Collage Mania Preview Week!

Grab your pencil and a sheet of paper ...

It's time to zip over to Collage Mania and browse through the 235 fiber art collages generously donated to help raise funds for the American Cancer Society. That's right; I'm talking about Virginia Spiegel's . . .

FIBERART FOR A CAUSE!

Here's a little preview to whet your appetite:

Contemplation, by Terri Stegmiller

The Shape of Cancer, Kara Klein

The Blue Crow, by Marjorie Lee Jin En DeQuincy

Memories of Kyrgyzstan, Karen Musgrave

Bamboo Fence, Gerrie Congdon

During Preview Week you get to browse through the fabulous artwork and plan out what you want to buy (for a minimum donation of $80 May 5 or $40 May 6). You can click on the links to read about many of the artists, too.

Collage Mania officially opens Monday, May 5 at 9 a.m. and continues May 6. And get this: 100% of the proceeds are donated directly to the American Cancer Society through Fiberart For A Cause.

P.S. You'll find two of my collages there, too.

Thoughtful Friends

I received the most amazing and unexpected package in the mail this week from my art/lit pen pal Stanton Hager. An absolute goodie bag of delicious treats for now and later.

First and foremost is the wonderful 4-panel booklet "Disclosures of Stanton's Mind." I love that it's two-sided--and that one side is more concrete, the other more abstract. The side you can't see offers spiritual ... Asian ... Buddhist snippets, plus Stanton's wonderfully angular "Fall of Troy," in the style of the collage on the far right above.

And those stamps. I can't wait to start a news series of stamp art--the Hager sub-set, perhaps. There's a Whitman I've never seen and a wonderful Steinbeck (little did Stanton know I read all of Steinbeck when I was a freshman in college). He even included Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and a wonderfully funky Thoreau. And I can't wait to try the trio of blues greats--Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Billie Holiday.

And the lovely Ms Em, of course.

Oh, and the book: Great Poems by American Women: An Anthology. There are the greatest hits, of course, but enough new-to-me poets to keep me happy for some time.

Isn't it funny how cyber pals often lead to good old-fashioned pen pals? We all love the ether, but it just can't surpass the tactile reality of a package in the mail. An on-location-only joy.

And so thoughtful.

Imagination vs. Knowledge

Like the collage? You can buy it here.

"Imagination," the uber-brainiac Einstein supposedly said, "is more important than knowledge."

I respectfully disagree.

If you recall the old TV show "The Twilight Zone," you might remember the episode where an old man sells his soul to the devil to go back in time and buy land before oil was discovered on it. Oh, and in the process, he convinces the devil to make him look young again.

All hail to imagination, right?

Not quite.

After he arrives in the past and spends his last penny on the land, he learns everyone already knew there was oil on it. They just didn't have the equipment to extract it. Turns out no one had the knowledge to build it yet.

Oops.

Oh, and that young body? It's just a shell. His innards were as old as they were in the future--and aging just as rapidly.

That's what either/or thinking gets you, I guess. Me? I go for both/and: Give me the dreams of things not yet seen--and the knowledge to bring them to fruition.

With my apologies to the wizard, of course.

Be Good for Something

Like the collage? You can buy it here

"Be not simply good," Thoreau tells us, "be good for something."

Which leads me to thinking about my blog. And wondering why I do it (or don't lately). And what it's good for. Or not.

I started it a year and a half ago to ... to ... well ... break out of a rut, I guess. To try on a different life. A writer's life. An artist's life. A life of text and image, a daily (or so) exercise in illuminating the world around me ... and within. And, for a while, it was a beautiful way to start the day: Looking out the window, sipping a cup of joe, and letting my fingers express my thoughts. Then came groups and challenges. Explorations and sharing. Sunday Scribblings. Inspire Me Thursdays. One Deep Breath. Photo Fridays. I felt heady with creativity and awareness. Growth and knowledge. New skills. New eyes. New thoughts.

But ... but ... school ends eventually, yes?

The challenges began to take on the weight of a chore to be completed. Or I was too busy elsewhere. Or I wasn't sure why I was doing them anymore.

When I read other blogs, I began to feel as I did when I was a kid: I just didn't fit in.

I saw a cartoon once that perfectly illustrated my ... well ... my me-ness. There was a man in the first image, sitting in a chair, with the word THINK above him. In each of the next cells of the cartoon, there were more versions of THINK until the man was completely obliterated by the word. Thinking one's self to death.

