More Collage Work for Claudine Hellmuth's Class

My Composition for Collage online class with Claudine Hellmuth is nearly over.  It's amazing how much I've learned in one month!  I'm spending so much more time on each piece - sometimes what seems like an excessive amount of moving/ adding/ deleting and lots of walking away .  Sometimes all a piece needs is for quiet time; it behaves so much better when you reappear.

The piece above was for the vignette style class.  This seemed more intuitive to me than some of the other styles.  The vignette is an arrangement  of smaller size images, grouped together so there is a "border" around it with no images and at least one of the corners is an empty spot for the eye to rest.

I made this on a canvas that I primed with gesso and painted a soft off-white.  I stamped a few images around the edge to add some interest and rubbed some ink around the whole canvas to pick up the color of the stamping.

The bird was rescued from the New York Times Style magazine  I blogged about recently.  I didn't have any nest image or stamp that would work, so I cut text from an old book and rubbed it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Then I cut some small strips from a piece of linen and arranged the strips into a nest of sorts - fun!  Here's a closer look:

 

 

 

 

The eggs came from an old Cavallini catalog; they were much too big, so I trimmed them down so it didn't look like the poor birdie laid ostrich eggs.  I added a strip of paper from a wire-bound notebook and threaded a small piece of brown and gold string through the holes.

 

The background sheet music goes with the bird theme and the striped piece behind that picks up the gold from in the bird.  I added the "b"and the red postage stamp to pick red in the bird and keep the eye moving in the piece. 

 

So check out the difference in these two pieces.  The one on the left was my first try and Claudine explained that the "b" on the upper left would work better if skooched  down just a bit.  Now I know the term "bad tangency" - two. lines almost  but not quite touching create a tension that draws the eye to that spot  and keep it there.   The "b" on the left is just barely touching the sheet music - a bad tangency.

 

I moved the letter down just a bit on the piece on the right, and then moved the postage down a little so the two elements aren't directly across from each other - much better.  The "b" bothered me and I asked Claudine about it when I posted this piece.  Seems our instinct can tell me something is off - wish it could also tell how to fix it.  But now I can be on the lookout for those bad, very bad, tangencies!

Driftwood and Shell Wall Hanging

This spot by the door needed something .  We live near the beach and I have buckets of shells and driftwood.  What better than a beach-inspired fish?

 

I started with a cheapo  $5.00 metal fish from the Christmas Tree Shop.  I knew those fins weren't really what I wanted, but charged on anyway.  Bad idea - more on that later.

 

 

 

I knew there would be some small gaps in the driftwood and shells, so I sprayed the fish with some dark blue paint from my stash.  The gaps aren't so noticeable with a darker background.  Nothing glued down yet, just playing with placement.

 

 

I sorted out the shells by size and made a pile of driftwood so once I started gluing I wouldn't be rummaging through a pile of stuff.  I didn't need all the shells, but wanted to have a good selection.  I've made other driftwood and shell projects  and it always takes lots more of each than you'd think it would.

 

 

 

What glue to use ?  Always an issue!  I've been seeing references to E6000 with glowing reviews, so decided to give it a try.  I used the Quick Hold kind and think it's a keeper -  set quickly and everything is stuck tight.

 

 

I glued down the driftwood on the face first, then started with the mussel shells.  As I got near the fins, I realized they had to go.  Since I had already glued some shells down, cutting the fins off with tin snips didn't work, so I bent the fins behind the fish. Even then I had to re-glue some of the shells.   Next time I'd cut the darn fins off first!

 

I alternated the direction of the shells in each row - curved side toward the top on one row, straight side on the next.  Then more driftwood on the tail and my fish was done.

 

 

Those bent-in fins did come in handy for hanging.  The Captain banged a couple of nails into the siding, then bent them into a hook shape and they fit under the fins to hold the fish tight to the wall.

 

Loving my new fish!

 

(Check out the link party going on over at The 36th Avenue  for  all sorts of fantastic DIY projects and tutorials.  I linked my fishie there, too).

