New Year, New Work: "Cohesion"

I enjoy the challenge of melding dissimilar shapes, colors, and patterns to make a single cohesive piece. I think because my personality feels a bit fragmented at times I’m drawn to designs that have many components and complex movement. Plus I’m kind of rotten at making decisions so I throw many mediums and elements into all my artwork because I cannot decide what to leave out.

This collage reminds me of glimpses of visions in dreams. Parts you cannot quite grasp before they are gone. Then you move on to the next possibly disjointed vision and so on until you are left with a mosaic of images and a sense of struggling to assemble them to uncover the meaning in it.

All of the individual rectangles were made separately and then brought back together. I wanted to stay with earthy tones, but some hot pink snuck in, and I think it worked out fine. Created in the proportion of a wood domino - only larger (measures 6” x 2 7/8”), I plan to scan it, shrink it down to domino size, print it, and use it to decorate the domino pendants. This way I can work in a larger format to make art for the dominoes.

Consequently, I then have an original piece of art to sell, too, and possibly sell prints, note cards, and calendars with the collage on them. I have not yet ventured into the world of selling original art online so there are some things I still need to work out before you see this one in my Etsy shop.

I am enjoying getting back to my collage roots and working in a bigger scale than the dominoes and the one-inch square glass slide pendants. This work may be sectioned into twenty-one pieces, but it’s making me feel more put back together than I have felt in a long time.

A larger version of the image

©2009 In My Head Studios

Orlando or Bust

My sister works for Booty Parlor and they had a convention a few weeks ago in Orlando, Florida. I jokingly asked if I could go with her, and she promptly got on the computer and started quoting me airline fares. She’s spontaneous like that. It was surprisingly cheap to fly there so I said “What the heck!” and bought tickets. I think the Universe was speaking to me and told me to go to Orlando!!

I had no idea what I might do for the weekend or where I would go. It turned out that the hotel where we stayed wasn’t that close to anything that I could get a free shuttle to. So I spent most of my time at the hotel, which is fine because I really like hotels.

I brought more art supplies with me than clothes or toiletries! Seriously! More than half of my suitcase and carry on were taken up with colored pencils, paper, glue, scissors, and collage materials! So I turned my trip into a mini creative retreat. And it worked out beautifully. I had a great time. It was surprisingly refreshing to be devoid of responsibility for three days. I didn’t know how much I needed that. I’m known for constantly underestimating time off.

On my creative journey this year I started working through The Creative Entrepreneur by Lisa Sonora Beam. This book is awesome! I cannot recommend it more highly. I’m having some trouble getting things done lately due to the chronic pain. This book actually covers stuff that I need for my personal life as well as the business. The part I worked on at the hotel was about sensing, thinking, feeling, and acting – all areas of my life that I’m struggling with personally and professionally.

The author lays it out for you – destructive and constructive ways to think, sense, feel, and act. I am doing way more destructive stuff than the constructive stuff! Yikes! A real eye opener! But the cool thing is that she writes, “Destructive thinking is remedied through constructive feeling and action.” Makes perfect sense, right, since they are all so interconnected? So that means that destructive feelings are remedied through constructive thinking and action. All related! When I read that, my mind opened up like a blooming chrysanthemum! I had a serious “A-ha” moment right there, let me tell you.

I came home feeling more positive than I have in a long time about things in general. My energy is restored, my attitude is better, and I’m not so dragged down by the pain like I have been for months. As I continue to work through this book, I am learning more about myself and my process and how I got to this place I’m struggling with. My plan is to continue to take a good hard look at things I do that affect my mood, thoughts and therefore the pain. It’s really nice to have my art to fall back on when words fail me as I explore a more productive way to do things. So you can expect to see some more art journaling here as well.

So thank you, Orlando, for giving me some space to work things out! And I must say that laying out at the pool also helped!!

Art Journal: 9-24-08

(click to see bigger over at flickr!)

This page was created with real puzzle pieces. I put part of a puzzle together and painted the pieces. The background is torn paper covered with gel medium and gesso. It was then painted in red, yellow and teal. The words were written with a Sharpie thin marker. Twine attempts to hold my pieces together.

I wish I had done this on better paper than in my art journal.

Art Journal: 8-28-08 :: “Circles”

(click image to see bigger over at flickr!)

This page started without any real direction or thought out plan for the finished page. In my stash I have this great polka-dotted blue tissue paper that I’ve been looking for something to do with.

I employed Golden Regular Gel Medium (matte) to secure the tissue to the page, and let that dry overnight as I decided on how I wanted to use the page.

Lately, some health problems have been plaguing me, and I feel like I’m getting nowhere quickly. I get a little better, and then it gets worse again. Up. Down. Up. down. Round and round. Can I get off the merry-go-round now, pretty please?