Is that possible? You're probably nodding yes right now. Whoever you are. And why-ever you're reading this. If you're still reading this.

Sigh. See what I mean?

I'm not a diarist. Not a journaler of my thoughts. I'm not going to chronicle my day or talk about my job. It's not that I don't value those things on other blogs. It's just not me. I want to share my thoughts ... my images ... engage in conversation ... in depth and thought and hope and ... what? I'm not sure.

Why does blogging feel so lonely to me these days? Is it that I don't get many comments? A friend of mine in another state, who reads my blog daily, says it's narcissistic of me to think that I haven't connected with others just because they don't comment. "I never comment," he says. Yeah, I know, I thought to myself.

But I don't really want just comments. Maybe that's the problem. I want conversation. Stimulation. Agreement or disagreement. Engagement. I don't want to just be saying, "Look at me. I'm part of pop culture too."

Yep, we're back to thinking.

Probably this ain't the place for it. Or maybe I'm just not the blogger to inspire it.

I don't know.

I don't even know why I'm writing this. Or why I'll click "Publish Post." Or what I'll think if I don't (or do) get comments. Maybe it's time to try something new.

I did open the door, after all. Maybe now it's time to take a deep breath and walk through.

Danger ATC

Here's a new ATC I finished last week and sent to my art & literature pen pal Stanton Hager.

It started with a photo I took of a sign in a wonderful public garden in Walnut Creek, CA, this summer. The sign was such a gloriously over-the-top warning of the dangers of entering the large pond that I had to snap it.

And so was a silly collage far behind?

Or maybe a life lesson?

Ch-Ch-Ch-changes ...

Psst, kid, wanna buy some magnets?
Click here.

jblack designs is now an ETSY shop! But not to worry--I'll still use my eBay listings for estate sale items and collage/mixed media supplies.

The ETSY shop, though, is strictly for collage work--my original designs plus cards and magnets made from high res scans. I started yesterday by listing the 15 magnets above. Today I hope to get a few cards listed and a couple of matchbox books. Within the month, I'll move my entire card inventory from eBay to ETSY.

Who knows what the future will bring? (I'm thinking literary dolls--papier mache collaged/painted/mixed media--featuring fav authors and characters!)

I'll use eBay for amazing finds from estate sales (which I am addicted to) and decluttering. I figure I'll be sorting and listing almost every day for the next week or so; then it'll settle into some sort of regular listing pattern of once or twice a week. I've got some great items listed on eBay right now; wanta see? Click here.

Change can be good, yes?

Published!

Do you remember that scene in Steve Martin's The Jerk when the main character goes running down the street yelling, "The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here!"?

Fade out from that street scene to me at home. There's a knock at the door. I open it, but no one's there. Then I see the Fed Ex package propped against the wall.

I hurriedly open the package and find two copies of the summer issue of American Educator magazine and a note from an assistant thanking me for my work. Holy cow! It's the issue with my collage. It's finally here, finally finally finally.

I've had several articles and art works in Somerset Studio and her sister publications the past few years, and I will admit it was thrilling to finally get the publication and see my collages--and my name. But this, well, this just feels different. And so exciting!

Next time--an article and an illustration!

Dreams

Dreams
3.5 by 5"
acrylic paint, tissues, ephemera, button, old photo
built on watercolor paper

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"Philip K. Dick asked (later to be addressed by Blade Runner). Or do they dream of a new home?

I recently saw Gilmore Girls for the first time, and I found myself thinking the same thing as when I visited Marfa, TX. Holy cow--that's where I want to live:

A small town full of interesting, quirky people. A place to walk to a coffee shop or grocery store or diner. A bookstore (not just a hardware store, although that would be good, too). A neat old house. Friends. Art. Music. Scenery.

Does it exist (outside of Marfa? Maybe with more trees?). Do you live in such a place? Where is it?

Me (Not Me)

Is there a "me" in my collage work?

I'm wondering.

I guess I do have recurring themes: Literature, flowers, birds, freedom, nature, melancholy. Love, too, I think, but not the hearts and flowers type of love. Sadness. Contemplation. Justice.

I'm wondering because of a few posted and emailed comments on my first large collage (see in the post below). "I like it," some have said, "but it's not like you." That's so interesting to me, because it feels just like me to me: Literary ... contemplative ... moody... floral ... avian.

Me!

