contemporary collage paintings
the process
Leslie Avon Miller

My life flows when I'm in my art.


Jean De Muzio

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Scraps of Time and Paper








Priceless Gifts


An empty day without events.
And that is why
it grew immense
as space. And suddenly
happiness of being
entered me.

I heard

in my heartbeat
the birth of time
and each instant of life
one after the other
came rushing in
like priceless gifts.




Gathering scraps, I pieced together many minuscule bits, arranging, adding, gluing, and tearing apart.

The tiny bits blended with one another, beginning a new whole; a thing, a composition, a space in time born of smallness and insignificant scraps of paper. A picture of my time. 

Time is the music of our being.  
It is to us what water is to fish.


~ Jessica Julian




In this world, there are two times.
There is mechanical time and there is body time. 

The first is as rigid and metallic as a 
massive pendulum of iron that swings 
back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. 

The second squirms and wriggles like a bluefish in a bay. 

The first is unyielding, predetermined. 

The second makes up its mind as it goes along.

~ Alan Lightman


 one moment, one chance

 
She had always felt
that the essence of human experience
lay not primarily in the peak experiences, 
the wedding days and triumphs 
which stood out in the memory like dates
circled in red on old calendars, 
but, rather, in the unself-conscious 
flow of little things--the weekend afternoon
with each member of the family
engaged in his or her own pursuit,
their crossings and connections casual,
dialogues imminently forgettable,
but the sum of such hours creating a synergy
which was important and eternal.


~ Dan Simmons


Happy New Year my friends. 
May 2012 bring us all 
ample creative bluefish times.

34 comments:

  1. coincidence! ive just blogged about small scraps....love your work here and wishing you a happy and healthy 2012

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  2. Leslie, wishing you a happy and creative 2012! Inspiring photos and text.

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  3. Love the bluefish analogy - it's lazy summer swimming for me but the studio beckons, xoxoxo

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  4. Fun to see your book of bits! Love the Anna Swir poem. yes, wishing you many happy moments with paper and paint and whatnot in this new year.

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  5. not mass produced - Lovely small scrap book at your blog. Readers - if you would like to enter a drawing to receive the small book, pop on over to the not mass produced blog!

    Eric - thank you and wishing you all the best for creativity in 2012!

    Noela - I feel very bluefishy at the moment, and I hope for many more!

    Carole - It's a lovely idea - an empty day without events, unscheduled and free to unfold.

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  6. oh, so true....that favorite kind of time, slow~flow.
    possibilities.
    happy new year, leslie...i appreciated all our little touching of bases this last year.

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  7. Love your little book of bits! I have to get out my artist journal and do a couple pages, I've let it sit too long... Thank you for posting your very inspirational poems and photos! Happy New Year! :)

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  8. And Timeless time. Oxymoron or bliss. It Is.

    Wonderful quotes.

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  9. What an absolutely beautiful book, Leslie. I love your delicate hand with neutrals.
    I wish all the best to you in the new year.

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  10. I love your collages very very much!
    I wish you a happy new year with much of body time!

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  11. It is to us what water is to fish ..... indeed! Time to swim...wallow in. What more could one wish for especially at this time of the year. Your post is delicious, Leslie. Such beautiful words and the images of your book lull me into peaceful reverie.

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  12. Thank you for your New Year wishes, I hope you have a successful and prosperous New Year.
    Your book of scraps and pieces is a perfect example of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts - wonderful!

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  13. Leslie, many thanks for your wishes.
    your post is once again great, especially your collage book!
    I wish you a creative year 2012, health and happiness!

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  14. I love your link between scraps of paper, and moments of time - it seemed to piece together the journey of life -precious moments and scraps - the quoted words are a real celebration - thank you Leslie

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  15. Your blend of tiny bits is a wonderful metaphor of how the tiny bits of our lives blend to create a life composition. And your journal inspires me!

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  16. a wonderful wish/blessing/command/thought. it works all ways for me. thank you. i return it to you with my own admonition. happy new year.

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  17. You begin with "An empty day without events" and grows richer from there! Your photos and quotes speak of stretches of time lifting and moving bits about the work table. 2012...Time in studio.

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  18. perfect and poignant, Leslie. Hoping we both bluefish our way to 2013

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  19. Unscheduled and free.
    May there be much of that in your 2012 Leslie.
    And many scraps and tons of paper flowing abundantly.
    As always, I love your images here,,,,

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  20. I've been following your collages on tumblr, but here is a rare treat to see them in process.

    Maybe we are all gathering our scraps..

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  21. A very happy New Year to you Leslie. I look forward to seeing how the year unfolds for you on this blog. And can I say...even your 'scraps' look like works of art to me!!

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  22. love
    each
    scrap
    and word
    dancing...

    yes,
    this is how I feel

    time as water,
    yes
    beautiful...

    happy new year Leslie!

    xox - eb.

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  23. love
    each
    scrap
    and word
    dancing...

    yes,
    this is how I feel

    time as water,
    yes
    beautiful...

    happy new year Leslie!

    xox - eb.

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  24. Leslie - a you've captured a lovely moment and soem lovely experiences here, thanks you for sharing. I think the bit that stopped me was " an empty day without events. And that is why it grew immense as space. And suddenly happiness of being entered me". I long for that day - when it all waits empty ...So beautiful. I am going in search of that day!

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  25. LAM- I love the idea that all of art is about gathering scraps be they material or thoughts. Thanks for your 2012 wishes - may your year be filled with creative scraps. B

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  26. Leslie, those poems illuminated your work giving it additional meaning to me. Time is such a captivating theme! Best wishes for 2012

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  27. Happy New Year to you! Loved your post.

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  28. i enjoy seeing your desk and notebook in which you collage. i had two big boxes of paper scraps, ones i moved all the way up here with me. i dumped most of them recently but am sure more scraps will accumulate.

    a creative 2012 to you.

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  29. What a lovely mix of poetry and your scraps and papers and scrap books.. all lovely musings for the new year.

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  30. Hello,

    wath a great protject!
    I like it.

    Greatings send you Conny

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  31. wishing you wonderful things in 2012 Leslie!
    Always love spotting a Leslie Miller original at Tumblr...

    Go well!
    Sophie

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  32. Love your work- and think that each scrap that meets another scrap forms a new artistic creation. Happy healthy new year- with priceless gifts to be found- within each and every day - timeless heartbeats in art. Jill

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  33. I love the happy mess your table is in.

    Looks like a wonderful stream of consciousness.

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  34. I really love your blog and creativity - it's truly inspiring and I've nominated you for the One Lovely Blog Award.

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