Collage Collaboration — Scheinman and Creamer

In Spring (Dawn's Tapestry of Gold)
© Nancy Scheinman
The collage work of Nancy Scheinman is so intense I am having a hard time trying to figure out if her work is done on hard copy or digitally! Acid washes, photo emulsion, layering of metals, etching..these are just a few of the techniques that Scheinman uses in her dense collage work, so I am assuming that at least some of this work is done on the table. These are amazing pieces. It is no secret that works inspired by nature especially touch me, and these are no exception.

Measure Out the Time of Stars
31" x 43 "
Acrylic, oil, tin, canvas, paper, etched and inked plexiglass, and patinated copper on wood.
She did a series of collaborative works with photographer Robert Creamer, and these are available for viewing on her website. These pieces are intricate and delicate....involved and intense.

Thistle Burst - Spring Floats
An edition of 25 Lotus prints on archival Somerset Velvet paper offered at 28" x 40" or 16" x 24"
A collaborative piece by Nancy Scheinman and Robert Creamer

What really amazes me about these is her technique of incorporating a rectangular image into a larger piece. Some people are more successful at this than others. Rauschenberg often used rectangular images within his work and he did little do disguise the fact. These works also do a good job at hiding the rectilinear individuality of each image. Sweet.
More imagery, prints for sale....can be found here on her website.

Revising Nature — Revealing Beauty
She is having a show currently at Heineman Myers Contemporary Art gallery in Bethesda, MD from Oct. 4 - Nov. 8. More info about this show can be found here on the Heineman Myers site. Certainly this would be a good show to see, if you are in the area.

DCOR — Banknote Collage from Switzerland

DCOR is from Lausanne, Switzerland and does intricate collage work using expired vintage banknotes. Old banknotes are really detailed and beautiful. They also have a superior texture, since most notes are engraved or printed on very fine paper.

Chameleon 32 x 18 cm

Chameleon closeup
I love this "idea" that she has posted...

THE IDEA:

Money,money...
Earn it to live is a necessity.
But as ephemeral and fickle butterflies,
banknotes go gather nectar from hands to hands;
burning their wings by some...
allowing other to bloom.

There are a couple of galleries on her website and some of these pieces are offered for sale. Interesting stuff.

He gave her the finger

He gave her the finger
Originally uploaded by misphit

And she offered him her tent (caterpillars) in return.
Strange relationship...

This one started out as a digital pic of a piece by Haeckel overlaid on top of a Lithuanian door pic found on flickr in photoshop. The collage was built on top of the laser print. Kinda flimsy after using hard bases these last couple of weeks. BWAA! I need another old drawer!

I did want to apologize for posting a lot of my own stuff on the blog these days. It's contrary to the idea of the blog. But I am trying to keep an interesting post each day. Sometimes I am too busy doing my own thing to look at others' stuff and share it. So I share my own. Maybe that's just how it goes on blogs. Some personal stuff, some public stuff. I can dig that.

Are you in Germany? Art 21 in Cologne Opens Friday

There's a big show going on in Germany, and over 1000 swarmingly birds hung by David Hochbaum will welcome you to this German venue. Large gallery names that you hear about here on the clearinghouse are represented at Art 21, such as Strychnin and McCaig Welles Rosenthal.

Sneak peek at the Hochbaum bird herd

Roughly translated from the ART.FAIR 21 site, "Love of friends that ART.-FAIR 21, In the sixth year is it shown ART.-FAIR the 21 with 59 galleries and 309 artists from all over the world like always with an unusual view into the art our time."
David Hochbaum will be exhibiting some new work, some of which can be sneak-peeked here. I am intrigued as usual. As always I am wishing to be on this scene taking in the sites...hanging out under the birds....seeing close up the mastery. This seems to be a one weekend event, from the 3rd to the 5th.
Get thine artfulness there, achtung!

