Shepard Fairey - Copyright - Orphan Works - and YOU!

Come on, by now you have to have seen it. The Shepard Fairey Obama posters and images that have been an iconic symbol if our new Presidents' election days. His work is popular as hell and there's even a website that let you create your own Fairey-esque poster of yourself!
The thing everyone doesn't know, except maybe pro-active artists and people that actually read and keep up with the news, is that Shepard Fairey is quite a controversial artist. He uses images from questionable sources. He openly admits to his free use of grabbing images from wherever he can find them, including a google search, and adapting them in his work. There are those that champion his defiance and his huge sense of graphic style. There are those that are horrified by his practices and expose him when his actions deem it necessary.
There's an absolute MUST READ article over on the Myartspace blog about the source of one of Faireys' works. In essence, a blogger named Michael Cramer took it upon himself to locate the source of a particular photo of President Obama that Fairey freely admitted he simply Google searched. Sure enough, the photo was found, and then the photographer! Questions were asked of him as to why he isn't pursuing his interests on this particular image. Since he was the creator, he has rights to it's use...including it's use in these political posters. The ArtSpace article is hugely informative. It's also got a serious comment section a mile long.

Definitely take time to acquaint yourself with these copyright issues. This is a case that is easily understood and followed. Put yourself in the place of each of the players...Shepard Fairey and his production crew, Jim Young, the photographer. Put yourself in the place of the decision makers...Obama... and yourself. Keep informed. Make an opinion. Join the discussion. Help decide the future.
Wow.
Upon writing this post, even as I write this...I found this little conversation on Flickr, where perhaps ANOTHER photo was the source. Obviously....this is a sticky issue. The source of the photo isn't clear to anyone but perhaps Fairey and his team.
Thought provoking stuff.

The Passing of Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth has passed away at the ripe old age of 91. Wow. This was a serious painter. An icon. One of my personal art heroes.
My infatuation with Andrew Wyeth began 10 years ago when I was working in Utica. I was new in town and spent quite a bit of time taking out books from the library. I was working on watercolor techniques and was putting myself thru a rigorous private tutorial of how to do it. I was doing plein air studies and learning from the masters thru books and pictures. I really found myself drawn to Homer first. And next was Wyeth. His work was raw. It represented landscapes that were so similar to the ones that surround me here in upstate NY so I could easily relate. His subjects were intense German folk...they reminded me of my own German relatives. I felt the intensity in his work and immediately was drawn into it. Such inspiration! Damn. I remember taking out book after book from the library, and staring and staring at the genius represented in the pages...studying.

Then I discovered his Helga Pictures. OMG, these are some powerfully painted works! They still move me to this day the same way they did when I first saw them. The fluid watercolor, the way the paint blends into the trees blends into her flesh, the lighting!!!

It makes me reel. I can remember pouring over the Helga Pictures book...hours and hours. I felt as though Wyeth was the pinnacle, the ultimate expressor...the detail man above the others. His light depiction was crazy and something to aspire to. I don't care what critics say. I know what moves ME.
So later on in life, I find myself working in Canajoharie, NY. Canajoharie has this most excellent little library and a gallery attached with pieces of art done by several famous artists, including Homer...and Wyeth. Turns out, Mr. Arkell was a great art collector and donated a huge amount of art to the town. The museum holds the collection. There's this one painting that the museum owns done by Wyeth. It graced the wall not to long ago when they had a special Wyeth composite exhibit with works by N.C. and Jamie. It's haunting. And I love the fact that every now and then the museum exposes it for us, and I can go see it up close and swoon over the brushstrokes that provide such strong realism and emotion from me.

The painting in Arkell that i get to see up close sometimes...

So I am sad he has passed away although I know for all of us our time will also come. I just went to our local library and took out the Helga Pictures book. I had to see them again, in memoriam.

Salon @ David Hochbaum's NY Studio

The doorway into the studio

When David Hochbaum sent out an invitation for a Salon he was holding at his NY studio last December, I was sad to have to decline. Family obligations and holiday cheer overload took precedence and I had to put my art needs on the back burner. But I promised myself... I SWEAR, the next time he holds a Salon, I will be there. It isn't every day that an artist you admire actually goes out of their way to open their heart and home in order to help along others on the path.
And so when the email arrived a couple of weeks ago that David was hosting his 2nd salon on January 18th, I realized I would have the opportunity to keep that promise. My finances were not in much better shape then they were before Christmas, and in order to pull this off I would end up dumping all the change I have been stashing next to my dresser for the past year into the machine at Price Chopper so I could afford it! I booked a room in NY and got ready for some learning experiences.
I arrived early ahead of the pack on Sunday night. Salon started @ 7:00, but I had already been roaming the streets of NY between Grand Central and St. Marks for 3 hours, my feet were starting to hurt, plus I was so psyched I couldn't help myself! So with nerves of steel or maybe rust, I rang the buzzer. As I walked up the stairway, David peeked out of his studio to greet me. I was glad he wasn't annoyed at my early arrival, and relieved that I could gather my bearings in this setting that was so vastly different than what I am used to before people arrived.

