As I started in my last post, I was at a loss for a creative spark...
naked plaster of paris eggs...sat in a carton in my studio the last two years...
but then I was brilliantly inspired...and went to work...
Using my trusty bristle brush, I glued delicate feathers onto the eggs...
being careful to gently keep each strand smooth and not become a gloppy mess...
I also experimented with a little tissue paper; knowing that the tissue would be light and translucent as it dried...and a bit of french ephemera...because really, isn't everything a little better with a bit of french flair?
After the glue was dry, a little light sanding and a tiny bit of wax...
and finally a springtime vignette...
the contrast of the dark feather against the white plaster brings out all the details...
and highlights how delicate each feather is.
I like how this egg with the tissue paper layer resembles brown transferware ironstone.
And the partial shell that I created holds a tiny treasure...
Joining the group over at kim klassen's Friday Finds...
where my find is the inspiration and spark that I discover among the bestill52 artists...
Thank you Dutch Barb for the spark!
also joining up with Funky Junk Interiors weekend Party Junk...still more inspiration over there...
Within this first month of the new year, I'm trying hard to stay true to my words for the year - dig deep
To look beyond the surface...to explore new avenues...follow a different path...
I've been pretty surprised by my efforts...
discovering a few skills and abilities that I didn't know I had...or had merely forgotten...
Taking a different approach...not relying on the tried and true...
In my year-long Photoshop artistry class, AWAKE, I have surprised myself by taking photos of images that normally would not interest me...and then editing them in new and different ways...leading to an end result that I liked more than I thought possible...and revealing an insight that broke free from my standard artistic view...
The assignment was to take several photos of an object, each from a different angle...I merged this assignment task with another assignment, which was to focus on how we saw our artistic life...as I took my morning walk, I was struck by the row upon row of boxes of this apartment building...and how I would hate to live in one of those boxes...as I combined two of the views of the building, I struggled with how to make each stand out yet blend together...exploring some of the blend modes in Photoshop that I never use (hard light for example) yielded the effect I wanted...masking, blending, and layering helped to bring the entire composition together.
going off in a different direction...sometimes the best way to go...
joining the group over at kim klassen's Friday Finds...where my find is the exhilaration of taking new trails and leaving the path behind...
and speaking of new trails...did you read about that I'm taking the Art Party on the road...to Portland, OR...
want to know more? get all the details here...
I invite you to join me at an Art Party this fall...the new schedule is posted and there's plenty of creative inspiration...here's the details...
What is an Art Party?
Its a creative opportunity to join with like-minded souls...to be inspired to cut, twist, paste, design, laugh, kvetch, paint, eat & drink, relax...while constructing a one of a kind project...with no worry of what supplies to bring nor any concern about clean-up...
Each art party will feature a different creative project as described below and will be held at my workshop art studio in Everett, WA. Seats are limited so early registration is encouraged.
Registered attendees will receive additional workshop information and directions to my studio with the email supplied by attendee via PayPal purchase.
Credit card payments accepted and all payments are made through PayPal. Registration sales are final and non-refundable; however a registration may be transferable.
Have a question or special request? Want your own private art party? With a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8, you and your friends can celebrate a birthday, enjoy a girl's day out or just have a ton of creative fun! Feel free to email me at amy_duncan@yahoo.com
FALL 2014 WORKSHOPS
Rendezvous with Resin
Been curious about working with epoxy resin but a little hesitant to give it a try? Come and join the group while constructing mini 3-D collages, captured forever in a layer of resin. We'll use bottle caps, jar lids, tart tins and tin can tops to make ornaments, magnets and decorative pins...adding in buttons, postage stamps, clock gears, ribbons...
the options are limitless...
Date: Saturday September 20
Time: 1-4 pm
Workshop Fee: $45
Corrugated Cardboard Journals
Using the common material of corrugated cardboard, you'll create a one of a kind journal. Peeling apart the layers of the cardboard or carving out an inset design will lend a textured effect to the personal story you tell within its pages. Collage designs crafted from magazine ads and junk mail will inspire you to see the potential in any sort of leftover paper scrap and set you loose on a whirlwind recycled tizzy!
Date: Saturday September 27
Time: 1-4 pm
Workshop Fee: $40
Altered Tins
Metal madness reigns in this workshop! Starting with a simple tin box, you'll fashion your own miniature shrine or create a special memento for a friend. We'll cover transfer tape techniques that can be used to layer images for a collage effect. There will be plenty of vintage photos so you can embellish your own "instant relatives" as part of your design...add a wire hanger and it can even be a holiday ornament...
Date: Sunday October 19
Time: 1-4 pm
Workshop Fee: $45
I've been busy getting ready for Fresh Paint, held August 16-17 at the Everett Marina...
its a juried art show sponsored by the Schack Art Center here in town...
I've taken a new direction with my art this year...combining paper collage...with digital photographs... and then adding dimensional vintage elements as a finishing touch.
Though any one step by itself is not very involved or time consuming...when placed in the context of a completed piece, the time and effort can take months...
I thought I would share a condensed version of what goes into such a creation...to both inspire you as well as cultivate an understanding of my process...
The germ of an idea for the main collage of my highlighted piece started here...
