Brown Paper Bags and Rust

Archive, Leslie Avon Miller
11x14x1.25 on panel

Today is a wonderful day. I'm moving into my new studio! I am more than excited!

And today at the Virtual TART site, I have the pleasure of exhibiting Brown Paper Bags and Rust. My thanks to Dale Copeland who is a tireless advocate for collage and assemblage artists. Not only does she coordinate the International Collage Exchange each year, (a monumental task) she also provides on line exhibition opportunities for collage and assemblage artists.

Following is my statement for this series of work. You will be able to see all of the pieces at the Virtual TART site. This series features papers I have altered in many ways including rusting and painting, as well as mixed media and found objects.

Life is full of common and everyday objects and processes. In my work as an artist, I have been selecting and gathering commonplace artifacts of my generation and the generations that preceded me. This series of Brown Paper Bags and Rust honors the simple objects and processes of living that might go mainly unnoticed, but for me have beauty of texture, graceful form and patina of history.

As a mixed media artist I explore the process of creating and altering materials much as an archeologist or scientist explores remnants of the past or chemical reactions. Beginning with admiration for familiar objects, I slowly built up a collection of papers including brown paper, found vintage autograph book pages, washi papers and vintage packaging. Each paper has been altered, painted, stained, rusted and marked to make it my own. This process takes time, repeated applications and the curiosity of an explorer. There is no map.

The small objects placed in these works include family items such as old piano roll ends, collected items such as common office supplies, and worn out rubber stamps from my town's post office. Egg shells, rusty hinges, bamboo and waxed linen all appeal to me for their simple and familiar utility. Yet, when altered, combined and seen from a new perspective they create patterns and textures that please the eye and document the journey. The metaphor of this process with the process of living does not escape me. Explore, select, collect, alter, be altered, evolve, honor, combine, be beautiful, decay and become herstory.

My attempt has been to honor the pedestrian and the everyday, and to mark their place in the stream of life. I have also honored my own process of exploration, of creating and of marking my place in the same stream.

Collage Thoughts on the 12th International Collage Exchange

Collage is the twentieth century's greatest innovation.
~ Robert Motherwell

I love the art of collage. My own process of making collage is always evolving. I’m constantly exploring ways to alter papers, pushing composition, and trying different ideas.

One thing that is fairly constant in my process is to trust my instinct to tell me when the elements are just so.

Of late I have been laying papers on the support, arranging and rearranging, then pondering. Often I decide to remove something from the composition.

When I think I’ve got it I lay a piece of glass on top of the collage which flattens the whole composition so I can step back and take a good long look. Sometimes I just know the work is complete and other times I run a mental check list of elements and principals of design.

For me, the enjoyment is all about the process of creating, exploring, being authentic and striving to continue to grow as an artist.

When I started to attend workshops, I first studied with Pat Dews. I learned a lot! Pat says in her book Creative Composition and Design “As important as it is to understand the elements and principals of design, there is a lot to be said about something just looking and feeling “right.” Uniqueness in personal vision can be more important than technical skill. Nurture and stimulate your imagination. Listen to your intuition and go with your gut feeling.” Good advice.

Another artist who knows the joy of bringing pieces together to make a pleasing whole is Joan Schulze.

Working…

Collect, combine, define, compose,
discard, cover and peel.
Stop,
look, mark, cut,
refine, paste and press.
Focus,
shift, touch, observe,
decide…accept beauty.

~Joan Schulze 1999

with permission of the artist, from The Art of Joan Schulze.

Following are several of the collage I received in the just completed 12th International Collage Exchange, with links when available. Enjoy!





Journey 9, by Donna Watson



New York Times Series #6, by Jeanne E. Rohen



Window Tracing, by Mary Ellen Long



Untitled, by Renea Erickson




Oak #5, by Jeanne Mankinen


Jeanne's statement: This year my collages reflect my concern for the environment - including both animals and plants. I hope that humans will make progress in appreciating and caring for other species on our beautiful planet.




Affirmation 9, by Jette Clover



In Touch 13, by Cordula Kagemann

Contemporary Collage Art

I love an art which allows me to document my place in this mix... This is my past and my future. It has its own logic and finally, its own sense of fulfillment.