David constructing framework

He was busy...working on creating new framework for the next set of Hochbaum masterpieces. Mitre saws, wood trim, luan, toolbox, tools, I started to focus on all the things around me. Packed to the max, the studio was everything I expected. Cluttered, loaded with little pieces of David's personal inspiration, ships--lots of ships, photos, ladders, cameras, tripod, paintings, paints, books, fonts spilling onto the floor, patterns exploding across walls, tables, and so many layers of life...in every corner I could feel the energy, the beating pulse of art in various states of completion complexity and contemplation. We talked some personal collage talk about techniques and products for a bit. It was in these moments when I began to realize that this was a very humble person. He didn't laud his popularity and obvious talent, and despite his being busy and working the whole time we talked, I could feel his intensity with regard to our discussion about our work. He was so very helpful when I asked about the materials he used or how he achieved certain results. There was not a hint of arrogance and he was not condescending in the least. I experience arrogance a lot in my day job, as a Mac Tech. I have dealt with people that feel they are "it" and I recognize an attitude when I see one. But in this case, I have to say, I was so very impressed by the graciousness and jovial humbleness that I received. What a treasure of information I received in such a small amount of time. I didn't want to disturb the last moments he had to complete his tasks. I watched while he whisked around the studio to prepare for the salon.


Work in progress

Marcus, Davids' roommate, a fellow artist and salon participant, came out and joined us first, and soon enough guests began to arrive, wine and drinks were poured and merry introductions were made. I apologize that I didn't have everyone's complete name to list here on the blog...(links provided if I had one!)

Douglas ? (a friend of David's father, also art friend of Davids--lucky dude!) - Collagist
Samantha Levin - Mixed media, assemblage, painting
Danielle Ezzo - photography and painting (this link doesn't seem right. Danielle, if you read this please send me your link)
Ivan Lee Mora - Glass artisan
Dina Gregg - graphics and painting
Marcus - box constructions
Clarissa - Marcus' girlfriend
Julie - me! - collage
Yasha Young - gallerist (she brought along a friend, and I am so sorry to not have remembered her name!)
David Hochbaum - of course! duh!

David gathered us all around 2 very art splattered tables and opened the discussion. One by one, each artist opened up their souls and shared their work in the darkness of a cold snowy January winter night. Typical of the times, the types of art display were varied...pictures on a flash drive, slides, pictures on the internet, pictures on cell phone and some people also brought actual art. There was quite a variety of mediums represented including collage, painting, assemblage, glass work, photography, and even installation work. We were also lucky enough to be able to here the gallerists' point of view, as Yasha Young showed up to lend her insight! Explanations were given as to the methodology and thoughts behind each persons' examples. The group moved and morphed around the room, examining the work, and giving each person some very serious thought and commentary. Each person was very earnest and tried hard to give helpful comments.

They are critiquing my work!

You would think that in his own home, in his own studio, on his own turf, at his own salon, the strength of David's work would overpower the group. Quite the opposite! He facilitated the event and set the tone of learning and understanding. The most amazing thing to me was the complete lack of ego in the room! Even on the part of the guests! I didn't ever feel insignificant or hick or out of place. These people were all into being helpful and learning and sharing. It was infectious. And wondrous for an insignificant little hick like myself!

Marcus, showing his fascinating boxes

After a few hours of heavy art talk, the critique was over the the disco party began! We all made merry while other art friends of David's filtered in, like David Stoupakis...another fine artist in the GMSH!! And Wylie Perlitz, who is having his first solo show at HIFI...big sigh.
It was getting late, I was feeling beat. I said my farewells and sped away into the cold night high on life and full of art love.


Yasha greets David Stoupakis

My message to you dear reader person...Please do step out of your box. Sometimes, you have to reach --far-- in order to find the your way along the path. The world is out there waiting for you. Go and get it.

update: David informed me that David Stoupakis is not a member of GMSH. Sorry about that misinfo. However, his fascinating artwork can be found here.

Pale Tale 11

Pale Tale 11
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 10

Pale Tale 10
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 9

Pale Tale 9
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 8

Pale Tale 8
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 7

Pale Tale 7
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 6

Pale Tale 6
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 5

Pale Tale 5
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 4

Pale Tale 4
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 3

Pale Tale 3
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 2

Pale Tale 2
Originally uploaded by misphit

Pale Tale 1

Pale Tale 1
Originally uploaded by misphit

This story can be found on flickr. Click the pic.

