10/28/2010

New Media Pros and Cons

So yesterday I wrote about my decision to plunge my collage into the digital realm again.
A few years back, wow, maybe 5 years at least...I was really heading in this direction. Liberated by Flash and it's capabilities of scripting animation, I was quite excited. I did a bunch of small projects. But,  in my heart, there's an ego thirsty ham that wants recognition....I want to imagine years from now collectors hanging onto my work and fighting over it in auctions. (well a girls gotta dream anyhow). This dream sort of turned to dust when I considered what was going to happen to my digital work years from now. It's already obvious that technology isn't standing still, and that the world is still figuring out how to archive this type of work. Oil is used in the production of computers, and with peak oil looming...I felt I had better focus as much effort as possible on an end product that didn't exploit our planets' resources, a product that was tangible and not ethereal. This meant artwork on the studio table. For years, I pretty much abandoned efforts on animating my work, except for a few small projects.
But
After consideration, as I said yesterday, I started feeling like I've been there, done that. I need to step up my game, take advantage of all the things that I can use to convey emotion, and start branching out.  I want to lead the medium to a new place, rather than hang out where I am comfortable.
I am nervous. We all like to be compensated on our work! I like to sell pieces so that I can afford more art materials, art trips, and art stuff! But How the Heck am I going to Market a Hi-def video? Where's the money in it? For me, it's been about the experience, not so much the money, but we often equate money with success. If I do this movie and it takes me over 300 hours, how will I justify the time spent on something so abstract as a movie?
It's not like I have a distributor or someone ready to pick this video and show it, or a gallery interested in setting up a major installation for art, photography and video (yet!)...although perhaps this would happen should I pursue it.
I feel like a deer frozen in the headlights! What to do, what to do! It's almost depressing to me. Almost. If it wasn't for the sheer excitement that is happening inside as I head into new territory! For now, my muse leads me to new places. I am using the process of collage in my video making and using the processes available on the computer for my collage making. It's going to be interesting to see what can be conjured up. And so exciting...and who knows where it will lead me?
Will this make me money?
i don't know. It doesn't really matter. I have a full time day job and a part time night job for cash.
I am in it for the experience.

I figure who else can do what I can do? I feel like inside I am a leader, not a follower. It's time I acted like one.

additional note:
This change makes my collage blogging even more complex.  I know, it's "my blog" and I can do what I want. But I have spent years keeping this a resource blog about collage. Am I straying too far off topic, if I take you through this new process into the computer and back again? There's still artwork to share, but not as much...since now some of my time and creativity is spent with video and the like...Is this the proper forum for this new direction?? Any comments would be welcome, while I try to decide how to handle this.

10/27/2010

Whassup over here?

What's been happening???!! You ask.
It's so exciting. I finally figured out the answer to my dilemma!

It's been a difficult year for me as an artist. I have admitted that I came to a crisis point in the spring. I lost my desire to continue to do collage work and turned to watercolor for awhile as a break of routine. Through that experience I remembered why I spent so much time doing collage work. The textures and complexity of collage intrigue me.
The amount of background thinking during this period was staggering. I considered the act of being an artist and how it affects me and what I do. I considered my role as an artist and how I need to add something unique to the global dialogue. I reflected on my procedure, copyrights, and the amount of work that I pour into each piece. During this thought process a few things became clear.
Working the same way as before was now impossible. I have become uncomfortable using images the way I did in the past and the time for change is NOW.
I came to some new conclusions.
1. The way I have been working, my own personal process and result....it's been done. Over and over. And if it wasn't done by someone else, it's been done by ME!  There is no reason to continue on in this particular mode. For now, I have exhausted it. Time to move on to new frontiers. I need to bring my collage work to another level. And if need be, another platform.
2. I have a special skill set. Lucky me! Dad always spoke with disdain about a person that was jack of all trades and master of none. But, that's me. I know how to play and write music. I know how to create art. I know how to input this art to the computer and animate it. I can write. I know how to create products to reproduce any of the above.
To only use one of these skills and only do art seems like I am working at half-mast. In order to bring the full Julie Sadler experience to the global dialogue, I need to pump it up and start using all these skills. In combination. It's my special gift to have these abilities. Combining them is the answer.
3. The only thing I can add to the conversation is simply ME.