Icebox

Icebox
Originally uploaded by misphit

Working on this piece at the moment. Started out it's life as an oak commode drawer. Chris was trashing the furniture, and the little drawer called out to me..."use me use me!!" so I rescued it from near firepile death and it became the basis for this latest work.
I am at the crossroads with it. It wants to go towards a Christmas theme from here, and I am not sure that I want to go that commercial way with it.
Definitely working on winter images is affecting my autumn mood!! I want to drink apple cider and eat donuts, not look at pictures of frost.

Lately, I am trying new and exciting substrates!! (sounds like a commercial) I had a few canvas affairs recently and now even the old junk furniture isn't even safe. I am finding that I do like working on wood. The heaviness of the base really makes me want to use larger 3d objects. Maybe that's where this is all leading...? I am looking towards working on an operational water fountain for the upcoming September show. These skills may help me on the tasks just ahead.

Update on the Copyright Czar

It looks as tho Wired predicts that the Prez will veto the Copyright bill that the senate has passed. According to the latest article on Wired, "But the Bush administration also doesn't want a copyright czar, a position on par with the nation's drug czar Congress created in 1982 to wage the War on Drugs. Lawmakers, however, sent him the package anyway."
No doubt, the mood on the hill is pretty gnarly. Bush is drowning in economy woes, the war on terror, the war on drugs. Apparently the war on copyright is just not in their scope.

Read more here on Wired.

Nora Aslan - May you live in interesting times

Nora Aslan
Stuff, 2008
Collage , 40 x 60 inches
The following is a press release from Pavel Zoubok Gallery concerning an upcoming exhibit of collage works by Nora Aslan, a Latin American artist.

Nora Aslan
Nora Aslan: Tiempos Interesantes

October 10 - November 8, 2008
PAVEL ZOUBOK GALLERY is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new work by Argentine artist NORA ASLAN. Please join us for the opening reception on Friday, October 10, from 6-8pm, or during the run of the exhibition, which continues through November 8.

The gallery is located at: 533 West 23rd Street (between 10th & 11th Avenues)
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm

May you live in interesting times - so goes the ancient Chinese proverb and curse. In
NORA ASLAN’s newest series of richly patterned photo-based collages, bubble-like clusters float precariously over densely packed expanses of image fragments forming imaginary topographies that point metaphorically to an uncertain future. Through a complex interplay of decorative and documentary imagery, her collages testify to the instability and collective suffering of our global society - one plagued by war, environmental and economic turmoil. Working from a background in both architecture and textile design, Aslan has developed a unique visual language that combines elements of photomontage and painting. The artist’s third solo exhibition at Pavel Zoubok Gallery features two new collages on paper and eight large-scale works on canvas that continue her exploration into the complex relationship between art and mass culture.

The works from this series explore our collective state of anxiety in a year of enormous political, social and economic change. And while the state of Aslan’s native Argentina would certainly provide ample inspiration, her work maintains a distinctly international point of view. Using a combination of circular and rectangular forms, she draws the viewer into a series of rhythmic grids and vortices. The confluence of Aslan’s opulent structures and violent imagery forces us to question the very nature of decoration. Her liberal use of pattern is quickly subverted to reveal a dark, sinister presence of death and decay. Critic Edward M. Gomez observes: “As Aslan’s ‘pictures’ literally come into focus, formally and thematically, their socially conscious meanings and allusions emerge like mists that wrap inquisitive viewers in their embrace – and keep pulling them back for deeper, ever-more revealing inspections.” Like the chorus in a Greek tragedy, Nora Aslan’s work guides us through these exciting, agitated and contradictory "interesting times."

Nora Aslan has exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across Latin America and Europe including the National Museum of Fine Arts (Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes), Buenos Aires, Museum of Modern Art, Vienna, Museum of Modern Art, Sarajevo and has participated in Biennial exhibitions in Havana, Cuba, Porto Alegre, Brasil and Buenos Aires. She lives and works in Buenos Aires.


For additional information and images please contact Maggie Seidel at (212) 675 7490 or maggie@pavelzoubok.com

Reign of the Copyright Czar!!