Lady of the Lake

Lady of the Lake
Originally uploaded by misphit

Couldn't sleep last night. I hate it when that happens. Some nights I can just kind of float back to sleep and all is wonderful. Other nights, like last night, my mind is on some kind of warp speed and I end up awake laying there thinking of 2000 things I could be doing. So last night, instead of getting annoyed in bed, I got up. It was 3 am. Made myself some hot chocolate to warm me on such a cold evening...and settled down at my studio table to complete this piece.
It's been sitting there since Thanksgiving, just a primed canvas with 2 photos glued to it. I couldn't come to terms with the front composition and so it got buried over the holidays.
I picked it up yesterday when I got home from work and dug into it with vigor. Finally I settled down on what it would become, and believe me, that was difficult...Before I glued it down for final, I wanted to sleep on it first
Yea, right. Like I said, I woke up chewing on it. So anyhow...back to the story.
I ended up not liking it at 3am. Damn, I hate it when that happens. The head was bothersome...I didn't have the birds right, in fact the original bird I pulled out and replaced with 2 others and added 2 more. I got crazy at 3 am and basically rebuilt the piece. AND glued it down with no hesitation.
I guess I knew earlier before I went to bed it wasn't stable. My dreams had other ideas. And in the wee hours, after I sent Jack Frost out the door with a couple of logs in the woodstove...I solved all image problems with ease.
Another small thing to note. I also had difficulties with the sides. The left had side had all those twigs, and the right hand side had none. I wanted some balance. Originally I had some paper pieces set up to compose a fake bunch of twigs. But at 3am, I threw them on the floor, picked up the pen and ink, and drew in some trees.
And so, the Lady of the Lake rose up from the dawn.

Oh. Did ya notice? The left hand photo is upside down. Intentionally.
So what's up with the middle of the night creativity burst? I don't know. But I liked it. Till 4:30. By then, after the heat of the moment when I had finished up this work, my feet turned ICE cold. I wanted to be warm..and I snuggled back into my bed till it was time to go to work.
Content.

Facebook yet?

"Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them."
Whatever.
It's viral. Honestly.
I joined facebook in October of '07. It was quiet out there back then. Not many people had signed on I guess and for a time there...I forgot it even existed. Till my local friends and the people at my day job started to discover it over the last few weeks. And now it's a crazy phenom. I hate to admit...the gene pool is pretty small here and everyone is either related, or was related and got divorced. A lot of people signed up and then encouraged their family, and the next thing you knowBut if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
So by association, I have been dragged into the crazy communicative world of Facebook. I see a lot of artists out there...it's the new MySpace they say.
Since I am surrounded by facebook freaks at this point, I decided to go ahead and upload some art and try to do some interacting. I started a group called Collage as Fine Art. You know how hard I try to portray collage as a professional thing...and not a hobby. I don't know what the group will accomplish, or where it will lead, but I am announcing it here so that if you are on Facebook, you can look me up, befriend me, and Join the Group! Post your pics...maybe we can do some critiques there! Instead of the usual "oh, that's cool!" comments I would think we could all benefit from some real commentary. Some Meat. (sorry vegans.)

Here's a link to my facebook profile page.
I am Julie Sadler if you need to do a search and the link doesn't work.
Peace out peeps.

1000 Journals Film AVAILABLE ON DVD NOW!!!

Yes, it's true!
The 1000 journals DVD is available on DVD. I was so excited to see my artwork on the cover of the DVD jacket...upper right hand corner! Woo hoo!
I have posted several times about the 1000 Journals/1000 Journals Film experience. It was and still is an inspiration. Congratulations to Andrea and Someguy for following through and creating a life changing event for many people!!!
For those who need to know more:
1000 Journals Project
1000 Journals Film Project
1001 Journals Project
Update:
Andrea just sent me another link...
Try this!

The Tactful Decline of All Future Advances

The Tactful Decline of All Future Advances
Originally uploaded by guy_on_the_streets

Elbow-Toe is one of my favorite street artists. He was featured in Juxtapoz readers art the very same time as me a few years ago, and so we became artfully acquainted. While in NYC, filming for the 1000 journals film, I came across a piece of beautiful elbow toe work raw and phresh on the streets...He does just amazing pieces, with such detail. Yummmmm.
His latest endeavor includes collage. What beautifully rendered pieces. I just love his grittiness...the way in which the colors are incorporated into the flesh....SUCH gorgeousness.
He's got a super fantastic set of these on flickr. Seriously, click on the image and check these out. They are simply amazing.

