, she distressed it with with sandpaper, sandpaper, and drew on on it with color pencils. She chose visually interesting materials to create Mira’s Mira’s bathing suit (a printmaking discard), the water (handmade paper), and the ball (distressed with sandpaper). And although she liked the tension tension of the off-center off-center image, she felt her daughter’s excitement needed a focus. A beach ball seemed just the thing, and she gave gave it a visual spin. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a canvas-board canvas-board support, photographs, heavyweight matte photo paper, assorted printed and handmade papers, watercolor pencils and acrylic paints, joint compound, compound, archival varnish varnish with a UV protectant (for (for the photograph), photograph), a computer, computer, an ink-jet printer, acrylic matte medium, medium, and PVA. PVA.
Working with so many talented artists is always always inspiring to Holly Harrison, who considers herself a writer first and a visual artist-in-training second (though she really hates to compartmentalize creativity). The Spark: The main image is a photograph taken taken by a friend’s three-year-old three-year-old daughter, daughter, Mimi. It seemed to capture a fleeting moment, one that Harrison wanted to explore explore in a collage.The Process: To prepare pre pare the background, she worked the support with watercolor watercolor pencils and acrylic paints, then slathered it messily with joint compound compound to add texture. After letting it dry overnight, she smoothed it down with sandpaper. She printed the photograph in four sections sections and pasted them together David Hockney–style. She then sanded the assembled photo, distressing the surface surface and emphasizing emphasizing the joins. joins. Next, she played with materials, adding and subtracting, placing and replacing, until she found a composition composition she liked. liked. The repeated image of two birds in a tree tree is a detail from one of her photographs, altered in Adobe Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop. To print the image onto onto rice paper, paper, she ironed the rice rice paper onto freezer freezer paper, cut it to size, printed the image, then peeled away the rice paper. Using acrylic medium to paste it in place allowed allowed color to bleed through from below. below. (Tip: You could also apply photocopy transfers to t he surface.) To To protect the photographs, she sprayed the finished piece with two coats of archival varnish. The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies listed on page 92, the artist used rhinestones and cotton fabric.
Holly Harrison On Wooster Street
12" ✕ 16" (30.5 ✕ 40.6 cm)
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Claudine Hellmuth What Were You Doing All Day?
10" ✕ 10" (25.4 ✕ 25.4 cm)
94 |
Mixed-Media Collage
Artist Claudine Hellmuth enjoys creating playful collages around around domestic themes in her signature style, a combination of of collage and skillful skillful pen-and-ink drawing. The Spark: Here she portrays a woman and a man, each caught up in their own own pursuits. Both pieces poke delicate fun at the traditional traditional concept of the perfect domestic scenario: the fulfilled housewife housewife and pampered husband. husband. With a faraway faraway,, dreamy look in her eye, the woman ponders where where her day has gone, while the viewer is left to imagine the endless list of household chores she has accomplished. The Process: To create a cheerful kitchen for her happy homemaker,, the artist started by gluing maker gluing a background background of colored tissue paper onto a stretched canvas, canvas, and then added a floor floor made of patterned origami paper. The oven oven is a painted recipe. She dressed her her central character using colored paper and chose a black-and-white photocopy from from her collection of antique photos for the head. Once the piece was dry, dry, she added line work using a black fine-tipped pen. With the use use of flattened perspective, direct lines, and simple shapes, Hellmuth creates a unique relationship relationship between the illusion of naiveté and the the knowing irony of her text. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a stretched stretched canvas canvas support, support, vario various us papers (origami, (origami, tissu tissue, e, colo colored, red, and patterned), photocopies, Pitt artist pens (and pigmented India ink), acrylic paints, and gel gel medium. medium.
A companion piece to What Were You Doing All Day? (see Day? (see previous page) in which a housewife loses track of ti time me,, One of the Best Pastimes Pastimes shows shows the male male equivalent of a day at home. Here a much more handsome Archie Archie Bunker watches TV while while drinking a beer as a cat poses elegantly at the foot of his chair. chair.The Spark: Toying with 1950s stereotypes, stereotypes, Claudine Hellmuth Hellmuth has created a wry portrait of a husband enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon (presumably while his wife makes dinner and serves him drinks). The background of colored tissue onto onto a stretched canvas, canvas, she created the floor floor using Process: After gluing a background patterned origami paper. paper. She cut a chair shape shape out of paper and painted it cobalt blue before gluing it in place. She then gave gave the man a fetching outfit made of patterned paper matching his his wife’s wife’s dress, along with a black-and-white head photocopied from from an antique photograph. Once everything was glued down and dry, she added line work using a black fine-tipped pen. By combining collage collage elements with drawing, Hellmuth enjoys enjoys a lot of freedom, unifying disparate elements and materials through a signature drawing style. The Nitty Gritty: See previous page.
Claudine Hellmuth One of the Bes Best t Pastimes
10" ✕ 10" (25.4 ✕ 25.4 cm)
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n e g a H n a f e t S
Maria Mar ia G. Kee Keehan han Carspotting
14" ✕ 11" ✕ 2" (35.6 ✕ 27.9 ✕ 5.1 cm)
96 |
Mixed-Media Collage
Although painter and collage collage artist Maria Keehan doesn’t doesn’t love the practice of caging tropical birds, birds, the escape of her nieces’ belov beloved ed pet parakeet moved moved her to depict the tale. The Spark: Keehan juxtaposes three moments moments in time: the end of Oiseau Oiseau’s ’s multiday multiday flight, flight, her nieces searching searching the skies, skies, and their dog, Lucy,, looking hopefully Lucy hopefully at any bird. The Process: Keehan built built the three-panel structure structure out of foam core (gluing it into a wooden frame). She mounted some images onto Bristol Bristol board, painting the backs to match the background, background, and others onto tissue paper, paper, making foam core pedestals pedestals to support them. To make the trees, she collaged magazine magazine images onto Bristol board, painted them thickly thickly,, and cut out descending circle circle shapes. She secured them on a painted painted toothpick, which she stuck (and glued) glued) into the back. Oiseau is a sketch on Bristol Bristol board that she heavily heavily collaged on both sides with tissue paper, paper, bird pictures, pictures, paint, pencil markings,, and feathers. She unified markings unified coloration coloration of the images using using paint and markers, markers, then added “break “breakout” out” color afterward. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used a wood frame, photographs, foam core, core, Bristol board, acrylic paints, colored pencils, marke markers, rs, tissue paper paper,, old art art books, books, magazines, magazine s, flea market finds, toothpick toothpicks, s, fabric trim, rocks, feathers, acrylic matte medium medium,, and PV PVA. A.
n e g a H n a f e t S
Conceived as a companion piece to Carspotting Carspotting (see (see previous page), Safehouse Safehouse tells tells how the escapee parakeet Oiseau is found by a stranger and reunited with his owners. The Spark: Like so many family stories, the tale of Oiseau Oiseau’s ’s adventures adventures has taken taken on a life of its own for artist Maria Keehan Keehan and her family. family. Here she playfullyy explores the miraculous playfull miraculous nature nature of his return, and answers the question, question, “How is it possible possible for a stranger miles away to bring a small missing parakeet home?” The Process: Using the same techniques she developed for Carspotting , Keehan built built a second three-paneled box to house the assemblage. The main image shows Oiseau (a book picture picture mounted on Bristol board board and collaged with layers of tissue and bird pictures) perched on the stranger’s hand; the lower-left panel represents represents her nieces’ pediatrician’ pediatrician’ss office (a major player in in the bird’s return); return); and the right section is the artist’s fantasy rendering of one of the exam rooms filled with colorful parakeets. The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies used on page 96, the artist used parakeet parakeet books, origam origamii paper, paper, found baby figurines figurines,, rickr rickrack, ack, and fabric appliqués appliqués..
Maria Mar ia G. Kee Keehan han Safehouse
14" ✕ 11" ✕ 2" (35.6 ✕ 27.9 ✕ 5.1 cm)
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Garden , she
painted the dress blue, then tore up some long-coveted botanical prints and used them to deckle the edges and to collage the surface. surface. She also collaged collaged and painted the birds. To create the background, background, she added multiple multiple layers of linol linoleum eum block prints and splatters splatters of acrylic paint to create the impression impression that the dress was walking walking through through a garden of flow flowers. ers. For World Traveler , she used the same basic basic techniques, techniques, substituting materials materials that reflect reflect the theme theme of travel instead instead of nature. She loved loved the faded colors colors of some old maps and tore them up to collage the dress dress and background surfaces, adding circles that were leftover from another project to make the composition more interesting. She made the purse out out of sheer fabric and pink ribbon, then tucked in some old letters and postcards she had found at a stamp store. Once all the collage elements were in place, she assembled the various pieces using heavy gel medium, allowing them to dry thoroughly. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used wooden ovals discarded by a friend, friend, birch paneling paneling,, paper ephemera, ephemera, embro embroidery idery thread, thread, curtain fabric, ribbon, vintage button buttons, s, acrylic paints, paints, enamel house house paint, linole linoleum um blocks, blocks, a jigsaw, jigsaw, nails, and heavy heavy acrylic gel medium. medium.