I am working really hard on combining art, photography, video, and my writing into some hi-definition video work. The artwork comes from me, as well as the photography, videos, concept, etc.  What a thrill to see your collage go live; to see action happening on a screen where you could see it only in your mind before. I feel rejuvenated. It's exhausting. Exasperating. And so Exciting!!

10/12/2010

Schoharie Crossing

This one started out twice as large. I just couldn't see enough "meat" for it to be so big! I ended up recropping and cutting away half of it.
The side green building parts are watercolor and black walnut ink. The top piece of green building is colored pencil and black walnut ink. I liked it better than the watercolor....it has better texture and matches my photo prints better.

Cancer and Us

The American Cancer Society:

In May of 2007, my mom passed away from Lung Cancer. I couldn't believe that from the time that they diagnosed it until her death was only 7 months. There wasn't much time for her. For us. I think she probably had the disease quite awhile before she was diagnosed. It sucks because had she found it earlier, perhaps I would be sharing the happiness of the birth of my grandchildren with her.
Early detection. That's our current safest bet to win against cancer, since a "cure" has not yet been discovered. GO. Go and get the nasty check up. Let them feel up your tits. Let them put that scope up your ass. It hurts, but it pales in comparison to death from cancer! I am guilty of this myself. I have made 2 appointments for the mammogram and both times I honestly forgot. Honest. It escaped my mind. And now I am pushing myself to make yet another appointment and GO!
So don't let me seem like I am preaching. I am just like you. It's a drag. But it's life and death.

At my day job, we are walking as a team for Breast Cancer in Albany on Sunday. You know I have never ever used this blog as a forum for anything else but art talk, but today, I felt I had to spend a moment to get on the soapbox and see if I could convince you to donate to this cause. I personally know of at least 7 people that were close to me that have died from Cancer. Men and women. Rich and poor. Black and white. Old and young. There is no special formula. It touches us all.

There's a link at the top of this page that leads to my donation page, if you care to use it. I went on the site, and it kind of sets you up for a $50 donation. That's hefty for some people. I think if you have $10 to spare, they would take that too.

Today I am spray painting my sneakers pink. I am buying new black shoelaces and will wear these shoes in the walk on Sunday! I was thinking of doing some kind of makeshift collage art on them....we will see.

Thanks you guys.

10/05/2010

Emergent surprises



Greetings Collagista!
I have really been enjoying Julie's "travel log" as she has been continuing her creative journeys. I've decided to post something that I think folks might also appreciate as we all travel through the creative forest. I recently put a post up on my blog lamenting a little bit the fact that my recent successes have made me a bit less spontaneous in my studio and feeling like I "need" to do a "good" piece every time I create. But last night I had an interesting surprise. A couple weeks ago, I showed students in my Psychology & Visual Arts class the process of adhering elements in collages which I learned from Jonathan Talbot. I brought in a bunch of scraps that had been laying around in my studio just to show them the process. I wasn't expecting to put together anything usable or necessarily aesthetically-pleasing in such a spontaneous demonstration (btw, Jonathan is VERY good at that!). Since then, I have been using that piece to try some techniques with paint and other scraps. Last night when I looked at this "throw-away" piece, it struck some note with me, so I decided to see what it looked like in a mat and frame. Lo and behold, I actually kind of liked it. It doesn't really represent my normal "voice", and I don't think it'll show-up in any exhibit, but I found it intriguing. So I went to bed last night encouraged, for whatever reason; and I think I "needed" something like this to happen to help me through this hairy leg of my creative journey (see recent "contamination" post). Enjoy!

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