Stay Home, Make Art — An Artist Book

Thousands of thousands of old postage stamps.  They came from my childhood collection to ones peeled from envelopes to ones purchased or given to me for making collages.   Many have found their way into this new artist book created while I have been sheltering in place this past few months.   And yes, there are still some left, the remainder are being incorporated into mail art that will be sent out in the coming days.

Stay Home, Make Art – Day 36

Even though I don’t sew, quilting is in my DNA.  I have been inspired by quilting patterns and created quilt-themed art for many years.  Today some patchwork quilt postage stamp action.  

Stay Home, Make Art – Day 35

Blame it on those leftover Easter chocolates with their purple wrappers.  All sugared up and using some of the purple postage stamps today.

Stay Home, Make Art – Day 25

Today was all about mesmerizing green.  I also like the “accidental” patterns that are added to postage stamp collages from the postmarks.  You can see some of my earlier postage stamp colleges here.

Stay Home, Make Art, Make Artists’ Books – Day 24

Today’s pages include this set of Postmark Planets with the help of a large hole punch, old envelopes and vintage space exploration postage stamps.

Stay Home, Make Art – Day 23

Making progress – the beginning pages will be a gradation of colors starting and dark blue then to lighter shades blue on the first four pages.  Today pages 5 and 6 transition from blue to aqua to green.  More green coming tomorrow.

A Catalog of Collage Objects

Like any collage artist, I run the risk of becoming a hoarder.  When you make collage, you are always on the hunt for objects to use.  Boxes of collage fodder begin to fill up and then, when are you going to get around to using it all? MUNI passes going back to your 1990 arrival in San Francisco, Czech matchbox labels, vintage cigarette cards purchased in New Zealand 25 years back, fortune cookie fortunes from years of lunch specials. It all just keeps accumulating. 

My collage work has evolved.   Nowadays I tend to make my own material by painting paper, cutting and reassembling.  I really have little reason to save these things anymore.  In an effort to thin out the hoard I have been creating artist books and then purging, recycling, donating and giving away the rest.  

My latest effort is a A Catalog of Collage Objects  where each pair of pages is dedicated to 19 different ephemeral objects.  Some of the highlights are show here.

The Polka Twins

After finishing one artist scrapbook, I’ve started on another.  I have been digging into my collage boxes and ephemera and filling up an old book on graphic design and layout. The Polka Twins were found in a box of my old photos and they needed to make an appearance.

Revealed Landscapes

One of my projects this winter includes a new, 20-page sketchbook that includes paintings of nine places that are part of the National Park Service.  Like many painters, I often notice smaller paintings within a larger work.  Sometimes I even trim a painting on paper to “save” the part that works and discard the bits I am not pleased with.  With this sketchbook, each 10”x10” paintings is preceded by a page where a 4”x4” square has been cut out.  The square frames a “smaller” and often abstract painting.  Only when the page is turned, is the larger painting revealed.