Category: Collage

Art, Collage

New Mini Collages

Shelly

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What She Kept
mixed media: collage (brass beads, 35mm negative, yearbook photo, obituary photo, movie ticket stub, and fragment from 1854 patent book), drawing (India ink), and crackle glaze on 90lb Stonehenge paper
5 1/8 x 5 1/2 inches

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Mask I
collage (dried leaf, fragment from dictionary, fortune, diary key, and brass brad) on 90lb Stonehenge paper dyed with instant coffee
3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches

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Mask II
collage (fragment from dictionary, altered Polaroid photo, and mirror) on 90lb Stonehenge paper dyed with instant coffee
3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches

Little Boat
Little Boat
collage (fragments from dictionary colored with Portfolio water-soluble crayons) on 90lb Stonehenge paper dyed with instant coffee
3 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches

These are all rather on the bitty side. Most of my paintings are fairly large, so it’s weird to work on such a small scale. It feels more intimate, though, which makes for a nice change.

Art, Collage, Journals, Pets

Rory (Composition Book Journal)

Shelly

Farewell to Rory (Composition Book Journal)
Rory, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 8 June 2006
acrylic paint and metallic gel marker, photo, receipt, and Gepe mount containing fur

I hid the journal entry behind the receipt. The fur in the Gepe mount was shed at the vet, while I was petting Rory. I made a little pile of it and brought it home with me. The rest of the page is just doodles I did that evening while watching television.

Art, Collage, Journals

Cooking with Jesus

Shelly

Guacamole / Sacred Heart (Composition Book Journal)
Sacred Heart / Guacamole
Composition book journal, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches, 9 June 2006

I saved the stickers from the last time I made guacamole. At about the same time, I burned the end of one of my favorite Mexican candles. I soaked the candle so I could reuse the label, and placed it on the page opposite the vegetable stickers. Since guacamole is so simple to make and it’s such a healthy food, I thought I’d use this spread to share my easy-peasy recipe.

Guacamole
2 avocados, mashed
2 large tomatoes or 6 romas, diced (I prefer romas, because they aren’t as juicy)
1 lime (lemons will work in a pinch, but given the choice between lime and lemon, I always prefer the flavor of lime)
4 scallions, minced (use both the white and green portions)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
pinch of Kosher or sea salt (iodized salt will react with the citric acid, and will make the guacamole bitter tasting)

Note: All amounts are approximate. I aim for something that is more like diced tomato salad with an avocado-lime-garlic dressing. I like chunky guacamole that, when paired with toasted whole wheat pita, is a meal in itself.

Mash or dice the avocados and add the juice from half the lime. Sprinkle with a little salt. Dice the tomatoes, mince the scallions and garlic, and add to the avocados. Mix everything together, then taste. You may want to add more garlic, salt, or lime. You can also add green chilis, hot chilis, or tabasco sauce, if you like spiciness. If you want a bit of crunch, diced bell peppers are a nice addition.

If you want to serve with chips, be careful not to over salt. I like to serve it with toasted whole wheat pita triangles. They’re whole grain and not as fatty as chips, so they’re healthier, I think. I also really enjoy the warm, nutty flavor against the cool, creamy, freshness of the guacamole.

Art, Collage, Paintings

In Progress

Shelly

Vessel (In Progress)
oil on newspaper adhered to 90lb Stonehenge paper
11 1/4 x 15 inches

This is just a base coat, but until it dries, I can’t do much more with it. The background colors will probably end up a little more muted and the bowl shape and color need to be fine-tuned. After it’s completely dry, I’ll add collage bits–probably some sort of planty thing.

Art, Collage

Amulet

Shelly

Amulet
Amulet
collage (wood fan slat, rose petals, brass discs, Polaroid photo, and magazine clipping), gesso, India ink, Cray pas, metallic wax paste on black 90lb Stonehenge paper
5 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches

I’ve been trying to finish this stupid thing for weeks. I finally slathered a bunch of gesso over it this afternoon while watching something on PBS about Catherine the Great.

It’s kind of hard to believe it’s on black paper, isn’t it?

The Polariod is of a life-size bronze sculpture, Lawrence Tenney Stevens’ Alba, that was wrapped up and crated.  (You can kind of see what she looked like here.) She was on her way to the conservation lab. Because she looked like a mummy in a coffin, I thought it would be funny to photograph Baubo with her, as if Baubo were an amulet. It’s highly unethical to play with the art, but sometimes the temptation was just too much.

