Law 161: UPDATE: It's as Cold as... and more Wisconsin Poets' collage

Here on the Upper Chesapeake Bay, (think, B'more hon) we are setting record low temperatures as is most of the rest of the country. My facebook feed this morning was full of low temperature reports from friends in the midwest. Sadly we are shivering right along with them. Of course by the end of the week it will be in the mid 50s during the day. As my honey is fond of saying, there is way too much energy in the system, which accounts for all the extreme weather we are experiencing.
sigh.

It is a good time to stay inside stay warm and make art. Which is exactly what we have been doing here on Tesla's Revenge. We are looking forward to warmer weather and more adventures, but until then, it is time to make art.

In Truth an Integral Part, 1.16.19

I seem to be exploring questions of identity a lot in this journal project. In part i am sure that this is a reaction to some of the worst impulses we are seeing in the political/cutural currents of today. This is part of an ongoing conversation that Mungo and i conduct. He leans to angry hyperbole and rails, justifably so against current trends as i try to gently point to the pendulum.cyclical nature of culture. Of course when you are up to your ass in the swamp with alligators allround that is not what you want to hear.

Weighing Our Options, 1.19.19

The other part is i love play with surreal imagery, always have besides sometimes it is far easier to get a point across with a little humor.

Walking Through Time, 1.21.19

I almost never use commercial or fashion imagery in my work, preferring most likely because of my training as an artist and educator to use material that has, at least for me art/historical reference points. Walking Through Time and its companion piece really begged for that high fashion, slick photography; luckily we have a subscription to Vanity Fair, which provides more than i can possibly use, along with an occasional good article.

Do you remember as a child how time seemed as slow as the proverbial molasses in January, but now, half a life time later it feels as if you have achieved the physical impossibility of travel at light speed? Well, the child is still part of you.

Holding Tight to Concepts of Personal Identity,1.22.19

I usually only create one of these a day, but some images demand to be spread across two pages, such is the case with the last piece i am sharing with you today. I used part of this very precious image, the scale, in Weighing Our Options, the two figures with the over-sized brains come from the same image; an illustration for a mid 70s article out of Horizon, a now defunct arts and culture magazine. I lucked out early in my collage career and scored a complete set 1950s through the 80s at a library sale. It took me years to actually start using them. I couldn't bring myself to cut them up, they were such a treasure trove of information.

Do We Build Bridges or Barriers, 1.27.19

Well and i made the mistake of going online and checking out their value.... Enough for now, stay warm, be creative.

More later,
gail

LAW 160: Snow 'Pocalypse, Sorta,

Well if the lines and crowds in the local grocery stores, the insanity in the parking lots were reliable indicators, it wasn't just going to snow, the end of the world was nigh!

No filter, just snow snow snow, from the cockpit

It started snowing around dinner time last night. Fluffy, heavy, wet flakes are still floating down. The weather gurus are currently predicating as much as 8". I'm not sure how my marina mates who have to go to work tomorrow are going to fare. No one has stirred on our dock and i am pretty sure that the driveway and parking lot remain unplowed.

Nope, i don't think they'll be using their kayak today.

 We made sure that we had plenty of water, and of course food and wine before the storm started. I did go out into the cockpit to take pretty pictures. No way i'm getting off the boat.

Magellan is incredibly bored which means he needs lots of play and cuddle time. Uggh, he is such a big lap cat!

There Are Other Solutions, I am Sure, 1.6.19

Still in all, another good day to stay inside and make art, which i did, Mungo is still pounding away on his keyboard. He is sooooooo close to finishing the first draft of his new novel. I'll be proofreading soon.

When You Hold, 1.7.19

I've a few more images to share from the Wisconsin Poets' calendar project. I'm pretty pleased. Its been awhile since i've worked in a narrative/figurative style. i'm having fun playing with surreal imagery.

What in the World Has Happened, 1.8.19

I couldn't resist using the cut-out negative space silhouette from yesterday's piece. I had cut it out very carefully, i guess i was planning on this, but... the question then was, what to fill her with?

An odd, surreal mix of imagery, but i like it.

I'll Never Forget this Night, 1.10.19

There is always a danger when you are working with images that are iconic. Christina's World, by Wyeth is, or should be immediately recognizable by anyone who has ever opened an art history book. But the re-purposing of imagery is afterall at the center of collage making. Contex is everything.

Then I Opened the Door, 1.12.19

As before, all images are 5.25 x 8.5", on card stock. All the text is currently coming from a couple of children's books.

What She Reallt Wanted Was A, 1.13.19

Gotta go and tend the smoked turkey and veggie soup i making for dinner. Stay tuned for more cool art.

Later,

gail

LAW 159: A New Year, A New Project: The Wisconsin Poets' Calendar

Happy New Year to all, here is hoping that 2019 will be a year of great abundance and happiness for us all.

Well, because you always need a picture of your cat!

We all start our new year with good intentions, resolutions to become a better, more, (fill in the blank) person. How long does that last for most of us?

Me, well i started the year of right with a new art project, and did join a fitness club. We will see what happens. I have been resolute with the new art project. My dear friend Brian, amazing poet, gifted me last year with a copy of the Wisconsin Poets' calendar, which he not so coincidentally had a few poems published in. Great poems by the way.

In the order i made them, all images are 5.25 x 8.5", hand cut and torn collage. I am harvesting the text from a couple of children's books.

Camilla Was so Embarrassed

Anyway, the calendar is nicely sized; spiral bound weekly format, with good quality card stock. It runs close to two hundred pages. It seemed far to nice to simply toss in the trash, so my inner re-purposing maven came up with the idea of  using it for an art collage journal.

But She Was Still Afraid to Admit it

So far it has been an every day project; this likely won't last, as i will want to go back to the abstract work after taking a break. That is okay.

She Did Feel Different, but When She(l)/She Looked in the Mirror(r)

   

I really didn't have any concrete ideas regarding the direction this project would/will take, excepting that i knew i needed to work in a narrative, figurative fashion for awhile. Oh yea, i am absolutely going to use up all those precious little scraps i have been obsessively hoarding.....

I Was in for Another Surprise

So far the imagery appears to be taking on a portrait sort of element, we'll see where it goes from there.

She's Just too Much of a Distraction

That's it so far, one a day since January 1st, although i did the positive/negative spread on the same day.

More later,

gail