Yesterday I was able to spend most of the day working in my studio...I was so happy...a place to call my own, where I could work in peace and be surrounded with the supplies/tools/objects that inspire me.
Virginia Woolf had it right...a woman needs a room of one's own...
In another life of mine...many years ago...this would not have happened...I wouldn't have a room of my own...I put my key in someone else's pocket...luckily that was not for long...
I hope you have your key and hold on to it tight...
a gray quiet day after a sunny week devoted to much gardening...
not my favorite activity but I do enjoy the end results...
plenty of new art projects underway, plenty to keep me busy...
because I enjoy telling stories with pictures...because it's good to be reminded...
Happy Valentine's Day!
Thank you for the love you show my blog by stopping by...hoping you receive some love your way today...
a brave little crocus popped in the garden this week...hopeful that it will soon be joined by others...
I am honored to be featured on the latest posting on adi & bert blog...
Claudia, a lovely artistic soul from New Zealand who writes this blog, has a regular posting where she highlights various makers and their craft...I am privileged to be the current profiled maker.
Please hop over and give it a read...and find out how I ever got started in this crazy collage business!
I know...its been a while...needless to say, a lot has been happening here...but I'm trying to get back on track...with creating, with inspiring, with blogging...
And so...I've scheduled a fun Art Party...at my studio here in Everett...perfect for upcoming holiday celebrations...I know...the holidays are coming on way too quickly...but denying it won't make it go away...so whether you celebrate Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, Winter Solstice or just a day where the sun shines brightly, I'll show you some creative ways to package up whatever treats, surprises, souvenirs or trinkets you may be giving.
You'll use vintage wallpaper, washi tape, old postage stamps, ephemera bits and well-loved hardware to turn ordinary tin cans into decorative containers...plus we'll be making pretty packing shred from discarded books and fabric ribbon from textile remnants...we might even create a tag or two...
The workshop will be held on Saturday, November 7 from 1-4 pm - exact details and directions will be sent to you with your registration confirmation.
SOLD OUT!
if you want to be put on a waiting list, email me at amy_duncan@yahoo.com
While looking for something in my office the other day...which I can't even remember what it was at this point...
I came across a folder of collage materials...
I will often collect materials for a piece and put them all together in a folder so that the ideas and theme stay intact...
I started this folder eight years ago...for the first time I was exhibiting at Fresh Paint Art Festival...I had cut out the letters from an old Crate & Barrel shopping bag...and the flowers were cut from a wallpaper sample book...there's also a magazine ad of a Holstein cow...I guess it was the black & white idea tying it all together...
I prepped a canvas today to finish up this collage...minus the cow...
you can see the completed piece at Fresh Paint, August 15-16 at the Everett Marina...I hope you'll stop by...
it doesn't take much...as I was rummaging through a stack of papers and ephemera looking for pieces to include in a giant collage I am working on, I spied it...an old library check-out card...
my mind started spinning...putting the card aside, I kept it out of the pile so I could return to it...
and spin the tale that spoke to me...
Having a few days off due to the holiday here in the US has given me hours of time in the workshop studio...which in the middle of winter is too cold to work in, but during the heat wave we are having, it is pure heaven...
Creating new pieces for my next summer show, Fresh Paint, at the Everett Marina, August 15 & 16...
And I must apologize for my tardiness in responding to comments...once again, there's a glitch with Blogger which is sending all my comments to some nether world that I don't have access to...I'm trying to tinker with it, but please bear with me...I do appreciate that you not only stop to read my blog, but that you take the time to comment...thank you!
In May, I had the privilege to be one of the demonstrating artists for the groups of schoolchildren who came to see the Sustainable Art exhibit at the Schack Art Center. The focus of the show was using recycled/upcycled materials to create art...everything from mosaics to glass to jewelry to fashion...no artistic medium was left out. The school groups enjoyed a docent led talk through the exhibit, a chance to try their own hand at recycled art and the opportunity to see a live artist in action...that's where I came in. I demonstrated the steps of making a multi-media collage, using all recycled materials.
The process began with a stack of leftover painted wood scraps...I used these as my foundation...
I wasn't quite sure what would spur me to create...so I brought a suitcase full of materials and papers...
which would also allow the kids to see that just about anything can be used for art...
Since I had recently been rifling through a stack of old photographs, I decided to let them be my guide...I picked out a few interesting faces and began to craft a story, gathering materials...
With each photo, I asked for input from the school group kids...what did they think was happening in the photo...what was the story here...things began to take shape...
Bit by bit, each collage unfolded...
the map in the background expressed the notion that this couple was going on a trip...
but still something else was needed...
Elements shown here were chosen to add to other collages...but where...
the value of trial and error was discussed...
In the end, six collages were completed...started by me...and eventually finished by me...
but with plenty of input for the middle stages from the kids...
Each tells its own small story...with attention to detail and a few well-chosen words and images...
An art creation...composed bit by bit...
lilacs blooming...the air fresh with scent...a breeze lingers and stirs memories...
my head in the clouds...like a faded polaroid print, the image is clear but the details are fuzzy...
a composition from my online creative class...