Above are two scanned images of original paper collages from a commissioned art journal I constructed in October 2013...With techniques I acquired through the Photoshop Grunge class that I started in January 2014 (and I haven't even completed all the lessons yet) I found a way to merge these two images together while adding two more photographs of mine...so that's 4 images that went into this montage...with additional layers of textures and grunge...the resulting collage looks like this...
I then produced a high quality print...and started creating the larger multi-media assemblage...
At this point, the print sat on my studio table...for many moons (you can't rush inspiration...it sometimes takes its own sweet time)...
I often use old drawers as the foundation for my larger collages...but this print was an odd size - 10" x 16" ...and was confounding me...until I was cleaning out the basement...and found an old typeset drawer that was falling apart...it was perfect...
From there things came together quickly...wanting to pick up the blue tones of the collage, I covered the surface of the typeset drawer with a sheet of blueprint diagram (friends of mine had to scrape a remodel project and I happily snatched up a set of plans that were going to the trash) The white background of the paper was a little too bright...so my favorite patina to the rescue...
Several coffee washes later, I'm ready to put the photo print in place...finishing with a light sanding and a wax buff, this process of waiting for each layer to dry before proceeding takes about a week...
Wanting to keep with the original intention of the typeset drawer, I pull out my wooden type...and cobble together two words that express my message...
running short of traditional letters...you've got to use "poetic licence"... that number 3 is now an "E"
The inside edges still needed something...so it sat another couple of days...until I decided to add a length of metal measuring tape...secured in each corner with the letters n, s, e and w (for north, south, east and west)
At this stage, I leave the collage at a place where I can look at it each day - in this case, the dining room table - deciding whether or not it is complete or if something else is needed...once I'm happy with it, hanging hardware is attached then signed, labeled, ready for the show...
Come visit me at the show...I'll be in booth 21...and you can see this piece up close and personal...
I've been working on a new series of collages...a series that I am calling "the temporaries"...
why that name you ask? because the collage combinations that I am creating are made from ephemera...those inconsequential bits and pieces of paper that usually are forgotten...tossed...destroyed...and are mostly folded...mutilated...faded...deteriorated...
not prime material for fine art...but art nonetheless...
I decided to focus on the less than stellar qualities of these papers...and expose them...let you see the torn and tattered edges...the back sides...the uneven layers. These collages are put together with minimal glue...instead using my sewing machine to add a stitch here and there...and then mounted on office clip boards...it just didn't seem right that they should be framed...under glass...hidden from scrutiny...
Each collage tells its own story...and is a combination of vintage detritus, current junk papers, interesting odds & ends and recycled remnants of my own notecards with their cropped digital images...
I've been hoarding so many of these remnants for too long...not wanting to give them up...
but its time to purge...to let go...
And here's why its been easier to let it all go...I've been making digital scans of each completed collage...and then creating a new composition...layering additional images and textures...continuing the story started with the original paper creation...
Entire image of collage seen at the start of this blog post...
and here - the enhanced version...
And the beauty is...if I don't like something in the enhanced version, it can be changed...and a new vision created...
another example...the original...
the enhanced...
Want to see more of the temporaries? Come visit me at the Fresh Paint Art Festival in Everett on August 16-17...all the event details here...the complete set of the original temporaries and digital reproductions of the enhanced compositions will be on display...mark it on your calendar...
Joining kim klassen's Friday Finds...where my "find" is discovering a way to both let it go...and create anew...
With the new year, comes new beginnings...
I find at the start of the year, I'm always ready to plunge into an art project to get the creative juices flowing...
Opportunity met up with inspiration when I read about Lesley Riley's call for submissions. Lesley recently published the book, Quotes Illustrated, which is a compilation of artistic interpretations of selected quotes. The initial run of the book caught the eye of a larger publisher, so Lesley is re-vamping the book and thus looking for additional art submissions that will lead to a bigger and better version in the fall. I emailed her with my information and the quote that I wanted to illustrate...once I got the go-ahead, I worked to create three different interpretations of the quote. I was allowed to submit two illustrations...which can't be shared here...but I thought I would share the third illustration which was not submitted...
the quote is one of my favorites...
I'm experimenting with a new art process...incorporating a scan of an original multi-media collage with layers of original photographs...image on top of image...some parts revealed...other parts obscured...
There's still time to submit illustrations if you're interested...but the clock is ticking...get all the info over at Lesley's site - www.lesleyriley.com/weblog
With inspiration flowing freely...and having the enthusiasm of the new year, I decided to start cleaning up my office and my studio in the spirit of fresh projects to begin...I like giving myself the challenge of creating a collage from the scrapes leftover on my work table...limitations has its virtues...
I found a few snitchels of paper targets...you might remember that I participated in the Target Practice Project with a host of other artists...all coordinated by Laura Tringali Holmes...you can read about the project and see all the artist submissions here...
so with bits of targets...and a few other scraps...I created the King Charmer...
After the completion of the paper collage, I scanned the image and then continued to layer texture over it via Photoshop...it was great to be able to experiment with different techniques and applications without ruining the original composition if something didn't turn out as I expected...
As I stated at the start...a new year always brings renewed enthusiasm...I've been clearing out my studio...and getting ready to re-stock my etsy shop with great finds and vintage treasures, along with original art collages...now if the weather would just cooperate with a few sunny days so I could take decent pictures...stay tuned!
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