I think the main difference is that I felt I had to stretch the space between the images in such a large collage. If I had made that same collage in, say, 3 by 5", the bird, nature scene, words, and flowers would have been practically on top of each other, but possibly in the same positions. Even the same colors. But, yikes, there was a lot of space to fill. I wanted the mood of autumn to hit first, then the images, then words. So, more color, less image.

I don't mind being told this isn't me. I'm not sure what "me" is some days, I confess. Maybe I'm changing--and that's a good thing. Maybe I'm exploring. Certainly going larger is something new. New muscles. New vistas.

A new me?

I wonder.

My First Time

Autumn Mist
18 by 24"
acrylic and paper on canvas

It's never too late for art school (which I never attended), right? I kept wishing, while working on this new collage, that I knew more about painting, design, how to achieve various effects, and, well, just how to ....

Techniques. Tricks. Better ideas.

I look in art books and magazines. Study others' paintings and collages. But there's nothing like an on-location guide to say, "Here, let me show you how to do that." Or "Why not try it this way?"

I guess I'll just have to rely on experience. This is my first large collage, but it won't be my last. I see my mistakes--some I even have ideas about how to correct next time. Others ... well ... it'll be trial and error, I guess.

Learning to think--and see--and do--large.

A whole new vantage point.


P.S. The snippet in the collage is from the poem "The Sensitive Plant," by Shelley:

Swift summer into the autumn flowed,
And frost in the midst of the morning rode.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Cute as a Button

Button ATC Swap for Creative Journeys

by (from top left to bottom right) --

Marilyn Damschen, Jo Wholohan, Marcy Hudziak, Gaye Triggs, Rande Hanson, Hope Clinchot

I received my ATCs this week from the button swap hosted by Deb Lewis. And I couldn't be happier.

This is the sweetest, loveliest, happiest set of ATCs I have ever received. They make me smile just to look at them. The perfect antidote for a gloomy day.

(See my contributions to the swap here.)

Blue Exhalations

"Blue Exhalations," by Stanton Hager

I received the loveliest gift in the mail today. So lovely, in fact, that I rushed to the computer to tell you about it.

Does that ever happen to you?

It wasn't just the artwork (above), which is an oh-so-cool original card only 2.5 by 3.25". And it wasn't the hand-made envelope. Or the perfect, calligraphied address. It was also the note inside, written by a perfectly perfect stranger who bought a few of my art cards on eBay and wrote a wonderful note to tell me how much he liked them. And included two literary postage stamps as gifts.

Hawthorne and Frost. Yum.

It's odd, because I've been feeling sort of off-kilter lately. I've spent hours in the garden--weeding, digging new beds, transplanting seedlings--but not a single minute at the art table. I'd sit down to work but end up on the floor, cleaning out bins of ephemera. Straightening out the mess. Planning what I'll take on my trip to CA next month. Then get up and walk in the other room.

No glue. No scissors. No dreams of images or embodied favorite lines. Just doubts about whether I had anything to say.

Not depressed, really. Just, well, empty.

Until this lovely gift. A small thing. But it means so much.

Painted Backgrounds

I was asked how I created the background* in my atcs for the button swap, and I'm glad to share. But first let me pay homage to those who inspired me:

• Misty Mawn, who posted about her lift-off technique on her blog last year
• Linda Woods, whose stencil technique is a thing of beauty.

*Warning: I don't have an art background, so most of these steps are the product of serendipity and personal quirks. If you know a better way, please share!

Step 1: Paint acrylics or watercolors in the shades you want for your background. This may take several layers and lots of water. I usually start with a wash of one color but begin adding and taking off colors with water and a paper towel. If your paper towel is textured, it can make a really cool design, but be sure to crumple it up to mix the textures. Also, if you blot too hard, and your paint is wet, you'll end up with white paper.

Step 2: After the painted background has dried, tear strips of blank paper, and paint the accent colors--not too thickly--across the page. Quickly, before the paint dries, use the back of the brush to draw designs in the paint; then immediately layer it onto the painted background. The wetter and thicker the paint, the more nimbly you need to "stamp" it on the page (or it ends up as a big blog of the new color). Repeat the process as often as you like with other colors until you get the design you were hoping for.

Step 3: After the lift-off paint has dried, get out your stencil brush, cosmetic sponge, and mesh ribbon. Use either rubber stamp inks or paint (be sure to tamp the applicator off until almost completely dry) to stamp grid designs on the background. If you aren't too impatient, you can let one layer dry and stamp on another color to provide a sort of shading for the grids.