I will be off on an adventure next week...but not to Paris...at least, not this time...
I have birds on the brain...maybe because of spring...probably because I've always had a soft spot for them...
and when I see some fabulous bird prints, I go weak in the knees...
I saw these Morris bird prints on Rhubarb Reign's Facebook page...I was smitten...a back and forth exchange ensued...soon my package arrived...8 bird prints were mine.
I had a bit of fun using the prints as photography props...they are quite wonderful...hand colored...
with just the right amount of vintage wear...
I decided though that I wanted to share...so six of these prints will be available at my booth at the Vintage Market this coming Saturday. I decided to keep the presentation simple...I had a stack of white mat frames...and a slew of clipboards...I embellished one corner of each mat with a combination of paper ephemera and washi tape, added a little flourish to the top of the clipboard and called it done...
Easy to hang as is...or one could do a proper mat and frame of the print...
I attached the print to the mat board with nothing more than two small pieces of tape so as to leave the prints relatively clean.
Wishing the photos were clearer...that's the downside of the PNW...we've had a mild winter and spring...but the sun doesn't always shine...makes photography a challenge...and when I saw how grainy these pics looked, the birds were already packed for the show...you'll just have to stop by my booth and see them for yourself...let me know that you read about them on my blog...I'll have a surprise for you...
seems lately that I have been obsessed with birds...more than usual...
perhaps because it is spring and I welcome their increased activity...
In any case, I have several bird inspired projects I thought I would share over the next couple of days...
Today's is a quick one...I had a couple of wooden boards that I had collaged years ago and then never finished...the first background layer was a page from an old art book; the second layer is the top ply of a paper napkin...one of my favorite collage layering techniques since the single ply of the napkin is so sheer, you see the underneath layer. A snippet from an old dictionary was added...and then it sat...
Getting ready for a show always motivates me to action...in this case, I pulled out these two boards, attached a Cavallini bird tag, added a few more words and finished off with a ribbon hanger...
Both of these beauties (plus so much more) will be at the
Vintage Market at Swan's Trail on March 28...will you?
It all started back in November...creating recycled gift items for my holiday shows...
I was using the Spoonflower fabric samples of my photographic collages, making them into sachets...
I also had some transfers of my artwork that my friend Kate of Full Circle Studio had printed for me on her commercial press...using this one in making a pillow...
That little bit of sewing re-ignited my desire to sew...and prompted me to make an artist smock with my vintage mattress ticking, using one of the Spoonflower samples as a pocket on the smock..
So now I was hooked...what else could I create using these samples...but there was a problem...I was running out of samples...then I had my eureka moment! I had purchased a large stack of transfer paper at a garage sale during the summer...
Once I found the stack of transfer paper, I sewed up another artist smock, again with my photographic collage printed on fabric for the pocket...this smock is the test model for artist Jody Cain of Latitude Studios...wanting a test run on how they wear in the real world...
At this point, I was firing on all pistons...couldn't I print onto fabric and use the fabric in different ways...cover design for my recycled journals came to mind...here's how I did it...
These were the two types of transfers in the stack I bought...after working with both, I liked the results from the HP paper better...it seemed to be a smoother print
There's an explicit instruction sheet included in each packet...I arranged my images in Photoshop on 8-1/2" x 11" document - the same size as the transfer sheets...I wanted to make use of every inch of paper...and most important...DON'T FORGET TO FLIP YOUR IMAGES HORIZONTALLY! This is especially important if you have writing on your image...always wise to perform a test run on blank paper before printing on the transfer sheet...though I only paid a couple of bucks for my stack at the garage sale, I am assuming that this paper is not cheap...don't let any scraps go to waste! Here's what my printed transfer sheet looked like...
Once you've trimmed the images and heated up your iron (with no steam or water in it!) you are ready to go...I decided to use a lightweight muslin as my fabric...I pre-washed the fabric and then tore it into pieces to correspond to the size of the image...
I purposely wanted the frayed edges...
An aside...I have several pairs of Fiskars scissors...the pair with the ribbon tied on is my fabric scissors...used only for fabric...never paper...the ribbon is a quick visual reminder for me which scissors is which...
In transferring the image to the fabric, you need a flat, firm surface...I used a scrap of birch plywood which was very smooth and even...placed on my work table, I knew that I could press down heavily...don't do this on your ironing board - its not strong enough!
Once you are done ironing (again - follow the instruction sheet on time needed) you just peel off the paper...and voilà !
The image of the daisy was placed off to one side of the muslin...in the open space I stamped the word grow...
The acorn image was sewn onto a cover of a mini journal...
while the daisy transfer was used in the creation of a recycled garden journal cover...
And for those whose curiosity has been piqued...garden journals and artist smocks with my unique photographic collages will be available at my booth at the Vintage Market at Swan Trail's Farm, March 28, outside of Snohomish, WA...get all the details here...
And speaking of one thing leading to another...
I haven't forgotten about my blog...it's just that I've become very enamored of Instagram...so visual, so inspiring, so quick and easy to share photos...it has become consuming...but in a good way...check it out...you'll see...
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