Whose eye is this?

Usually I make a note about authorship. I didn't this time so its a mystery to me. This is the last collage of 2013 unless I work more in the studio today, but I really have my mind & hands looking forward to sewing a chiffon skirt. I went to the thrift store & bought 2 bias cut nighties that I am going to turn in to half slips to sew some chiffon on to. Using wide black elastic for the waist band. Finally found my clothing style & it makes me SO HAPPY!

Peep House

Still using up that one National Geographic with the hummingbird article. This collage was a "Welcome Back, Missed You Since You've Been Gone". Have been working in visual journal except for the last week, but I am back at it this morning. Its the crown to my day. Isn't that magenta Spanish stamp outrageous!

Shoes of the Drowned

The wonderful angel is appropriated from an amazing painting called the Allegory of Justice by Honthorst.
Its a rainy day here with promises of seasonally cool weather. I wait patiently as I do EVERY YEAR.
When my time is all my own, will I search out Autumn? It would involve traveling.

Releasing the Guardians

Actually I could probably title all my collages "Releasing the Guardians".
Now about the weather...I am NOT a Florida girl, but I will spend the rest of my days here most likely. I NEED the chilly weather so I can renew my energy that the Spring & Summer took from me. Its always the same here in FL. I will smell autumn in the air but it takes 8 weeks for it to come. I'm getting restless & a little grumpy.

Found Fortune

This collage was moving closer & closer to the wastebasket UNTIL I found this fortune cookie fortune in a book that I checked out of the library. It gave back some life to the over-worked collage & I feel good enough about it to let it see the light of day. I wonder about the adage of Time healing all wounds. Is that true? I suppose for the natural order of things it has to be. I will believe in it today.

Working Girls

"Doing Work" is the title of the swell little pamphlet from the 50's that I snagged somewhere. There was only the bottom half of the cover left. I had those same shoes; the brown & white ones not the black & whites. This collage blocked itself together. I just stood by, with glue stick in hand, & did what it told me to do.

Girls, Girls, Girls

2 for today! I couldn't resist the baby picture which was a flyer I picked up at Publix. I just don't use pictures of babies hardly ever! AND then I found, under one of the many piles, this image of baby octopus triplets! I'm not sure how Frida happened...she JUST DOES SOMETIMES! I feel happy.
Plus I found out how to organize my out of control postage stamps. There is such a thing as a stock page so I can organize stamps by color on an album page!
Don't have too much info on the first 2 stamps, the 3rd is French & the 4th is Japanese.

Guardians at the Gate

I really haven't used these collages to work through personal challenges. This one came out of the blue at me. Was stranded for several days by fear, unable to move past it. Then I remembered Pema Chodron & her discussion of the Guardians at the Gate who are very ancient, created by me as child for protection; they have good intentions, but since they were invented by a child they are no longer productive protectors. They are still powerful & I must give them their due. As soon as I acknowledged their presence they evaporated away. I no longer felt stranded. Its so interesting to me. And even though the Guardians are sort of destructive I love them so.

Protected by Lipstick Pink

New source materials! Am still in love with my vernacular of fishes, paper boats, sky & ground. The composition is still formulaic but I'm not exhausted by it yet. I'm not sure if the stamps are Chinese? Some text from a French magazine.

Tango with a Hummingbird while My Heart is A-Float

Couldn't' resist this stunning tango image from a really good article in the New Yorker. The Hummie you know from that old National Geo. This collage pleases more & more I think because of the narrative its prone to.
Went to the Friends of the Library Book Sale & SCORED on books of photography. I needed some sources b/c my supply was dwindling. Now I have a wealth of images to cut & play!

Despair in the morning, Whistling for Fish

It is that way some mornings. Some evenings. Some days. Making work re-organizes my brain in to a beauty mode. Its a fight occasionally. At times there are disparaging thoughts that try to distract me & I have to bring myself back to the process of making. Little wee houses perched high on top of things. Hard to get to, hard to leave.

Had to throw one away!

This is the newest. I spent about a week on a collage that turned out to be irretrievable. I made a deal with myself that if that happens I throw it away. I wrestle a little, but I can also cry "uncle". Its not unusual for me to begin a collage totally believing that I can never really make another collage. 

I keep being dee-lighted by the idea that these are sketches for paintings. When will my courage appear? I imagine these to be LARGE paintings. At least 1/3 sheet luan, 31" X 4' or BIGGER. But then what?

