September ATC - 01

 This postcard has been lying around for awhile and finally I finished it.

Post Vegas Retreat - 04

 

There is a lot going on in this piece.  For me there is a circular movement that keeps on going.

Post Las Vegas Retreat - 03

 

This is perhaps my favorite of all the collages from the Las Vegas series.  I backed the packing tape transfer of the man on the left with a gelli print that I had made.  The transfer allows the gelli piece to show through.

Post Las Vegas Retreat - 02

 

There are three packing tape transfers plus a photo in this piece.  Can you find the two images of women.  One is obvious and one is not.  Look closely.

Post Las Vegas Retreat - 01

 

While in Vegas I completed 17 collages.  Since being home I needed to finish four pieces in that series and did so this weekend.  In this piece I overlayed a packing tape transfer onto an image from a wine label.

Las Vegas Retreat - 17

 

I created this postcard as a warm up the first day of the Las Vegas Retreat.  I like how it turned out.  Can you find the humor in this piece?

Las Vegas Retreat - 16

 

In this series I was not worried about making the composition unified.as a narrative necessarily.

Las Vegas Retreat - 15

 

So many elements.  Do they go together.  Maybe not, maybe so.

Las Vegas Retreat - 14

 

There are many textured papers in the background.  The paper was brittle but now has a second life in a collage.

Las Vegas Retreat - 13

 There is a lot going on in this collage.  I did all the backgrounds first in this series before adding focal points.

Las Vegas Retreat - 12

 

Mr. Potatohead is not an image I would have normally used but he works here with the colorful background.

Las Vegas Retreat - 11

 

I have used Le Roy Brown in several pieces that I have done.  That is because I have many letters addressed to that name.  I like the grid feeling in the background.

Las Vegas Retreat - 10

 

This one really works for me.  If you look closely you will see Elizabeth Taylor’s image repeated.  The image of the man and woman came from a vintage magazine.  The red paper had specks of papers imbedded in it.  I like how this specks and the piece over the man’s head work together.

Las Vegas Retreat - 09

 

I love how the monochromatic tones worked in this piece.  I was not sure about cutting part of the photograph and leaving part but I thing it works.  

Las Vegas Retreat -08

 

There are times that I just do not know where an image comes from and that is the case for this photograph.  It was larger and I cropped it and it is vintage.  Maybe I got it when I taught collage workshops.

Las Vegas Retreat - 07

 

Do you ever get the question….What does it mean?  I always turn that around and ask, “What does the piece mean to you?”

Las Vegas Retreat - 06

 

I find that the warmth of the red makes this collage.

Las Vegas Retreat -05

 

Lots of faces going on here.  Why not!?

Las Vegas Retreat - 04

 

I love weaving strips of words within a vintage photograph.  Thanks for that tip Jack Ravi.

Las Vegas Retreat - 03

 

I did bring photographs with me to Vegas, but I used “found” ephemera from the other participants.

Las Vegas Retreat - 02

 

The fun part of attending an art retreat is finding just the right ephemera from other artists’ ephemeral stash.

Las Vegas Retreat - 01

 

For four days at the end of August five artists gathered in Las Vegas for an art retreat.  We rented a house and spent each day working on creating books with original collages.  What an amazing time we had!

Round Table

 

This was to be my third entry in the NW Collage Society Fall Show.  Simple but effective.  Not selected for the show.

Spirit

 

This is the second entry in the NW Collage Society Show Fall 2023.  I love the use of negative space.  It was not selected for the show, however.

Lemon Drop

 

The NW Collage Society Fall  Show 2023 opens in October.  I am submitting this piece to that show.

August ATC - 11

 

I am so loving smashing bottle caps for art.  Just works.

August ATC - 10

 

Lots going on in this ATC.  One might call it busy!

August ATCs - 09

 

Nothing I dislike with this one.

August ATCs - 08

 

Total confusion!

August ATCs - 07

 

Again, can you see the lightbulb in the background?

August ATCs - 06

 Just pleasing.

August ATCs - 05

 Can you see the lightbulb filament in the background?

August ATCs - 04

 

The red and yellow in the background came from an old rice paper Japanese umbrella.  The circles come from scanning a Costco Kleenex box.

August ATCs - 02

 

The background and middle ground plus the photograph came together in minutes.  I love when that happens.  Maybe I should try setting a clock and see what happens

August ATCs - 01

 

Just working on ATCs with a pile of scrap ephemera.  Love how with a limited pile something can be created. :-)

August Postcards. - 04

 

I mostly work with postcards in the landscape format.  I guess the repeated photo of the sailor and his girlfriend made me change my mind for this one.

August Postcards - 03

 

I so like how this postcard turned out.  I am loving mixing black and white with color and also sepia in this case.  

August Postcards - 02

 I photographed this postcard just now and did not notice that a small tiny piece of ephemera must have fallen off or not been added to the piece.  Can you find where that is?  Yup, it is just below the big 3.

August Postcards - 01

 

I will be heading out next week to meet up with Terry, Brian, Irene, and Jacki and I am busily working on creating art to post while on that trip.  I am driving with a friend to Las Vegas and so I won’t have time to do any art until I get to Vegas for our art retreat.  So a series of postcards seemed appropriate.

ATC - Just Been Waiting to Be Finished

 

I found the photograph image quite some time ago and pasted it on an ATC sized piece of watercolor paper.  It sat staring at me and I just was not sure what I was going to do with it.  Finally within 5 minutes it came together and here it is.  Simple but works. :-)

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 09

 

I imagine this lady has a treasure of stories to tell.  Doesn’t everyone?

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 08

 

It is so much fun to sit and create from whatever is in a pile on the table.  Pretty amazing actually what goes together to create a narrative.

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 07

 

Third man from the original photo of these distinguished gentlemen.

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 06

 

Love how this one turned out.  Isn’t that hat amazing?

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 05

 

I love the pride in this man’s face.  Other men he was sitting with will appear in other ATCs.

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 04

 

Every once in awhile I make an ATC that opens up.  They are fun to do.

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 03

 

Can’t you just see the love that bounces off this photo between the older brother and the little guy?

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 02

 

I am so into using bottle caps in collage.

A Few ATCs During Covid Summer 2023 - 01

 

Not much energy here but I have tried to work a bit.  It has taken days just to finish one ATC,  I used the Chinese Covid test stamp from the test box in this piece.