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Anne Lewis Off Kilter 1 2" 11" ✕ 8 ⁄ (27.9 ✕ 21.6 cm)
100 |
Mixed-Media Collage
Off Kilter is Kilter is the first piece in what Anne Lewis Lewis casually calls her “Sew more, glue less” series, in which she uses sewing as both a design element and a stand-in for glue. The Spark: This work is born born of the artist’s artist’s practical wish to use up small paper scraps in the studio. Though abstract, the collage is about relationships. relationships. One can clearly see that the stacked shapes are human human forms, with the left one barely held together by slim thread lines and the right one more solidly assembled. assembled. The tension between the two gives the piece visual visual interestt and a sense of an untold story. interes story. The Process: Lewis uses collage papers she has previously prepared by stroking leftover paint onto nearby paper stock as she works on projects. For ForOff sorted through Off Kilter , she sorted her stash, choosing colors and adding patterns with a brush and opaque white ink. ink. She cut shapes and arranged them on a background, letting the composition evolve. She liked the shadow created along the edges of the shapes before they were glued down. To retain it, it, she sewed the shapes onto the background using vertical and horizontal sewing lines, and leaving a bit bit of “lift” “lift”.. After her sewing machine machine jammed, she added some pieces with PVA. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used archival archival paper, paper, Brist Bristol ol board, coldcold-press press watercolor watercolor paper, paper, scraps of “pr “prepare epared” d” papers papers,, opaque white ink, acryli acrylicc tube paint, paint, sewing thread, thread, a sewing maching, maching, and PVA. PVA.
Martha Lent
from left Garden Gar den of Ede Eden n
and World Traveler 1 2" ✕ 23" 29 ⁄ (74.9 ✕ 58.4 cm) and 1 2" ✕ 20" 29 ⁄ (74.9 ✕ 50.8 cm)
98 |
Mixed-Media Collage
For the past two summers, illustrator and mixed-media artist Martha Lent has hopped into a minivan and traveled some 15,000 miles from Florida to Washington state. When she’s not setting up at art shows and participating participa ting in festivals, festivals, she hikes, hikes, camps, explor explores, es, and visits thrift thrift stores stores in search of of ideas and supplies. supplies. The Spark: Inspire Inspired d by a painting workshop workshop to make art that is more personal, Lent drew on her love of nature and travel to create Gar Garden den of Eden Eden and and World Traveler . She often uses dress dress imagery in her artwork, finding that that within the familiar yet evocative shape she is able to explore a wide range of ideas and experiences.The Process: Although she sketches out her ideas and composition in advance (often sketching up to ten versions until she gets it right), she keeps things interesting by leaving room for for creative expression, in case she’s inspired to try something new along the way. She used chunky, hand-cut wooden ovals as her base for each piece, painting them with glossy white house house paint then distressing the surface with sandpaper. She then cut the dress and bird shapes out of birch paneling using a jigsaw. She mounted them onto onto small chunkss of wood (to raise them off chunk off the surface surface of the oval), oval), then glued glued and nailed nailed them into into place. place. For
When life outside the studio is hectic, Anne Lewis finds peace in making very simple compositions, compositions, which allows her to focus on the pleasure inherent in creating. The Spark: For Side by Side , she wanted wanted to spend spend time with a composition that was balanced and steady. The Process: Lewis cut favorite shapes out of watercolor paper and attached them to a hardboard hardboard support with gel gel medium. Using an old old stiff brush, she added gesso, gesso, stroking in all directions for lots of of texture. She painted the dry gesso with red and orange acrylic pigment, and once dry, lightly penciled in imagery. imagery. She then sorted through through her big bin of collage papers, choosing what what the red background needed for company. company. (Tip: The artist suggests working working on several pieces with the same color background, background, so you can move elements elements back and forth between them while composing.) composing.) After adhering the shapes with gel medium, medium, she placed tracing paper over the artwork for for protection, and used a printmaker’s printmaker’s baren to burnish it. it. As a final step, she added a coat coat of gloss medium, being careful not to apply medium on top top of medium (which (which creates clouding). clouding). The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a hardboard-panel hardboard-panel support, gesso, acrylic paints, cold-press heavyweigh heavyweightt watercolor watercolor paper, paper, cloth and paper collage elements, tracing paper, paper, a printmaker’s baren, gloss medium and varnish, and acid-free paste.
Anne Lewis Side by Side
14" ✕ 11" (35.6 ✕ 27.9 cm)
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LK Ludwig Into the Wood 1 2" 12" ✕ 14" ✕ 2 ⁄ (30.5 ✕ 35.6 ✕ 6.4 cm)
102 |
Mixed-Media Collage
An avid photographer and altered book book artist, LK Ludwig casts a wide net when collecting materials, scooping up found found objects, fabric scraps, paper ephemera, ephemera, and natural finds.The Spark: On the pages of an old 78 phonograph album, she created a place to visually explore personal feelings. The cover, cover, with its enshrined nest, expresses the safety of home and the fragility and preciousness preciousness of love.The Process: To create the highly dimensional dimensional cover, cover, Ludwi Ludwigg started with a backgro background und of vintage barkcloth, barkcloth, milli millinery nery leaves, and brass stencils stencils backed with images images of birds. Next, she added a shrine made from from a cigar box painted painted white. (She used the cut up lid to create the peaked roof.) She She collaged the interior using photographs of birds, image transfers transfers of eggs, brass stencils, stencils, and a vintage book book page. After nestling nestling a bird’s bird’s nest nest in place with PVA, PV A, she sealed the shrine with two overlappin overlappingg sheets of mica, adding visual interest interest by cutting the edge with pinking shears. As a contrast to the reflective mica, she glued mesh (patinated with an oxidizing oxidizing solution) to the triangle beneath the roof. Finishing touches include a decorative brass edging and a branch glued to the base for visual balance. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), Ludwig used an old phonograp phonograph h album, a cigar box, box, fabri fabricc dye, brass stencils, stencils, natura naturall finds, and ephemera. ephemera. She attached attached the items using PVA, PVA, Gorilla Glue, acid-free gluestick, gluestick, and floral wire.
Responding to events in her life and exploring her feelings about them allowed LK Ludwig to craft a complex, multitextured altered altered book, whose pages offer offer a series of vignettes about the people she loves. loves.The Spark: The spread shown shown is dominated by the the image of a little girl and a gilded heart. The girl is the artist’s artist’s daughter, photographed in a moment of displeasure, expressing her independence, independence, a bittersweet moment that begins the process process of leaving the nest. nest. The Process: Over the the course of of several weeks, weeks, Ludwig altered all the pages and rebound the the book using a single-sheet single-sheet binding technique. technique. On the left, she applied background color, color, then glued on the elements: a cardboard rectangle rectangle covered with patinated patinated metal foil, foil, a collage of her daughter, daughter, and feathered wings. On the right, she first prepared a papier-mâché heart by cutting cutting it in in half, paintin paintingg it gold, and rubbing it with dirt. dirt. She cut an opening and inserted inserted a small container container with a bird inside, then sealed it in with mica. After painting the page red, she attached the heart and some driftwood using eyelets and red thread. The heart supports a tiny envelope envelope she made of of precious metal clay clay (fired in a kiln). She inserted a tiny book made made of patinated copper copper foil tape and attached a heart charm with thread. thread. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a vintage phonograph album, photograp phot ographs, hs, foun found d objects, objects, wings, metal foil, foil, cardb cardboard oard,, mica, cop copper per foil foil tape, patina soluti solution, on, black ink, ink, fabric dye, dye, paint paints, s, preci precious-m ous-metal etal clay, clay, a kiln, an eyelet kit, kit, and PVA. PVA.
