I kept thinking of Escher's work, the famous painting of the morphing birds...So then I went to bed and dreamt of the Wright Brothers. Hence the work: Final Draft 1903. Man has had some kind of "flight" machine on his drawing board over the centuries. Even the ancient Greeks sent Icarus on his own personal flight, although that was a disaster. I imagined the Wright Brothers and many before them, studied the dyamics of flight via the bird. And look where we are today.The piece is about 4 by 5 and is a collage on cardboard. How is this for being bold...my family and I are headed to the Art Institute in Chicago today to view an exhibit of paintings from a gallery in Paris. There will be a sleu of impressionist works represented there. Anyway I thought I would leave this at the Information center. HEHEHEHe. Should be fun!k
These past weeks I have been trying to make the most of my time in my studio getting ready for this upcoming show (April 5th -May 10th). I have been so focused on the work at hand that I have not had a real presence of mind for much else. With that said...most of my found art efforts have been small, rather straight forward pieces, this week included. ATC's , small post card size works, or book marks are about all the creativity I can muster right now. Yet, I do want to keep creating for this project because I believe in it. This week I so wanted to do an altoid tin shrine but time was not kind to me. So an ATC was about all that I could manage.Passion...I am half Italian, passion flows in my blood. I have a lot of passions. Husband, kids, my hounds, animal communication, art, music, good wine, good coffee, etc.... to be honest with you, my passions did not come to mind when I first thought about this weeks topic. Rather, what I thought about was what would totally embody that word..Passion. So the people, the culture of Mexico came to mind. I love the flamboyant colors, rich traditions, and cultural heritage found in Mexico. The dances and celebrations are done with a passion not often experienced by the average person. The strong faith exhibited at shrines..pretty amazing. The Ballet Folklorico..you have to see and experience it to understand what passion is all about. Yes...Mexico could be included in the defition of Passion without a doubt.My little ATC is a mixed media collage using acrylics, inks, rubber stamps, found papers, all done on watercolor paper. It includes an image of the Virgin de Guadalupe (she has a rather huge fan club in Mexico)...and a silly skeleton representing The Day of the Dead celebration. Granted, I am just a gringo but every time I visit Mexico I feel so alive and invigorated. My art also comes alive. Geesh...now I need a vacation!K
I made that conscious decision to stick my neck out or should I say my Art out there. This came about in February when the owner of Conscious Cup Roastery and Cafe found my found art piece. He contacted me through my blog and currently I am preparing for that show. I have 4 almost 5 new works ready in addition to some other work I had been "saving." With that decision made, I decided to enter the second annual county wide art project for McHenry County. This is in conjunction with our library system, YMCA, and Northwest area arts council. The Involvement Advocacy of McHenry County started this initiative www.involvementadvocacy.org. The theme this year is Outside my Window. I finished my work and I am dropping it off today. This is a mixed media piece, very light hearted, called "Take Flight." It is done on a gallery canvas 10 by 10 inches in size. The background of the work used rinse aid and alcohol (rubbing alcohol) as described in Claudine Hellmuth's book. The effect is exactly what I was looking for! In this work I used some of my drawings. I think it was about a year ago, in some magazine (I don't remember whcih one) that there was a spread done by an artist who used these fantastical people in her work. She drew everything but said clip art or collage clips would work just as well if you do not want to draw the faces and body. I remember she outlined her work in black. That just sort of stuck with me and so I decided to give it all a try. I really think, for the lightness of the work, that it worked OK. I guess I have given myself permission to draw as long as it is more fantasy and does not have to look like Andrew Wyeth's work. HA as if that could ever happen! Acrylics, masking tape, found papers and objects/stickers were used. My scanner is not quite 10 inches wide so some of the work is not shown...but it is mostly background.The work will be on display all over the county in a sort of traveling show. Then there is a huge artist reception in May. Should be fun! I hope the work will bring a smile to the faces of those that view it.k
So what I am obsessed with? The first thing that came to mind was my weight. But that is another story. See if you can find my obsession of the moment in my found art piece. If you can't find it..the title of my piece will give it away.I started to think of some of my favorite artists and do you think they were obsessed? I would say so...so much so that I bet if I were to list a dozen artists, you could rattle off their obsessions. How about Vermeer with those pearls and his very veiled feelings. Or Rivera with Frida or Frida with Diego and death, or Dali..well Dali is Dali, or Rembrant with his poorness. See what I mean. So hence the found art piece, "Greyhound." Yes that is my obsession. If I could I would have 20 more... These hounds are so in need of good homes. I have two and they eat healthier than I.This work was done on a cardboard backing. The collage methods used were Talbot's. On the final acrylic wash, I dripped some alcohol as per Claudine Hellmuth's techniques. It is a little hard to see with this scan but it did turn out kind of neat. I just finished another collage for a traveling exhibit in McHenry County. I used this alcohol technique with dramatic results. I have to varnish it and then I will scan it.
K
I think that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In this beholder's eye, I find beauty all around me...in nature, art, architecture, music, dance, a hydrogen molecule, a bacterial spore...you get the picture. But today I was thinking of my three children. They dance and soon will be in a spring production of the Sleeping Beauty. So then I started to think of how I cry, every time I see them on stage. The beauty of their movements, the grace, and determination, there is nothing like it for me. So I decided that my piece would be something to do with dance...a ballerina.My found art piece is 5 by 5 inches and is a mixed media work. It is entitled Dance for Kaitie. I used some of Claudine Hellmuth's techniques including the infamous Vaseline resist.Enjoy.k