???
Copyright Czar? Yes, it appears as tho we will have our very own copyright czar to put an entirely new spin on our copyright issues.
According to Wired, while congress was being bullied by our president to sign a bill of massive proportions to bale out Wall street and their minds were distracted, a lesser publicized bill passed on the senate floor regarding copyright. The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act will please the Big Content folks in Hollywood. "This still remains a bill that has one purpose: to protect an obsolete business model, rather than letting more innovative models proliferate" says Techdirt. What the future holds as far as copyright is concerned is anyone's guess. The house will no doubt pass this bill. What is next??
I worry about it. The idea of having any one person "in control" makes me so nervous. We humans have a greedy streak, there's no doubt about it, (right! just look at Wall St.!!) and to have another high profile position of power to corrupt and lobby, well I guess it's bizness as usual!

Rotten Apple Tea Party - But How do I Frame It?

Rotten Apple Tea Party
Originally uploaded by misphit

I made another attempt to work on canvas this week. It's a challenge to work with different materials and I like to challenge myself.... I wanted to force myself to paint with the acrylics and try to see what I could do. I ended up hating the acrylic texture and spray painted over it with a stencil. I cheated once again. However, I am liking the canvas...at least I like the ridigity of the substrate. I am used to 140 lb. watercolor paper. The thickness is appreciated.

Since I am on a roll using these canvases, I have a new problem. The framing of the canvas collage.
How do you frame a canvas collage work?
If it's an oil or acrylic, the painting needs no matte, and in fact, it needs no glass for protection.
But this is a collage, with layers of papers and photos....
I really don't know about putting a matte AND a canvas in a frame. Is that what would be appropriate? I did some pieces a few years ago also on canvas and I framed them direct with the glass hitting the canvas. This posed potential problems with the images adhering to the glass, and I didn't like this at all. I have since removed these pieces from the glass for their own protection.
I am looking for other ideas. Does anyone else out there work on canvas?? What do you do to frame these works for display???

Free Play

Copyright issues are always at the forefront of a collagists mind. (or they should be, anyhow) The legality of our chosen profession is questionable, and it also limits the creativity of collage and places boundaries on what can be done.
And so it was with great interest when this morning, in my Rhizome News, I learned about a great radical new flash game that illustrates the current dynamics in copyright. Italian artists Molleindustria offer up The Free Culture Game, for your pleasure, which is playable in your browser if you have flash.
I love it when art finds a way to successfully poke at culture.

Graffiti and collage - Grimer

My favorite combo. There's nothing like a little spray paint along with some layers to tickle my collage fancy. I found this sweet little progression by Grimer on flickr.

F L U X H I B I T I O N # 2

Fluxus. It's hard to define. But according to wiki
1. it's an attitude, not a movement or style
2. it's intermedia. Using a conglomerate of sound image idea text as art.
3. it's very simple. to the point
4. it's got humour.
(note: on this wiki page, there is an extensive list of flux artists and most of them link!)

Fluxus artists are gathering together their art for a Fluxhibition, the second of it's kind.

INTERNATIONAL FLUXHIBITION #2 - NEW AND IMPROVED FLUXUS ARTIFACTS: Classic and Contemporary Scores, Instructions & Artifacts by Fluxus Artists From the FLUXmUSeum’s Permanent Collection - including works by: Marchel Duchamp, Yoko One, Dick Higgins, Ken Friedman, John Lennon, Cecil Touchon, George Brecht, Madawg, Larry Miller, Neil Horsky, Reid Wood, Gregory Steel, Tomas Schmit, Keith Buchholz, John, M. Bennett, Luc Fierens, Reed Altemus, Marco Giovenale, Brad Brace, Sheila Murphy, Don Boyd and others.

The Deadline for submission was September 10th, 2008. The exhibition will be held during the month of October 2008 at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center – Fort Worth, Texas USA.

Fluxvision glasses - Cecil Touchon - 2008
Vintage glasses with original case with lenses sanded down so that,
when worn the center of one's vision is blinded leaving only peripheral vision.
Instruction: Use to look at an art exhibition

More info can be found online at the flux museum.

