On the Threshold

“On the Threshold” a mixed media piece created in 2019.

Reap the Whirlwind

“Reap the Whirlwind” a mixed media piece created in 2014.

The Altered Page: Buried Treasure

The Altered Page: Buried Treasure: The Continuing Education of a Perennial Art Student . . .Lesson Learned: "Deluge After Drought"

Here is a piece I struggled with for quite some time.  It has quite a few more layers of various papers and paint than I frequently use in my work, and at several stages in it's creation, looked quite different than it looks, above, in it's final incarnation.  At times I thought that I had "overworked" parts of it, and I also kept fighting the urge to give the piece a strong focal point of some kind (even in my non objective artwork like this piece there is usually some sort of center-of-interest), as I really wanted to focus on texture, pattern, and repetition, here.  I put the unfinished piece away for a month or more, and thought about elements that would  bring the composition more in line with the mental image I had of it.  When I hauled it out, again to work on it, I only ended up changing things slightly by adding several new elements to the composition.  Having done so, I knew it was complete.  Lesson learned: giving a piece I am working on some time, by putting it away and leaving it in an unfinished state for awhile, helps me to process, and can actually give the artwork the space and time it needs, as well, to tell me what needs to happen next!

"No Brain for Math and Science:" My Interview in Featuring Magazine

The upcoming issue of Featuring Magazine: Art Journaling, Mixed Media and More. . . includes an interview where the editors of the magazine asked me a number of questions about my 'awakening' as an artist during my high school years, my development as an art student at the California College of Arts and Crafts in the Bay Area in the 1960's, and the fascination with mixed media in my current work.  The article, which includes images of 9 pieces of my work, is titled "No Brain for Math and Science," a direct quote from an answer to one of the questions Featuring's editors asked me.  The current issue of Featuring (issue #4) has been sent to the printers and is available for pre-sale on the magazine's website, featuringmagazine.com. It will be ready for mailing to readers in about two weeks.  If you are interested in collage, mixed media, art journaling, and a world of related topics from an international community of artists, and are not familiar with this amazing new art magazine, you are truly missing something special.  

My Sketchbook

"and when the war was over"

This is an example of the kind of collage and mixed media pieces I frequently create in my sketchbook.  They tend to be a lot more "spare," with more white space surrounding the imagery, than many of the more formal pieces I create as separate works.  In my sketchbook, there are no "rules," and because of that, it is the place where I feel totally free to explore; to both create, and to destroy.  It is also the place where some of my most creative ideas germinate and begin to grow, so, in the long run, it becomes a wonderful resource for other creative pursuits.  I have not made the time to work in my sketchbook, much, lately, and, when this happens, I find myself less happy; more on-edge.  It is something that I need to change!  And, soon! 

Lesson Learned: "Deluge After Drought"

Here is a piece I struggled with for quite some time.  It has quite a few more layers of various papers and paint than I frequently use in my work, and at several stages in it's creation, looked quite different than it looks, above, in it's final incarnation.  At times, I thought that I had "overworked" parts of it, and I also kept fighting the urge to give the piece a strong focal point of some kind (even in my non-objective artwork, like this piece, there is usually some sort of center-of-interest), as I really wanted to focus on texture, pattern, and repetition, here.  I put the unfinished piece away for a month or more, and thought about elements that would bring the piece more in line with the mental image I had of it.  When I hauled it out, again to work on it, I only ended up changing things slightly by adding several new elements to the composition.  Having done so, I knew it was complete.  Lesson learned: giving a piece I am working on some time, by putting it away and leaving it an unfinished state for awhile, helps me to process, and can actually give the artwork the space and time it needs, as well, to tell me what needs to happen next!    

Seth Apter's 5 x 5 Project

A number of blog posts ago, I showed images of the three 5 x 5 projects that I created for Seth Apter's "5 x 5 Project," an online extension of his book The Pulse of Mixed Media.  The prompts for which he asked us to create artwork were as follows: 1)If your artwork could talk, what would it say?  2)Who has had the most impact on your creative life?  3)What is one thing you have never shared with the creative community?  Each prompt was to be "answered" with a piece of artwork 5" x 5" square.  The artwork could include other visual elements, but was to be primarily based on some sort of written text or typography.  Since much of my work incorporates the written word in some form, I felt that this was a creative endeavor I could not turn down, and I had a wonderful time in the studio coming up with my visual responses to his prompts.    I created a 5 x 5 piece for each of the three prompts, and mailed them to Seth in NYC.  The magazine Somerset Studio found out about this project, and did a 10-page article on it, in their November/December, 2012 issue.  To my complete amazement, my "If your artwork could talk. . ." piece was included in this article.  One or more of the pieces I created for this project will be included in Seth's blog post on the 5 x 5 Project on his blog, The Altered Page (thealteredpage.blogspot.com), this coming Sunday, December 23rd.

