Mini Collage Number Forty-One

Gravitea
ink, magazine cutouts, matboard
4 x 5 inches

Here comes my last five mini collages, folks.  I have run out of old pieces of 4 x 5 inch matboard pieces--I can't believe it!  I'm so glad that I was able to use up some old stuff and even incorporate it into some designs.  I would have had more if I'd not left them out in the rain for a few days, therefore causing a bit of mold to grow on some of the paper.  They were mostly protected in little clear envelopes, though.

Today I'm installing larger mixed media work at Parisi Cafe in Union Station, through the Now Showing program--!  Very excited!  Pictures to come.

P.S. I'm sorry the title to this one is a pun.

Mini Collage Number Fifteen

Vroom
magazine paper cutouts, painted paper, math book on matboard
4 x 5 inches

Nicotine, leaded gas, Vivaran, math.  Yummo.

Mini Collage Number Two

Fewer words, emphasis on images.  Shut up and look:

Bravo Bromilead
1960s coupon, fabric paper, 1970s plant book cut out
on matboard
4x5 inches

I actually bought the plant book, which made me feel silly, but I don't regret it.  I'm going to cut that mother up good!

Mini Collages

I'm going to start posting my collages because I want to share and this is a way for me to keep on with it.  Basically, these are exercises, like the ones from the last post, but mini.  I went on a tear and have almost depleted my 12 x 12 inventory of unused matboard, and can't buy more from a certain hobby chain for a big discount because they don't bundle them up anymore.  But I did make a ton of little 4 x 5 letters and such that didn't sell and I happen to still have them in storage, so I'm reusing!  It's my favorite!

See more of these, or groups of them, or them in process, on my Instagram feed, because it's FREE and FUN!

I will share these in the order in which they were made.

Number One:

Watchman
cutouts from magazines dated 1950-2011
painted 1960s book page

Stay tuned for more!  We'll see what they do to my larger work as I start back on bigger scale "canvases" (wood and such) and add lots more vinyl and paint to stuff.

Here's to 2016.  Let's do this.

Collages

My first collage was five or six Dubble Bubble gum wrappers glued to a piece of paper measuring approximately 3 x 4 inches.  This masterpiece was gifted to my Kindergarten teacher, Miss Becky (awesome person).  This action spawned artistic gifts from my other classmates, but I started that trend (just like I did with overalls in the early '90s--YOU ARE WELCOME).

The first collage I made that made me think, oh, this is an okay way to make a thing and you can't tell I'm a child, was in 3rd grade.  It was a lady with body parts pulled from different images, including mismatched eyes and different limbs.  I feel like I've been chasing this particular dragon my entire life.

The last couple weeks I've been making collages with my plethora of ephemera.  I'm looking at this as an exercise in getting back into the swing of things for 2016, but it's completely possible I could actually try to make some money from this endeavor through an online reproduction-selling entity (Fine Art America, Zazzle, Society 6, etc.).

Here's some of what I've made recently (all are 12 x 12 inches):

matboard, color pastel, vinyl, paper

matboard, paper, vinyl, color pastel, colored pencil

matboard, colored pencil, fabric paper, paper, vinyl

matboard, paper, vinyl

matboard, paper, vinyl, charcoal, colored pencil, color pastel

matboard, paper, fabric paper, painted book page

I can guarantee all the found paper I use is older than I am.

Here are some of my favorite artists I follow on Instagram right now:
The Daily Splice
Mountain Cur
Spinner Web
C.Pic 

Instagram is a never-ending rabbit hole of wonderful art, so be careful!

In the Middle of the Night III

Sometimes my occasional insomnia-riddled nights can be productive.  Last night was one such occasion.

I have lots of found fabric scanned, and love the old-timey patterns and color combos.  Since I can't sew, and really don't have time to learn, I decided to keep digital images to be used later and put the fabric up for sale so it can fulfill its destiny of usefulness (as seen in my posts on frameables and fabric).  This has worked pretty well, with many pieces of my kins' scraps scattered throughout the country, and even across the pond!  I have kept a few pieces that are just too beautiful to let go, and perhaps someday will be able to use them in their actual capacity.  But until then, it's digital and handmade collages for these guys!

I just came across a new box of scraps, and there are signs that these were saved to become a crazy quilt.  It was like Christmas when I opened it up!

Smells just like I knew it would.  Old and musty!

Retro kitchen goodness!

The blue gingham background and yellow with white flower hair fabrics
have been sold off to Portland and Kalamazoo, respectively.

 I already had the black images saved and have used them in vinyl form, but, as I mentioned before, I'd like to do some prints/reproductions of some work this year, and this is a step in that process.  I've also been using A LOT of scraps and fabric-papers (I don't know what to call it...reproductions of fabric on paper, anyway), so I had some leftovers to play around with making collages the old fashioned way.

Papers from the early 1900s to the 1970s and fabric papers from this year.

I just have to keep telling myself that there are no rules and it's a process.  Being a little out of it in the middle of the night doesn't hurt to loosen up a person, that's for sure.

I'm really excited about this new stuff and lament that there just aren't enough hours in the day to make art and live a life that includes running errands and not being a hermit constantly.  It's a good problem to have, and I feel very lucky.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Found It: Magazines

I went down to the farm today after picking up some aluminum blanks so I can make some more clocks for this weekend's art show at Loring Park in Minneapolis.  It's my first time there and I'm really excited.  But, since I was down there I thought I'd take advantage of our freakishly mild weather (70 degrees in July?  WHAA?) and peek in the sheds.  I won't have a show until the middle of September, so I'd better collect some stuff to put up on The Retro Ranch's Etsy page in the meantime.

Today was a day for magazines! 

American Girl, July 1967//Inside advice column asking question about fixing
your hair after a 50-mile motorcycle ride with your main squeeze!



Co-Ed magazine, March 1968//Inside spread of EXCITING ROOMS.  Are you excited?



Movie Teen Illustrated, July 1967
Get me a ticket on that train!

Woman's Day, August 1966
If you know me at all, you'll know that this is my thing.

American Girl, April 1968
Quite the souvenir, darling.



Quinto Lingo, June 1966
Five languages, one magazine.

So, where did I dig these up?  Well, one of the open-sided sheds has lots of storage places, and lots of junk in those places.  Someday I hope I can get this all cleaned out so my parents can either use it as a better storage area, a garage, or tear the mother down and start fresh.  It's already sorta falling down, so it wouldn't take much to demolish.



The locker on the left was holding a box
(Right picture) That box had the magazines in it.
The red arrow is pointing to the box, if you couldn't tell.

There are hazards to picking, one being small stingy critters.  Today it was cool and there weren't many mosquitos or bees, and this shed doesn't generally harbor as many ticks as the others, so I felt comfortable not having to suit up in full HAZMAT gear to go in.  But...they always leave reminders that they have reigned over the space, even if it was long ago:

Okay, stay cool man, stay cool.

Looks good, right?
Here's one for scale:

Pretty awesome.  Glad this has been abandoned, but it was quite
a shock the first time I saw it.

I'm going to use the magazines as inspiration, backgrounds for frameables, and maybe take them apart and sell the ads (I found some nice Reader's Digests, too).  Considering they've been in a box in a locker in a shed for at least twenty-five years, they're in great shape.