Collage from Canada - Gabriele Maurus

Weissburgunder
I am appreciating the work of Canadian collagist Gabriele Maurus today. She has a series of works displayed online that she has done using the gelatin monoprint technique. I have tried this once, and it was very unpredictable and fascinating. I am enjoying seeing it done along with collage. She also is doing some of these on YUPO< which is not paper, but synthetic and a nice substrate alternative.
The piece Loreleileilei below is a nice example of her work on canvas. The rich texture of the painterly background appeals to me, and the contrast of the type tidbits also makes me happy. There's more to feast the eye on here at her website.


Loreleileilei

Mother Nature looked at what she had done and saw that it was good

Mother Nature looked at what she had done and saw that it was good
Originally uploaded by misphit

Collage on canvas.
I usually don't use canvas. I get all seized up inside arguing with myself that I am not a good enough painter! I can use watercolors, but acrylics and oils, they are not my forté and I feel that pain every single time I try to use canvas. But I had this large looming canvas in the corner of the studio and I needed something ultra wide, for the landscape I wanted to use on this piece, so I grabbed it and used it.
I was planning to paint monotoned swirls in the background, and I sketched lightly an outline for them. But when the time came to paint them, my confidence level went south, and I decided to cheat and use spray paint and stencils for texture. It worked nicely, but still --I didn't challenge myself much.
It's a new look for me, lots of open space....

Jean Christensen

Décembre, 37 x 30cm, 2007

I met Jean Christensen on a Myspace art group called WAN. His collages are amazing and he’s a very nice and insightful guy. I’d love to meet him in person, especially because that would most likely involve a trip to France, where Jean has lived since 1971. His collages are most often landscapes and portraits made up of tiny bits of ‘supermarket junk mail’.


Prague - 1957, 39 x 29cm, 2008


L'Osme, 61 x 81cm, 2005

Here’s an excerpt of an interview I did with him for WAN:
Q-Could you briefly describe your work?
A. My visual work can be put into the figurative category. So, in that sense, it's based on illusion. I choose pictures of things, more often food, and arrange them in such a way as to give the illusion of something else – trees, humans, whatever. The finished product may seem "original", but I don't really consider it as very creative – more like a craft. The same goes for my music.
The only art form I practice with any creativity is writing (but nobody's interested in that).

Q. Who influences you as an artist?
A. As a teen-age painter, I was strongly influenced by the Impressionists and Fauves. Now I'm just inspired by nature. As a writer, I'm particularly interested in psychology and human nature. There, my only remote stylistic influences are Boris Vian and Richard Brautigan.

Q. What is involved in your creative process?
A. My "creative process" is mostly based on observation and the desire to render this. I'm particularly attentive to light/shadow in trees and clouds and also trying to figure out the perspective of reflections on water. Nothing really creative there.
The technical aspect of my collages involves preparing the support (3mm artist's cardboard glued on 3/8 " plywood), choosing a subject and drawing it as precisely as possible, sorting out raw materials according to color and texture from cubic meters of supermarket junk mail and TV guides, cutting and gluing hundreds or thousands of pieces of paper, cleaning then varnishing the finished product. The final phase consists of showing the finished piece to a few friends then hanging it on my wall where it stays forever.

Q. What are you trying say with your art?
A. Apart from my surrealistic stuff which usually contains a certain degree of subversive social critique, I don't have much of a message, as I'm basically trying to transmit a feeling. But the underlying "message" could be that there's a difference between what we see and what we perceive. Art critics, gallery owners and people who intellectualize about art often add their own perceptions, explanations, context to a work. My approach is removing context from things, reducing them to something strictly visual. Once an oyster is only an arrangement of varying shades of green, gray and brown it can become a tree, a flower or a rock, for example.


Pause Pose, 54 x 40cm, 2006

Jean on talentdatabase.com

I love Etsy!

