Category Archives: Art

New Collage (The Wheel)

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I took this photo of The Wheel, my latest collage creation. It’s a piece of interactive art, maybe a divination tool…

 

This is my latest collage. I created it in April 2015.

I wanted to create this to include in the January 2015 Truth or Consequences art show I participated in, but I didn’t have the right spinner. I found the right spinner at my favorite mega super thrift store. (It was from a How the Grinch Stole Christmas board game.) I found the Wheel of Fortune tarot card at the hospital thrift store in T or C. I removed the spinner from the card it came on, collaged the card, glued on the tarot card, then reattached the spinner. Then I glued on all the words I’d cut out of magazines and catalogs.

I call it The Wheel. (The tarot card is the Wheel of Fortune, and The Wheel is a Grateful Dead song, lyrics by Robert Hunter and music by Jerry Garcia and Bill Kreutzmann, which is related to that tarot card. For more about the song and the tarot connection, see http://artsites.ucsc.edu/GDead/agdl/wheel.html.)

To see what your future holds, just spin the wheel…

You Are Here Now You Are Here

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I took this photo of the sculpture embedded in the sidewalk at the the light rail station at McDowell and Central in Phoenix, AZ. As I was setting up the shot, I wondered how many people merely step over it several times a week, without thinking, Yes, I am here now. I’m here on this sidewalk. I’m here at this light rail station. I’m here in downtown Phoenix. I’m here in Arizona. I’m here in the United State of America, in North America. I’m here on this planet, in this galaxy, in this universe. I am HERE. I am here NOW.

I tried to find the name of the artist who created this piece. I can’t say I did an exhaustive search. I did find propaganda from Valley Metro in 2008 saying that the artist responsible for the art at the Central and McDowell stop is Michael Maglich. According to http://www.valleymetro.org/images/uploads/lightrail_publications/METRO-Art-Book.pdf,

Flanked by the Burton Barr Public Library and Phoenix Art Museum, the McDowell station was a perfect match for local artist Michael Maglich. A generous man, brimming with curiosity and wit, Michael envisioned A Thousand Points of Reference as a celebration of the diverse possibilities available to the institutes’ patrons as well as the nearby neighborhoods.

However, the brochure does not specifically mention the piece I am sharing today.

I hope this piece gets people thinking about their place(s) in the world.

Southern Colorado Coal Miners Memorial

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The Southern Colorado Coal Miners Memorial is located on West Main Street, in downtown Trinidad, Colorado. The memorial pays tribute the the hardworking coal miners–active, retired, and deceased–of the region.

It is a life-size replica of men working in a coal mine. The bronze representations of the three men show them doing mining jobs. The statues are atop a black granite base, upon which the names of coal miners from 18 states are inscribed.

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Historically, coal mining has been very important to Las Animas County, of which Trinidad is the county seat. The town was founded in 1862, after coal was discovered in the region. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad,_Colorado, the discovery of coal “led to an influx of immigrants, eager to capitalize on this important natural resource. By the late 1860s, the town had about 1,200 residents.” The coal miners and their families spent their hard-earned money in Trinidad, thus contributing greatly to the growth and success of the town.

Also, the Ludlow Massacre happened only about twelve miles northwest of Trinidad. Briefly,

The Ludlow Massacre was an attack by the Colorado National Guard and Colorado Fuel & Iron Company camp guards on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado, on April 20, 1914. Some two dozen people, including women and children, were killed.

(Learn more about the Ludlow Massacre here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludlow_Massacre)

It makes sense to have a memorial to coal miners in the small town of Trinidad.

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It is a good spot to reflect upon all the men and women who have lost their lives in and because of coal mines. It’s also a good spot to think about the coal miners who are right now risking their lives for our comfort.

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(I took all of the photos in this post.)

More Collages

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I promised more photos of collages I created as soon as I could.

I created this collage for a friend.     IMG_1873

This is a detail from the collage.     IMG_1890

The words are my favorite quote in rock-n-roll, from the song “Already Gone” by the Eagles. The song was written by  Jack Tempchin and Robb Strandlund. I’ve used that quote on collages before, one I made for myself and the other I made for an art show in Truth or Consequences I mentioned before. (That one went to my friend JC, so I can’t show it off on my blog.)

I wanted to show off the four collages that were in the show in Truth or Consequences, but Sue forgot them on her way to China, and I don’t yet have them in my possession. Sue’s promised to mail them to me when she gets back home, so I will eventually be able to post photos of them.

Here’s the “Already Gone” collage that I made for myself. IMG_2076

The keys in both collages are actual metal keys, not paper cutouts.

IMG_2073     This is a collage I made to cover up the stereo panel in my van. The stereo doesn’t work, so I wanted something to look at other than the nonfunctional stereo panel. The stones along the bottom are real stones, and the three spirals are made from metal.IMG_2072     Here’s the right side detail of that collage.

Here’s the left side detail of that collage. IMG_2107

I also have some tins I collaged. I had more, but I’ve recently given two of them away. I have a few more tins, and I do want to add collages to them, but I’m worried they will get scratched up in the van. Even a “safe place” in the van often does not offer adequate protection for things that need to be treated gently.

Here’s the top and sides of tin #1: IMG_2050

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IMG_2053     You get the idea: farm and healthy food theme.

I collaged two very small tins, both with a sweet treat theme.

Here’s the first one, top first, then sides: IMG_2096

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And here’s the second one:     IMG_2101

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I’m sorry these photos aren’t better. I’m still trying to figure out how to use the macro setting on my camera. I need more practice.

Collages

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I create collages.

(It took me a while to figure out the correct verb to use. Is “collage” itself a verb? Should I say, “I collage”? Is “I do collage” better? Maybe “I make collages”? I settled on “I create collages.”)

My last boyfriend (the most recent one, and probably the last one I will ever have) would disparage my collage work by sarcastically asking me if I was cutting out little bits of paper again. He didn’t take anything I did seriously; it wasn’t simply confusion about why I was cutting images out of magazines and catalogs.

This is a collage I did on the front of a journal I bought with a gift certificate last Christmas.

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This is a closer up shot of the collage on the front cover.     IMG_1731

IMG_1733    This is a closer up shot of the collage on the back cover. They are two separate collages that I think fit together as a larger piece.

Inside the journal, I did another collage called “What I Want.” Here is the two-page spread IMG_1718

Here’s a close up of the left page IMG_1721

And a close up of the right pageIMG_1722

I created five collages for an art show in January of this year at the Happy Belly Deli in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. All of the pieces in the show could be no larger than 6″x4″, postcard size. I didn’t take photos of the pieces before I submitted them because my camera had quit working, and I haven’t gotten them back yet. The last I heard, the Happy Belly Deli went belly up, and the woman who organized the show had not been able to get into the building to retrieve the art. Supposedly, the landlord did not have a key to his own property. I don’t know why the person who was running the deli didn’t let the organizer in to get the art. In any case, I hope to get those pieces back. When I do, I’ll post photos because I think they’re awesome.