2025 02 Do I Look Like A Martyr?

 Today my adventure began with an old bellows I had bought to collage on. But because I am taking a Michael deMeng on line workshop called Heart Chambers, it took on a new purpose. 

I have been cleaning my basement and uncovering old projects. One of the projects I found was this Altoid tin that I had worked on the seemed to fit the Heart Chamber theme. 

The insides of the tin were OK on the left side (above) but not so OK on the right (below).

I resolved the left side of the tin with a little paint (above) but completely rethought the right with paint and an old bone. 

Thus we have, Do I Look Like A Martyr? It is16"H X 8"W X 4"D. It consists of Bellows, Altoid Tin, Mexican Tin, Bead, Bone, Copper Wire, Nails (22), Aves Clay and Paint.
 

2025 02 Pause Between Two Clarities

This project started because I was storing two wooden heads in an old drawer amongst all my junk in the basement of my house. As I was moving them around to do some cleaning, I thought they looked pretty good together. 

I auditioned some images to get prepared to create the collage. 

I painted the backdrop and then began to apply the collage. It got this far before I decided the time had come to add some elements before the final colors are laid down.

So I got going on the wood heads. 

Texture

More colors went down on the box before the final project was assembled. 

Thus we have Pause Between Two Clarities. The title for this project came from the poem Respiration by Octavio Paz. It is 24"H X 12"W X 5"D. It consists of Drawer, Wood Heads (2), Wood Handle, Glass Heart, Belt Buckle, Nails (18), Paper and Paint.

2025 02 For Just One Kiss the Kings Of Earth Would Have Bartered Their Shadows

 I am in a new online class with Michael de Meng called Heart Chambers. The basic idea is to combine hearts with a shrine like structure. 

Here are the three items I originally selected to get my Heart Chamber started. That is a resin Benjamin Franklin Bank issued by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It painted rather easily.

I quickly rejected the original idea of somehow incorporating the metal mold form. Instead I decided to use this clock case for the shrine and this wood box for the pedestal that the Franklin will sit upon. After laying down some rusted coffee filter and sewing pattern, I was able to paint the case. 

Thus we have For Just One Kiss the Kings Of Earth Would Have Bartered Their Shadows. The title comes from Guillaume Apollinaire's poem Song Of The Ill-Loved Man. It is 20"H X 13"W X 7"D. It consists of Benjamin Franklin Bank (Philadelphia Museum of Art), Clock Case, Mexican Tin Heart, Servel Electrolux Gas Refrigerator Badge, Watch Part, Wood Box, Dixon No. 496 Yellow Lumber Crayon, Screws, Bead, Cheese Cloth, Rusted Coffee Filter, Sewing Pattern Paper and Paint.

2025 01 G + B = T

My new project is about the absence of common sense and decency in the United States in regard to how we interfere into people's lives. It is called G + B = T. You figure it out.

Here are the parts I gathered to begin the project. 

The mid-ground items are a radio speaker screen and an old light switch.

This is a photograph that I painted and overlaid with mica. 

Thus we have G + B = T. It is 15"H X 9"W X 4"D. It consists of Cradled Board, Wood Cathedral Frame, Wood Rounds (2), Radio Speaker Screen, Light Switch, Roller Skate Keys (7), Photograph, Mica, Rusted Coffee Filter and Paint

2025 01 Love, Anyone?

 I unburied this tennis racket I bought on a shopping spree on a road trip I took awhile back and thought it was time to put it to its use. When I buy an item like this I pretty much know what I want to do with it and this proved true with this project. 

Essentially the tennis racket serves as a frame. I still need to create a substrate. I decided to use some muslin canvas as the base.

Because of the tennis theme, I searched for tennis terms that might be used. From Wikipedia I learned, "In tennis, 'love' is a term used to describe a score of zero in points, games, or sets." Perfect for this project.

The rhythm of the title comes from the old cliche, "Tennis, anyone?" Where did that phrase come from and who first said it? Again, from Wikipedia, comes this information: "If (Humphrey) Bogart ever did speak the line, it would have presumably been in the 1925 play Hell's Bells, set at the Tanglewood Lodge in New Dauville, Connecticut. Bogart claimed that his line in the play was 'It's forty-love outside. Anyone care to watch?', and that indeed is what is printed in the script. However, according to Darwin Porter, director John Hayden crossed out that line and replaced it with 'Tennis, anyone?' before opening night."

A young Humphrey Bogard

Here is how the collage and painting came out on the substrate.

Then it was time to assemble the project. 

Thus we have Love, Anyone? It is 27"H X 12"W X 3"D. It consists of a Wilson Bruce Barnes Famous Player Series Tennis Racket, Muslin Canvas, Chain, Paper and Paint.

2025 01 That Sea Bright In Its Depths Was The Blood In My Veins

 My mentor and friend Andrea Matus deMeng is my inspiration for the collages that I do. One of her collages, Seadusa, has always intrigued me. 

Seadusa by Andrea Matus deMeng

Today I set off on my own journey to create a work inspired by her work. I started with this fake wicker knick-knack shelf that has been sitting in my basement for years.

Andrea's collage process always begins with what she terms an "audition." This was my understanding of what my collage was going to look like when I was ready to apply it. (Please note the female face in this photograph). 

I took the back off the shelf unit to use as the substrate for the collage. It got painted and then I applied the face I had selected for this collage. To my great regret, I messed up the application of the face and had to tear it off the substrate. I always tell my students (regarding assemblage but it applies to collage), do not even start this if you do not want to problem solve. 

Here is the new face I selected after repairing the painting on the substrate. 

Here is the collage and painting completed on the substrate. Next it was time to paint the frame.

This wicker boat had been sitting with the shelf for all these years so now it was time to paint that as well. 

Thus we have That Sea Bright In Its Depths Was The Blood In My Veins. The title of this piece comes from the Guillaume Apollinaire poem Cortege. It is 32"H X 19"W X 7"D. It consists of a Shelf Unit, Wicker Boat, Clock Face, Paper and Paint.