I haven't been doing any collage work lately. I've been occupied with other things. However, I have been on on Etsy.com a lot lately and they have lots of collage there. You have to do some digging, but you can really find some treasures. I thought I'd share some of my favorite listings.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade happycloud.etsy.com

If I could afford it I would buy them all. So, maybe just one or two, for now. ;)

Swamp Shapeshifter

Swamp Shapeshifter
Originally uploaded by misphit

While working on this collage I had a few discoveries regarding the archival inkjet prints that I am using off of my Epson 2200. For this particular piece, I wanted to use these super pukish green spring thaw pix that I took with my 35mm. They are some of my ultra faves, so when it came time to use them, I couldn't do it. I ended up scanning them in and making prints to use in the artwork. Still craving the gloss, I used some glossy paper stock and hoped to achieve the same results without using the photo.
I have found that the inkjet prints are quite delicate and sensitive, especially to wet media. It sucks to be working so carefully and even so, a driplet of collage medium landing on the wrong spot and UGH, you have yourself a ruined piece.
I tried using Krylon on a sample inkjet print, and that didn't work well at all. The obnoxious fumes filled the air and for 2 hours I was annoyed at myself. On this piece, I painted on the inkjets with acrylic, and thankfully it didn't smear my prints.
I prefer to cut up the actual photos and use them, their durability is enviable. I wish I had an enlarger--enlarging the prints costs big bucks. Damn cheap artist that I am, I'll have to settle for the handspun inkjets for now.

Chrystalina

Chrystalina
Originally uploaded by misphit

Then, a collage.

Purple Island

Purple Island
Originally uploaded by misphit

First, a watercolor.

BibliOdyssey

A terrific source blog, loaded with fantastical and bizarrical elements....BibliOdyssey culls fascinating graphic finds from the internet, and creates mini-web exhibits. This is a terrific source of online material. I go here often, and I am always amazed at the things that are displayed. Whilst probing about on the blog today, I clicked the link to the BibliOdyssey book, a hardcover book that is based on 880+ posts from the blog. It's available on Amazon, and I love the blog/book correlation. Great idea!

PHRESH work by Gordon Magnin

collages by Gordon Magnin
I have love for these fresh collage works done by Gordon Magnin... Hannah Hoch would have been proud. It is hard for me personally to warp out faces. I work on a piece and start identifying with the character and I end up getting super anal about the facial choice...this person has to have the right Look! I think nothing, however, of using 13 pieces to compose a body, but the face becomes sacred somehow. Therefore, I enjoy a good face job, like these fine pieces that Gordon does. It isn't easy to do well, and these are really warped out. I also find them especially interesting because of the way that Gordon creates geometric shapes with his cuts. It's unusual. I like this treatment and don't see it often. His site holds several pieces from the past few years, go check it out.

collage by Hannah Hoch, courtesy of Kansai Scene

All Cut up — Roebling Hall

Damn, we are in show season people.
Another great show is guaranteed in the Big Apple at Roebling Hall. Several collage artists will be featured in a show curated by Rita de Alencar Pinto. Participating artists include:
ERIK BENSON, AMELIA BIEWALD, MONICA CANILAO, BJORN COPELAND, DAVID ELLIS, PILITA GARCIA, ADLER GUERRIER, HALSEY HATHAWAY, SHARA HUGHES, ANDREW HURST, MARCI MACGUFFIE, MIA PEARLMAN, EMILY PRINCE, AMY ROSS, ADAM THOMAS, NICO VASCELLARI, CHARLIE WOOLLEY
This show is not a theme show, but is a mirror of collage itself, with artists chosen because of their variations, not their commonalities. Sounds interesting. Certainly I would take a gander over to see this one.

Roebling Hall
606 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001
(corner of 11th avenue)
tel: 212 929 8180 fax: 212 929 8182
info@roeblinghall.com

On a side note, Amy Ross, my friend at Naturemorph, will be exhibiting her collage au natural at the All Cut UP show ... She also has another show happening at the same time in NYC, called Animus Botanica and it will be held at Denise Bibro Fine Art, 529 W. 20th St., 4W, New York City. This is a small show featuring Boyce Cummings, Christopher Reiger, and Amy Ross, but so artworthy!!!!