LK Ludwig
Into the Wood (interior spread) 1 2" 12" ✕ 28" ✕ 2 ⁄ (30.5 ✕ 71.1 ✕ 6.4 cm)
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Keith Maddy I Am Really Beautiful
7" ✕ 11" (17.8 ✕ 27.9 cm)
104 |
Mixed-Media Collage
Artist Keith Maddy created I Am Really Beautiful as made on the pages of of a disassemble disassembled d Beautiful as part of a series made vintage photo album. The Spark: The title is an affectionate reference to the found note in the center, which reads in part: “Got my hair cut today, today, and you know what? I just discovered it—I am really beautiful.” beautiful.” In the piece, Maddy explores explores and develops the relationships relationships between the different curved curved lines: the handwriting, the edges of of the tissue tissue paper, paper, the outline outline of the flowers flowers in the the lace, the woman’ woman’ss hair and and eyelashes, eyelashes, the boat, the scribbles, scribbles, and the clipped clipped lines lines of a doily center center.. The mood of the piece piece is nostalgic, nostalgic, the materials materials organic and tactile. The Process: He began by laying out the four pieces that are the horizontal backbone of the collage, playing with the arrangement until he was satisfied with their relationship relationship to each other, other, then pasted pasted them in place. place. To add color, color, textu texture, re, and another another layer of lines lines,, he glued on sheer tissue tissue paper and material from a scarf. Finally, to give weight and balance to the collage, he placed in a round fragment from a doily center and hand-drew a loop to emphasize the curvature of lines, ovals, and circles.The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a vintage photo album, a scarf, found papers, papers, tissue paper, paper, graphi graphite te pencil, a wood-burning wood-burning pen, and wallpaper wallpaper paste.
A colorful colorful exploration of sinuous forms, Internal External is another in the series series of collag collages es that Keith Maddy created by working working the pages of a vintage photo album (see previous page).The Spark: Although the dominant image is the human arterial system, the inspiration is something more more abstract. Likening his collages to visual poetry, Maddy explores the relationship of textures and lines from disparate elements and combines them to create a cohesive whole. The images of birds flying serves to echo the curvaturee of the arterial system and hints at a larger interconnected curvatur interconnected ecosystem. ecosystem. The piece has a slightly surrealist feel and works on many levels, the external and internal forms interacting seamlessly with one another as in a dream. The Process: Maddy started started with the imagery imagery (the boy, boy, birds, shoes, and arterial structure) and then used a wood-burning tool to burn curved lines into the thick black paper. He added patches of color using gesso and colored pencils to highlight shapes and create visual balance. To create a unified palette, he gently sanded the collage surface, erasing parts and softening others to a translucent hue. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a vintage photo album, pages from vintage vintage children’s children’s books, books, newspap newspaper er print, gesso gesso,, color colored ed and graphite pencils, a wood-burning wood-burning pen, and wallpaper paste.
Keith Maddy Internal External
7" ✕ 11" (17.8 ✕ 27.9 cm)
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Jane Maxwell Full Circle Series 1 2" ✕ 13" 10 ⁄ (26.7 ✕ 33 cm) and 14" ✕ 14" (35.6 ✕ 35.6 cm)
106 |
Mixed-Media Collage
The two works shown shown here are part of Jane Maxwell’s Maxwell’s Full Circle Series , a recent recent effort in in which, which, while concontinuing to examine examine women and body body image, she plays on the cyclical nature of the ideal body quest. As she puts it, women who diet often end up in a frustrating cycle of deprivation and weight weight loss followed by lack of sustained willpower and ultimate ultimate weight gain. The yardstick circles circles in this series represent measurement, measurement, success, succ ess, failu failure, re, scale, and mirror mirror.. The Spark: Maxwell found large, colorful manure manure bags, which make make up the background of the work, at an antiques antiques fair. fair. She had been using rulers and yardsticks in another series about body image and “measuring “measuring up.” up.” When she found the bags, she loved the eye-catching colors and the strong graphics and thought they would work well with leftover yardsticks in her studio.The Process: The colorful circles circles were created from vintage yardsticks. yardsticks. To make circles circles out of long rectangles, Maxwell first glued the rulers and yardsticks side by by side onto plywood. Once they dried, she used an electric jigsaw to cut out circular circular forms, intentionally varying varying shapes, sizes, and solid versus outlines. She then sanded the
shapes to smooth them. To create the background, she used a wooden box canvas and an extra piece of plywood (she calls it a “plywood top”) top”) cut to fit the canvas front. She then created a paper collage out of bold graphic elements cut from the manure manure bags on the plywood top. When the glue was dry, she moved around the yardstick circles circles on the graphic collage until the composition was right, then traced the forms onto the surface with a pencil. Using a jigsaw, jigsaw, she cut shapes into the collaged plywood top to allow the yardstick circles to fit into the composition like puzzle pieces. Finally, she collaged the sides of the canvas with manure bag cutouts and used scraps to cover the front (so that no wood is visible once the plywood top is in place). place). As a last step, step, she nailed the plywood plywood top onto the canvas, canvas, and then glued and nailed nailed the yardstick circles in place. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used a wooden box canvas, canvas, vintage rulers rulers and yardsticks, yardsticks, vintage manure manure bags (unused), (unused), a sander, sander, an electric jigsaw, nails, and PVA. PVA.
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m u a b
n e n n a T r e t e P
Annie Silverman The Empress of Mirth Mirt h 1 2" 12" ✕ 6" ✕ 1 ⁄ (30.5 ✕ 15.2 ✕ 3.8 cm)
108 |
Mixed-Media Collage
Wood-cut and book artist Annie Silverman found inspiration for The Empress in a toy-theater Empress of Mirth Mirth in construction workshop with the Oiseaux Sisters. The Spark: She had once seen a toy theater performance where a woman’s woman’s Victorian skirt was the theater and that idea had stayed with her. She added found text by looking up definitions of the word “joy. “joy.” The Process: Silverman began by photocopying and enlarging the figure of the woman, then mounted the image onto card stock. She painted and collaged a background, then created a “box” by joining the background to the skirt with a 2"-wide (5.1 cm) cm) strip of paper (the (the “sides “sides”” of the box). box). To allow allow the strip of of paper to to follow follow the curve curve of the skirt skirt and bodice, bodice, she cut out triangles (like dressmaker darts), and then glued a bit bit at a time, weighting the wet pieces until until they were dry. Then she very carefully carefully cut out the windows. The empress’s empress’s heart is a book, made from one of the artist’s artist’s repurposed prints. It contains a found poem: poem: “Of her heart/The deepest secret/Private papers!/A delightful little story?/Joy, story?/Joy, Mirth/Hilarity, delight, glee/in her heart. heart.”” The curved sign is made of metal foil that Silverman cut and embossed using steel stamp letters. She achieved the mottled surface by repeatedly repea tedly sanding, sanding, painti painting, ng, and buffing the surface. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used an enlarged photocopied photocopied postcard postcard image, image, found text, perma permanent nent markers, markers, card stock,, cardb stock cardboard, oard, metal foil, foil, metal stamps, stamps, acrylic paints, paints, an intaglio intaglio print, print, wire, colla collage ge images images with a circus/carnival theme, and PVA. PVA.
Collage artists are always always in search of unique materials: materials: found objects, flea market market finds, even recycled recycled bits of old artwork. artwork. As a printmaker printmaker,, Annie Silver Silverman man has only to go to her stash of prints prints,, which she readily readily cuts up to use in all kinds kinds of ways. The Spark: With a background in three-dimensional arts, Silverman is interested in creating dimensional dimensional prints, though this is far from a traditional approach to to printmaking. This piece brings together several techniques and ideas, including the creation of “punk guardian angels,” wire nests, and collaged collaged eggs. The Process: To create the angels, she carved a woodblock of an original ink drawing, then printed it in black ink onto heavy Japanese paper. paper. She used several different printed wings to make the figures dimensional, folding and gluing them along the top edge of the existing set of wings. She glued and anchored a handmade wire spring to each angel’s angel’s back, so it could be hung on a wall. To add color, color, she used colored colored inks and, in some cases, chine chine-coll -collé. é. She created created the complex complex wire structure by joining spokes of wire into a circular form with a wire rim and “sewing” “sewing” them in place with thinner wire (a technique she learned from Ellen Ellen Wieske). Wieske). She made the birds and eggs out of Bristol board and collaged them on both sides with found papers and cut up up prints. The birds are attached to a wire by means of a hook behind the wings, which allows them to move freely.The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used 18-, 18-, 20-, and 22-gauge 22-gauge steel wire, printm printmaking aking paper, paper, Brist Bristol ol board, India ink, ink, color colored ed inks, wood-b wood-block lock prints, prints, decora decorated ted papers, papers, and PVA. PVA.
Annie Silverman
Punk guardian angels, nest nest,, birds, and eggs 24" ✕ 22" (61 ✕ 55.9 cm)
m u a b n e n n a T r e t e P
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Tracy Spadafora Lawn Ornaments
12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Like so many mixed-media mixed-media artworks, this series was made using someone else’s trash. The Spark: After getting her hands on thrown-out schematic maps from Boston’s Big Dig (an enormous road-reconstruction project), Tracy Spadafora decided to use them as a collage background for a series of encaustic paintings. Not only did the maps give her ideas for the composition composition of various pieces, but as she worked on the series, a visual and conceptual dialogue developed between the images she scribed into the surface and the maps underneath. The Process: The artist began by gluing the schematic maps onto the lauan panel using acrylic gel medium. She allowed it to dry dry thoroughly, thoroughly, then covered covered the maps with a very thick coat of encaustic medium, medium, smooth smoothing ing it out with a photo photography graphy tacking tacking iron. When the wax had cooled, she scribed lines, marks, and textures textures into the surface surface and rubbed rubbed different different colors colors of oil paint into into the marks. marks. She allowed the oil paint to dry to the touch and then applied thin glazes of oil and encaustic paint to finish the painting. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used a support panel she 1 made of ⁄ 4" (6 mm) lauan braced by a 1" ✕ 2" (2.5 ✕ 5.1 cm) pine frame, frame, found maps, maps, encaustic medium, medium, encaustic paint, oil paint, a photography photography tacking iron, and acrylic gel medium.