~Burton Silverman

Yesterday was a banner mail day because my exchange collage from the International Collage Exchange arrived. I got to sit down and look through my new collection, one by one. Each collage is unique and beautifully presented. They came from Germany, New Zealand, The United Kingdom, Belgium, Bulgaria and the USA. I’ll get them all scanned in and share some with you soon.

Collage artists often tend to behave like squirrels or pack rats, gathering all kinds of materials and storing them away for eventual incorporation into their art work.”

~Gerald Brommer

Does that sound like you? It certainly sounds like me!

The collage above is a new one of mine in my on-going experiment with abstracted figurative art, loosely based on my interpretations of tribal art. I have several more in process, awaiting resolution. I find it interesting to push and see just how abstract they can be and still read as a figure.

Sometimes I am asked about collage and techniques. If you are interested in collage I recommend the book Collage Techniques, A Guide for Artists and Illustrators by Gerald Brommer. It was published in 1994, and has fabulous examples from artists I admire including Katherine Chang Liu, Peggy Brown, Fred Otnes, Kurt Schwitters, Edward Betts, Alexander Nepote and many others.

Obviously, the newest techniques for digital collage are not discussed, as they hadn’t been invented yet. The topics Mr. Brommer discusses apply no matter your approach, including materials and techniques, subject matter and design. To learn more about the book go here.

Artist’s statements intrigue me. They are an important piece of graceful promotion of your art. I have discussed one of my favorite examples at my other blog, Create Your Best Life Coaching.

Have a great week everyone!

Studio Construction Update

Dispatch VI, mixed media collage, by Leslie Avon Miller



The work on the studio facility continues. It is so very exciting to see the progress. It echoes in the space now. I guess walls and a ceiling will do that! We were just talking today about how to finish the floors. Someone suggested a good material if I didn’t get too much water on the floor…I work in water media and boy, do I ever get water on the floor….back to the drawing board.

On the art front, my collages for the International Collage exchange have arrived in New Zealand. As I write this 94 artists are taking part. If you would like to see all of my collage for the exchange, you can find them at this link. When the work from all of the participating artists is posted, I’ll provide a link. It is a great online exhibition reflecting the state of collage art today.



Earlier this week I held a creativity teleclass. We discussed that being compelled to create is just the opposite of a creative block. We talked about the passion for creating our work, which can make the world disappear. In support of our creative passion we identified some means of dispelling our inner critical voice.

Passion pulls us towards something we can not resist. What is pulling you forward?

Because of the creativity call I am getting to know even more artists, some of whom are joining the creative coaching group, Re-Fresh Your Creative Practice currently forming. Some deeply committed and powerful artists are taking part in the group which begins March 23rd.

If you want to join us, or want to know more about the group agenda, send me an email to coach leslie @ olypen.com (remove the spaces).

Wishing all of us a creative weekend!

Buried Treasure

Today is Buried Treasure Day. Seth at the Altered Page has proposed that bloggers re-post something from the past. I started blogging in December. Looking through my past posts, this one was a nice reminder to let go of some uses of our time, so we can focus on the things that really matter to us.

This image is a collage from the 2008 International Collage Exchange. I’ve begun exploring the use of the color brown again. This collage is inspiration for me to strive for good rich browns, a color of the earth, in my current work.

For a complete list of Buried Treasure participants I have placed a link on my side bar. Enjoy!

Saying Yes, Saying No

A quiet satisfaction, a sense of anticipation.
Sorting, choosing, releasing.
Listening to myself.
Simplification.

Letting go of old ideas, paths once explored,
but now I turn back. Saying no, so I can say yes.
There is clarity in this action.
I feel the power.

Contemporary collage paintings.
Minimal softness,
textures, shapes and marks.
Non-objective mark of the artist.

Line and space.
Neutral colors of the earth
and of the rocks, of the elements.
Weather, time and thought my subject.

Deepening my voice with knowing and
the mystery of future discovery.

Yes.

My possibility is exquisite expansive
breathing room – to create.
Saying no, I have said yes, and now I find myself
standing inside the room with space, my studio.

