The Seeds are Growing

My holiday card and art seeds have been sent all over the world and, though it wasn’t the specific plan, some are coming back to me incorporated into new art.

RF Côté incorporated the art seed into a postcard that came back from Québec.  Suus in Mokum went three-dimensional and added some crochet action.  Artist in Seine (aka Mark Dean) got my piece.  What came back was a global collage with bits from England, France, Turkey and Iraq.  It came through the mail as is, with air freshener glued to it.  A note indicates that the air freshener was found on the streets of Baghdad.  I am slightly embarrassed to report that the air freshener made it all that way only to become detached in my backpack on the way home from the post office – I have since reattached it.  

Tip: Interior Latex Wall Paint

I won’t give away all my secrets, but here is a little tip.  Interior Latex Wall Paint, you can buy a quart at the paint store and it lasts a long time.  I use it as the base paint for boards and canvases for most of my mixed media work.  It’s inexpensive and when dry it takes glue and acrylic varnishes well.  Also, when doing a series of pieces, it gives you a consistent color on the edges of all your finished pieces.  Save the expensive tubes of acrylics for where it really gets seen.  These boards are being prepped for my upcoming show this summer.  

Call for Artists - Collage Meets Landscape

---

Call for Artists

Collage Meets Landscape

I will be returning to San Francisco’s Glama-Rama Salon and Gallery this year with a new show.  It will be an exhibit of my current series of Collagescapes.  All the pieces are mixed media work where landscape painting meets collage.  Some examples of the work can be seen at tofuart.com

On the upper level of Glama-Rama, at the same time, I am curating a companion show of mixed media works, where the theme will be Collage meets Landscapes.  There is a strong preference for local, Bay Area artists, though out-of-town artists will be considered.

Theme: All pieces should fit the theme of both collage/mixed media and landscape.  

Size: All pieces must not exceed 12” wide x 16” high (including frame).

Please note: All pieces in the show will be original works, digital prints will not be considered. 

Date of exhibit:  July 29^th to September 29^th, 2014.

Deadline for submission*: April 30, 2014.  Accepted artists are to be notified via email by May 15, 2014.

Sales of Art: A 40% commission on all sales with 60% going to the artist. All works sold must remain at Glama-Rama for the duration of the exhibition. Payment will be issued to the artist within 30 days of the close of the exhibition.

To submit work:

Artists may submit up to three works for the exhibit and up to two images per piece.  The images must be in .jpg format and no jpeg should exceed 1mb in size.  Files should be clearly labeled with the artist name and piece title (e.g., smith_collage_green.jpg)

With your submission please include the following:

·      artist name

·      title of piece(s)

·      medium(s)

·      size (pieces must not exceed 12” wide x 16” high)

·      year completed

·      price (if for sale)

·      artist contact information, email

·      artist location/address

·      artist website

All submissions should be emailed directly to me at tofuart@hotmail.com with the word “submission” in the subject line.  Submissions made directly to Glama-Rama will be disregarded.  

*Update May, 1, 2015:
Submissions have closed and the list of participating artists will be announced on or before May 15.  Thank you for submitting your work.

#44 - 18 Months Later

It excites me that completed cards for the Millennia Mail Art Project are still coming back to me.  Soon it will be two years since the first cards were mailed out.  This one took a trip through Brazil with contributions from Ana Marta Austin, Edna Toffoli, Regivane and Adelça R. da Silva.

Bodie

Bodie Collagescape, mixed media on board, 8”x10”

Bodie is one of my favorite “hidden” places in California.  A well preserved, ghost town and state historic park – it’s a bit remote and far from any interstate that it never feels crowded and it’s always worth a visit when I am over in California’s “VIP Lounge.”  It also inspires me to paint.  In the latest piece for my collagescape series I wanted to capture the colors of the dry grass, bricks, rust, old wooden walls and the gray of the galvanized metal.  

Starting out the 2014 Mail Box

2014 is off to a good start with this piece of woven mail art from E. Coles in the U.K. waiting in the PO Box the other day.

Sunset 2013 – Sunrise 2014

Sunrise Mandala, mixed media on board, 8”x8”

The sun goes down on one year and rises on another as 2014 begins.  And as the air has been so dirty in this rainless winter, we have had some amazing sunsets.  I’d prefer some clear air and rain. 

Here is the first piece for 2014 that I have been working on the last few days and finished this morning. Making my own collage material for my new collagescapes, this time cutting up the pieces and configuring them in the Mandala pattern I have used with maps, stamps, MUNI Fast Passes and other source material.