Another piece from Tracy Spadafora’s Big Dig Series, Natural Selection explores the classic theme of humanity versus nature, which the artist has used in her work for many many years.The Spark: Responding to the development development of her own urban neighborho neighborhood, od, Spadafo Spadafora ra addresses the theme theme of urban sprawl. sprawl. By referencing Darwin’s famous theory, theory, the title allows the viewer to understand that this is not simply a visually pleasing landscape, but a battleground between an architected world (represented by the maps beneath) and the natural world (represented by the plant forms on the surface). It would appear that in the artist’s vision, nature comes out on top—which can be seen as either a hopeful or pessimistic gloss, depending on one’s feelingss about humanity and the natural order of things.The Process and the Nitty Gritty: The feeling artist created this piece using the same basic process and materials she used to make Lawn Ornaments (see previous page).
Tracy Tra cy Spadafora Natural Na tural Selection
12" ✕ 12" (30.5 ✕ 30.5 cm)
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Tracy Spadafora Sweet Memories II
14" ✕ 14" (35.6 ✕ 35.6 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
After working with encaustic for years, it is only natural that Tracy Spadafora would be drawn to all kinds of wax things and wonder how they could could be used in her collage paintings. The Spark: Recalling the penny candy from her childhood, she took a break from her more thoughtful work and began to play play,, working out visual arrangements and technical glitches. The Process: Once she decided which candies to use, Spadafora laid them out out against a white background, background, arranging and rearranging them until she found a composition composition she liked. She decided to work on the reverse reverse side of her painting support so that the brace could act as a frame into which she could pour pour the encaustic medium. First she glued down a piece of absorbent white paper to create create a bright background to to really make the the colors pop. pop. Then she laid out the bottles and Life Savers Savers candies, tacking them into place place with some beeswax. She poured encaustic wax wax 1 into the frame, frame, about ⁄ 4" (6 mm) deep, to bury and secure the candy, candy, leaving just enough exposed exposed for a three-dimensional three-dimensio nal effect. Finally Finally,, she painted the geometric design around around the frame using encaustic encaustic paint. The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies listed on page 110, the artist used wax candy bottles and Life Savers candies, candies, and absorbent white paper. paper.
Part of the fun of mixed media is trying out improbable materials—in materials—in the case of Tracy Spadafora’s Spadafora’s playful series, it’s candy. The Spark: A nostalgic nod to the ephemeral joys of childhood childhood,, Sweet Memories III is a visual feast of brightly colored peppermints and wax bottles bottles artfully arranged to highlight a delicious pair of deep red wax lips. lips. The Process: The artist used the same process as before (see previous page), but ran into some technical problems with the use of peppermint candies. As an early version of the painting was hanging on her studio wall, wall, the peppermint candies along the edges started to melt with the heat of the summer sun. She was able to fix the problem by completely completely covering covering the candy with a coat of encaustic medium. medium. The wax candy, which is is made of of paraffin, is similarly more vulnerable vulnerable to heat than the the encaustic paint is, so Spadafora recommends recommends coating each piece in encaustic medium to protect protect it.The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies listed on page 112, the artist used wax candy lips and peppermint candies instead instead of Life Savers. Savers.
Tracy Spadafora Sweet Memories III
14" ✕ 14" (35.6 ✕ 35.6 cm)
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Melissa Weiss Steele
from left Peacock Head Flying Blind
and
Yellow Wing 1 11 ⁄ 2" ✕ 14" (29.2 ✕ 35.6 cm) 7" ✕ 11" (17.8 ✕ 27.9 cm) and 11" ✕ 16" (27.9 ✕ 40.6 cm)
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Juxtaposing images and playing playing with scale, artist Melissa Weiss Weiss Steele has created a series of horses that is composed comp osed of impos impossible sible things—sk things—skies, ies, peaco peacock ck feathers, feathers, and arms that act as legs and tails.The Spark: She finds inspiration in in her materials, focusing on color palettes palettes and often a central central object or image. It might be a head or torso of a figure or the deep blue-gr blue-green een of one of the watercolor watercolor paintin paintings gs she creates creates then readily cuts up to use as collage material. The Process: Weiss Steele uses a simple and intuitive approach to most of her work, cutting up various materials materials and moving them around until she finds a composition that feels right (and she has achieved achieved an “aha” moment of cohesion). She then assembles the piece with tape and gluestick. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies (see page 10), the artist used photocopied objects and images, paper ephemera such as old calendars, gallery announcements, magazines, magazi nes, water watercolor color paintings, paintings, tape, and an acidacid-free free gluestick. gluestick.
Melissa Weiss Steele
from left Working with found papers, color photocopies, photocopies, and her own watercolor watercolor paintings, Melissa Weiss Weiss Steele is able to juxtapose wildly disparate images while at the same give them cohesion by containing them within a recognizable form—a warrior warrior horse, a human figure. The Spark: She takes her inspiration from the materials she works with, building a piece around something something that resonates for her, her, often on a personal level.. For example, level example, the swirls swirls in Guessing Blue (below, Blue (below, left) are from stained-glass windows windows designed by her father while Harvest Reaper (below, Reaper (below, right) is an exploration of of death and rebirth as well as a reflection of her enthusiasm for Mexican art and religious imagery. imagery. The Process: The artist’s process is not easily separated from the inspiration. inspiration. She works from from piles of materials on her living living room floor, floor, choosing intuintuitively and arranging the pieces before finally assembling them with tape and gluestick. The Nitty supplies (see page 10), the artist used photocopied photocopied objects and images, paper Gritty: Along with basic supplies ephemera such as old old calendars, gallery announcements, announcements, photographs, magazines, watercolor paintings, tape, and an acid-free gluestick.
Guessing Blue Warrior Horse
and Harves Harvest t Reaper 1 1 2" ✕ 16 ⁄ 2" 9 ⁄ (24.1 ✕ 41.9 cm) 1 1 4" ✕ 24 ⁄ 2" 8 ⁄ (21.2 ✕ 62.2 cm) 1 2" and 12" ✕ 23 ⁄ (30.5 ✕ 59.7 cm)
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Jonathan Talbot Pyrenees Pyrenee s Patr Patrin in
3" ✕ 3" (7.6 ✕ 7.6 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
Referencing the Romany word for signs left behind to share information Referencing information with others, “patrin “patrin”” is a kind of signature for painter and collage artist Jonathan Talbot, Talbot, who sees his artwork as a patrin he sends out into the world in the hope that it will let th e viewer experience the world from a new perspective. With the collages shown here, he provides a glimpse into his artistic process. process. When he is in his “playful “playful exploration mode,” he works small, letting the materials materials and elements at hand guide guide him in creating a composition. composition. Later, he will choose a small study that speaks to him and rework it on a larger scale.Pyrenees scale.Pyrenees Patrin is Patrin is one of of these small small studies and Large Pyrenees Patrin , on the following page, is a more deliberate creation. creation. The Spark: While Talbot was exploring, exploring, he included included handprints, a favorite favorite element, as an act of homage to the earliest earliest painters painters who dipped their hands in color and pressed pressed them against the walls of the caves where they lived. lived. The handprint became the dominant image in the larger piece and its application to the surface quite a technical challenge. The Process: The smaller work evolved evolved in a straightforward manner: He painted the background,, pasted down ground down a page of sixte sixteenth-c enth-century entury Spanish Spanish text, text, added gold gold leaf, and placed placed his own handprint in red acrylic on the surface. He then added a printed (crosshatched) (crosshatched) illustration fragment and the yellow diagonal strip of paper. Feeling that the red h andprint was still too prominent, he superimposed an off-white handprint over it and then added highlights highlights with a paintbrush. The two lighter diagonal strips and the postmark completed completed the composition. composition. When the piece was dry, dry, he added a protective protective coat of semigloss acrylic varnish. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies supplies (see page 10), the artist used 300 lb. (488 gsm) watercolo watercolorr paper, paper, acryli acrylicc paints, antiqu antiquee paper scraps, handp handprints rints,, paper ephemera, ephemera, black and red thread, gold leaf, and an antique postmark (1880). Both works were made using a no-liquidno-liquidadhesives technique technique developed by the artist in which he adheres elements covered with dry acrylic medium by “ironing “ironing them down” with a heated iron (he uses silicone-coated paper to protect the work during this process). proc ess). For a detailed detailed description description of his technique, technique, see Collage: A New Approach (Jonathan Approach (Jonathan Talbot, 2001).