GMSH in San Fran — Russian Reduction

Every now and then an event will come up that is totally and completely irresistible....and the Goldmine Shithouse residency at McCaig Welles and Rosenthal in San Fran is exactly one of these events. How fantastic must it be to create collaboratively with wild and crazy abandon in a gallery setting with these guys! The very prolific and dynamic Mr. David Hochbaum, the eloquent Mr. Travis Lindquist and the linocut master himself, Mr. Colin Burns comprise the lively collaborative adventure called Goldmine Shithouse. These active guys have beat all the odds and kept their loosely formed group together for a few years now, spreading creative wonder in cities throughout the US and even Europe.

The GMSH is currently serving time at McCaig Welles Rosenthal in a show called Russian Reduction. The title honors a Russian friend of the group that predicted a short life span for the collaborative. I thought, however, that the title was an extremely appropriate one, given the US and it's current political attitude towards Russia....Surely it is a timely title. The group will live, work (and play) at the gallery for 2 weeks up until the opening of this much anticipated show.

And really, why does Collage Clearinghouse gush all mushy all over the GMSH's work??? Because I can't get enough of the spontaneity that these guys provide. Because their work is so fresh and full of texture. Because they put on silk screen parties!!! Because they work so utterly collaboratively!!! I know how cool it feels when the creativity is flowing and things are going well when you are in the studio alone. Can you just imagine the buzz you get when 3 people (and more) are all flowing creatively everywhere together all at once??? It must be like a fine bottle of Patron....tastes good, feels good, with a wondrous afterglow.

They have posted some videos on the GMSH myspace, one of which I just had to post here on CC. This little vid shows the boys working on a canvas together. Ya gotta love this art love!!!


And if you are lucky enough to go, here's the schedule down-lo:
• On THIS Saturday September 6, 2008 the much-anticipated bring-your-own-shit- to-be-silk-screened party will take place from 7 to 10 pm. Come and enjoy and make sure to bring some garments to get inky.
• Then, on September 13th the culmination of hard work will be exhibited at the opening exhibition and reception, 7PM to 10PM
IF you are a west coaster, or just in the San Fran hood for a visit, this is something to see!!!
McCaig Welles and Rosenthal
365 Valencia Street, San Francisco, bet. 14th and 15th
gallery@mcwellesrosenthal.com

A new Collage Book by black dog publishing

Hi,
I got a lead today on a fresh new collage book being published in the UK. Here's the down-lo:

Collage Assembling Contemporary Art
Contributors: Sally O’Reilly, Ian Monroe, David Lillington and John Stezaker August 2008 Hardback 240 pages 260 b/w and colour illustrations 28 x 23 cm ISBN: 978 1 906155 39 1 UK £35.00

Collage: Assembling Contemporary Art is a striking and authoritative survey of the history of collage, from its origins through to the work being produced by artists today.
With contemporary artists reclaiming the form, collage is flourishing.From the traditional ‘cut and paste’ method through to digital, three dimensional and installation work, and in the incorporation of contemporary concerns such as environment and commercialism, collage is experiencing an exciting renaissance.
First gaining popularity in the early 1900s, with such pieces as Picasso’s The Dream in 1908 and Still Life with Chair Caning in 1912, collage has proliferated though the ages. From figures such as Kurt Schwitters, to works by the Constructivists, Dadaists, and Surrealists, to 1960s and 70s Pop Art, the form has branched out into a myriad of fine art practice that encompasses assemblage, montage, and décolage. Collage draws together the work of influential artists to contextualize the art being produced today.