I pulled apart the Polaroid, only using the front plastic layer which contains the photo emulsion. I sanded the back side, rubbing the image completely away on the left-hand side. The jagged, dark form showing through the photo is actually a burned fragment of a magazine page.

The fan slat was covered with red oil pastel, then gone over with metallic gold paste wax. I love the combination, because it mimics traditional gold leaf over red bole.

Art, Collage, Crankypantsing

Look at the Bones!

Shelly

I’ve been playing around with a few small pieces, trying to decide if I can salvage them or if I should just give up. I thought I’d add some bones, because a few bones can cure all manner of artistic ugliness. Right? Okay, maybe not. But! I stumbled on a couple of fun ideas.

First, bones are really easy to color with Walnut Hollow oil pencils. It took a couple of layers, and I used a Prismacolor blender to mush everything together, which worked well. I also went over them with an uneven layer of metallic gold wax paste. It was kind of a pain in the arse, because I was using itty bitty chicken rib bones, but the end result is pretty cool. I was going for a tarnished, worn, flame-y look, and I think I achieved it.

Flame I

Flame II
collage (bones and paper), acrylic, and oil pencil on 140lb Cartiera Magnani hot press watercolor paper
3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches

Second, I’m in the process of coating some pig vertebrae with crackle glaze. I don’t know how they’ll turn out, or what I’ll use them for, but if the result is as cool as I think it’ll be, I’ll post pictures of those, too.

While doing all this, and because an idle mind is the Debbil’s playground, I’ve been “watching” the NCAA women’s gymnastic championships. It’s pretty cool to see gymnasts that don’t look like anorexic 8 year old girls. And, you’d never hear Guns n’ Roses as floor exercise music in elite gymnastics! I do have a complaint, though, about the commercials. Well, aside from objecting to their very existence. Specifically, I wish they’d lay off the T. Rex. It started with JC Penny and, I think, some car company, and now Coke (and The Slider, no less!). It’s bad enough that the good music from the ’80s is being abused, but there’s no excuse for messing with T. Rex. Bastards!

Art, Collage, Pets, Photography

It’s a good, good (Fri)day

Shelly

I just saw two swallowtail butterflies flitting about in my yard. Spring has definitely arrived. Summer, too, perhaps. It’s supposed to be around 85F today. O ick. And it’s supposed to storm this afternoon, so I thought I’d update and upload while I can.

First, some spring photos.

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100_1820

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The first three were taken this morning. It stormed at about 4am, but the morning was absolutely gorgeous. The horse in the first photo had just calmed down. He’d been running around and rolling in the grass, full of joie de spring, which was super cute, but not so photogenic in a distance shot.

Next, Teh Cute and Teh Silly:

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What can I say? Boxers are unbelievably weird. They do a silly kidney bean dance, wherein they whip their bodies in half, bending back and forth, accompanied by hilariously funny nubbin wagging. It’s ludicrously cute, but not easy to photograph. I tried to get video of it, but no dice. In the second photo she’s just plain lost it. Boxers are notoriously sassy. They love to talk back. This is Harriet woo-wooing at me. My timing was not good, because I was laughing, so I missed the part where she scrunches up her floppy lips and purses them in a perfect O. You can see a little bit of the lip action, but it’s not as impressive as it could be.

And now, the art. Three of them contain Polaroids I’ve altered using sandpaper and/or bleach.

Diptych: Faun
Diptych: Faun

Diptych: Alba
Diptych: Alba
5 1/2 x 5 1/2
collage (altered Polaroid photo, brass beads, unbleached waxed paper, pieces of burnt paper, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and acrylic paint on 90lb Stonehenge paper

Reissue and Extension
Reissue and Extension
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
collage (stone beads, braided hemp twine, copper wire, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and drawing (Sarasa gel ink and dandelion pulp) on 90lb Stonehenge paper

The paper was stained beforehand with instant coffee. I made the flower by pounding a dandelion into the paper, then drawing around it using a Sarasa retractable gel pen and water brush. The ink in these pens is dye based. It doesn’t skip and it bleeds when wet.