larger, more deliberate reworking of a small study study (see previous previous page), and is one Large Pyrenees Patrin is a larger, of eleven large works in his ongoing Patrin series (there are more than 250 in total). total).The Spark: When Talbot is exploring ideas, he usually completes completes a piece before looking for meaning. meaning. The study Pyrenees Pyrenees Patrin spoke to him of people escaping occupied France during World World War War II, however however,, the larger collage ended up as a less complex composition that focuses on Catholicism. The Process: Becau Because se of its size, this piece involved involved more more technology. technology. To start, Talbot prepared three laser transfers. First, he scanned sixteenthsixteenthcentury Spanish text text into his computer computer,, enlarged it, flopped it, and printed it. it. He also did this with an antiquee postmark. antiqu postmark. Then he made a fresh handprint handprint on white paper, paper, scanne scanned d it, enlar enlarged ged it, creat created ed its outline and deleted its its color, color, and then flopped and printed it. Since he could could only print at a width of 8" (20.3 cm), he printed the image in sections then taped them together. together. After painting the canvas and coating it it with acrylic medium, he transferred the text and handprint to the surface and spent about twenty hours washing away the paper (he transferred the postmark to watercolor watercolor paper and collaged it on later). He then added added gold leaf and white white paint to the the handprint. handprint. Then the work work took on a life life of its own: He put it up on his easel and let gravity assist him in adding red “drips” of paint. He finished the piece piece with a coat of semigl semigloss oss acrylic varnish. varnish. The Nitty Gritty: Along with the supplies listed on page 116, the artist used canvas mounted mounted on an aluminum aluminum and wood wood panel, a laser printer, printer, and a computer. computer. For more information on laser laser transfers, see page 122.
Jonathan Talbot Large Pyrenees Patrin
40" ✕ 40" (101.6 ✕ 101.6 cm)
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MJ Viano Crowe Mermaid’s Voy Mermaid’ Voyage: Under the Surfa Surface ce of Mem Memor ory y
15" ✕ 15" ✕ 5" (38.1 ✕ 38.1 ✕ 12.7 cm)
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Mixed-Media Collage
mixed-media works works from the series In the Memory created ated Mermaid’s Voyage is Voyage is the last of eight mixed-media Memory of the House House , cre over a period of three years by artist MJ Viano Crowe. Crowe. Exploring the symbol of the house as a metaphor for security, love, and relationships, she cobbled together together components to create totemic house-shaped structures structu res with roofs, attics attics,, and cellars. cellars. The Spark: In Jungian philosophy, philosophy, the mermaid represents the anima, guiding dreamers to explore feminine feminine aspects of their potential that are are foreign and uncharted. Here the mermaid artist floats in an enigmatic enigmatic blue sea, her hand protectively embracing embracing the house and the figures within it as she quietly but resolutely looks beyond the frame into the distance. The Process: Viano Crowe began by adding gesso to book board, which she later inlaid into a 5"-deep (12.7 cm) frame she constructed using vintage kitchen valances valances found at a flea market. She admits to procrastinating throughout her process. Working in her home studio, and thus surrounded by the work, she breaks for meditative sweeping sessions, “putting the house in order” order” before digging in. Then there were detours: After chopping up and discarding parts, she would have have a change of heart and search frantically to retrieve them, using them in an unexpected way. way. Toying with compositio composition, n, mater materials, ials, and imagery, imagery, her process process is organic, organi c, born of frustra frustration, tion, exhil exhilaration aration,, hard work, and play play.. The Nitty Gritty: Along with basic supplies suppl ies (see page page 10), the artist used used book board, board, acrylic paints, paints, gesso, tattoos tattoos,, clear tape tape decals, decals, transfe transfers, rs, toys, moss, poly polyester ester hair, hair, canv canvas, as, beach finds, finds, and vintage vintage Masonite Masonite kitchen kitchen valences. valences. (Tip: Her favorite favorite adhesive is Quick Grip, Grip, which binds almost anything in minutes.)
Summer Cottage gets Cottage gets its title from a line in the Annie Dillard short story “Teaching “Teaching a Stone to Talk.” It reads: “Opening up a summer summer cottage is like being born. At the moment that you enter, enter, you have all the time that you’re ever going to have.” have.” The piece is an homage to summers MJ Viano Crowe has spent at her Maine cottage, a simple structure poor on amenities (such as indoor plumbing) plumbing) and rich on serenity. serenity. provides a kind of meditation for the artist, cleaning away the The Spark: Swimming daily in the nearby lake provides grit of work and restoring restoring mental equilibrium. equilibrium. Outside the cabin where she makes makes art, hummingbirds hover. hover. In this work, the cabin wears a woman’s woman’s face, her hair serving as a nest for several tiny birds.The Process Crowe and the Nitty Gritty: Inspired by the natural scenery and the sounds of wildlife, Viano Crowe created this piece using the same techniques as for Mermaid’s Voyage (see Voyage (see previous page). She shuffled and rearranged materials materials like puzzle puzzle pieces to see if differen differentt combinations combinations of images might yield new meanings. She concentrated on a simply drawn house surrounded by mermaids and other fluid creatures: a slim ballerina twirls among flowers and and insects while a mermaid mermaid hovers, held aloft by butterfly wings. In Jungian philosophy, philosophy, the butterfly alludes to resurrection and the soul, emerging from its chrysalis to be reborn—an apt metaphor for the new life given to found materials in mixed-media collage.
MJ Viano Crowe Summer Cottage
15" ✕ 15" ✕ 5" (38.1 ✕ 38.1 ✕ 12.7 cm)
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Artists and the Internet
Although the Internet is still in its infancy, infancy, it’ it’ss already difficult to imagine writing a book about art without it. Artist websites make make it possible not not only to enjoy virtual studio visits but also to encounter artists from all over the world who are working in a wide range of media. Web searches searches make it possible to do research without without ever leaving the house. And email facilitates an easy, easy, timely exchange exchange of ideas and digital images with contributor contributors. s.
mostly vintage materials in her work and is a huge fan of Intern Internet et shopping. shopping. “Can you say eBay?” eBay?” she enthuses. enthus es. “I shop there for everything. everything. It’ It’ss a great way to get quantities quantities of inter interesting esting materials materials cheaply and efficiently. The Internet has cut out hours of legwork legwor k and searc searching. hing. I can purc purchase hase materials from all all over the the map with a click click of a mouse!” mouse!” Less time hunting for materials means more time for making art in the studio.
So how has the Internet changed the way artists make art or pursue their careers? Not surprisingly, answers to this question from the book’s contributors fall along a wide spectrum. Many artists have eagerly embraced the new technology, technology, using it to set up websites, websi tes, cont contact act galleries, galleries, and even to find content for collages. “The Internet has changed my process process dramatically,” explains Martha Lent. “As an illustrator, graphic designer designer,, and fine artist, artist, I am constantly constantly utilizing the Internet to to help me research. research. I look for images, image s, ideas, and art that relates relates to a particular particular era or style I am going for. for. I like to see what other mixedmedia artists artists are up to, to, stay current current with trends, trends, or look into galleries that might be a good fit for my work.” Other artists have have been more resistant, resistant, perhaps using email but really preferring to focus on making art when they are in the studio.“I’m studio. “I’m a dinosaur of of sorts,”” confesses Aleta Braun. sorts, Braun. “I don’t don’t do much artrelated relat ed stuff on the Internet. Internet. Sinc Sincee I typically can spend only one day a week in in the studio, I want to make art not be on the computer. computer. My studio time is a respite from all the information out there.” there.”
Along with materials, some artists find ideas and images for their work’s work’s visual content. “The Internet is a tool like any of the traditional art tools I use,” use,” says Jen Jen Flores. Flores. “Som “Somee of the imagery imagery I use is scanned and modified through [Adobe] Photoshop. Websites are a virtual library librar y and open the door to more artists.” artists.” It’ It’ss also a way for visual thinkers to stay in touch with the world world of contemporary art—visually. “The best thing about the Internet for me me is the easy accessibility accessibility of communi communication cation by images,” says Sharon McCartney. McCartney. “It’ “It’ss just easier easier to see what’s what’s out there these days, and to communicate communicate with galleries and othe otherr curat curators ors.. And And,, of co cours urse, e, I buy buy a lot of my materials online.”