The circles were filled with images that struck me at the time. The clenched fist image represents me holding on for dear life, as well as a symbol of my strength. Some images were rubber-stamped and some were stenciled. The words “REVEAL”, “SHARE”, and “GAIN” reflect the purpose of this art journal. There is no exploration or learning unless I reveal myself to myself and share it in order to gain.

Creating this page reminded me that I am not truly just going in circles. It just feels that way sometimes when I am frustrated. In truth, I am much better than I was just six months ago, and I continue to do better everyday. My situation is possibly more akin to an upward spiral where I get close to where I started as I come around again but I’m not at the start.

So, I’m just on page two here and I’m already gaining some insight into my art imagery and myself. Thanks, art journal!

Art Journal: 8-27-08

(click to see bigger over at flickr!)

I honestly didn’t know where else to start but at the beginning. This page is kind of an introduction to my project. A welcoming, if you will, to the pages behind this one.

Pieces of torn old book pages were collaged with gel medium. Then I panted it with gesso and some brown and green paints. A fancy rubber stamp was impressed randomly about the page in dye-based green ink. The typewriter keys lettering was stamped and embossed onto vintage Sear’s catalog pages and cut out. I hand stitched around the border of some funky Basic Grey paper, and then glued on the letters. White pigment ink was used to stamp the same fancy stamp I used for the background along the edges of the lettering background.

The same book page collage technique was used to make a smaller journaling piece and was painted the same way. I edged it with dark brown and olive green pigment ink that I then heat set. Another strip of different Basic Grey paper was added down the side along with some very vintage lace my grandmother gave me.

I’m rather happy with the result of my first art journal page. This work produced some nice ideas for other work I want to get finished for my next craft show in November.

Midtown, Where Nothing is Waiting for You

(Click on the slideshow for a bigger version!)

The excursion to Midtown Plaza on Friday was a fantastic experience. I appreciated the chance to say goodbye to a Rochester landmark. Plus it was darn fun rooting around in the stores and buildings for things I wanted to keep. I came home with a carload of neat odds and ends.

Only people who had bought something at the auction on Thursday were allowed in. I was there to help my mom and her boyfriend, Dave, clear out the items they had won bids on. Dave bought the contents of two stores. One was a Hallmark store. You would not believe what people leave behind when they close down businesses. I scored about 300 envelopes I plan to sell on eBay or Etsy. The owners left nice desks, chairs, shelving, boxes, greeting cards, cabinets, display stands, and coffee pots behind. We loaded up as much as we could fit on rolling carts and filled up Mom’s van. Then Dave got his roll-off flatbed truck for the rest.

The other shop Dave bought out was an upscale shoe store. It was full of acrylic display stands that I know will sell well on eBay and Etsy. We took out a lot of shoe stretchers and fitters, toe and heel pads, light fixtures, sign stands, and those slanted stools that are used when a salesman actually helps you put on shoes you are trying on. (Do you remember those days?) A safe big enough for me to get in comfortably was in the back room. I really wanted just the door to hang in my living room, but it was too much trouble to get off.

Dave also purchased the contents of a few maintenance rooms in the basement. There were several cases of Xerox promotional mugs, fancy magnifying glasses, little office supply kits, office chairs, more desks, a garbage can full of coiled cords that he can sell as scrap, and a few of the regionally “famous” horse strollers that parents could rent to take their kids around in the shopping plaza. Lots of nostalgia value there. One of those sold for $150 at the auction. Dave has three of them now. The auctioneers didn’t know they were down there so Dave got a great deal again. All of the things in the basement were covered in what appeared to be 20 years worth of dust.

He took about 100 fluorescent light bulbs that he plans to sell at flea markets for $1.00 each. He has an eye for this kind of thing. I never would have thought to pick up those items for resale.

We only had from 9 am until 2 pm to get all this stuff out. We left a lot of great stuff behind because we ran out of time. The back of the shoe store was filled with gorgeous wood shelving that I would have loved to put in my basement. I really wanted a big old metal and wood desk for Mr. M’s office. They were too heavy to move.

Exploring the building was so interesting. We could go almost anywhere… basements, loading bays, the backs of the banks, stores, utility rooms, layaway cages, and freight elevators. I find abandoned buildings fascinating. I like to see how they degrade over a period of time when no one is there. I had been to Midtown Plaza to shop many times, but it looked so foreign when empty. A building in this state oddly looks like it has a lot of potential to be great, and it once was. I would love to see it remodeled into an urban community setting. New loft apartments are going up in the neighborhood and those people are going to need shopping close by. Now there is none with the plaza closing down. It seems like such a waste to me.

More about Midtown and our lucky finds this week. Stay tuned!