Saturday 28 January 2012

Theme Picker's Son

Who'll pick the themes 'til the theme picker comes? Anybody up for next months theme pick? Thanks to Fi who did a terrific job on picking last months.

Let me know by Thursday r I'll be forced to wheel out the Themeopicker Machine!

Captain A.T.J. Pennyforth's Unsuccessful Attempt to Wallpaper the Pyramids in 1892.

one last gasp re. copyright issues

When we were talking earlier, I forgot to link to this well-researched site on copyright issues for collage artists. When I read her info, at first I was a little freaked out. But after calming down, I was like, "Oh well." I must admit, it hasn't influenced my artistic practice very much. I do use lots of images from non-vintage sources.

I'll be curious to hear y'all's further thoughts, if you have any...

Thursday 26 January 2012

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Schematic

The minimalist rears her simple head.

Super Duper Collage


I couldn't quite fit this on the scanner so imagine another stripey border on the left hand side. I know this isn't completely abstract but enough I think to make it fit this theme.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

"An Ode to the National Geographic Collagist"

Hmmm...just noticed that word: "collagist." 'Never heard that one before.

Anyway, the point of this post is to draw your attention to a good article on collage from the point of view of a National Geographic photographer, and an even better set of collages by various artists (just keep scrolling down): here.

I'll be curious to hear what y'all think...one thing that really strikes me is, if a National Geographic photographer is celebrating collages made with the magazine's collages, then copyright infringement is truly not an issue. And I've always worried more about using Nat Geo images, than almost any other source!

Monday 23 January 2012

freefallin' A



I wanted to make sure I could scan & upload this collage before explaining my "secret" reason for selecting abstract/text as a theme-slash-challenge: I'm on a writer's retreat in the wilds of the snow-covered West Virginia mountains—hundreds of miles away from my collage materials & art supplies. I knew that I would need to make something simple from materials at hand.

What I used for this collage: one piece of brown cardboard, one discarded dust jacket from a hardcover book, a pair of scissors, and a glue stick. And no graphics software on the old computer I used w/ the scanner, so that's why it's kind of fuzzy-looking. =laugh=

P.S. Sorry about this extra post: I can't figure out how to delete it. And I can't figure out how to make blogger do a larger view, either. This is what comes of uploading things from an iPad. =sigh= But you can view a larger version here.

Saturday 21 January 2012

Now You Can Have Art


This collage was really hard for me to make until I just let it make itself. 

I had to start with some structure so I used a print of 'Carnac' 1965 an abstract painting by British artist Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) as my background and then I found a print of 'Oriental Poppies' a painting by Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) and cut/tore.  The torn floating bits of floral paper are from a band that wrapped a gift of stationery.  The paisley paper and letters were found on my art table and I worked them in with the words from a vintage ad found in a 1960s hair style magazine. 

I've never made such an abstract collage before.  Thanks for the great challenge Fi!

Johnny Abstract

I was a bit stuck at first about what to do then I got some inspiration from cutting up scans of my son's 'freeform' drawings and paintings and mixing them with shapes. An interesting theme challenge that was a lot of fun to do.

Everyone's work has been exceptional on this theme. Well done y'all.

A Large, Jagged Blue Scrap

For Fi!

Abraca Dabstract


Mostly stuff lying around on my work table or on the floor.

Thursday 19 January 2012

Bomb Shelter

I'm a day late w/ my piece for the previous theme. My excuse is that I chose to go sledding instead of scanning artwork. Forgive my weakness.

Theme of the week: abstract / text

Abstract shapes, bits of this & that, cut or torn or punched out...and/or letters, parts of letters, words or phrases, blocks of text. Mix it up, minimalist or maxed-out, with doodles or paint or string or whatever. Just nothing figurative/representational. Oh...and have fun! =smile=

Sunday 15 January 2012

The Farm Cats Were All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace



"All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace"

     a poem by Richard Brautigan (1935-1984)

I like to think (and
the sooner the better!)
of a cybernetic meadow
where mammals and computers
live together in mutually
programming harmony
like pure water
touching clear sky.

I like to think
     (right now please!)
of a cybernetic forest
filled with pines and electronics
where deer stroll peacefully
past computers
as if they were flowers
with spinning blossoms.

I like to think
     (it has to be!)
of a cybernetic ecology
where we are free of our labors
and joined back to nature,
returned to our mammal
brothers and sisters,
and all watched over
by machines of loving grace.

Note:  First published in 1967, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace,  a collection of thirty two poems, was Brautigan's third collection of poetry; his fifth poetry book publication.

Space Savers

Saturday 14 January 2012

GREASE! For Robots!

Robot Planet

Mlle. Harmonographie

The patterns in this collages were made by me using a mechanical harmonograph, which took me ages to build, test and get to work. All up this is one of the most time-consuming collages that I have made (even though it doesn't look it).

Thursday 12 January 2012

Twitter Machine

In case you were wondering exactly how tweets are generated...

alien technology from another world!


The Italian text in the comic-book panel reads (roughly), "And the annihilating bomb resumes its growth!" The drawing I made (on graph paper), plus the silvery letters in an "alien" tongue, were adapted from intensely serious materials I found when I googled "extraterrestrial technology." A fascinating google: I recommend it some time when you don't have anything better to do.

Uncle Neville's Froglet Gun

theme of the week: machines / technology

Household appliances, industrial equipment, lasers, phasers, robots, all kinds of machines & technology, real or imagined. It's kind of broad, I know, but if you steer clear of automobiles & modern computers, we should have a reasonably wacky topic, open to all sorts of bizarre excursions. (And don't forget Rube Goldberg devices! =grin=)

Monday 9 January 2012

The World's Greatest Disappearing Trick

This collage was inspired by my dislike of seeing animals in captivity and my love of magic tricks. I based it around a single vintage photo featuring a lion behind bars, which I freed with my scissors (oops, I probably shouldn't have revealed the secret behind my trick).

Circus

Thursday 5 January 2012

Ark At This!


Well, the bears and lions have eaten all the other animals and Noah and his family and come to an uneasy truce. Some of the bears have locked themselves in the galley and are eating all the porridge.

The Blue Rajah, His Sons, and the Royal Sabertooths

theme of the week: lions / tigers / bears

Oh my! It's my turn to present a series of themes: each one will be 2 or 3 words separated by slashes meaning (of course) "and-or." So have fun this week making collages with one or more big mammals with impressive teeth. (I think if a leopard or a jaguar sneaks in, no one will object.) Feel free to be as literal or as metaphorical as you wish!

Stinking Fish Mechanics

Tuesday 3 January 2012

GROW ROSES by Mary Maxim


Hello and allow me to introduce myself.  I am Angie Naron and I live in Chicago.  Retired from secretarial work, I now devote my life to gardening, photography, making collages, creating one of a kind cloth dolls, collecting vintage photographs (I have thousands), buying and selling antiques (I have been a dealer for nearly 20 years) and playing with my dog Harvey.  I've recently begun collecting vintage paper dolls - a hot collectible.

This, my first collage for The Kollage Kit, theme of the week: Books, features some elements of my favorite pastimes - that is a paper doll pajama and pillow cut out, the woman known as Mary Maxim is a disembodied vintage photograph and while the roses are a bit larger than the ones I grow, the ornamental garden urn is something I am constantly looking for to add interest in my own garden.  The dog is a tip of the hat to my dog Harvey who is my constant shadow.

Film Annual Of Pies