For almost almost everyone, howev however er,, an undeniable undeniable benefit the Internet Internet provides provides is access: access: acces accesss to materials, materials, to other artists, artists, to informatio information, n, and to an audienc audience. e. Even the most reluctant browsers admit that they find shopping online to be a money-saver—and more important—a time saver. saver. Jane Maxwell uses
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Mixed-Media Collage
The Internet is a virtual community community builder, builder, erasing the isolation of working alone and providing providing a network of like-minde like-minded d artists to freely exchange exchange ideas and support. “Inspiration is a click away, away,” says Dorit Elisha. “And so is important information like supply resourc reso urces, es, book books, s, mus museums eums and galleries, galleries, work workshops shops,, techniques, and art history history.. The best part for me has been the easy connection connection with other artists, artists, and the possibility of collaboration.” Even just visiting different websites can foster a sense sense of community and connection. “What the Internet gives gives is access to tons of artist artists, s,”” says Pau Paula la Grasdal. Grasdal. “Ins “Instead tead of goin goingg to the library, library, you can surf surf the Web. Web. Artis Artists ts usually usually have links to other artists, so I think that’ that’ss helpful. I’ve
ence. I say YA YAY Internet!” found artists on the Web that Additionally Addit ionally,, the Internet is a I probably wouldn’t have disgreat tool for researching covered cover ed otherwise.” otherwise.” And for opportunities for showing at least one artist, telec telecomomartwork. Keit Keith h Maddy Maddy muting has completely explains: “The Internet Internet has changed her lifestyle. “The not affected the way I make Internet has allowed me to art, nor my pur pursui suitt of art, live out in the country, truly,” but it has made looking for says Barbara De Pirro. “I use Jane Maxwell uses mostly vintage materials and art-related opportunities a it for researching ideas (a finds many of her supplies online. lot more readily available.” cyber encyclopedia), finding And, says Laurinda resources, resourc es, marketing my art Bedingfield: Bedingfi eld: “Having online online capability has made the and my workshops, workshops, researching potential potential galleries, business of of art-making much much easier. easier. It is easier to to find searching out exhibitions, exhibitions, and even submitting submitting and enter shows, shows, contact other artists, artists, and search search for images to clients. It is a tremendous resource.” materials.” Artists who are also teachers find it to be an invaluFinally, there’ there’ss inspiration—the spark we all look for able teaching teaching resource. resource. Lorraine Glessner, Glessner, an encausto move us past the fear fear of the blank page and onto tic painter, painter, credits the Internet with introducing introducing her makingg art. “I get an incredibl makin incrediblee amount of insp inspirairato Joanne Mattera’ Mattera’ss book, basic techniques, techniques, historical tion from the Internet,” says Shelby Fischer. Fischer. “From information, and supplies, allowing her to embrace quirky sites like Boing Boing to music (large-hearted the medium. medium. “Re “Resear searchin chingg artists, hist history ory,, and techboy) to artist’s/design artist’s/design blogs/websites, it’ it’ss a cornuniques for teaching purposes purposes is perhaps one one of the copiaa of inspi copi inspiratio ration. n. I spend about about an hour or or two most significant ways in which the Internet affects every morning perusing my my favorite sites. sites. The ability my work,” she says. “The research I do enables me me to to get information information any time of day or night never keep current as an artist as well as expand on my ceases to amaze me.” me.” Adds Teesha Teesha Moore: “I would ideas in the studio. studio. The visual inspiration has have to say that the Internet has not changed the way allowed me to learn and see things that would have I make art. It has definitely affected affected my pursuit pursuit of taken a lifetime to accomplish. accomplish. I can then pass this art. It simply makes it it easier to find artwork that that knowledge on to my students.” inspires me. I used to wander galleries and museums museums and read magazines and go shopping at little bouThe Internet is an incredible marketing tool and can tiques to gather up ideas and inspirations. inspirations. Now Now,, I provide savvy artists with access to an audience—and simply browse browse through some of my favorite favorite artists’ possibly possib ly buyers—for buyers—for their artwork. “I can talk at websit web sites; es; and if if I have have the luxu luxury ry of tim time, e, I will then then length about how the Internet has changed my life,” browse through through their links, and then the links of says Claudine Hellmuth. Hellmuth. “W “Without ithout it, I wouldn’t wouldn’t have those people. people. This really really consolida consolidates tes the style of art had anywhere near the career I am having now. I like and allows me to see much more in a shorter Everything—my Eve rything—my books, books, licensi licensing, ng, DVDs— DVDs—has has come time frame.” about because because of my website website and my Internet Internet pres-
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Photo-Transfer Techniques The use of of photo transfe transfers rs provides provides a wonderful way to alter images as well as to incorporate one-of-akind items without parting with the originals. The transfer process process will soften an image, producin producingg a watercolorr or weathered effect. watercolo effect. Photo transfers fall into two categories: categories: those involving involving toner copies copies (photocopies (photocop ies or laser printouts) and those involving ink-jet printouts. printouts. Both types work with black-andwhite or color originals. Additionally Additionally,, images can can be transferred onto almost any absorbent absorbent surface: fabric, a variety variety of paper papers, s, or even spack spackling. ling. General guidelines: Always work work in a well-ventilated well-ventilated area,, far from an open flame, area flame, weari wearing ng rubber gloves. gloves. For text or an image where direction matters, remember to flip the image before transferring it. This can be done in two ways: ways: Photocopy your your image onto a transpare transparency ncy,, flip it over over,, and recopy recopy it. Or if you have Adobe Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop, scan the image and flip it horizontally before printing printing it out. (Some copy machines can also produce a mirror print.) Toner copy transfers are released using a solvent, such as acetone (black-and-white (black-and-white only), xylene, Citrasolv Citra solve, e, oil of winte wintergre rgreen, en, or pain paintt thinne thinnerr. Place the image face down down on the transfer surface. Apply solvent to to the back with a clean clean white rag. Burnish with a bone folder or wooden wooden spoon, lifting a corner of the paper to check its progress. progress. Toner copy copy transfers work work best on on natural fibers fibers such as paper, paper, silk, or cotton and are effective on absorbent surfaces such as spackling or joint compound. compound. Transferring images onto sheer materials such such as silk organza, craft tissue paper,, or rice paper allows paper allows for overlays of translucent images in a collage. Ink-jet transfers can be done using water or acrylic gel medium, though neither process process works well with
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archival inks. For a water archival water transfer, transfer, print an image image onto glossy ink-jet photo photo paper, paper, spray the transfer surface with water, water, apply the photo paper image side down,, and burnis down burnish. h. The amount amount of of wat water er depends depends on on the texture texture and rag content of the transfer surface: surface: Slick paper requires less water whereas textured requires requir es more. For a gel medium medium transfer, transfer, print your your image onto cheap (not quick-dry) ink-jet transparencies, generou generously sly apply gel medium to to the transfer surface,, apply the image, and burnish. surface burnish. To transfer transfer images onto fabric, fabric, apply gel medium medium to a color ink jet paper printout printout and the fabric fabric (using (using a support), then join together. together. Let dry for twenty-four hours, then soak in water to soften and remove the paper. Three Easy Transfers: • Chartp Chartpak ak colorless colorless blenders blenders are are markers markers filled with xylene, xylene, allowi allowing ng the applicati application on of solv solvent ent and burnishing to occur occur all in one step. This makes them very handy for small images and working directly on a book page. • Clear packing packing tape tape or clear shelf-lin shelf-lining ing paper paper can be used for a solvent-free solvent-free transfer. transfer. Place the tape or shelf shelf pape paperr on an image image and press press down. down. Soak in water to remove remove the paper residue; residue; the ink will remain on the tape. Glue the tape onto onto your collage. • Heat transfer transfer paper paper allows allows you to to adhere adhere color images to fabric or heavy heavy paper. paper. Make a color color photocop phot ocopyy of an image onto onto transfer transfer paper, paper, trim to size and iron, iron, image side side down, down, using the manufacturer’ss instructions for heat settings and time. facturer’
Adapted from essays by LK Ludwig and Paula Grasdal originally published in Collage in Collage for the Soul by Holly Harrison and Paula Grasdal.
Encaustic Collage Paula Grasdal
Encaustic is an ancient technique of technique of paint painting ing with pigmented hot wax that produces a luminous and tactile surface. Encaustic paint has three main ingreingredients: dient s: Puri Purified fied beeswax, beeswax, damar resin resin (a natural tree resin), resi n), and pigment pigment.. Encau Encaustic stic medi medium, um, whic which h is beeswax mixed with damar, damar, produces translucent translucent glazes when mixed with the pigmented wax. Encaustic Encau stic can be cast, carve carved, d, scrap scraped, ed, scrat scratched ched,, and embedded with collage materials to produce a wide variety varie ty of intrig intriguing uing results. results. Recent availability of premi Recent premixed xed encaustic encaustic paints and medium has inspired inspired the reemergence reemergence of this versatile versatile medium.. Artists such as Lynne medium Lynne Perrella, Perrella, Tracy Spadafora, and Cynthia Winika Winika incorporate collage elements into their encaustic paintings to great effect. The warm wax acts like an adhesive and the artist simply encapsulates the absorbent collage materials in the wax. wax. Pape aperr, fab fabric ric,, ph phot otos, os, lea leave ves, s, go gold ld leaf, leaf, or thread are just just a few of the many suitable suitable materials. materials.
