Category: Collage

Art, Collage

Gold

Shelly

Gold
Gold
collage in composition book

I’ve been preoccupied with transcribing letters, so I haven’t been concentrating on arting. Coming down with the plague hasn’t helped matters, either. It’s difficult to feel motivated when you’re tired and grumpy and you can’t breathe properly. hrmph.

I did manage to get some gluing done last night, though. This spread started with the cover of an OCLC publication. I loved the embossed black dot grid superimposed on the satellite image of the Earth. When I finished the piece, it seemed a little blah, so I decided to try to do something with the grid. At first, I thought I’d get a small paint brush and fill in the circles, but that seemed like a lot of work (I mentioned being a-motivated?). However, I found a chopstick in with my paint brushes. The bottom end was nice and flat and the perfect size, so I used it as a stamp. The larger circles were done with the cap of a glue stick.

In other news, it sucks to have an old car. When something breaks, it’s impossible to get replacement parts. About a week and a half ago, my timing belt and cam-shaft went kerplowie. The timing belt was easy to replace, but the mechanic is having having a hell of a time finding the bolt needed for the cam-shaft, plus some sort of pin that also needs replacing. He thinks he can get the bolt from Texas and he may have found the pin in Virginia, but the vendors aren’t sure. Their inventory says they have the parts, but they haven’t been able to physically put their hands on them yet. Poor little MoonPie of Delight. I really miss my silly little toy car.

Art, Collage, Photography

Snow Storms and Rituals and Beautiful Boys

Shelly

20050108_9

The wind is howling like a banshee and the snow is blowing sideways. At what point does a snow storm officially become a blizzard? The snow has lightened up a bit since I took these photos. I can actually see the ridge to the east of me. I’m glad I don’t have to be out in this. Snow and cold are great, but high winds scare the bejeezus out of me. This is definitely a day to stay inside with a good fil-um or book and drink lots of hot cocoa.

Rituals
Rituals
collage in composition book

Despite my lack of motivation, I did manage to get some gluing done. The idea for the piece above came to me yesterday, at work. The person in the cubicle beside mine has a collection of vitamins and assorted medications that she takes every afternoon. Little rituals like that are comforting: shoes shed by the front door when you come home, brushing your teeth before bed, or stopping every morning for coffee before work; big rituals, as well: christenings, birthdays, weddings, honeymoons, funerals. These rituals remind us that there’s a rhythm to life and that, no matter what happens, the world will continue rotating on its axis and the sun will continue to rise and set.

Beautiful Boy
Beautiful Boy
collage in composition book

I was watching bad daytime TV earlier in the week and on some talk show, probably Oprah, Celine Dion did a gawdawful cover of John Lennon’s Beautiful Boy. I’ve had the song stuck in my head since then–not a bad thing, since it was thankfully the original version. So, I thought I’d do some arting on the subject. Sometimes art is silly.

Art, Collage, Ladybusiness

Packing

Shelly

Packing
Packing
collage in composition book

Today’s glue book spread started with the lovely pale tealish blue color of the wedding cupcake layout. From there, I searched through my stacks of clippings, looking for similarly colored bits. The idea of a woman’s traditional place in the world–from cook and seamstress to interior decorator to maid to fashion plate and wife–became a running theme. The title comes from the historical act of a woman and her dowry being packed up as presents to be opened by her new husband. I thought of all the woman who, throughout history, have embarked on a new life not knowing what was in store for them. What thoughts must have gone through their minds as they packed to leave their parents’ homes for the last time?

Art, Collage

Meat, Eggs, Glue, and Paint

Shelly

Meat
A Nice Cut of Meat
collage in composition book

I tried a Dadaish approach with this one. The torn up black and white pieces came from magazine ads. I tore them into roughly squarish pieces, then turned them all upside down and shuffled them around. I picked pieces from the pile, applied glue, then randomly stuck them on the page (I closed my eyes to ensure the placement was actually random). I added the knife because I liked the shape of it. Then, while flipping through a copy of Martha Stewart Living, I thought a piece of raw meat would round out the ensemble nicely. ha! A few pages later, I found the finishing touch.The idea of all those chopped up bits of models juxtaposed with the knife and about-to-be carved meat strikes me as gross and amusing.

6 of 1
Six of One
collage in composition book

This is an entry in my composition book journal. The sun came back out for awhile, so I thought I’d try painting the page bright orange–not one of my favorite colors, so I thought it would present a challenge for me. I had veggie eggs for brunch (I totally missed eating breakfast!), so the egg theme seemed appropriate.

Art, Collage, Gluebooks

The Body

Shelly

The Body
The Body
collage in composition book

Today’s glue book entry. I had another bad weather day stuck at home, so I spent the time going through a box I’ve been carting around with me for about ten years. I had no idea what was in it–it was just labelled “Collage Junk.” Oh my. It was the motherlode. There were tons of pages cut from old Sotheby’s and Christie’s catalogues, post cards, art exhibition posters, some magazines from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, and a bunch of nifty things I’d cut out of Interview and Details magazines. This piece includes fashion ads, a picture of the skeleton of conjoined twin babies, some movie stills (one about a transsexual and the other a porn movie), and an article on do-it-yourself trepanation.

Art, Collage, Gluebooks

Boat of Dreams

Shelly

Boat of Dreams
The Boat of Dreams
collage in composition book

Today’s glue book entry. The blue background is Neocolors II, the water is made from the last piece of the groovy blue holographic wrapping paper from H and T’s wedding. The stone birdbath is a photo I took at a friend’s house, and the painting of the people in the little boat came from an art magazine.

With all the rain we’ve gotten lately, boats and water have been in my thoughts and dreams.

Art, Collage, Gluebooks

Art Tip #1: Phone Books

Shelly

We recently received our new phone books at work, which means figuring out what to do with the old ones. It seems a shame to dump all that paper in the recycling bin, so I tend to hang onto them (yeah, my cow orkers think I’m odd, but that’s their problem, not mine).

What do I use phone books for?

My favorite use is for blotting brushes while I’m painting (saves on paper towels!). The paper is soft and absorbant, so it sucks up excess liquid nicely. I also like to use phone books while I’m working on collages. The pages are great for placing under small items while you’re painting them or applying adhesive to them. When a page gets yucky, just tear it out or flip to the next page.

You can also use the pages as a collage base. Tear them up to create visual interest. Paint them. Ink over them or use some of the blotter pages you’ve gotten paint on. You can then seal the paper or you can draw or paint directly onto it. It takes charcoal, ink, and oil pastel nicely (just like newsprint).

Here’s a quick and easy example from one of my glue books. I tore out several pages, then tore them into vertical strips. The lettering was done using a Pitt brush tip pen. The page was then inked by gently rubbing an ink pad directly over it.

Stay Away
collage in composition book

Art, Collage, Gluebooks

Margaretha Knows

Shelly

Margaretha Knows
Margaretha Knows
collage in composition book

I’ve been trying to do a glue book spread a day. I don’t always manage it, but I’m not far from my goal. In this spread, the Elizabethan woman in the three portraits on the left is Margaratha de Geer. She was the wife of Jacob Trip, a wealthy Dutch merchant. The painting of the three nudes walking down the street came from an old copy of Interview Magazine. I think the photo of the acupuncture mannequin came from a recent copy of either Jane or Bust.