Coffee, Tea or Collage?

Another Sunday afternoon that's perfect for collaging! Between reading, making a collage and eating a Turkish chocolate bar it's been a pretty fabulous way to spend a Sunday afternoon. What more could an artist ask for? I might still make a few tiny additions here and there before I add the remaining coat of varnish. It's so hard to leave these collages alone when you're close to finishing. It seems there's always another piece that could be added. "This might look good over here"...and so it keeps evolving until I add a few coats of varnish. Once the varnish is applied, I rarely change anything.

The second piece shown here was the original arrangement, which I ended up changing once I started gluing my pieces down. I really wanted to use that mini Queen of Hearts card, but it didn't seem to fit in, so I left it out. Too much fun! It's like an addiction for me. But I should stop saying "too much fun" as if having fun was something I shouldn't be having. We should all have more fun in our lives - the kind of fun you get from doing something you truly love... your passion!

It's also Mother's Day today, so a Happy Mother's day to my mom, and to all my friends who are mothers! My wishes to all of you for an enjoyable and very special day!

Happy Mother's Day &
Blessings,
~ Kate


  

Almost An Obsession

Another collage over the weekend (actually I did 2). This one is a little bit different in that I included a couple of different elements. I carved a lino pattern last week and experiment with printing it. The central flower near the bottom is one of those prints. And there's a real leaf that I saved from last fall that is collaged into the right corner. It's a little bumpy, but that only adds texture to the overall piece. The large pink flower on the right is a paper napkin. Can you see that there's just no limit to what you can use in a collage?

I'm wondering if this is turning into an obsession, since there's a third collage assembled but not glued down...yet. This medium is too much fun! It's so easy to do, and because it doesn't really take that long (and it's easier on my hand than more detail-oriented drawing and shading, which can be intensive), it gives me a sense of accomplishment when I'm finished. And when you combine those two elements - having fun with a sense of accomplishment - I end up with an activity that I could easily get addicted to. My friend who is an addiction counselor would say that's a pretty healthy addiction! Also, I'm going into overdrive with my art work right now because I was recently laid off from my job. Having all this time on my hands gives me free license to produce as much art as my little heart desires! I've noticed, however, that when my anxiety increases, so does my art output. It's also therapeutic for me. The bottom line is that art is incredibly fun, enjoyable and satisfying. Moreover, If I can pass that wellness feeling on to someone else, and they benefit from it, then I will feel like I have accomplished something really worthwhile!

Best wishes & blessings,
Kate

Courage

This 6x8 collage on wood is meant to be paired with "Off With Her Head!" I love the rich red (Alizarin crimson) combined with warm brown and gold colors, which are the dominant colors in this piece. I also added some color to the collage pieces that I cut out to make them blend in a little better. You can do that with collage - manipulate your own pieces, and even draw your own if you have to! You may actually prefer to draw your own pieces, because sometimes it's more meaningful to create your own "clip art." And that's the beauty of creating used a variety of media - you can use this, or that, and create your own using whatever color scheme you wish!

The only thing I haven't done yet with my collages is add 3 dimensional bits to them, like buttons, charms - little objects. I just haven't really come across anything that I wanted to add that was meaningful. I think that's next, however. Collage is so much fun, it's also a form you can forever experiment with.

If you've never collaged before, you might want to give it a try. I have a workshop coming up on Saturday June 2nd - 11am-4:30pm. If you're interested, send me an email, artistikat@gmail.com

Blessings,
Kate

Off With Her Head!

This is my latest collage piece done on a wood panel. I used acrylic paint for the background and then used a matte gel medium as the base glue and top coat for each piece. This collage is unique in that some of the elements are hand-drawn. I'm learning that if I can't find exactly the right color combination in a piece of clip art or from a magazine clipping, I can simply draw it and color it myself! Besides getting exactly the effect that I want, I'm also creating a finished piece that has original elements to it. I also used 2 puzzle pieces for the bottom left corner, but colored them to fit into the overall color scheme.

This collage was a lot of fun to do. It's a truly relaxing activity - more so than the drawing, watercolor and pencil crayon work that I do. Collage is an assembly of collected pieces of paper and bits of ephemera that are arranged in a desirable pattern. They are glued to a prepared surface layer after layer. It's a process of adding layers with paint and paper pieces. This process is truly therapeutic as you work with your hands and your imagination. There is no pressure to be perfect and to draw well. And there are no mistakes in collage, because if you don't like a particular effect, you can easily paint over it and glue down another image!