Basic Techniques Encaustic technique can be broken down into three basic elements: Heating the pigmented pigmented wax on a hot palette, painting the hot wax wax onto an absorbent absorbent surface, and fusing each layer layer with a heat source. For heating the wax, place various colors colors in small tins tins on a hot palette (this can be purchased from R&F Handmade Paints Paints or improvised using using a Teflon Teflon griddle on a hot plate heated to no more than 220°F (104°C). Using natural bristle brushes (synthetic ones will melt), blend the colors colors on the hot palette palette and paint onto the support. support. Any absorbent surface— surface— a braced wooden panel, watercolor paper paper,, plaster or Claybord—is suitable as a support for wax. Fuse each layer by reheating the wax with a heat gun or tacking iron (this step is important as wax tends to separate into discrete layers). layers). Ventilate well with an exhaust
fan next to your work surface as overheated wax fumes can be to toxic. xic. If your wax starts starts smokin smoking, g, it is too hot—turn down the heat on your palette even if the temperature gauge is at 220°F (104°C).
Collaging with Wax Layering delicate paper and wax creates a subtle effectt of floati effec floating ng textures textures and images. images. Try drawing on translucent rice paper with oil pastel and then embedding it in in wax: The paper will seem to disappear, leaving the drawing suspended. suspended. Many layers of wax and paper can be added to create a rich surface with lots of dept depth. h. Anot Another her technique technique is to cove coverr the support with collage material before adding the encaustic.
Extending the Process There are many many methods of working with encaustic; encaustic; here are a few ideas for inspiration. inspiration. Images can be transferred onto the wax at any stage in the layering process (and no solvents solvents are necessary). necessary). Simply place a photocopy photocopy of an image face down on cool wax and burnish burni sh it with a bone bone folder. folder. Pee Peell off the paper paper to reveal a reversed reversed image on the wax. Gilding can be added as a final stage by simply burnishing the metallic metall ic leaf with a cotton cotton ball. To embed a line line drawing in the surface, surface, incise the wax with a stylus, rub an oil pastel into the lines, and remove excess excess pastel to reveal the the markings. Finally, for an antique effect, layer contrasting contrasting encaustic paints on top top of each other other and, like an archeolo archeologist, gist, scrap scrapee into the surface to reveal the underlying colors. For more more information on on encaustic, see The Art of Encaustic Painting by Painting by Joanne Mattera. Originally published in Collage in Collage for the Soul by Holly Harrison and Paula Grasdal.
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Product Resource Guide Section Secti on I: Prof Profiles iles
(Laurinda Bedingfield) pages 14–25 BFK Rives printmaking paper is available at art supply and specialty paper stores. Golden Archival Varnish contains a UV protectant. It is available available at art supply stores. For more information on Solarplate etching, see www.solarplate.c www.solarplate.com. om. (Barbara De Pirro) pages 26–37 Card stock from product packaging can be recycled to make stencils and background supports. All paint paints, s, gels, moldi molding ng pastes, pastes, and varnishes used in De Pirro’s work are made by Golden Paints. For technical information about about these products, products, see the company website listed on page 125.
An online source for a serrated metal marking tool is www.thesewingplace.c www.thesewingplace.com. om. A comprehensive website for embellishments is www.alac www.alacarteartstamps.com arteartstamps.com and one for Milagros and charms is www.silvercrowcreations.com. Unusual feathers can be found at www.ocbtp.com/feather.html and www.plumesnfeathers.com. Two online sources for specialty threads are www.caron-net.com/threads.html www.car on-net.com/threads.html and www.barnyarns.com; www.barn yarns.com; and one for unusual unusual fibers such as mulberry bark and silk fibers is http://friendsfabricart.com. Some online sources for vintage and seed beads are www.venetianbeadshop.com/ www.venetianbeadshop.com/ venetian-bead-shop, www.bead www.beadroom.com, room.com, Jewelex.com, Jewelex.c om, and www.fusionbeads.com. www.fusionbeads.com.
Liquid Nails is an adhesive that comes in a tube designed to fit in a caulk gun. Both can be purchased at hardware stores.
(Shelby Fischer) page 86 Mono Aqua acid-free glue pens are available at art supply and craft stores or wherever scrapbooking supplies are sold. Grumbacher Gloss Medium Varnish can be purchased at art supply stores. An online source is www.MrArt.com www.MrArt.com.. Stickles Glitter Glue is available at craft stores. An online source for handmade and decorative papers as well as adhesives is www.papermojo.com; www.pape rmojo.com; a source for rhinestones and beading supplies is rhinestoneguy.com.
(Jen Flores) page 88 (Paula Grasdal) pages 38–49 BFK Rives printmaking paper and acidfree rice papers are available at art supply and specialty paper stores. Windsor and Newton artisan watermixable oil paints are available at art supply stores. Plexiglas for use as a printing plate can be purchased at art supply or plastics stores. An online source for small sizes is www.mcmastercarr.com. (Sharon McCartney) pages 50–61 Timtex sew-through interfacing is available at sewing supply stores as well as the company website, www.tim www.timtexstore.com. texstore.com. The acid-free iron-on adhesive Heat-nBond is available at fabric and craft stores. Ultra-hold adheres best. Light-sensitive Setacolor paints are available from Dharma Trading Trading Co. and Pro Chemical & Dye. Dye. For online technical technical support, see www.setacolor www.setacolor.com. .com.
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(Teesha Moore) pages 62–73 (Teesha For more information about Artfest and Artfiberfest, see www.teeshamoore.com www.teeshamoore.com.. Fabriano artistico watercolor watercolor 140 lb. (252 gsm) hot press paper is available at art supply stores.
For information on Paul Spooner and the Cabaret Mechanical Mechanical Theatre, Theatre, see www.cabaret.co.uk. www.ca baret.co.uk. For a detailed description of Spoone Spooner’ r’ss Last Judgment , se seee http://observer.guardian.co.uk/cash/story/ 0,6903,1297291,00.html.
(Lorraine Glessner) page 90 Daniel Smith watercolors are available via their website, listed on page 125. Richly pigmented, pigmented, water-soluble Caran d’ache Neocolor II artist crayons are available at art supply stores. Tombow acid-free permanent doublesided tape can be purchased at art supply stores or online at www.pen www.penwa.com. wa.com.
Claybord is available at art s upply stores. Two online sources for encaustic supplies are R&F Paints and the Fine Arts Store. R&F Paints also has a really helpful forum for discussing technical questions.
(Holly Harrison) page 92
(Aleta Braun) page 76
Joint compound can be purchased at hardwaree stores. For more archival alterhardwar natives, experiment with Golden’s Golden’s light and hard molding molding pastes, which are sandable and can be tinted with acrylic paints.
For more information on the artwork of Judith Hoyt, Hoyt, see www.judithhoyt.net. www.judithhoyt.net.
(Claudine Hellmuth) page 94
(Michael de Meng) page 82
Pitt artist pens are available at art supply stores.
Golden acrylic paints are available at art supply stores and through the company website, listed on page 125.
Books by Claudine Hellmuth: Collage Discovery Workshop and Workshop and Collage Discovery
Section Secti on II: Galler Gallery y
Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected (North Unexpected (North Light Books) are available available at bookstores and Amazon.com.
Claybord, or birch panels. Claybord, panels. These and other encaustics-related materials can be purchased at art supply stores.
R&F Handmade Paints www.rfpaints.com
DVDs by Claudine Hellmuth: Collage Textures and Techniques and Techniques and More Collage Textures and Techniques are Techniques are available at www.ccpvideos.com.
(Jonathan Talbot) page 116
Utrecht Art www.utrechtart.com
Jonathan Talbot’s book Collage: book Collage: A New Approach is Approach is available at www.talbot1. www.talbot1.com com and at Amazon.com Amazon.com..
Zettiology www.zettiology.com
(Maria Keehan) page 96
(MJ Viano Crowe) page 118
Europe and United Kingdom
A source for found objects and junk jewelry in New York City is the Sunday flea market on 77th St. and Columbus Ave. Ave.
Quick Grip adhesive is available at A.C. Moore and other craft stores.
Creative Crafts www.creativecrafts.co.uk
Vendors
HobbyCraft (stores throughout the UK) +44 1202 596 100
Bristol board is available at art supply stores.
