This week was all about learning, or at least gleaning. My sense of completion is fighting with my need to actually stop and make art.

Learning

The Collage Makers Summit videos are coming fast & furious. Even though each day’s project or lesson isn’t too long, there’s at least 30 minutes of watching, then note-taking, and thoughts about where I can fit ideas into my own process.

I was able to create a piece based on the first project, and started creating materials for the second one. The third one mentioned 5 days of drying time — I need to give that some thought.

I’m halfway through the lessons, and might take a breather while I absorb it. Here are the artists I’ve watched, and their own sites.

• Lydia Rink — abstract shapes as focal point
• Marabeth Quin — botanical collage from painted tissue paper
• Dar James — thick layers of medium to create depth
• Jennifer Penick — deconstructed boxes as substrate
• Jane Chipp — grid collages
• Esté MacLeod — color sketches with deli paper
• Leslie Rottner — aged texture with collage

Each of them has beautiful art and their own class offerings, if anything catches your eye. Registration for the summit is still possible, but only through the end of the week.

Reviewing

I have a couple of shows to catch before they close, but didn’t get to any in person this week. As part of my usual scan for inspiration on Instagram, I saw this show, mentioned by several people I follow — because they got in!

Conversations with Artists: All About Color

The work together is a visual delight — congratulations to Michael Toti, Lisa Farrell, and more.

I’ve also started a new art book! Mapping the Intelligence of Artistic Work by Anne West looks to be a deep dive into understanding my own practice. How’s your art reading pile?

Applying

I am considering entering a couple of shows that are calling for collages I can mail.

• Place, Memory, and Distance — to support Atelier 8.18 for World Collage Day
• Clocking In for Unpaid Labo[u]r — a Canadian version of the original call by Elaine Luther

I’ve been staring at the time cards for the second one, and have a sketch of an idea. I might need a test run that doesn’t ruin the cards first! I’m grateful for a Canadian landing pad that lets me participate again with this important theme. See my first round here.

For the first one, having stopped by the main show and thinking hard along those lines, I have a few sources I’d like to merge: watercolor backgrounds (from the watercolor class), photos from a trip to see family, and fodder from the Collage Makers projects.

I love the angles of those rooflines, and that welcoming porch, that reminds me of the house I grew up in. See how I’ve used the painted tissue paper in the working pieces? I’ll keep playing with the concept for another while, to see if something jumps out at me as being worth sending in.

Meetings & Making

I missed one regular meeting this week, but made up for it Monday & Tuesday. During the Monday open studio time, I decided to try something with the scanned spelling book (completed in Week 5), possibly affected by the lesson above, about abstract shapes as a focal point.

Since I’d scanned the whole page spread, I didn’t like the dip in the middle. So, I solved it by using each edge separately, and flipped the order. I’m liking the result and looking forward to exploring where the other scans can take me. Nothing like a juicy project, fresh on the horizon…

And then Tuesday was 3 art calls in a row — how great is that?? Creating and reviewing what I’ve worked on, with other artists giving feedback and perspective, really helps balance the time spent creating, alone in my own head. How was your creative week?

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