Step 4: Now it's time for collage fun--layer on papers or earlier work to begin the finished product. These blues in my new background will provide the grounding for a new "girlfriends advice" card design I have percolating.

That's it! Enjoy!

Button Swap

Button swap for Creative Journeys, hosted by Deb Lewis

I've been quite remiss in terms of participating in swaps and other creative exchanges this year. So when the one-button ATC-sized swap came along, I thought, "Ok, this one I can do." And I did. I mail them off this week ... and I'll get 6 others in return. How fun--and inspiring.

I've been in a southwest frame of mind lately, so I decided to start with tiny vintage contact photos from Mexico that I bought on eBay several years ago. I painted watercolor paper with bright acrylics, stamped through mesh ribbon, and layered decorative papers, pages from an old Spanish book, and the photos. I sewed the edges of each design with purple and red thread, and then lashed on the buttons. I attached my card to the back of each, and voila, I'm finished.

I do love buttons!

P.S. I also listed a few lots of similar tiny photos on eBay, so if you're interested, click here. They're great for small collages.

Free Shipping!

Here's the deal:

Buy at least one card from my eBay store between May 7-11, and you get FREE SHIPPING.

• Or buy 3 cards--and get FREE SHIPPING.
  
• Or 10 cards--and get FREE SHIPPING.
  
• Or ... well, you get it.

Click here, and let the shopping begin.

P.S. Come back soon--new designs will be listed next week.

Sneak Preview

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a "blue" snippet of my latest collage. Now you get the whole enchilada--and a story to boot.

Here's what happened:

I got an email out of the blue from the production editor of American Educator magazine, headquartered in Washington, D.C. She had come across my web site, loved my literature-based collages, and wondered if I did illustrations for magazines. And, if I did, if I'd be interested in doing one for her magazine.

Uh, no. I mean, yes, I'd be interested, but no I've never done an illustration for a magazine.

Gulp. But I can try.

So she sent me an article to illustrate: It told the story of an educational tour designer who uses poetry to inspire school children on tours of Washington, D.C., and other historic sites. It draws them in, she says, to imagine the lives of the real people behind a potentially boring field trip. The editor asked me to submit a sketch in 10 days.

A sketch? I never sketch out my ideas. But never say never, right? So I got an idea and created a mock-up. She loved it, and took it to an editorial meeting. No, they said, we want more monuments from the article. So I re-did it and sent it on. No, they said, we want more diversity in the photos. That sent me to eBay to buy the wonderful photo that's in the bottom right of the collage.

That design got accepted, and then I had twenty days to create the real collage. Yikes. So I painted. I measured. I cut. I sweated. I repositioned. I put off gluing down. I adhered tissue papers and painted and cut out clouds and resized and cut again. I worried. A lot. Then I finished.

But I didn't like it.

I fretted more and called friends. Sent scans for critiques. Worried. It was so ... well, measured. So not me.

So I started over. I couldn't change the design, seeing as how it had the seal of approval, but I could be less precise. This time, I didn't measure. I didn't worry. I cut out puffy, child-like clouds, thumb-nailed the size of the monuments, and deepened the hues. I was happy. It felt like me again. And, after all, "me" is what led to the contact, right? All I could do was hope.

She loved it. And I learned how to illustrate, work with editors, get larger (8.5 by 11), and be myself while stretching out of my comfort zone. And I even get paid.

Does it get any better?

P.S. At one point, their graphic designer contacted me to ask what program I use to create my collages. Uh ... program? Oops. "Glue, paper, and my hands," I wrote back.

What can I say? I'm a hands-on kind of gal.

The Blues

The Blues
Photo Friday challenge for the week.

To see others' blues, click here.

Forget singin' the blues. I've been painting my sorrows away.

The foursome above shows the mixture of blues providing part of the background for my latest collage (shhhhh ... it's a secret for now--to be revealed before too long). Of course, there's some white mixed in. And tissue paper. Lots of blotting with paper towels, lift-off technique, and stippling through mesh ribbon.

I've got a long way to go before I'm through. Clouds, text, images. More paint. More stippling. More layers.

Maybe that's why I like collage so much: Layers. Upon layers. Upon layers. Added up. Scraped off. Scratched and sanded and piled and pulled.

Sorta like life.

Girl

girl on the edge of the world

(with a little--ok, a lot--of help from Photoshop)

Photo Friday challenge for the week.
Want to see more? Click here.