My perspective has become more certain.

Incubation

Destination Series #11, By Donna Watson

By Laura Lein-Svencner

I write this post with dried white gesso on my finger tips. This week has been life, interrupted. Kurt had a foot surgery (and is doing fine, thank you), which has affected a real change in our routine. Which affects my art creating patterns. Which has been like being in another world – you know the one – ginger ale and ice packs, crutches and needing to watch movies. More than we watch typically by far. The best one to date has been Australia, with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.
So this evening, an unusual time for me to be in the studio, I was able to spend some time in my creative space. I have felt the sense of completion from the Bone Prayers, and was anticipating starting in a slightly different direction. But I have been out of the studio long enough that I have lost my place, so to speak. I know where I intended to go, but I’ve lost my flow.
So to get back into my groove I decided to make myself a painting for our mantel. I’m feeling the need for a change. I love homes that are decorated with great arty objects and arrangements. I looked at one of my decorating books, got some ideas and went for it. I’ll probably finish it tomorrow, and I’ll show it to you.
But it is time to get going with a new series. I have ideas. So I applied gesso to one of the big (for me anyway) panels, the ones that are 36 inches by 36 inches. That is a nice amount of space to work in. And I added a second coat of gesso to some other panels. That isn’t very exciting, but what happens for me when I do the repetitive work of brushing on gesso is that I realize I am in a state of incubation. The ripening kind. I can feel the anticipation as I lay the groundwork, and I think about what is to come.
This week the much anticipated collages from the International Collage Exchange arrived in my mail box. So I’m sharing a couple with you here. They were both a testimony to presentation – finished edges, crisp white paper support and care from the artist. One is by my friend Donna Watson, and one is from a collage artist whose work I enjoy, Laura Lein-Svencner.

The Intimate Conversation Series: International Collage Exchange 2009

Intimate Conversation 2 will be for sale at the International Collage site on April 1, 2009. I plan to donate the proceeds to the ICE cause. It is 6 inches by 6 inches.


Saying Yes is the one I kept for myself to commemorate this series of work. This one is 5.5 inches by 5.5 inches.



Intimate Conversation 1 is the piece for the permanent exhibit for this year. This one is 5.5 inches by 5.5 inches.





This is a collage of the pieces for this years exchange. They range in size from 4 inches by 4 inches to 6 inches by 6 inches.


An Intimate Conversation: The Artist's Statement

This series created for the International Collage Exchange 2009 is inspired by my value for connecting with people, which for me, is one of the functions of art. Using gestures as symbol, textures, a limited color palette, and creating from a meditative space, these pieces were created as conversations of nuance between the viewer and the maker. With these works I extend my hand in peace and friendship to you.

True Confessions

Collage for the International Collage Exchange 2009 by Leslie Avon Miller

Okay, I’m going to have to confess. I have a problem with choosing. Specifically choosing people. Because choosing some people in, means choosing some people out. It goes back to the 4th grade. Now, I have a healthy dislike of having objects flying towards my face at high rates of speed. Seems pretty logical to me. It’s a reflex action designed to avoid pain. So, when baseballs are thrown at me, I duck. I flinch. I even close my eyes. (In the scary parts of movies too.) So, I was never picked to play on somebody’s “side” in the school baseball games, right until next to last. (That other girl must have had an issue with baseballs too.) I was picked for lots of things; the school play, to be a friend, to sit with on the bus, but not for baseball. And it never felt good, even though I didn’t give a hoot about baseball. But I did care about being part of the group.

I just came across this quote: “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” That’s by Jane Howard, and I think she is right! And that is part of what goes on in the blog world. We connect on some level; liked mindedness, similar sense of humor, similar obsessions with art, or images, or words, but we connect.

Holly Friesen has a great blog of her art, and the motivation for her art at The Roaring Inside. I do recommend you look at her current work, and her explanation for it. Very powerful. And I am truly honored that she is giving me the PREMIO DARDOS award. “The prize is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. These stamps were created with the intention of promoting fraternization between bloggers, a way of showing affection and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.” And I am honored.