Ker-splash

This great image of the western hemisphere is from the Publix sale circular that came in the Sunday paper. What a gift of an image, thanks Publix! I recently heard Lynda Barry speak about creativity at the National Book Festival. She was hilarious, but also explained to all of us the need to create. I felt glowing from the inside out b/c I truly understand that need & am engaged, ever so quietly, in it. These collages come from my physiology.

River Dolphins with Tape Edge

This collage was finished a couple weeks ago. That brilliant little drawing is by a boy named Ray, he gave it to me. I think the River Dolphin has startled the duck with the bow & arrow & he is having second thoughts about how this is going to go.

First collage of my 62nd year. I was LUCKY enough to find this brilliant image of a tiny octopus on a pencil eraser. It seems content to be there for the moment. It won't stay long...

I have an old issue of Highlights magazine & found this page irresistible in narrow view of happy American family. Using up my stash of 2 cent Internal Revenue Documentary Stamps, which were not postage stamps but tax stamps. And also using some newspaper from Morocco, I think. The transparency is a quite captivating image of a family on the move, perhaps Muslim?

Was thinking this morning of my source for images. They come mostly from magazines, BECAUSE...it is most like finding something on the street. Something overlooked, something transitory. That's what makes my heart sing.
The thing overlooked
The thing that is found
The thing that has no worth
The thing that sometimes has history
AND then, of course, I have a weakness for beautiful old things that I buy occasionally: atlases, dictionaries, primers, storybooks.
My main concern with this collage is that the hands are too much perfect. I covered them up & colored the fingernails gray.
In the upper right corner is a 1898 Two Cent Documentary Stamp. This is a revenue stamp  first issued during the civil war for collecting taxes, but then the government kept using them & collecting taxes long after.

Bunny Love

Just when I think I can't squeeze out another collage. Another one appears. Sometimes an image has to stew overnight, or several nights to get the interest of another image. This is one of the collages I thought I would have to throw out b/c it just was NOT WORKING! And then one morning it did! I am learning patience.

Let's talk Paper Boats

Newest. I am thinking about shapes, color, texture; letting go of narrative a little. I LOVE a good formula but I was feeling lost in it. I could talk about paper boats for a good hour!

Something to say to the fish

I hope the fish is listening.
Another transparency & a precious bit of paper measuring paper that I got free at HomeGoods. It black on one side & white on the other. I peel apart the paper so I can use both. Many times paper is layered so it can be peeled apart. I LOVE that.

Beach Umbrella

Lovely Stamp featuring Ruggedy Beach, Stewart Island, New Zealand.
Using a transparency for the Beach umbrella woman. AND I cut a new stencil for cloud shape. I was looking all over for a stamp that would give me some good etching-like clouds, but no luck. This stencil makes me happy. I've been pokey about getting collages done. It must be time to re-evaluate my strategy. I feel myself sinking too much in to a formula & not letting my "Little" make decisions. BIG MISTAKE! These works are all about her.

Being Carried

Started with just a white sheet. Then I started looking for images to fill  the space. This page from a bird book captivated me: an egg being carried, then a chick being carried. AND I forgot to take note of the type of bird who does this! Actually it looks like 2 different birds. I will date this one on the back.
The scene started to tell me a story. That's just the way I like it. Actually the collage MUST tell a story.

I really need to start dating these on the back. I even have the date stamp already b/c I have usually just finished my daily Visual Journal Page which is date stamped.
This collage is about filling space. I have a tendency to leave a large open space in the middle of the composition. That opening appeals to me but I feel sort of guilty about it. I generally fill it in. One day I will be strong enough to let it stand. Or, rather, the composition will be strong enough to let it stand.
The words from the dictionary tell me that this collage is also about Birth. Somehow. I can see it....

Its Tuesday morning & this collage has been finished since Saturday. I am uncertain about it for 2 reasons:
1. That's an octopus! Its a little unreadable unless one is octopus cognizant.
2. I've appropriated someone else's painting in the bottom corner & I was going to give credit but the info got misplaced on my very messy work space.
OR this might be an example of a collage that really should NOT have left the table & just tumbled in to the trash. I DO like to work them until resolution but sometimes that resolution can only mean trashcan.

Walking the tightrope

This one is serendipitously wonderful in that I was able to use part of the tightrope walker image as part of the mouth on the Shadow-Man. When that happens with disparate images I feel like dancing around! AND then, it looks like the rope ladder is coming out of Shadow-Man's nose! Ha!

This collage got a little scary for me when I saw that big net basket heading for the mermaid on the rock. I found the hand, nice & brown, short fingers as the interceptor; not the rescuer, but rather as the pause to question the action. And so it finished, I am not sure of the story's ending.

