Some New (old) Pieces on Etsy

Today I listed some older framed collage pieces in my Etsy store. "Second Notice" is a collage I made 24 years ago (!) and is from a series I made using scraps of paper (bills, invoices, canceled checks, receipts) that I collected from my grandparents house after they passed on. "Shroud" is a collage that I made in 1995, shortly after moving to Savannah. "Bookworm" is a piece that I started in 2001. I wasn't real happy with it so I filed it away for a couple of years and finally finished in 2006. I'm quite pleased with all three pieces, and would love to find good homes for them.

Second Notice. 1984. collage. 7-3/4 x 7-3/4 in. framed

Second Notice (detail)


Shroud. 1995. collage, shellac, graphite, and pencil. 8-3/4 x 7 in. framed.

Shroud (detail)


Bookworm. 2001-2006. collage, ink, gesso, and shellac. 8-1/4 x 7 in. framed.

Bookworm (detail)

What the Pictures Sound Like

So where do the ideas come from? It depends, but most times I try to work intuitively within a predetermined set of guidelines (specific materials, display format, size, etc.). Afterwards I may notice some connection between a finished piece and something I may have recently read, seen, or listened to. For this post I'd like to give two examples of the latter.

Planet of Sound. 2006.
collage, pastel, gouache, ink, and gesso on paper, mounted on glass.
8-1/4 x 7-1/2 in. (framed)

This piece sat around half-finished (the bottom half) for several months - the mirrored solid shape at the bottom center was clipped from an old geometry textbook, the form of which reminded me of an example of brutalist architecture. The piece was finally resolved when I paired the bottom half with a leftover scap from another collage for the top half. The boxy form at the top again reminded me of architecture, but with rays or beams entering (or exiting?) from a hole in the roof. Once the piece was finished I knew the title would be Planet of Sound, after the UFO-inspired song by the Pixies from their 1991 album Trompe le Monde:

Next up is a more recent piece:

Inca Dinka Doo. 2008.
collage, ink, gesso, pencil, and shellac on paper, mounted on glass.
8-1/4 x 7-1/2 in. (framed)

This collage is a jigsaw of leftover scraps from other projects. The trick is to both get the pieces to literally fit together (just like a jigsaw puzzle), and to balance everything visually. The completed collage reminded me of a wall of Inca masonry (see photo below), which then lead to the title for the piece, which I cribbed (and bastardized) from the old Jimmy Durante chestnut, Inka Dinka Doo.

Inca stone wall (photo courtesy flickr)

Due to copyright restrictions I couldn't find a video of Durante performing Inka Dinka Doo. However, here's Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin performing Inka Dinka Doo as part of a Durante tribute on The Frank Sinatra Timex Show, October 19, 1959 (it's a long clip well worth watching; the song starts at around 2:20):

Finally - just to show how everything's related, here's Jimmy Durante performing In Outer Space (We're Going UFOing):

Encaustic Collage

I've spent some time in last month or so experimenting with encaustic painting in preparation for an encaustic collage workshop I hosted as part of SCAD's annual Art Materials Trade Show. It's an interesting medium to work in - the main elements are wax and heat. The process is well suited for collage because you can embed materials such as paper and cloth between the layers of wax, and you can easily transfer xeroxed images onto the tacky wax surface. Here are some examples of what I've been making (the first two pieces are available on Etsy):

Building Blocks. 2008.
encaustic, oil pastel, and collage on panel.
6-1/2 x 6-1/2"

Aviary. 2008.
encaustic and collage on panel.
4-1/2 x 4-1/2"

Not Titled. 2008.
encaustic, oil pastel, and collage on panel.
6-1/2 x 6-1/2 in.

Update:
These paintings are now available at ShopSCAD (with the exception of Aviary, which was purchased on Etsy).

Viewfinder Photography

A few weeks ago I saw this post on Boing Boing linking to a Flickr pool of digital photos taken through the viewfinders of old cameras. A week or so later I bought an old Argoflex 75 twin lens reflex camera on ebay which finally arrived a few days ago. So, this weekend I spent a few hours adapting it to take photos through the viewfinder using our digital camera, and took a few outdoor shots with my "new" camera:

This is the camera after I removed the top viewfinder covering
and super-glued the lens back into place.

Here's a photo of the camera, along with the hood I made out of
black foam board to hold the digital camera in place.

A view of the camera with the handmade adapter.
The lens of the digital camera fits into the circular hole at the top.

Here's a view looking down through the top of the adapter to the viewfinder of the camera.
The digital camera focuses on the image shown in the viewfinder.


Here's some test shots I took today in our back yard:

More New Items on Etsy

I've listed some more new items on my Etsy store, including several pieces made of fragments of old lantern slides. Click on pictures below for links to each item.





Update (11/7/2008):
The first item is now available for purchase at ShopSCAD (the other pieces have been purchased on Etsy).

New Items on Etsy

I have listed several new collage magnets on my Etsy store. Each collage is made of all original vintage stuff (nothing is scanned or digitally manipulated), so every piece is unique. Click on pictures below for link to each item.


Update (11/7/2008):
These items are now available for purchase at ShopSCAD.

PBN-INRI

PBN-INRI. 2008.
crayon and oil pastel on vellum.
16 x 13 in.