But my dilemma is that then I am supposed to pick 5 recipients on whom to bestow the award. And now I am back in 4th grade and I just can’t go there. So I am giving it to all of you. If you read this, you are an award winner in my eyes! Because I like you all, and I like our team. Just nobody throw a baseball my way, okay?

Her Studio Turned Red

Another yummy neutral piece for the International Collage Exchange.

Her studio turned red; the water, the work table, the towels and even her fingers. She dared not touch her tea mug for fear it too would turn red. Cool reds, warm reds, earthy reds, red reds. Reds she didn’t know she owned. Reds she mixed and said “hello” to. Were these yummy, or were these yucky? She didn’t know. She was learning to cook with a new spice. In the photograph, Mother Nature had done a spectacular job of adding reds in all tones to a vibrant but neutral winter landscape. Mother’s reds were so graceful, so eye-catching, and so satisfyingly perfect. Well, Mother had been at this longer than she. Intrigued, but spent for the evening, she was called to supper. Spaghetti red greeted her.

Of Dots and Falling in Love

This collage is another of my recent series. I’m rather fond of it. Perhaps this will be the one I keep for myself. I feel an interest in dots coming on….finger painting is so tactile. Perhaps a dotty name for this collage will come to mind.

Dave King at Pics and Poems blog brought up a discussion about liking art. Do you need to understand art to like it? Or is it enough to know you like it? That issue was pretty well discussed at his blog. I must say, Dave is good at causing me to think about things.

Years ago, I took a week long class at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. It was a large gathering, with many individual classes. It was a symposium of contemporary basket makers from all over the country. The structures made by contemporary basket makers are wondrous sculptures. I’ll add some links to some of my favorite artists.

The course I took was all about nurturing and developing ones own creativity. I was really excited! Here I was flying across the country and going to one of the well known national colleges of arts and crafts, to attend a gathering of many of the best know artists in contemporary basket making. I would be part of all that creative energy!

So I looked around for examples of my teacher’s work. And I discovered that, well, it was ugly. Really, well, ugly. I thought about changing classes. Still I was so very interested in working around development of my own creativity. So I just went anyway. I told myself I could work around the ugliness of the teacher’s own work. I would just ignore that part.

The first day in the class we did a lot of exercises. We “drew” with whole arm motions in the air. We drew lines with charcoal on paper, expressing emotions and qualities such as joy, excitement, and calm. Soon we had an assignment to make something using items in their opposite function. If it was a material usually used as a fastener, then we used it as the structure. If it was usually the structure, we used it as the fastener. I wound coils of metal wire and placed metal binder clips affixed to the wire, but the clips didn’t hold anything. It was a stretch to think in opposite directions, and I could tell my brain was working. We learned about critique, which is an art in itself; expressing truth while honoring someone else’s vision and execution in making an art object. We began to learn about telling a story, about having something to say with our art.

By the evening of day two I was invested in what I was doing, excited, and really getting value from the teacher’s guidance. And I really enjoyed who she was. I stayed up late at night along with everyone else to talk about art and creativity, to share what we were doing and to be part of that intense energy. The excitement in the air was palpable. The multiple conversations created a din of noise. But still, in the back of my mind, was the knowledge that my teacher’s own work was so unattractive to me.

Wednesday morning our class went to the auditorium and saw slides of our teacher’s work and listened to her talk about her work. She had started out as a painter. Her paintings were of faces of people, somewhat abstracted in a Picasso type of style. And the faces were always in relationship, looking in a similar direction, or at each other, or away from each other. Then her path took her to making of structures. Her structures were unique, made of thousands and thousands of knots of waxed linen, and did not have a cavity as a traditional basket. She called them contemporary baskets. And her structures were usually in relationship to one another. Touching, or leaning, or wound round one another. Or very alone. She began to tell us what these structures represented to her. They were her family members, her loved ones, in relationship with her. They experienced struggles as always occurs in families. Conflicts. Love. Hate. Differences. Breaking away and coming together. These were reflected in her work. No words, no objective images, but relationship, proximity, and gesture.

During the course of that work shop and in the hours we studied our teacher’s work I began to fall in love; with her work, and with her vision. Because I learned about the artist, and about her vision and who she is, my response to her work had completely changed.