Zzzzz...

This collage is probably more manipulated than most. I think its that powerful image of the chimpanzee that made me a little weak. And then the images of mouths just started coming together.

Dreaming of Octopi

She is gazing right at the viewer, with a sort of judgment in mind. The Shepherd is sleeping (dreaming of octopi), the Lamb is thinking of home. Finally using my octopus stamp & a little kimono paper at the bottom.

There are so many good images out there to use. This collage was a wrestling match that lasted all week. I think the addition of "Lucky Me" finished it up & added some bulk to the middle ground. Still reminding myself that I am not making art. I am playing with ideas.

Goldfish in a bag

The image of these 2 men got me started thinking about their conversation. The image is rather nothing & it took some playing to find other images to help tell their story. Last night I watched at tv show where one character was going to give his date a goldfish in a bowl, but she left before he could.
There is a lovely U.S. Postage 3 Cent Stamp, Future Farmers of America, 1928 - 1953 in the left bottom corner.
I have nearly a daily discussion with myself about how I am playing; taking risks & not making art.

Announcement

Its been interesting to title my collages, I should probably put the title actually on the  piece somewhere so I don't forget. These collages are a little darker, not so fishy, birdy...more ominous. I am glad of the opportunity that these images offer. I like to make sure, in my world, that someone is paying attention. Someone important.

I just got a pack of kimono wrapping paper that has been SO fun to rip in to.

This is my kimono pattern. I used to make kimonos all the time having a grand time of mixing up fabrics. They were so fun to wear. This pattern is drawn on the back of a Target receipt. The only thing it doesn't show is the keyhole I cut for the neck. I love working with this pattern because I could rip the fabric for the pieces I needed; it became a holistic cosmic process. I'm serious.

This is old stomping ground for me: Dog as Deity watching & protecting. The image of this girl & her chicken is so compelling that I re-entered the Dog Deity story & let the dog take care of the girl & the chicken.

Allen and the Mermaid.
This is Allen or so says the ad from which the image was cut. I am driven to use figures in the collages & my sources are limited at this time. I was recently in a waiting room & 2 of the magazines there were: Departures & Intelligent Life. Both mags had stupendous figure images but I figured it was a wrong thing to rip them out & close the magazine. I have longed for those figure ever since...
Lovely little French stamp in the corner with postmark of 4 . 12. 1962- its still stuck on the bit of its envelope which leads me to wonder....

Great swimming picture from a magazine with a stunning stamp from Arabia. The stamp has an airplane on it & beautiful Arabic writing. I wish I knew what it said. Also more of the Moroccan newspaper.
I am having trouble making one collage a day. One collage might take a week b/c I only work in the early morning. Actually I feel good that these works (plays) are challenging me more.

This collage took me all week to resolve. I fell in love with the hand holding an upright fish (which is frozen, from an article on ice fishing). Then I struggled with wave colors, actually its stenciled over quite a number of times. Long process on this one. It looks simple enough, but its conception was a little painful. Just the way I like it! Size 8 x 10. Of course this one is easy to title: 

Forgotten View.

Sorry about the double posting of the previous collage. Another piece with birds & sight lines. This time we can't see what the birds are looking at. A bit of French postcard at the top corner.

Hummie & Hands

This collage is not numbered so its not one of the 'starters'. Still using up those brilliant hummingbird images from the National Geo.
Yesterday I started making a book of collage. I had an old withdrawn book from the library & had tipped in pages & used it for a journal for only 5 days in 2011. I painted over all that & started in with collage. No journal writing. I found myself not taking it seriously, just in a hurry to fill up the pages so I could call it done even though I'd only just started. Typical. Had to do some re-working. I will start posting those collages.

Daily collage. I am Symbol Crazy! I guess they could be called "icons"; little fat birds, fish with teeth, houses, hearts, wave silhouettes  They appear lots & I never tire of using them. Everyday when I am faced with a blank collage paper, I think, "I can't do this today".
And then I do.
I made a bargain with my very young self that she is in charge of these works or "plays" rather. She always makes the right choice & if things don't work out I can throw it away of recycle into another part of something.

Its been a very long time since I last posted. For awhile I thought I would never make any pictures again...and I didn't. Then one day it came back & I am making collages everyday; both in my Visual Journal & on sheets of 8 x 11 paper. This one has a hummingbird from an old National Geographic article which includes many wonderful images of hummies. I'm not done  using them all yet. I LOVE to work from my table top - meaning I use the scraps that happen to be lying right there. That is the richest source of materials for me. Sometimes I go searching through the stash to freshen up the table leavings!