Category: collage

Carrying On

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Memory of a Grid. Posca dots and punch-cut asterisks, painted tissue paper, found paper, 10×10 inches

I’m learning to come back to a piece and listen.

These are offcuts from a later collage, and proved to be missing parts for the Grid Memory composition. See if you can spot them in the finished piece! Also beautiful in their own right.
This one, made in early October, was a surprise winter holiday card, 4.5 x 6 inches

I was getting frustrated with my results and overwhelmed with choices working at larger sizes. I found freedom in smaller sizes and more rapid iteration.

Snippet. Screen-printed/painted tissue papers, 5 x 7 inches

And I also found freedom and joy in slicing up the larger unsuccessful pieces for the smaller compositions, like this snippet. It’s empowering to deconstruct a work that’s just not. Or just throwing! it! away!

Crazy, beautiful collage cat Maxine (actual photograph, not a collage, real cat)

(Just realized there’s not nearly enough cat pictures in this post)

Cheers to you all, and best of vision in all your endeavors

Thanks for reading along and feeling my pain in adult learning and artistic expression. May your winter holidays be loving and bright, full of good coffee and rational and/or goofy conversation and companionship. 2025 coming right up!

Small Studio Remodel Progress

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Sense is being made in the new Studio Inki space

Mostly a lot of standing and staring, and getting distracted going through the many bins of collected miniature treasure, but I’ve constructed my dream standing-height work surface along the back wall, and assembled a pair of paper storage units from Melvins Miniatures, very satisfying. Alpha Stamps has a set of mini rulers and triangles that make the work surface more functional and desky. Having fun printing out scaled versions of my collages and mounting them on boards to hang and/or display on an easel. Adorable! The exquisite leather cowboy boots are vintage, handmade way before everything was 3D printed; sadly artist unknown to me. One of my paper bags serves as a temporary trash bin. (I’ll have to throw a lot of paper scraps on the floor around it for realism.) The pumpkins are one of the first miniature things I ever made that I was happy with, from wads of plastic film bound tightly with thread and covered in small shreds of tissue paper and acrylic medium. Potted yuccas and succulents are production samples from the MMS+S kit days, all in Braxton Payne terra cotta pots. And the vintage Kunstlerschutz Wagner flocked pig is an old dear friend who’s come to live in the studio to keep us all company.

New Tenants in the Old Sea House Leadlights building!

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Well this is exciting! Studio Inki is moving into the old Sea House Leadlights building. (Leadlights needed more space and moved into the imaginary milking barn near the Warming Hut.) Interior design planning is in process, and will feature an open concept to maximize the abundant natural light and epic views. The famous Leadlights-designed windows and doors will remain. “I still really love them,” enthused the new owner.

At this point, the adobe and brick fireplace on the side deck will remain largely unchanged, aside from a thorough cleaning and new limewash. I’m very looking forward to actually completing the set of Kris Compas estate chair kits with the Pescadero thrift store dress fabric upholstery… very Studio Inki.

2018: In or Out?

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2018

For every fish out, let’s have a fish in. May your ladders be sturdy. See clearly. See stars. Grow flowers. Spin the wheel. All in.

This is a collage made from Dresden trim, layered over a recent sunset here in Pacifica. I know the blessing is silly, but it is heartfelt. Welcome to 2018, friends.

Rousseau 1:12 Mural First Cuts

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palm01_cut

I sketched out and constructed a palm plant motif in Illustrator, then reversed a copy of it to make the most of the painted papers.

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Here are my first cuts of the pattern from two of the painted papers, flung onto the wall. I was working against the losing of the light (because hey, Game of Thrones). They will work splendidly as a middle background layer, when arranged.

Still undecided how I will stick them down.

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It took me a couple of cuts to get it right, but here is what a (partial) painted paper looks like after four passes of cutting. Still plenty of material for hand cutting parts available.

 

Rousseau, Painted Paper, Collage

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A few weeks ago I came across this spread in the April 2017 issue of House Beautiful. It’s a wall mural inspired by the imaginary jungle paintings of Henri Rousseau. Designed by Laurel Canyon homeowner Molly Luetkemyer, it was painted by LA artist Jeff Robinson.

I was instantly smitten, and thought a miniature version could be the perfect third wall for the MMS+S set. Since I am currently very keen on repurposing and/or drawing from my considerable hoard stockpile of materials and supplies, I grabbed a peaked MDF wall from — um, actually I no longer remember what build it was from.

Years ago, I dabbled in some cut painted paper collage paintings, inspired by Eric Carle. I love this method of illustration. For this 1:12 wall, I plan on using hand- and machine-cut painted papers augmented with markers.

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Here is the wall (MDF, 12 x 17 inches) with the preliminary foundation background painted in acrylics. I’ve been studying Rousseau’s jungle paintings, and making note of elements I want to include: light to dark background gradations; sky, moon/sun, jungle; exaggerated plant details; simple two-tone object shading. In Luetkemyer’s inspiration mural, she says the plants are based on California’s landscape, and I plan to do the same. What an awesome opportunity to draw all my favorite plants and flowers: yucca, ficus, succulents, sansevieria; gorgeous orange and red mystery fruit; outrageous florid orange and yellow flowers.

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Using 14 x 11-inch medium-weight drawing paper and acrylic paint, I’ve begun making my papers, starting with the greens.

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And then some warms:

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It’s getting late, and I’ve run out of room on my drying rack, so my helper cat and I are calling it a night.

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Nancyland’s August (or Fogust, as we say here in the Bay Area) home page splash image is made from two of the above painted papers, layered using the magical “Lighten” blending mode in Photoshop.
The lyric snippet is from Grouplove’s “Colours”, a song Maddie and I both enjoy singing along to when it comes on the radio :)
Lyric snippet update: The National’s “The System Only Dreams in Total Darkness”. Listening to on repeat.

 

Finished Sketchbooks

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FS01

For the first time, I am making finished sketchbooks.

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Featuring a bookmarked center spread with an original watercolor sketch, there are bits and bobs peeking out, much like our own 1:1 sketchbooks. The inspiration for the bits and bobs is Keli’s clever receipt notebook.

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The covers have a snippet or collage of other original art, meaning that each sketchbook will be one-of-a-kind.

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Here are the first four center spreads. Each will be bound into the classic sketchbook cover, then individually bitted and bobbed.

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In addition to sketches I’m doing some abstract expression-y explorations.

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What doesn’t make the design cut to center spread will be used for the bits and bobs, and cover illustrations. The books are finished to be relatively flat, measuring 1.625 x 1.125 inches (4.13 x 2.86 cm). This is the real deal — original art made 1:12 scale — for the love of miniatures and color and drawing and watercolor markers. And bits and bobs :)

Honor, Office Essentials, A Sconce

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uppercase_031417

Earlier this month, I was delighted to receive an email from Uppercase magazine publisher Janine, saying that the Plastic Litter collage would be included in No. 33. Today, while flipping through a lo-res digital preview of the upcoming issue, I was astounded to see it was given a full page! Whoa and wowser. Above is a photo from her newsletter, with action shots of the printing process. Of course all of you are already subscribers, so I don’t even have to go on about how truly worthwhile and inspirational this publication is.

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I’m about three-quarters of the way through photographing and writing instructions, kitting and listing the four or five kits that comprise the new Office Essentials line over at MMS+S. Then it will be on to the wall sconce kit, which is through prototyping, yay!

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For my birthday, our water heater ruptured and flooded the under-house utility room for $1,750. Other than that rude occurrence, everything was lovely. Thank you! I’m getting back to work now!