Collage and Meme

This collage is for the International Collage Exchange 2009. The lower part has more texture in the white area than shows up in the photo.

MEME:
I have had a great day; I have responded to 3 memes. I signed up with the Painted Lady at Art-i-ture, with Jo Horswill at Mystory, and with Cynjon Noah at ~ ~ Varietist Muse ~ ~. So now I will rein myself in and stop, because I will be making 15 items to give away! Except as I move my studio I am finding all kinds of cool items I have stashed and forgotten about. The potential that I already have 15 items is great. I adopted the variation of recipient’s input from Painted Lady, which I changed to be input of a color.

The first 15 people who respond to this post will get something made by me. My choice, for you. BUT with some input from you... a color request.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. What I create will be just for you
2. I cannot guarantee you will like what I create (though I can hope!)
3. You will receive your item sometime before the end of the year
4. You will have no idea what the item is going to be but you will be allowed to add one color suggestion in your original response to this post.
5. You will have no clue what the item is going to be

The catch is you have to repost this meme and make and send out *five* surprises of your own.

Its fun! What you create could be a poem, a story, a photograph, or anything else you can think of. A babble, a bead, a bangle or cookies perhaps?

Collage and an Interview!

Between moving my studio to its new home across the driveway, working and keeping an eye on the inaugural events, I haven’t had much time for creating art. But the International Collage Exchange is due to be in New Zealand in late March, so I am focusing on making my collages for the exchange. This is one of them I have completed, but haven’t named yet.





There is an opportunity to buy collage in the International Collage Exchange during the month of April. Last year I bought the collage of Joan Schulze, an artist whose work I admire. Her collage is shown here. It is titled Long Nights. Joan states her series for the 2008 exchange is An Exercise In The Poetry of 13. I notice Joan has sent in her collage for this year’s exchange already.


I have had fun interviewing Ruth Armitage, who has a blog called Art is Truth. The link to her interview is here. Ruth is a fun loving artist who uses color and shape to express her ideas. Her work is often figurative. I particularly enjoy her piece called Shoe Shopping.

The Copeland Collection, Part 2

I love collage so last year when my package of collages arrived in the mail from New Zealand, I was thrilled. I am going to show you a few more I received, with permission of the artists. If you are considering participating this year, the link with instructions is here. The directions are pretty clear about sending in 13 collages (or fewer or more of them), 8 inches by 10 inches, to arrive in New Zealand by March 20, 2009.

However, even though getting that many original, one of a kind collages in the mail was wonderful, the best part was the push to make 13 or more collages. (I made a few extra, one for myself, and one to share.) It really did spark my creativity, and I created collage that I might not have had I not done such a large series.

I have a few tips for you. I didn’t title any of my collage, nor did I number them. So when I got my list from Dale, I had no idea how to know which artist got which of my collages. This year I will name them, or least number them. I made the package to Dale quite nice, neat and tidy, but I wish I had enclosed each individual collage in a clear bag to protect it, such as can be purchased here. I like to work in a square format, so I made my collage smaller, and then mounted them onto 8 inch by 10 inch water color paper, which was a lovely presentation.

I found I could complete 3 resolved good collages with a full day in the studio, except when I could only get two. You know how that is. I also mailed my collage by March 1, to allow for shipping time. I am telling you this so you have some kind of idea of the time it took me.

When I received my collage from Jette Clover, Gothic Pages 10, I was thrilled to find she has a great web site. She describes her medium as art quilts, which she says is constructed like collage. She tells us her work is as much about touch as it is about vision. Believe me; I have touched the piece I received. It is rich with tactile texture; layers, stitches, and the weave of the cloth, as well as paper. I am showing you the collage I received form Jette, and the one featured in Dale’s book, The Copeland Collection. Jette’s website is rich with photos of her large and small work.

I am showing you the collage I did last year which Dale choose to keep for her collection. Of course, I was honored! It's the work with the two figures, untitled. In return I received one of Dale’s yummy collages, which I will post in the near future. Dale also choose my collage to include in her book, page 55.

Sometime next week I will do another International Collage post, and show you more from my collection, with permission of the artists.