Novelty

Novelty
Originally uploaded by misphit

Spent a moment to add some cheer to my sister.
Used up some scrap things that were already cut from previous pix, but that were never used.
Handy little devils.

Trenton Doyle Hancock

Depending on where you go to look for collage, you can find a million ways it is represented. Sometimes collage is portrayed as an extension of scrapbooking craft for bored housewives who want to make stuff. Sometimes collage is edgy, and in the news and bigger than life. Sometimes collage is fineart, shown in a gallery setting.
Today I found these most mahvelous works in the fineart setting. Trenton Doyle Hancock has a show going on at the James Cohan Gallery. The show ends on January 10, Saturday, so if you are in New York you might want to take this in.
Trenton Doyle Hancock has created a very fascinating fantasy scenario and turned it into an elaborately illustrated tale using various media.
From the James Cohan Gallery site...
"In this new body of work, which includes paintings, wall drawings and prints, Hancock continues a retelling of his sprawling, epic battle between the forces of good, as represented by Mounds and their color-filled world, and evil, as embodied by the skeletal Vegans who live underground in a world of black and white. Peaceful creatures, Mounds survive on Mound Meat, a pink substance that once ingested allows all to experience a life of color. At the center of Hancock's tale are two pivotal characters: Vegan leader, Betto Watchow, and enlightened Vegan prophet, St. Sesom, who introduces Vegans to the world of color. Betto views Sesom's proselytizing as traitorous and fears his increasing power. In reaction, Betto launches an all out war against Sesom, his disciples, and the Mounds."
Bizarre right? But thought provoking to be sure.

I really liked these, especially this one above, with the super effective pink and black background. Sweet!
The James Cohan Gallery site is here. There's a lot more pix and the rest of the press release there waiting for you. OH, and don't forget Trenton Doyle Hancocks' artwork! That's waiting for you too...at the gallery till Saturday! Get thee there!

FREE 2009 Calendar—Impossible Impossibilities!

Matthew Rose has graciously created a super surreal cool calendar that one can download for FREE. Yes, Free. Imagine that, quality art in your very hands and on your own little computer, all for FREE. So far I love 2009!
Get it here!

Commercialism and Blogs

Blogs started out for me as something personal, an online diary where I could share stuff with a small network of friends that I had met online. Through LiveJournal I posted all about my personal relationships, my artwork, my life in general. I got creeped out and paranoid about this during my divorce, and I ended the blog rather abruptly.
At this point I started this here Collage Clearinghouse gig. It wouldn't contain too many personal references and I could be more bold about what I said. That has finally been worked out.
But now I face the idea of commercialism. Ad people have written me and asked me about posting ads on the blog, or links...and I am caught again in my own corner. But stick with me, I found a revelation thru this...
So this started last year, and after much agonizing about the idea, I put up one ad for some website about doing fine (basically a chat room where you could say how great things were)...I couldn't see how it was relevant, but intrigued, I posted the ad. It didn't last long cuz I pulled it after awhile and I made zero for revenue.
I didn't think it enhanced the blog experience, but maybe it took something away from it. I didn't want to promote something I wasn't exactly involved in. I felt as tho I was betraying someone who may read my blog. I don't know it must be a personal thing with me. In fact I got on my soapbox at this point and ended up being kind of anti-ad. I decided that there should be a place for people to deal with art and not have to put up with the bombardment of someone trying to sell me something. I didn't want an allegiance with anyone and I just wanted to be my own little entity with only my own influence. Sometimes I just want to focus on the art and nothing else. (I can't always explain my actions, I just am reporting them.)
And so that is the way it's been here at the clearinghouse. Ads don't bring discourse. They actually may take a person away from the blog...altho I do realize that the blog then could be a resource where one would go because of the ads, such as the cool things happening on Design Sponge or Poppytalk. These blogs are pretty social blogs tho, and the whole idea of them is to promote others and they do a really good job at it and there's ads there like crazy. I mean, isn't that the idea? We are promoting each other somehow??? I just don't think that all by my lonesome I could do anything that could compare. Seriously.
But back to the ads.
I find myself looking at things again here on the blog and wonder if I should succumb to some ads, or amazon book links, google ad sense???... Am I being foolish by ignoring these sources of revenue? Could I see all this blog work actually become some kind of monetary profit for me? My bills suck, I could always use the money....and maybe this is a reason I am not making a living from my art. 'Cuz I am actively refusing it.