New York Times Style Magazine

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I love The Style Magazine, but not because I live in the world of high fashion; I inhabit a much lower plane.  The magazine is fun eye-candy and I like wondering about who actually wears  the sometimes totally out-there fashions. The truth is, I  mostly study it for images I could glue onto paper.  Kind of sad, but I'm good with it.

I got to thinking about how to describe my fashion style.  First, "style" might be stretching things.  I finally settled on "love-child of Annie Hall and Ralph Lauren, conceived in a thrift store".  My wardrobe prominently features thrifted items and the occasional splurge purchase.

I do have some standards.  There are things I never wear; they just don't work for me and if they work for you, I'm not judging!  Here's my never -ever list:
     * Sweatpants
     * Sweatshirts (the pullover kind).  I make exception to the occasional zip hoodie if it has some     panache, like this one I snagged last week at a  thrift store.  It's really a light sage green with black swirls.
    
  

     * Tee shirts (or anything else)  with animals, cartoon characters, logos or other commentary

     * Denim skirts

     * Crocs - I do have a pair that my friend SRC gave me.  She loves them; I'm only able to wear them as far as the driveway and then only if I can't find anything else.

What I do wear:
     * V-neck knit shirts - black or white and with sleeves
     * Fun print skirts
     * Jeans
     * Scarves
     * White button-up shirts
     * Fitted jackets
     *  Black pants
     * Sweaters - mostly solid
     * Dresses - solid, knee length

So you can see what these outfits from this week's Style Magazine just don't do it for me:

  The bags are keepers,  but the rest is hopefully just for fun.

I get that these three pieces are all the same color family- the rule for mixing prints,  I'm told - but OY, can we talk?  Maybe the boots, under jeans, once, just for fun.  But the jacket ?  What happens when you lift your arms? And the asymetrical wrap shirt - seems like just one deep breath and you're into over-sharing.   You can see why I'm not a fashion icon; I have no idea how to move in this outfit.

Somehow The Captain didn't think this was the outfit for him.  Pretty sure he struggled with the jacket, but then I've never seen him in orange socks and red shoelaces either.
Now onto something I  know how to use.  Check out this image of an old photo strip- perfect for some collage:

Love this fish with the crown:

And this colorful birdie is part of a collage I'm working on for my class:

Eye -candy AND collage material all in one magazine.  Works for me.

Collage Class With Claudine Hellmuth

col·lage

   /kəˈlɑʒ, koʊ-/ Show Spelled [kuh-lahzh, koh-]    

noun

1.

a technique of composing a work of art by pasting on a single surface various materials not normally associated with one another, as newspaper clippings, parts of photographs, theater tickets, and fragments of an envelope.

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Sounds easy, huh?  It is, until you start learning how you're supposed to do it!

I'm taking an online class with - get this - Claudine Hellmuth.  Yes, that Claudine Hellmuth - she of the wonderful and whimsical collages, books, and art supplies.  If you're not familiar with her work, check out her website for a real treat.

The class, through Big Picture Classes, is Composition for Collage and focuses on  how to use some basic formulas to create compositions that work.  I've done so many collages that just don't seem quite right, but I had no idea why they weren't working.

The online format makes it easy to work into your schedule.  Claudine provides an audio lesson, slides, handouts, and an online chat group for open discussion.  Each week has a different composition structure focus and the homework assignment is to create a collage  using that structure.  We upload our creations for Claudine and the participants to critique .  She's very helpful and encouraging, but not gonna lie, it's more than a little intimidating!  Participants seem to be at all skill levels - some new to collage and some very accomplished artists.  All their comments are helpful and supportive - no harsh judgements.

The first lesson was on asymmetrical collage - two halves of the design different yet connected. The key is to make both halves connected, through repeated imagery, color, or shapes.   Seems simple, right?  Wrong!  I was surprised at how much work it is to really think about a layout in advance.  Here is my submission for the asymmetrical structure lesson:

You can see that the composition is asymmetrical- the two halves are not mirror images.  We're learning about how to keep the eye moving in the collage with repeated color or shapes.  The bird on the lower left corner was black, so I colored it blue to tie it to the larger bird .I admit that this would not have occurred to me prior to this class.  The red off-set postage stamp picks up the other red stamp color.  It's amazing how those little touches make such a difference. 