Collage features the art of such internationally acclaimed artists as Picasso, Schwitters and Ernst, Hannah Hoch, Marta Rosler, John Stezaker, Richard Hamilton, Layla Curtis, David Salle, Eduardo Poalozzi, Javier Rodriguez, Robert Rauschenberg, David Thorpe, Fred Tomaselli and many more.
In addition to using works by these artists to provide a comprehensive overview of this exciting art form, Collage also includes essays written by artist and critic, Sally O’Reilly, artist Ian Monroe, and an interview between critic and writer, David Lillington, and artist, John Stezaker,
outlining the history of the medium and critically addressing how collage is being used throughout contemporary art today. A beautifully designed, extensively illustrated collection of works and writings, Collage is an essential for artists, designers and anyone with a practical interest in modern art.


black dog publishing ltd
architecture art design fashion history photography theory and things 10A Acton Street London WC1X 9 NG UK T 44 (0)207 713 8682 F 44 (0)207 713 8682 W
www.blackdogonline.com
info@blackdogonline.com
For review copies or further information please contact William Alderwick press@blackdogonline.com

And Thanks to Matthew Rose for the tip!!

Contortionist, posed in studio

Contortionist, posed in studio
Originally uploaded by George Eastman House

Another insane pic posted on flickr by the George Eastman House Photography Collection.
I love this striped guy!!!!!!

M.A.C.A.R.E.N.S.E.S

M.A.C.A.R.E.N.S.E.S
*GRAPHIC AGITATION FOR THE ACQUIESCENT MAJORITY*
Just what is Macarenses???

According to A. MacGregor, "the name Macarenses comes from the book 'Utopia' by Thomas More, published in 1516. Macarenses is a land not far from Utopia itself and is translated as Happiland, from Makar meaning happy. Of course, I have used this name as a pun on our present state of affairs".

I like the hidden meaning. This site is not for the timid! Every now and then I run across a collagist that is so prolific, so off the wall, so different that there is no sense in attempting an explanation. That is the case with the artwork of Andrew MacGregor. His crazy site is the home of over 300 collages, and more! Some of his pieces remind me of Hannah Hoch and the Dada collagists of times past, or websites of some mail artists that I have seen. There is a certain European Avant-garde flair in his pieces, and I love that haphazard look, and even more I love the hidden commentary on politics and our state of affairs in this world... In his words, " The website is not just my artwork but it is a storehouse of inspirations packed from floor to ceiling with words and images ranging from found items to collectable objects. There are book lists, web-links, information on artists and much much more....." Indeed he isn't kidding. I spent a bit of time roaming around his many pages, and found I could go on and on...his links list alone has a heavy sprinkling of oddness and bizarreness. I recommend visiting this site when you have the time for exploration, this is worthy of a time investment.

Baroqued

Baroqued
Originally uploaded by misphit

Further use of photography in collage.
Trying a much more open and linear approach on these. I want the photo to stand out and blend in.
Difficult stuff.
I guess that's just the thing with collage that I love so much. I make up endless games and rules for each piece, and my brain just gushes over it's own intense puzzles! Even if only I ever notice the slight nuances in each line, the multiple slices that make up a figure, it doesn't matter. My brain had the infinite pleasure of figuring it all out.

Parallactic

Parallactic
Originally uploaded by misphit

Very sleek and more graphic work I have been doing. Utilizing photos as much as I can.

She Had Developed a Case of Forked Lightning

She Had Developed a Case of Forked Lightning
Originally uploaded by misphit

Just Some Recent Work.
Sorry I have been absent for a week or so, been creating!!!
I have a back up of cool posts to put up. Hang tight y'all.

Pastepapers - Texture

Thru bookbinding channels, I found out today about paste papers. They are papers that are made by adding color to either paste or methyl cellulose. This mixture is then applied to a sheet of paper and then objects are often dragged over the paper to create patterns. Sounds bizarre and ends up 3d perhaps? Haven't seen these in person, however these links will lead to some fine examples, some of which could be downloaded.
Deutsche National Bibliothek
Panther Peak Bindery
These folks create new papers you can purchase if you like.
Shepherds
Buntpapier


Dolmetsch, Helene, Stuttgart, 1909
Why am I posting this on a collage blog? Because they would make excellent backgrounds in their own right, and perhaps they could inspire one to create their own textures. I really like the fingerpainted homespun look they have.


Behrens, Lilli, Düsseldorf, 1904