I enjoyed working with a red and golden yellow theme on this one, and added some of my own drawn pieces. Other bits include wrapping paper, magazine clippings, a bit of text from Alice in Wonderland, and a couple of puzzle pieces.

I'll be facilitating another collage workshop in May - probably on the 27th. More details to come. Until then...

All my best,
~ Kate

Leaves!

Leaves, leaves and even more leaves! Spring is coming, and it seems appropriate that nature is appearing in my artwork in the form of leaves. Although, those of you who are familiar with my art would agree that almost everything I do has leaves in it! This particular piece, however, has more than its usual share of leaves. I just sat down one evening feeling like I wanted to "doodle" and I started drawing a few leaves. They turned this way and that, and then a couple of eyes popped out to take a peek at what I was doing... and next thing I know another piece has emerged. I never know if its a "viable" piece that has potential, or if it will end up as a mindless doodle until I begin to color it. Sometimes I can't imagine adding color, or the design just gets silly, and I know those pieces go in the doodle pile. This piece almost ended up in that pile. But I think I like it! The design of the leaves seem to flow with movement. The direction and movement of the leaves combined with the eyes (that aren't moving but observing) make for an interesting design. I also like the bits of brown in the leaves, it helps to disrupt some of the green. So this is one piece that I will certainly finish - the leaves on the right side of the paper need finishing and the outer edge needs to be shaded. I'm going to try to finish this one today, since I'm driving my brother back to London this afternoon. (the finished piece has been added - and you can see the progression to completion!)

My brother does meticulous printing (among many other things) and no one does as fantastic a job as he does! So I am off to London to get a whack of printing done! I am hoping in the very near future to have a website up that will feature my art work in gallery style. This is another project, and one that I'm quite excited about! Of course, when my site is ready, I will let all of YOU know!!

Gratitude & blessings,
~ Kate

Indecision Has Made Her Appearance!

This is a piece I drew shortly after I moved into my current apartment just before the end of 2011. This is an apartment building I've lived in before, and I just love it here! There's a ravine behind me and I make sure that I step out onto my balcony every day, just to revel in the appreciation, gratitude and beauty of it all! I am so thankful to be back here - it's definitely home for me, and a place of serenity and peace. I can truly call my home my sanctuary. But, like everyone else, I've had to go through some uncomfortable and unpleasant things to get here. Once my boxes were unpacked, and I was feeling a little more settled, I drew this piece. As I was drawing the figure of the girl, divisions appeared. As the drawing neared completion, I thought she looked rather divided - conflicted and consequently indecisive, which is exactly what I had been going through prior to my move. So I decided to call this piece Indecision. The light around the tree is energy - the force of life, and in the middle of her conflict and indecision, she realizes that she still holds the thread of her life. She can still move forward and ultimately everything will work together for good. As we make decisions and move forward, our lives unfold. And this unfolding happens in the most interesting and beautiful way! For this piece I used ink, watercolor and pencil crayon.

Updated Journal Cover & A Silly Page

Buon Giorno my dear friends,
Here's an updated photo of the cover of my visual journal. You know how it goes with collage...it's never completely finished. You keep adding a little here and a little there. It's like a bowl of potato chips - you just can't leave it alone! But eventually you have to stop or it gets ruined! I'm hoping to fill up this entire journal (it's not that thick) with pages that look similar to this. I love the rich, deep colors and the random images here and there. Some of the images are hand drawn, rather than clipped from a magazine. If I can't find exactly what I want, then I try to draw it. The teacup is cup is cut out from wrapping paper and shaded to look like a cup. And the numbers 2012 are my own. Even though it would have been easy to find numbers, I just drew my own.

And the newsletter! Ahh, yes! What a forgetful ninny I am! A friend asked me about this in a comment, and she kindly gave me the benefit of a doubt, but the truth is, I haven't sent them out yet. I'm still finishing up the winter issue, which will be pages from January to March. Like the collage, I keep wanting to add more. These Silly Pages are just as addicting to me as the collage is...and the potato chips, and the m&m peanuts... funny, the things that keep us fueled - that and delicious art books! Anyway, I digress...I have lots of work to do, so I will get to it and finish up those Silly Pages, get them scanned and send them out! Just for being late, here's a little preview...

There is one thing I would like to ask, however... my right hand needs prayer & healing. I am getting a lot of pain, tendonitis type of pain in the wrist and pain in the thumb joint from a dog bite in 2010. Funny how our injuries come back to haunt us at a later date! I've been ignoring the pain (somewhat) and working on my art anyway, especially on the "good" days. So please, send healing thoughts my way! I still have much beauty and silliness to add to the world of art!

Love to you all,
Kate