Second lesson is the horizon layout - a horizon across at least one-third of the width of the piece.  The horizon line can be high or low.  And my attempt:



Claudine is encouraging us to declutter our collages.  It is so tempting to add just one more thing! I may need something on the lower left corner, but waiting for Claudine's comments.  The background made by randomly painting gesso onto card stock, then swiping on acrylic paint with a credit card.  Lightly stamped text in white adds a little more interest.  Scrapbook, mulberry and text papers make the horizon. 

Update:  Claudine weighed in on this piece and agreed it needed something along the bottom.  Her suggestion was a thin strip using the same color as the man's halo.  I made the halo ages ago, trying out a faux metal technique, so finding something in that color was a challenge.  I ended up using a strip of the piece I had cut off and inked it with more green to match. 

The man's feet swinging in the air bothered me, so I cut off some of the bottom and put the newly colored piece right under one foot to ground him.  Much better!

 

I'm surprised at how much work this is.  Apparently I've been plopping things in a state of uninformed abandon!  Thinking about where things should go, what colors work, what story I'm trying to tell is exhausting.  I'm looking forward to obsessing over the next lesson - vignette style.





August in My Gardens

When we bought our house there wasn't much going on in the garden department - a tangle of day lilies, two rhododendrons clearly added for the open house, and several randomly plopped hostas.  Lots of potential, though and we've been working to add garden spaces wherever we can. 

This year some of the gardens are beginning to approach that coveted "mature planting" status.  Here are some shots  around our yard:

Our hydrangeas are finally taking off.

Coneflowers (echinacia) are among my favorites. 

I love that this little teapot's feet are swinging in the breeze.

One of our local markets had stems of this plant - gooseneck loosestrife (or Lysimachia clethroides for the experts) for sale for $3.00/ stem.  Maybe I should set up a stand in the driveway. 

Container gardening counts, too!  Love this Picasso in Pink petunia.

Sweet potato vine, hens and chickens (sempervivum) and one of many bowls of beach stones.

A fellow blogger recently commented that she hadn't had time to do anything creative as she was busy in her garden.  Creativity isn't limited to paper, paint, and ink - anything that makes life more beautiful is creative.  Turning empty spaces into spots of beauty is definitely creative - and lots of work!



Soften the Message

 

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We've all heard it; " It's not what you say, it's how you say it".  I drove by a hotel the other day that had a unique sign out front in place  of the usual "No Vacancy".  Instead  the sign announced,  "Happily Full".  Hmm, doesn't that seem so much more friendly?   Same information - no rooms available, yet the "Happily Full" delivers it in a way that really makes you wish they had a room for you .

I heard that crazy ad for Latrisse last night , you know, the one that asks, "Do you suffer from inadequate eyelashes"?  Well, no, I hadn't been until you tagged on that loaded word "inadequate".  So in addition to all the other messages aimed at making women feel that they aren't good enough, we now can add the eyelash problem.  It's not that I don't like a swoosh of mascara, but really, is it necessary to label those little eye winkers "inadequate?  Short, light, sparse -  maybe, but inadequate is just piling it on.  (Don't get me started on the "suffer" part - really, eyelashes and suffering don't belong in the same sentence)!  Just say the stuff will make your eyelashes longer - no need to pile on the baggage.

 

 

Then there are all the "Dogs must be on leash" signs.  A reasonable request, better said by a sign I saw once that had a nicer way of saying the same thing;  " We welcome your leashed dog in our park".

We all respond better when the message isn't an assault or an insinuation that somehow we are less than up to snuff, even if that might be true.   The way we talk to each other can either move the dialog along or shut it down.    Pointing out inadequacies puts us on the defensive and messages that smack us in the head make the day a little less pleasant. 

We are bombarded with messages all day long and it's not unreasonable to think  that all those abrupt messages take their toll.  I wonder if we may be sacrificing some of our happiness in the interest of efficiency.  Maybe a kinder, gentler approach would work better.