(And here's the revelation part.)
I got really upset inside to answer these questions. "Art isn't about money! I do this cuz i love it, not for the cash. I do collage cuz I have to! It's the way that I express myself the best! I don't need money to do my art!"
You see....in that conversation about the art BLOG, I had turned it around to be about my ART>Obviously there's a connection between the reason why I refuse to become insane about selling my work or promoting myself 24/7 and the reason why I don't want to have ads on this blog. I feel it compromises me somehow. Whether that is true or not doesn't matter really. What does matter that I finally have come to the center of my issues with galleries, shows, online sales, pricing, et al. It starts with ME and how I feel about my art.
I bitch myself out all the time for not being able to make my living off of my creativity! Well, come to find out the only place in my life that I have not used creativity is in the making of money! And I purposefully am doing this. So I can no longer complain I am not this generations' DaVinci. I won't be. I am Julie Sadler. And apparently I have discovered I have an aversion to the commercial portion of being an artist and blogger.
This blows me away of course, and now I have no more reason to sit and stew about how I am lacking. In fact, I now need to embrace this issue and get it solved. Starting right here with this blog and the idea of ads.
WHAT do you think? Does it matter? Do ads bum you out? Will ads keep you from visiting this blog? Are you convinced I am totally insane and that I need to take sedatives? Does your blog use ads...? Does is offer a degree of professionalism? Do you look at ads as a service or a drag???
I would love to hear your opinion.

Personal Technique Issues

Uhu glu stick, one of my favorite brands...

Sometimes I like to use glue sticks. These suckers are so convenient, I can't stand not to use them. No water, no brush, no mess--except for the sticky stuff gets all over my fingers and then I wipe it on my crappy art jeans and my messed up paint shirts, and then little jeans threads get caught in my fingerprints from the glue, and when I go to smooth something down all neat and clean, I get this awful smudge or even worse I add glue to the surface! I have learned to keep baby wipes at the studio table, and I use 'em freely. (Turns out they work great for wiping the collage mediums and glues off of glossy photos. Who knew?)
Differentiating between glossy and matte is huge for me--I am a texture person, and I do like the fact that original surfaces remain intact because you are not covering it with anything...that means glossy things stay gloss and foil things stay foil. My favorite thing about glue stix is the fact that it's a dry glue...meaning that it can be used and it doesn't make one paper or another crinkle up. It's moisture that makes the papers go crinkle crazy, and the less moisture involved in adhering things the better. Glue stick requires nothing but itself so it's supreme. However, I am not convinced it is the perfect collage glue. Some paper edges invariably come loose, curl or peel, probably cuz I hate the burnishing step--I am in a frenzy here! Larger pieces require an insane amount of glue sticking. And finally, the end product seems less than professional to me. Personal preference.

Golden Matte Medium I would die for you

I like to use Golden or Liquitex matte medium as my main collage glue--and I prefer Golden over Liquitex... I like the way it makes things stick, no matter what the substrate, if I glob on enough medium, as long as the pieces are relatively light it will work. It's the messiest stuff ever, and when it gets on my hands it takes a lot of time to wash it off. It's my favorite tho. There is one annoying thing about it however. It has moisture. And sensitive papers pick up on the fact that one side has glue or moisture, so I have issues with wrinkles at times. I have become pretty good at removing them, or finding techniques to avoid them. I have even found that sometimes just leaving them alone will allow the papers time to relax and they may disappear all by themselves. In the Orbit piece that I posted the other day, I had this problem with the blueprints. They were of a strange light paper, and as soon as the medium was applied, the papers began to curl. I groaned, cuz I knew that if a background paper has the wrinkles, everything and anything placed above it also will. This SUCKS! I have tried peeling it off and re applying. I have tried smoothing it over. I have tried applying both top and bottom and allowing the paper to stretch entirely and then gluing it down. But it also is a problem if the substrate has a different moisture level. I can't saturate the base....This gets entirely too complicated!!!
So it's a personal technique issue. I think it is a detriment to some of my work. If I am professional about it, these things wouldn't/shouldn't happen. I don't think it looks good on a piece I am charging $400 for to have wrinkles. And most of the times I have used rare or special papers, so doing over isn't an option.
I don't have this problem all the time. In fact, most of the time I can keep it under control. But it requires constant attention and monitoring and quite frankly when I get in that creative frenzy all I want to do is put it together, and not spend time fussing over glue details! (picture an Einstein-like scene, with an obsessively crazed artist standing over the work pulling out her hair which is stand straight up on her head, while she glues manically!)
In order to solve some of this, at times I use combo glues on one piece. Some Medium over here, glue stick over there. But here's the crux of the matter (and the crux of this post!). When I have used acrylic paints or collage medium first, it appears as though sometimes it repels the glue stick. It's crazy hard to get a paper to stick to the collage medium with glue stick after it's already had a layer of collage medium. Same thing on the Golden acrylic paints. If I paint a background, and then I try to stick something with gluestick, it takes a serious amount of heavy flattening to get it to stick, I mean it will but like I said, I want to finish this artwork sometime this year.... I have to be super liberal about it, and do glue stick on both top paper and bottom substrate even to get it to stick. This drives me crazy, almost crazier than the fact that it may crinkle.
SO--
I am looking for an answer to this problem. The wrinkling...the glue stick not sticking to the medium. Anyone got any ideas out there to keep me from totally unraveling on this?