The Bone of a Thought
The Bone of a Thought
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
collage (altered Polaroid photo, bone fragment, brass brads, unbleached waxed paper, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and acrylic paint on 90lb Stonehenge paper

Art, Artist Books, Collage, Meta, Music

A Mid-week Bundle of Non-sequitury Goodness

Shelly

Hemp Bound Journal: Skirting the Issue
Skirting the Issue
child’s dress pattern, used sandpaper, dried plant fibers, and hemp twine
8 3/4 x 11 1/2 inches

I haven’t finished this one yet, but it may not be fit for public consumption once I have, so I thought I’d scan and upload it while I could. I don’t know when I got au fait with Teh Punny, and it needs to stop rightthisminute, but what can I say? It’s an illness.

As you can see, I’m still stuck in Brown Land. I guess I’d better just face the fact that everything in this book is going to be some shade of blech, and stop worrying about it. Maybe if I tell myself it’s a reflection of the winter landscape, it won’t bug me so much. And pigs might fly.

The new Earl Brothers CD is out. Wheee! The Earl Brothers are goth bluegrass at it’s very finest, with a blend of humor and menace that can be found in some of Nick Cave’s best work. Their first CD was one of those rare gems that is an excellent companion for cleaning, arting, or driving. If their second release is half as good as the first, it’s worth every penny and then some. (Guess what I’m getting myself for my birfday?)

Speaking of music… I’m sure everyone has suffered having a song stuck in their head, and been unable to get rid of it. It happens to me regularly. Well, yesterday I had one so firmly lodged, that it stayed there all day, then showed up in my dreams, which consisted of various efforts to dislodge the damned thing. That’s right, I wasted my precious REM time getting rid of Generation X’s Kiss Me Deadly. Not because the song itself was bothersome, mind you. I quite like it. But, it had thoroughly outstayed its welcome.

This just in from the Things Could Be Worse department: Be thankful that you don’t own the green Pontiac that mysteriously rolled out of its parking slot this afternoon.

I’m in the process of installing WordPress on my main site. If I get time over the extra-extra long weekend (four days, onna count of MLK Day), and if my connection cooperates, I’ll play around with it (as in, I’ll try to break as many templates as possible). Right now, it is Teh Vanilla. My host also has some interesting looking image gallery packages that I’m going to have investigate. Because, you know, I need to complicate my life like I need another hole in my head. It’s that time of year, though. Spring cleaning is overrated. Personally, I’m a fan of mid-winter cleaning.

Art, Collage, Crankypantsing, Journals, Ladybusiness, Poetry

Hemp Bound Journal

Shelly

Hemp Bound Journal: PWT
PWT

This page was an off-shoot of the discussion about the phrase “poor white trash.” I finally spoke up, and called the original poster on her demeaning comments. After having gone to great lengths to describe what she meant by “poor white trash,” and her qualifying how she is supperior to “them,” she had the nerve to reply that she hadn’t really meant it as a slur, because, hey, it’s all a matter of semantics. Um, no, it’s not semantics, not when you’ve precisely qualified and quantified your position. She made a lame attempt at claiming that there were all sorts of meanings for the word “trash” and that “poor” is a state of mind. Neither of those points, even if they were true in this context, addresses the fact that she’d spent umpty words describing a certain group of people, and how they are inferior to her. I had to laugh at her parting shot, though, that she’d suffered discrimination, too, when she was younger, because she had been called a poor, little rich girl. Now, that takes brass ovaries!

Because I thought the “it’s just semantics” defense was a laughable cop-out, I decided to consult Mr. Roget for alternate suggestions. The column spacing sucks, which is one of those things that unreasonably vexes me. I’ll probably add something else to the far right margin of the left-hand page at a later date, just for visual balance

I’d totally forgotten that the phrenology model was on that page, because the coat of gesso makes it blend into the background. It used to be thought that you could judge a person’s character by the structure of their skull. This theory was used as the basis for racial discrimination, as well as for the theory that you could tell just by looking at some people that they were wrong ‘uns. I guess some prejudices die hard, eh?

Hemp Bound Journal: Backbone & The Direction of Last Things
Backbone & The Direction of Last Things

Hemp Bound Journal: Letter from a Muse
Letter from a Muse

Hemp Bound Journal: Vessels
Vessels

No matter how much I think it’s wrong to kill another living being–and I do–I cannot get past the fact that we do not legally require one person to save another’s life. It makes no more sense to mandate that a woman must carry a baby to term than it does to force people to give over their kidneys or bone marrow or livers for transplants. I can certainly choose to be an organ donor, but I cannot be forced into it. But, some people think it’s okay to force a woman to carry a child to term against her will.