Oxford, Henry The 8th, Copernicus, NY 1964 Worlds Fair... and more

 

"Who Will Survive the Ride?"

 

ENCOUNTERS - Collage by Lunel

 

Ready for World Collage Day In Volcano

Just a month from now I will be hosting the fifth year of "World Collage Day" where invite a few friends to come and play with collage art/techniques. Going back to May in previous years, you can find group photos of participants and collages they created.

In 2024 I set out to explore slicing, weaving and cut-outs and several recent blog entries show examples. Here are a set I have created as examples for the upcoming class to illustrate what I have learned. Each of these samples can be completed in one day.

"Enlightenment" (poor photo! I'll try again with another shot)

What FUN!!  Can't really give out any clues about construction mostly because it all happened so FAST!  

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The key elements (from top to bottom) -- a blurred image of a cityscape, a spectacled observer using some kind of optics for viewing stars, 

a close-up of a passion flower with a bug in disguise, 

wire set up of some kind, 

Fresnel lens from a lighthouse and finally, 

guts inside the linear accelerator. All seemed to have something to do with light or vision, thus the name.

 

"Jumble Jungle"

 

"Lady"

 

"Underworld" (one way or the other)

 

Da Vinci's Girl

 

"Dreams of Flight"

 

DOJO

 

"Timeless Moment" Collage

 

Collage Using Scraps

 No sooner had I made a post of last weeks' collages, then the scraps I referred to came together --- finally!  I loved all the hot pink, vibrant blues and bright yellows, so I dug through my many files to find both some under water creatures and the radiant image of a nebula.  The key elements were the inside of a plutonium storage compartment, the microscopic photo of a geranium pollen and mating seahorses. Quite the mix, right?  The only possible name became

'"Geranium, Plutonium, Ad Infinitum"  (15x20) 

Collage Scraps and One-Day Challenges

 

While I am Waiting

 Some (older) folks may remember the famous quote from Heinlein's "Stranger In A Strange Land" -- 'waiting is, I grok."  Such understanding comes from proverbs about everything having a time and season. So it is with art, especially undertaking a big project such as this one.

So many pieces! I'll tackle it in chunks, but try not to get overwhelmed. And, in the meantime, work on other ides for new collages....like the one below.

It is hard to use a gigantic image like the moth in the center -- so it doesn't overwhelm. Turning it upside down helped as well as finding matching colors in the architectural elements that turned it into more of an abstract feature. I cut the New York City skyline in half, turning part of it, too, upside down so the blues are connected to the mirrored hall.  The subtle colors of the NYC skyline are reflected in both the ducks-at-sunset as well as the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles. Colors also blend as the body builder's stunning body glistens with the same colors of the skyscape, ceiling and chandeliers in the hall. The geometrical designs on both edges come from The Kizil Caves in China.

Behold....the "MOTHMAN"... (18x26")

 

SNOW GLOBE

 

While it is not unexpected, it is always a surprise to

wake up in Hawaii and see SNOW on Mauna Kea.

We're blessed that, at the end of our driveway, we

have a gorgeous view, and although the sun is

shining -- it's chilly enough to find comfort in

our cozy art studio. (The background of the collage 

below is of inverted snow-capped mountains.)

Dragons, Snakes and Mo'o Magic

 

 

SORRY ABOUT THE TYPOS!  Used a different format -- no can correct.  Oh well...

"Eye of the Beholder"

           
 

Good Review of SOUL OF AN OCTOPUS

And, here is the fascinating story of a seamstress named Jeanne Villepreau-Power (1794-1871) who explored the coast of Sicily and did scholarly study of the octopus Argonaut argo (paper nautilus). Big thanks to Maria Popova and her amazing publication "Marginalian" CHECK IT OUT...

Excellent Article about Octopus Research

"Behold The Power"

 

"Afternoon Delight"

 

IDEAS -- Big and Small

 

Clouds over Mauna Kea

 

Taking an adequate photo was another challenge because I used an iridescent paint to accentuate the atmospheric nature of the clouds. Seen from different angles, there is a light 'flash' that is best seen best in person.   