Orbit

I like night time skies. They impress me, especially in winter time. We are so far removed from the world around us. The closer we live to city-suburban-land the further away the starry nights become. I am fortunate enough to get plenty of clear glimpses of crescent moons and celestial events both real and of my own imagination. I know the real ones pretty well and can recognize several in the sky. My favorite is Orion....for some reason I really like the stars in the belt....I like to make up my own constellations, too.
I did this piece imagining myself in the sky, swooping along a celestial birds' shoulders and morphing within it and into it. I wish I could have imposed more twisting and flowing in this one, but it's already quite busy. The background blueprints always remind me of an astrological map, so I tried to alter this gear print a bit and make it appear as though it was part of my quantum sky plan with white ink and stars. I can't really add flowing stuff or the whole thing will implode.
It's good to be within my own head playing around again. Not sure if my wonder and playful happiness comes through in the work. I guess that's the internal part, the part I do it all for...it's the feeling of loss within the work and the feeling of my own alternative reality. I WAS flying in the nighttime sky. I just want you to join me there.

Crow Count!!!!

OMG! I am a crow freak. Don't know why. Always have been. I always am hoarding crows in imagery, and I stare at them in the empty cornfields, and damn if there isn't a fine exhibit going on at the virtual tart site of Dale Copeland that has load of crows to look at and drool over.
Laura Lein-Svencner, a really active and super nice collage artist living in Illinois, US, has a really bizarre collage exhibit happening called Crow Count. I love them based series. I love the way it allows an artist to explore a them and go deeper and deeper.
These are some really nice works worth crowing about.
(sorry 'bout the pun. I am in a whippy mood today!)
Congrats to Laura for this fine work!

scrapfairy 2

scrapfairy 2
Originally uploaded by misphit

Sometimes as you clean up the collage mess, (over and over and over again) you place the scraps just right and something happens when you aren't watching. The scrap goblins run and rearrange them and other beings come to life. This very thing happened to me just yesterday when I was working on trying to find my studio table. (I had lent it to Santa's elves over the holiday.)
These are pretty vanilla collages. But sometimes it takes me a bit of time to get reacquainted with just what the heck I was doing before all these holiday festivities!
I am happy to be back in my life again. Now it's time for some serious art.

Emily Pothast — Music + Art

One of the coolest things about collage is the fact that you can create an interesting whole, and this appeals to some of your senses. And then, upon a closer look, you find out that what you saw wasn't exactly what you saw, but something else. That's magical.
Emily Pothast has this concept down to perfection. I took a look at this poetic artistic interpretation of a spiritual icon, the stained glass window and smiled thinking of days past as little girl in church with Dad, staring at at colorful windows and ignoring the speeches....
Then I took that closer look, and was amused to find the SALE sale sale papers that made up this glorious image. What a super delightful smack in the head commentary back to reality. I love it.
She does a lot of this making textures out of unsuspecting ephemera. It's tricky.
Emily is a well rounded artist, with a sprinkling of music thrown in there for good measure. I used to be a pianist (took 14 years of lessons...) and a flautist (took 16 years of lessons...) and in fact I was headed for collage as a music major until I decided that my parents were WAY to obnoxious about the whole practice practice practice thing and all I wanted to do was hang out in high school like normal kids and party party party. Also there was this horrible thing that happened to me now and then when I was on stage for a solo performance on the flute, and the whole audience is staring at me...and here I go to play and F-CK....my lips start to twitch or tremble!!! As a flute player is concerned with lip position (embouchure) in order to play nice listenable music, having your lips tremble IN public ON stage could really suck! I decided somewhere in there to take my creativity into my own private room. I could do art in private and get as hot shit as I wanted. My lips could quiver, my head could shake, hell I could dance around the room, but no one would see the finished product till I said so. It's all about control!
I think that having lots of creative talent is a plus for anyone, and I encourage any types of creative endeavors. I used to dance too....a little clutzy ballerina....good grief, it's painful to think about me dancing gracefully on stage I am such a spazz, however it was creative! Somehow it all relates, a musical phrase, a choreographed dance...a visual punctuation.
Sorry, I seriously digress!
Back to Emily!


