Do you stand before a work of art, wonder about it and say, “ How did the artist do that?”. Even artists stand before the work of other artists, puzzle over it and say, “How did they do that?” The following will take you through the second set of steps to get to this point in the creation of my collage below.
In part one of “How did I do that?”, I described the initial production where all the cut out linear and negative shapes were sorted, colored, pressed and then organized. Now it is time to compose. I prefer to create several collages at a time working back and forth between them. Currently, I have three in process. However, I will focus on one which I believe is nearly completed and share images of the other two in their current states of completion or not.
Outside of the physical activity of making the art, there is the other part which can be exhilarating, meditative or full of angst depending on what is transpiring. This realm of art making is individual to each artist. Understand that the work can come easily on some days and on others not so much. There can be a lot of emotional stuff invested in a work. This perhaps is a subject for another blog. I am a bit off track. This blog is about the process of how.
Under lying images are selected first for each work. These are the silhouettes that were produced when coloring the pieces with sumi-e ink. They become the underlayment of the composition and they suggest the linear and shape element choices. Of course, I am still thinking about the lines and shapes of which I developed a fondness. I hope that these pieces will marry with the underlayment that I have choosen.
You will probably notice but I will confirm that the background you see is the floor. Yes, I work with the art on the floor. That means I am standing with a lot of bending up and down in various positions. It is a rather physical practice.
You have seen the most important variations in the process of creating this collage. Once the commitment to glue the pieces down is decided, the work is transferred to a large work surface where I am able to stand without all the bending. Right now, this work is as far as I can take it. Am I done or not? It does not have a title yet outside of having the label UW15. UW means UNDERWATER. I will let the work sit and focus on the others that are not quite there yet.
My inspiration from the shell remains however more and more the surf and that area just beyond are playing a greater part in my vision. This is where my thoughts about the work are generated and from which the titles are written.
Below I am sharing the other two works which I was creating concurrently with the above. I am somewhat at an impasse so these works are resting. They are on the floor where I can see them as I move about the studio. They will finally call out to me and direct me what to do and I will complete them. Yes, I talk to my artwork. It is a conversation from start to finish.