The Pulse Charity Auction for Hurricane Sandy Relief

 

Long Walk Home

Hurricane Sandy has created havoc and devastation in the lives of many people in the Northeastern portion of the U.S..  New York City mixed media artist, and blogger (thealteredpage.blogspot.com), Seth Apter, feeling powerless in the face of a tragedy of this magnitude, has decided to do something to help out.  He is running auctions of several "bundles" (as of 11/7/12 there are 8, with MORE to come!) of new art books, and original artwork, by himself, and others.  I have chosen to create a piece called Long Walk Home to donate to the cause.  100% of the monies he collects from these auctions will be donated to The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, and, in turn, 100% of this fund id used to directly benefit the victims of Hurricane Sandy.  (To date-11/7/12- he has collected more than $1000.00 from these auctions!)  You can view the auction items in the bundles, and get further information on his blog, The Altered Page.  You may place a bid on an auction bundle by emailing him at shap97@gmail.com.

The Perks of Creating an ATC

This is an ATC that I recently created, called "Off the Radar."  Much of my work is fairly small in size (9" x 12" or smaller), but I find it challenging, and fun, to work in the even smaller ATC 2.5" x 3.5" size, and still attempt to incorporate all of the materials and kinds of imagery I use in the larger pieces. Because of the small size, the process is frequently spontaneous, and intuitive enough that it has the ability to ameliorate some of the pressure and angst that can arise when working on a larger piece, and trying to get everything "just right."  When I have the time, I try to complete work of this smaller size, from start to finish, at one sitting.

Featuring Magazine: Theme Gallery

Preparation for travel

The Road Home

Two of my shadow box pieces (which I refer to as "scrapboxes"), are being included in the Theme Gallery section of the new quarterly mixed media arts magazine, Featuring, published in The Netherlands.  This 2nd issue's theme for the Theme Gallery was "The Road Ahead."  The pieces are Preparation for Travel, and The Road Home, seen above.

International Artwork Exchange Part 2

Lunas Negras I

Lunas Negras II

Lunas Negras III

Lunas Negras IV

 Lunas Negras V

So. . .there have been a number of things that have conspired to keep me away from posting on my blog for the past several days.  My apologies!  Here are the five pieces that Jorge Restrepo sent to me, in exchange for the five pieces in the previous post that I sent to him.  These are from a series that he calls "Lunas Negras," or "Black Moons."  Enjoy!

International Artwork Exchange

Blue Harvest

 Amber Lesson

 Grey Archive

Red Cathedral

 White Obstacle

Awhile back I participated in an artwork exchange with Jorge Restrepo, a Latin American artist with homes/studios in Tegucigalupa, Honduras, and Cali, Colombia.  We each created five pieces to exchange.  The five pieces I created are shown here.  I'll show Jorge's work in  my next post.

"North Coast Hazards"

In some ways, this recent piece represents a somewhat new direction for me.  I'm using the same materials that I generally use: found and vintage papers, gesso, acrylic paint, matte medium, and matte varnish, but have built up considerably more layers than usual.  Some of the visual elements that were quite prominent at certain points during the creative process, have become hidden, or have disappeared altogether, in the final piece.  North Coast Hazards does, however, explore a theme I have investigated before: a fascination with geography and maps. 

Three Questions Answered With Art

I've submitted pieces for all three of the questions for Seth Apter's call for 5" x 5" artwork that answers three of the questions from his book, "The Pulse of Mixed Media," using words (and images, if desired).  The pieces I created are shown, below, in the following three posts, with their corresponding questions as the title of each post.

If your artwork could talk, what would it say?

Every fragment tells a story.

Who has had the most impact on your creative life?

Mr. Jack Howard: my high school art teacher from 1960-1964, who gave me the tools, showed me the way, and helped me to access an imagination that I hadn't realized I possessed.

What is one thing you've never shared with the creative community?

The event which led to an epiphany beginning my creative journey.

The Pulse of Mixed Media Hits the Northwest!!!

On Saturday, May 5, from 12-2 PM, at Bellevue Art and Frame, Seth Apter will be moderating a discussion of his new book, The Pulse of Mixed Media.  Two of the spotlight artists featured in the book, Leslie Avon Miller, and Donna Watson, will also be on hand to sign copies of the book and demonstrate techniques of their own.  Other artists attending are spotlight artist Alicia Caudle, as well as Delores Lovelady, and Lisa Jones-Moore.  And, I will be there, myself, meeting Seth, and the other artists involved in this wonderful book, for the first time.  Please see the flyer, above, for the location address, and other pertinent information!

As a part of the 'bloghop' on Seth apter's blog, The Altered Page, I have been introduced to artist Trudi Sissons, of Two Dresses Studio.  She has got a couple of cool contests going on: #1) Help her choose "Moo Cards", by leaving a comment in which you vote for your top five favorites out of twenty four on her blog http://www.twodressesstudio.blogspot.com/.  #2) You can also win a copy of Seth's new book, The Pulse of Mixed Media, by subscribing to her blog.

"With An Eye On the Sky"

This is a relatively new piece created with images from various sources: an old book of Russian posters, a print of an old religious engraving, a small color wheel from an old book on advertising art, a flower from a vintage scientific print, some billboard material (clouds), and an airplane from a U.S. postage stamp.  The paint is Golden acrylics.