She has a show going on at the Grey Gallery and Lounge...in one of the coolest places ever, Seattle, WA. Info on the gallery and her show can be found here. She also has a website and a really bizarre blog that I still need to spend more time look at!

www.notpaper.net

This is a really cool blog. Seriously!
April Elcich has compiled a large array of collage artists thoughts and opinions thru a small email interview format. I like this format so much, I love a good interview!
There's so much there, and so many interesting artists... I feel humbled. Poor collage clearinghouse can't keep up with such admirable dedication!
I really liked her google map, with pins showing the locations of her various interviewees. I do enjoy international artists a lot and this blog has featured people from all around the world. Cheers to April and the good work being done on Not Paper!

Alexis Mackenzie — Collage of nature

Hope the holidays are progressing nicely for YOU. We are halfway there, with New Years on our horizon. I am almost finished with the multitudinous family events that have taken over my life for the past 2 months and today finally I am back on the blog again. Hello again! It feels good to be back. I felt as though I left my own life for awhile.
So, lets look at some new stuff.

I was cleaning out my bookmarks list (how DOES that list get so long so quick? I am a surfing fool) and I found this old link to an interview on Fecal Face with Alexis Mackenzie. I must have found it on a day that I already had interesting things to post here, and there the bookmark sat, lonely in my Firefox list....since April. So without further adieu.

Q: What do you get when you mix Victorian ladies, flowers, bats, gems, and bones?
A: Collage work by Alexis Mackenzie

Alexis Mackenzie does meticulous collage work. According to the fecal face article, she is very particular about her ephemera and only uses original pieces, no copies. (I think this is a common policy among collagists. I think that using originals certainly helps your copyright usage issues, and it may also be one small way to separate fine art collage from scrapbooking). I really enjoy her surrealistic natural settings. They are colorful, imaginative, and inventive. I share her love of old ladies dressed in insanely elaborate clothing. She uses these ladies freely and places them in colorfully poetic settings. I love it. I just want to be in this picture floating above a rock with an owl offering me a flowering sprig.

Her website is here, but there more to be found image wise on her flickr pages.
Sweet surreal stuff.

Happy Birthday Collage Clearinghouse!!

Happy Birthday to Collage Clearinghouse!!! You are 2 years old today!
On a fateful December day 2 years ago, I began writing this blog. It was a journey that has taken me all over the place. I have met people, shared with people, got pissed at people, learned from the people. It's so great to communicate. I am still happy to be here. I know sometimes the posts are lean and it's difficult always to drum up heavy enthusiasm when your checkbook is empty, your holiday seems lacking, and your family is driving you nuts. I try always to return here tho, and finally when the dust settles on all the craziness, it's here where my most important moments are spent.

Jay of blue
This weekend, I began the very late task of getting my Christmas together. For this year, I made my Dad and grandmother a card. For the rest of my immediate loving family I have made tag cards our of old cards, vintage cards and wrapping paper.

Santa on black
I plan to put a bunch of interesting little ribbon and ornamentals on the top thru the hole. Then these tags will rest in a slit on the front of a card made of nice paper. Inside I will write sweet nothings to the recipient.

Christmas Polar Bear Fairy
The ornament/tag they can pull out and hang on the tree. Double duty style. Card/ornament. ornament/card.

Cardinal Christmas
These are rather pathetic excuses for fine art collage. But at this time of year, I turn to a more craftwardly (!! a new word!) way of looking at things. I can't send Santa tags with disjointed legs and 2 mouths to my elderly Grandmother. It just isn't proper. I can send her a cute little red bird sitting on top of vintage ribbon on a tag tho....this is something she will like. At times, I just want something with a crafty older world feel to it--that Scrapbook look. Something homemade that will tickle the fancy of those I love.
Soon enough, I can return to the crazed pieced together world that I live in. For now, I tone it down, sort of like how Rudolph toned down that darn red nose before reindeer Christmasland found out his nose would lead Santa in the snowy night!

Who did this Work?

I am finally back in my own life again and it feels like an explosion. As it usually goes when I get a bunch of free time, my brain has gone crazy and visited new internal places and has come up with all sorts of new ideas. I am anxious to get back to creating --sharing-- and of course, blogging! So lets get a move on!

I got an email from Ethan Kirschner with an identification question. He has this image and is looking to see who the artist is that created it. It looks familiar to me, and I know I have seen it before, but where? I cannot immediately recall. I even think this person was featured here on the blog...the eyes are so familiar....

Was it you? Do you know who did this work??

Family Leave??

