Collage Study - Circular III

Butterfly and Seagull

Brave

Dogs

Shock

These are the last four in the circular collage study.  These four are not my favorites of the ten that I completed.  It seems that working with the limit of three collage elements becomes rather challenging when one gets to the last few only because I was limited to the color choice. That color ephemera was running out.  With unlimited parameters it would have been easier because my ephemera stash is plentiful.

Collage Study - Circular II

Fox

Ouverture

Rat

I do like something from the collage to extend into the negative space or is it that the collage element extends from the negative space into the positive space.  Whatever way you wish to look at it I like extending the boundaries of the circle.

Collage Study - Circular I

Goose

King Midas and the Papoose

Cats and Crows

I am taking a Larry Calkins workshop and we were tasked to make ten collages using a theme of our choice.  The overall theme could be anything we wanted but they had to relate somehow.  I decided to do circular collages and keep the color tones similar.  In addition, all had to be the same number of elements.  Again we could choose.  I decided on three elements.  Larry uses Yes Paste and Elmer's Glue in most of his collage work.  I decide to try it out.  My verdict on it is still out.  I have used matte medium for so long, it is difficult for me to make the change.

In the ten collages I decided to stay within the boundary of the circle and also go outside the boundaries.  I am liking the added feel of going outside the circle boundary.

Santa Fe Triplets

Santa Fe Triplets

Santa Fe Triplets with Crow

I am not so sure that the second image is all that much better adding the crow above the boxcar.  You can decide for yourself.  This was my first time creating a collage on a LP and the first time that I created a circular collage.  We were tasked to create a collage of our choice by Larry Calkins.  He brought in the LPs and off we went creating.  It took me quite some time to come up with what I wanted to do. Finally, since I did not have an idea I just began.  In about three hours I had Santa Fe Triplets.

Spoiler Alert - Bird 1, Bird 2, Bird 3

Bird 1

Bird 2

Bird 3

For the international ATC group to which I belong we had the task of creating something transparent or see through for August.  I created a very simple ATC punching square holes in 3.5 x 2.5 cards, adding tissue paper birds over the hole and then creating BIRD on t-shirts.  The BIRDs are faux collaged to make them stiff.  They will arrive soon to the four corners of the world.  In our group someone lives New Zealand, the UK, Germany, Israel, Sweden,  and two in the US.  We send them out bi-monthly.  Hold the bird up to a light or a window and the card changes appearance.

Mini Book Three

Mini Book Three (cover)

Athlete

Exercise Woman #1

Exercise Woman #2

Exercise Woman #3

Boy Scout

I just love using up something that I started making months and even years ago.  The backgrounds were all originally made for my international ATC group but never sent out.  I recently thought they would go out with the added squares, but then I decided one more thing was needed and I adhered tissue paper images except then I did one more thing to finish them off.  I spatter painted on each one and cut them to fit inside the mini book. Inside the cover are little pockets to hold these cards.  I am going to teach a mini book workshop this coming winter at Edmonds CC on how to make mini books with added collages.  I just love making these little books. I think I have five different books now for the workshop.

Mini Book II

Cover 

Dishwasher

Good Night, Doll

Little Girl

Paperboy

When Night Came

Just more mine-book fun!  Sorry the scanning is a bit blurry.  :-)

Mini Book for a Round Robin

Mini Book (Cover)

This mini-book has five pockets for mini collages.  Here are the five for this one.....

Guess Who

I Had Three

Redundancy

There She Found

Peeling Apples

Exercise # 2

Exercise #2

This postcard was begun months ago.  It sat and sat for inspiration.  Finally I decided to add another woman over the fish and call it done.  There are things that bother me about this piece. When one thinks about composition and the rule of thirds the middle third is fairly empty in the vertical direction.  Perhaps a third figure would help this one out.  Then I get to thinking about the math of it all and one could consider the fish to be the third item to keep it all odd or if one counts two women and three fish that is five and still odd.  Or you could count the white circle and the the two women but if you add in the fish it is six.  See what I mean?  Too much analysis maybe?

Tummies In!

Tummies In!

I hate to exercise.  Walking is about my limit which I have not done much of lately because of my knee issue.  With that said, I have lost 33 pounds.  Tummies In! honors those of you who do exercise and can still eat strawberry shortcake!  I can not!

Orlando

Orlando

All I need to say is ORLANDO!

Look Out!

Look Out!

I guess I have a fascination with geese ever since I was very young.  I have mentioned that we had two geese on our farm.  Those geese did not like me much and chased me.  I was always afraid of being bitten by them in the derriere.  So look out when you are around geese. 

Collage Study Part II - Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten Elements

Collage Study - Six Elements

Collage Study - Seven Elements

Collage Study - Eight Elements

Collage Study - Nine Elements

Collage Study - Ten Elements

Each of the ten collage studies has birds in them as a theme to tie them together with the exception of number 10.  The closest it comes to birds are the feathers in the Native Americans hair.  Now that I have completed the ten collages it is hard to decide if the number of elements makes it easier or more difficult.  None of the pieces have much in the way of paint which is something I usually use in my collages.  I did notice as I was working that I like some paint attributes and did "cheat" in a couple of them to make seem more finished.  I also used graphite in several of them so that the pieces did not look flat.

Collage Study - Part I - One, Two, Three, Four, and Five Elements

Collage Study - One Element

Collage Study - Two Elements

Collage Study - Three Elements

Collage Study - Four Elements

Collage Study - Five Elements

Taking the time to do a study is actually fun, but it also forces one to really think about placement. Beginning collage artists may think it is easy to create one, two, or three collage elements.  However, placement on the page is all important as one has to include and think about the negative space as well.  When creating the six, seven, eight, nine, and ten element collages sometimes I found myself creating the seven before the six and the nine before the seven and eight.  Worrying about composition is always something that I find plays a part in creating.  I will share the other five tomorrow. :-)

Buzz Off

Buzz Off

Buzz Off has been sitting around on my desk for quite some time, months in fact!  On Monday, an art friend of mine, Tina, gave me a bunch of napkins to use in my classes.  One of them has the most fantastic bees on them.  The background was just waiting for the right focal point.  Finding the letter "Z" is not the easiest letter to locate in magazines.  During my letter search I got the idea of either using the subscript 2 or having the letters squared for the "Z" and the "F".   That sure helped complete this postcard.  :-)

They Are Good

They Are Good

Sometimes one does not have much time.  Two minutes is all you need and a collage is made.  I was demonstrating how to create the background for one of my secret pocket collages and in just a few blinks it was done.

Bee Target Practice

Bee Target Practice

Bee Target Practice belongs to a round robin journal that will reside eventually in Gig Harbor, WA. The group of seven in this RR all took a Crystal Neubauer workshop last winter on Bainbridge Island.  Who knows where this idea came from as it just popped into this old brain? This piece was completed in one setting in about three hours.  That is fairly quick for me.