Elucidation Give Away

There is reason for a celebration today….this is the one month anniversary of Textures Shapes and Color. My, but its fun to have a blog! So, to mark this occasion, there is a blog gift available. Yes. Elucidation, (7 x 7) the piece above, will be sent off to live with one of you. So even if you don’t create collage, you can have one, just like all the people in the International Collage Exchange. Simply leave your comment about this post, and next week my cute husband will draw a lucky winner’s name from a basket. (Did I tell you I used to weave organic style baskets?) I have noticed in the give aways at other blogs, the drawing is often done by cute children, or talented pets. I am fresh out of cute kids, and our three kitties, charming as they are, have seldom cooperated with much of anything. So, cute husband will draw the name of the winner on Monday evening, the 12th of January. Maybe kitties will help him. Or not.
I am going to be engaged in other activities over the next several days, so I doubt there will be any new posts from me, but I will check comments and perhaps even post a new photo or two.
Now for your reading pleasure, here is a treat. My friend Niya, an accomplished artist, designer and writer, has written a story, as have several other people. Those stories are published at Curly Red Stories here. She mentions a title she submitted to the web site What Was I Thinking (58 bad boyfriend stories). Niya’s story is entitled Jon Boy. A piece of her lovely red art work is there for your viewing pleasure as well. Enjoy!

Also, in the previous post on this blog is a lovely comment from an artist from Lisboa, Portugal, Jose Brito. He is creating some wonderful dramatic work, a series on communication. He uses a lot of darks. Do go take a peek. Perhaps leave him a comment.

Good luck in the drawing!

Collage! Collage! Collage!

I just love collage! After a day of painting I sometimes sit in the evening and make small collage on my lap. These are between five and six inches square. I gather and sort papers by color and get started. Some of the papers have been used in the studio to remove paint or apply paint in the larger works. I sort, place, consider, move little pieces around and begin adhering the papers. Sometimes I take them back to the studio for an application of paint. That’s how I got the little black marks on some of these. Sometimes I draw on them. I love to do that, but I am a little unsure of myself in that regard. An attitude of play might help me out with that. These collages may eventually be destined for the International Collage Exchange for this coming year, 2009. I like these just the way they are, but maybe I’ll add a bit of pencil work for fun.

Today Mary Ann at Blue Sky Dreaming talked about a statement of intention for her new art direction for 2009. I am inspired by her discussion. Each year I pick an aspect of design to focus on. Textures come easily to me, and are a natural area of strength. I love shapes but I could really be more assertive in this regard. And I have worked on color; particularly the aspect of value and contrast even in my high key work. I have added mark making to my focus. I have room to learn more on all of these areas, but I am enjoying playing with shapes. That little curve at the top of the gray and white stripes is part of an arch from a stencil. I like it a lot. So I will continue to play with adding more assertive shapes. I’m currently working on my communication series which is all about connection. I will continue to do so. Connecting with all of you via my blog and yours has been a lot of fun, and has provided lots of inspiration too.

Pray for Peace

What could you create in a world at peace?

Make the brushing of your hair a prayer, every strand its own voice, singing in the choir on your head. As you wash your face, the water slipping through your fingers, a prayer: Water, softest thing on earth, gentleness that wears away rock.
Making love, of course, is already prayer. Skin, and open mouths worshipping that skin, the fragile cases we are poured into.
Pull weeds for peace, turn over in your sleep for peace, feed the birds, each shiny seed that spills onto the earth, another second of peace. Wash your dishes, call your mother, drink wine.

Ellen Bass's fourth book of poems, The Human Line, was published by Copper Canyon Press in June 2007.

I found Ellen's poetry on line today. I asked her if I could share some with you. She was happy to have you read her work. These are just a few stanzas of her poem which is avaliable in its entirety at her web site, along with a few others.

So I have been thinking about this poem today. Yes, the Zen of feeding the birds, making love, or washing our hair is a prayer, so certainly the movement of a brush across our canvas is a prayer, as is the thought behind it. Make art, make a prayer for Peace. It’s all good.

This piece is another of my collages from last year’s International Collage Exchange.