(Anne Lewis) page 100 Canson archival papers, Cold Press Press watercolor papers, papers, and Speedball barens barens are available at art supply stores.
(LK Ludwig) page 102 An online source for long eyelets and interesting metal attachments is www.coffeebreakdesign.com.
(Keith Maddy) page 104 Sources of found objects objects in the Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, Massachuse tts, area are flea markets, markets, eBay eBay,, the Salvation Army, Army, Morgan Memorial, Memorial, second-hand shops, shops, and yard sales. sales.
(Jane Maxwell) page 106
A.C. Moor Mooree craft stores www.acmoore.com Daniel Smith www.danielsmith.com Dharma Trading Co. www.dharmatrading.com Dick Blick Art Materials www.dickblick.com The Fine Art Store www.fineartstore.com Golden Paints www.goldenpaints.com
For information on the antiques fair in Brimfield, Brimfield, Massa Massachus chusetts, etts, see www.brimfieldshow.com.
Home Depot www.homedepot.com
(Annie Silverman) page 108
Lowe’s www.lowes.com
Ellen Wieske’s wire technique is described in her book, Wirework: 20 Wonderful Won derful Wire Projects Projects to Coil, Bend, Twist & Stitch (Week Stitch (Weekend end Crafter Series, Lark Books, Books, 2001 2001). ). Her website website is is www.dowstudiodeerisle.com. For more information on the Oiseaux Sisters, see www.oiseaux www.oiseauxsisters.com. sisters.com.
(Tracy Spadafora) page 110 In lieu of of maki making ng a lauan support, support, it is also possible to use Masonite boards,
Michaels www.michaels.com Paper Source www.paper-source.com
Australia and New Zealand
Bondi Road Art Supplies www.bondiroadart.com.au Eckersley’ss Arts, Craf Eckersley’ Crafts, ts, and Imagination Imagination www.eckersleys.com.au www.eck ersleys.com.au for store locations in New South Wales, Wales, Queen Queensland sland,, South Australia, and Victoria Main Art See www.mainart.co.nz for store locations throughout New Zealand
Photography Resources John Polak Photography Chicopee, Massachusetts www.johnpolakphotography.com Peter Tannenbaum Photography Boston,, Massa Boston Massachuse chusetts tts www.petertannenbaum.com Richard Nicol Photography Seattle, Washington
[email protected]
Pearl Paint Company www.pearlpaint.com
Stefan Hagen Photography New York, York, New York York www.stefanhagenphotography.com
Pro Chemical & Dye 800-2-BUY-DYE
Stephen Bay www.bayimages.net
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Artist Directory Laurinda Laurind a Bedingfield (page 14)
Lorraine Glessner (page 90)
Jane Maxwell (page 106)
Somerville, Massachu Massachusetts setts
[email protected] www.studio61online.com gallery: Gallery Penumbra (Gloucester, Massachusetts)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
[email protected] www.home.earthlink.net/~lorigles
Newton, Massachusetts
[email protected] janemaxw
[email protected] om www.janemaxwell.com
Holly Harrison (page 92)
Sharon McCartney (page 50)
Aleta Braun (page 76)
Concord, Massachusetts
[email protected]
Belchertown, Massachuse Massachusetts tts
[email protected]
Greenville, North Carolina
[email protected]
Claudine Hellmuth (page 94)
Teesha Moore (page 62)
Orlando, Florida www.collageartist.com books and DVDs available from www.ccpvideos.com
Renton, Washington www.teeshamoore.com www.teeshascircus.blogspot.com
Jennifer Crusie (page 78)
www.jennycrusie.com Barbara De Pirro (page 26)
Shelton, Washington www.depirro.com
Annie Silverman (page 108) Maria G. Keehan (page 96)
New York, New York
[email protected]
Somerville, Massachu Massachusetts setts
[email protected] www.anniesilverman.biz
Alisa Kwitney (page 81)
Tracy Spadafora (page 110)
www.alisakwitney.com
[email protected] www.vernonstreet.com/artists/ spadafora.html
Michael de Meng (page 82)
[email protected] www.michaeldemeng.com www.michaeldemeng.blogspot.com
Martha Mar tha L. Lent (page 98) Dorit Elisha (page 84)
Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale,
[email protected] www.doritelisha.com Shelby Fischer (page 86)
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville,
[email protected] www.shelbyfischer.com gallery: Les Yeux du Monde (Charlottesville,, Virginia (Charlottesville Virginia))
[email protected] www.MarthaLentStudios.com phone: 407-718-5 407-718-5245 245 galleries: Studio E Gallery (www.studioegallery.com), (www.studi oegallery.com), NorDys Gallery (www.nor (www.nordysgallery.com), dysgallery.com), Florida Craftsman Gallery (www.floridacraftsmen.net), Grand Bohemian Gallery (www.grandbohemiangallery.com)
Medford, Massachusetts
[email protected] jen@jenflor es.com www.jenflores.com Paula Grasdal Gras dal (page 38)
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
[email protected]
Seattle, Washington
[email protected] LK Ludwig (page 102)
Zelienople, Pennsylvania
[email protected] www.gryphonsfeather.typepad.com Keith Maddy (page 104)
Somerville, Massachus Massachusetts etts
[email protected] www.keithmaddy.com
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Seattle, Washington
[email protected] www.horsedancers.com Jonathan Jona than Talbot (page 116)
Warwick, New York www.talbot1.com Mj Viano Crowe (page 118)
Anne Lewis (page 100) Jen Flores (page 88)
Melissa Weiss Steele (page 114)
Associate Professor of Art Stonehill College Easton, Massachusetts
[email protected]
About the Author Holly Harrison is the author of Collage for the Soul: Expressing Your Your Hopes and Dreams through Art (Roc Art (Rockport kport,, 2003 2003); ); Altered Books, Collaborative Journals, and Other Adventures in Bookmaking (R Bookmaking (Rock ockpor port, t, 200 2003), 3), and Complete Bathroom Design (Quar Design (Quarry, ry, 2004 2004). ). A contribut contributor or to Metropolitan Home and Home and other magazines, she has also taught at City College in New York York and edited both fiction and nonfiction books. books. She currently lives lives outside of Boston with her family family,, where she hides hides her secret secret collection of Elvis-themed art.
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Acknowledgments I would like to thank everyone in the book for sharing their work and for gamely taking on the difficul difficultt task of talki talking ng about it. it. I am especially grateful to the Profiles artists, not only for letting us into their creative process but also for taking a step away from it to create detailed, technique-based steps. I want to thank everyone at Rockport Publishers for their hard work, especially my editor editor and pal, Mary Ann Hall, Hall, and Dawn DeV DeVries ries Sokol, Sokol, who designed this beautiful book. Final thanks go to my husband, husband, Jim McManus, McManus, who never complained about getting up early with our daughter when I needed extra sleep.
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Mixed-media Mixed-med ia collage artists are embracing, embracing, unearthin unearthing, g, and reconstructi reconstructing ng the flotsam and jetsam of modern life, integrating discards with traditional t raditional art ar t materials and novel techniques to creat createe compel compelling, ling, new works works.. Original, idiosyn idiosyncratic, cratic, delight delightful, ful, this catc catch-as-ca h-as-catch-c tch-can an approach has inspiring and eye-catching results—but also presents some unique technical challenges. Mixed-Media Collage takes Collage takes you into the studios of five talented mixed-media artists: Laurindaa Bedingfield, Laurind Bedingfield, Barbara De Pirro, Pirro, Pau Paula la Grasdal, Sharo Sharon n McCartney, McCartney, and Teesha Teesha Moore. Moore. These artists reveal their own step-by-step processes, processes, offer tips on working with unusual materials, and share their insights into creativity and inspiration. Also includes:
• A deluxe gallery with more than 40 never before published collages by leading mixed-media artists • Techniques for creating faux encaustic using acrylic mediums, assembling shrines and wall panels out of sew-th sew-through rough interfacing, interfacing, generat generating ing collage materials materials using simple printmaking printmaking techniques, working with photographs photographs in two two and three dimensions, fusing encaustic encaustic medium with unconventional unconventional materials, and more more • Plus: Authors Jennifer Jennifer Crusie and Alisa Kwitney Kwitney share their thoughts on using collages to brainstorm ideas and access creativity. writer specializing special izingBooks: in art and design. She currently currently lives lives outside of Boston with Holly Available Harrison is afrom Also Quarry her family, family , where she hides hides her her secret secret colle collection ctionThe of Elvis-th Elvis-themed emed art. to Altered Imagery art. Collage for the Soul Complete Guide ISBN: 1-56496 1-56496-962-2 -962-2 ISBN: 1-592531-59253-177-6 177-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-316-9 ISBN-10: 1-59253-316-7
Crafts
C P U
$24.99 US £16.99 UK $29.99 CAN
N A E
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