How To Grow A Collage Or, Scaling Up

Have you ever wanted to grow a few inches taller? I have. I've also wished that my work would spontaneously sprout up. No such luck! In May however, I took Finding Your Own Artwork, a process workshop with artist Sara Post at Pacific Northwest Art School.

Sara asked each of us to choose a focus. I decided to try making larger collages. For three days I learned about ratios and worked faster than usual to override the nagging voices in my head. At the end of the workshop, I had the bones for several large pieces.

The process was energizing and exhausting but now I have a large stack of collage fodder to work with.

I'm creating a series of works like Respite at a larger scale. They'll be part of an online exhibition with Artburst Studios.

In the meantime, I'm curious to hear from you. Many people work easily in large sizes and others struggle to scale up. And it goes both ways. Those who work large find it difficult to go small. How about you? What direction do you want to grow in?

New Work And A Change of Plans

New Work

For some time now I’ve been thinking about how to reduce my footprint on this earth. Considering that I was using a generous amount of mat medium and acrylic paints, I spent several years forswearing them and then buying them, repeating this cycle until I accepted that I wasn’t about to give up acrylics. But perhaps I could work on the paper and glue end of things...

I’d had my eye on the thin, almost translucent brown paper bags our local bakery used. I collected them, but not quite sure what to do with them, they sat until last fall when I found myself collecting the paper wrappers from baguettes in Paris. (Bread bags? Most visitors to Paris are more interested in reproductions of Monet or a Hermes scarf.)

Reflecting on the bags, I thought about how they’d held something delicious. The container that held bread could now be a container of memories.

And that ignited an idea: the French word for memories is “souvenirs” and my wrappers were just that. On my return, I began to paint and construct collages using the bags, a limited palette of dark tan (the bags), white, titanium buff and indigo. I incorporated pieces of the bags’ text, along with vintage papers containing bits of poetry. Using a glue stick to put the papers together, I realized that I could limit the mat medium to a final layer, reducing the amount of plastic in each piece.

I love the idea of using cast offs and imbuing them with a new purpose. The initial pieces had very few references to botanical themes, which had figured heavily in my previous work. As I continued the series, I pondered ways to reintroduce that element. I decided that now that the sun has returned to our island, I’ll make wet cyanotypes, cut into strips utilizing papers that have been recycled. So the cycle continues.

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Fresh Lemonade, Monoprint Collage, 20 x 15”

The Artery Continued

My exhibit at the Artery in Davis, CA has gone well, so well, that it has been extended through May. I’ve added some pieces to replace what has sold and to bring a slightly different perspective to the remaining pieces. If you haven’t had a chance to visit yet, now’s the time for a spring stroll to the Artery and a good cup of coffee down the street at Temple coffee.

If you’re not in Davis, you can easily browse the work on my website. If you like something and have questions, I’m here.

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Tea Papers and A Change of Plans

I said I would teach a camp style workshop in July, however, because of time away for happy family events, I now need the time to prepare for an exhibit with Artburst in November.

Instead, I want to share my tea paper process with you. I’m loving using these papers in my collages. They’re a quick way to ecoprint, and in addition to paper dyed with the teabags and teabag paper for collage, you get a delicious cup of tea. You might want to invite a friend over for tea and try it!

Materials: a mug, some paper, scissors and a bowl.

Brew a cup of tea. Green tea and black tea work well.

2) After steeping, place the teabag on a piece of paper. I’ve used watercolor paper and bristol paper, and both work well, but there’s lots of room for exploration.

Repeat this process until you’ve got as many teabags drying on the paper as you wish. This usually takes me several days to fill the paper and then several more until they dry.

3) Once the teabags are dry, use scissors to clip off the top fold with the staple and tag. Have your bowl handy. Turn the teabag upside down and empty the dry tea into a bowl. (You can compost this or dispose of it in the waste basket.) Once you’ve emptied the bag, very carefully open the seam of the bag with your fingers and...voila!

Here's an example of how I’ve used the tea papers taken from the collage at the top of this note. I look forward to seeing what you do with them!

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The Art of Small Moments

Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in an online opening for RIWS Pattern and Abstraction. I'd never been to an online opening and didn't know what to expect. I prepared a statement because Pink Magic, (above) had received an honorable mention. Writing down my thoughts became a verbal portal to the piece, enriching a process and result which in my mind, had previously been non-verbal. (Find my thoughts here.)

What surprised me was that simply by writing about my piece, I became committed to experiencing the exhibit online. I'm not sure why that was but during the opening, the presenter asked artists to offer remarks and carefully took us through the exhibit of 45 works, one by one.

Like many of us, when I go to a live opening, I float between the pieces that attract me. Here, I was in my studio and had the chance to absorb each artist's work as it appeared, examining the image on my screen while I tried to understand their inspiration and how they brought those ideas into form.

The experience was simultaneously relaxing and energizing. There was so much to investigate and I was able to take notes about ideas I wished to follow up on.

Of course there is nothing like seeing art work in real space and time! Nevertheless, my hope is that online exhibits with openings allow us to travel far from our home and studios and experience even more art with the artists who created it.

Pink Magic is currently in the online Pattern and Abstraction show but you can see and purchase it in person on here.

Finding A Place For My Art To Live

A Gallery in the woods

Like most of us, navigation has been a theme for me during the last several years. Recently I’ve turned my navigational skills to placing my work in the community. How I could get more of my work in front of more people locally?

Two local artists suggested Cultus Bay Glass Art Gallery. The owner, John deWit, a glass artist, pairs paintings with ceramics and glass, curating inviting arrangements which make me want to get out my own wallet. I made an appointment, framed several pieces and headed over.

John and I spoke, figured out prices and now they are in the gallery looking really sharp! If you’re in the area, I invite you to visit this unique gallery, located next to Seabiscuit Cafe and Mukilteo Coffee roasters, for a wonderful excursion.

Cultus Bay Art Glass Gallery

3230 Lake Leo Way, Langley, WA 98260

Thursday - Sunday, 10 -3

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Deer Lagoon Travels

In the Studio

This winter, in lieu of hibernation, I’m allowing myself free rein in the studio. I’m putting aside concerns of “will I be able to show or sell this?” It’s all about experimenting. It sounds simple, but the “show/sell” mindset is one that I’ve operated within for many years. Deconstructing it is a daily practice and it turns out, a pleasurable one. I’m trying a number of different techniques and know that they will lead me somewhere that I can’t yet imagine.

The Gentle Art of Reframing

With rising birdsong, carpets of golden dandelions, and baby bunnies, spring is an infectious season where joy comes easily.

Into this season of birth and rebirth, my granddaughter Sophie was born two weeks ago and I was fortunate enough to visit soon after she arrived.

Covid also made a visit to our family. First to three-year-old Sammie, then me, and the rest of the family followed. To make life easier, I moved into a hotel.

There, I dove into You Tube videos of artists I'd heard about but hadn't taken the time to study. Some of my favorites: a wild and wonderful discussion with inkmaker Jason Logan and a documentary of the Gees Bend Quilters. I also traveled to Australia with Fibre Arts Take Two.

Back home and recovering, I realize it’s important to widen my viewing arc beyond Instagram and to nourish myself on what's taking place farther afield. For me, these new images and ideas are an important means of renewal, my own artistic spring. And that's also where many of the ideas for my Monoprint Collage with Antique Papers are drawn from. Both classes are now full, but if you’re interested in a possible fall class, please email me.