Do blogs come with a family medical leave option???
I have been absent from my job, absent from my beloved studio and home, and absent from the life I normally lead which includes this blog! Due to family events, including a 1 week stay in Wilmington, NC and now another stay for 4 days in Boston, I have had to turn my attention to closer personal matters and help the family. I have to admit, it's difficult for me to leave my comfort zone. I used to be a traveler and not care where I was or where I went. But as I get older, I feel the effect of being away from my normal life and passions. It wears me down. My trip to see my daughter in North Carolina was way overdue, since I have not gone down to see her at her home in 7 years. (yes, we saw each other several times, just in NY, not in NC!) Just when I thought I would be able to settle down in my own life again, my sister had an injury and needed some immediate neurosurgery on her neck. I was called upon to help her recover in Boston. So here I am. And here we are. No posts in a few weeks.
Sometimes circumstances take priority, and then it's time to live. Time to be the person that you dream of in those lonely moments inside your head while you are creating. This is the substance of life. Living it is not optional! So I have had to put this blog on hold for a couple of weeks, but you have to believe that inside I am craving my life back. Soon enough I will burst again on this blog scene and fill your heads with a conglomerate of insane things!
Meanwhile, go and live a bit!! Enjoy the quiet.

Thanks

Thanks so much
Thanks for being here thru 477 posts of collage goodness.
Thanks for giving me a reason to keep involved with my profession.
Thanks for allowing me the ability to grow here right before your eyes.
Thanks for commenting now and then, prodding me on.
Thanks for sending me emails and messages to let me know about upcoming events.
Thanks for sharing your art with me, and coming here to participate while I share mine.
Thanks for using the things you may find here to enrich your life and artwork.
Thanks for being apart of us.

Eat Me, Drink Me in Scotland

There is going to be an explosion of Victorian Psychedelia on display in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday the 30th. My artwork will be displayed on some kind of slide show ...stop in and do wear your best kilt!

Hyde, Copyright and YOU!

I was reading the most recent post over at Ed Winkleman's blog this morning and it really caught my attention. Copyright was the subject, fair use and unfair use, my FAVORITE topic (haha!)...He had a couple of links there that I recommend you read about if you follow copyright stuff, which you should if you are a good collage dooby.
He mentions the article on about the German artists that are pissed off about having their images in the google image search, Catherine Spaeth's blog which speaks about writing and the copyright issue, and also the story of Paddy Johnson's Helmut Newton escapade...But it was the comment section that tipped me off about the Hyde thing.
Hyde is someone exploring the nature of our creative commons. Using "gift" societies as an example, he is doing us all a good service by dedicating his time to researching the current copyright conundrum. The article is on the NY Times site. Its a great read. I would also follow the links above from Ed's blog, because all of this stuff is relevant, important, temporarily Earth shattering, and definitely life threatening.

Erik Foss — Smokem if u Got em

Erik Foss has some hard core collage going on...And it is up for your viewing pleasure at Gallery 3 in San Fran.

Gallery Three is pleased to present the first West Coast solo exhibition of New York based artist Erik Foss. A deftly crafted mixed-media mélange of painting, collage, drawing, photography, assemblage and sculptural installation components, Smokem If You Gotem lays bare the personal demonology of Foss’ visual obsessions along with the greater social pathology of our culture on the brink. At once eminently seductive and deeply disquieting, Foss iconography of cultural critique collapses the perceptual boundaries between pornography, poverty and politics to underscore the collective anxiety and violence of our time.

An intrepid scavenger of visual artifacts in which memory, melancholia and madness invoke a visionary topography where the mortality of dreams engender germinal quotients of relativist understanding, Erik Foss locates the fearful symmetries lurking within the miasma of pop culture at the nexus where representation and witness converge. With the raw vernacular of the streets, Foss makes fine art fodder of the smug complacency and delusional democracy by which our failing empire lulls itself to terminal sleep. How else might we read his bold re-imagining of our national emblem, the American flag, as a composite of needy pleas and desperate amusements culled from the signs of begging homeless? His is the itinerant semiotics of national shame reeking behind spectacle of patriotic glory.

In conjunction with his exhibition at Gallery Three, D. A. Arts (located next door at 135 Sixth Street) will concurrently be presenting an ambitious new installation Erik Foss is producing especially for the space. Entitled Arizona Graves, this haunting elegy for the tangible presence of loss is at once an interpretive recreation of a Native American burial ground near where the artist grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, and a mythopoeic invocation of the darker legacy of the American Dream.

the skinny:
Gallery Three
66 Sixth Street
San Francisco, California 94103
November 15- December 13, 2008
Artist Reception: Saturday November 15th 7-11 pm