 

Conflicted October for Collage

 

Lunel's New Art

 After completing "Flight of the Apapane" and being surprised at how well it turned out, I must admit to some degree of hesitancy in returning to the studio.  Well, that, and the fact that the weather has been so glorious here in Volcano, I've been drawn to attend the needs of our lovely gardens which is my larger art palette.  Nonetheless, I learned much from using tissue paper to create depth and movement.  Phil recognized I was stuck, and pointed to a two-page photo of an old stairwell and encouraged me to work with it and here's the outcome entitled "Going Down."

Maui Fire Tribute

 I trust this creation will speak for itself -- such a tragic loss of lives and homes.

"Flight of the 'Apapane"

 

Alice in Wonderland = More Inspiration!

 

"THE PORTAL IS OPEN"

What began as a vertical collage with great potential morphed into two horizontal images. I also noticed the last few collages are tending toward a muted color pallet.  Hope the details show up well here - my camera work isn't the best. 

Welcome!  "The Portal Is Open"

New Collage (During a rainy month of May)

Two new pieces -- what a joy to have a studio where we can both retreat when the weather is drippy outside.  Turn on our efficient propane heater and some music and we're set. Here's my latest efforts. I continue to feel my strongest works offer a visual story but I also continue to try my hand a abstracts.

"Floating Stairs" can be viewed either horizontally or as a vertical

"Thin Ice" is a blend of abstract story-telling collage

Upon Reflection

What a surprise it is when a collage seems to build itself, providing key components along the way. There may be a small group of images afloat on my art table "speaking" to me without words; I can feel the cohesion like a magnetic draw, but can only surmise the direction while the outcome remains vague. When that happens sometimes and I feel stuck not knowing how to begin, the solution arises only when I pick up a piece and start cutting. It's a leap of faith and I have learned I can trust the process. The image below could have ended up with one of the many "names" that came while cutting, arranging, rearranging and assembly. 

Once again it is somehow related to my thoughts and emotions looking back through the memories of the past five years, shared in the most recent collage.

Here is a photo of the collection of images  before I began to cut. And below, the final collage. Once again "cut outs" added dimension and continuity.

I scanned a conte' crayon imaged by Lucian Freud and played with adding a wash of pale blue and brown and flipping a smaller version to slip into the background -- "reflection."

"Star Power" Five Years Later

Learning to live with PTSD has been a continual challenge since the compounded  trauma Phil and I faced in 2018. 

A coma on May 2nd, home destroyed by fire with all contents, lava wiping out 700 homes in Leilani on the Big Island -- homeless with four dogs. Without an insurance payment or denial (which came later) we could not get FEMA, food stamps or apply for assistance. I came out of the hospital blind (no glasses), wearing hospital socks and no underwear or clothes. 

I couldn't drive for six months, and Phil was afraid to leave me alone and every trip to Hilo was further trauma for us both. I turned to art as a way to deal with overwhelming emotions -- finding a way to express the many processes of loss and grief -- when words simply failed.  After 400 small art-journal entries, I broke out into larger collages. I gave two presentations about how art can help trauma survivors and I was thankful for therapy I received during those years.

PTSD is about the body's memory and response to perceived threat -- you can "know" in your head you are safe, but the body remembers... even five years later. Recently, during an emotionally rough week, I found a couple of images that spoke to me and, over the course of the next few weeks, I began to build around those center images until I was able to see the how the images would reflect my desire to draw upon my inner power. Below is the final version -- 

Experimenting Continues with "cut outs"

 

Collage "Fashion Challenge"

 

Wishing for Rainbows (and an end to the rain!)

 I have invented many of my own patterns for large, more complicated collages, but today I decided to try a pattern sometimes used in quilting, featuring a rainbow of colors.

I chose four very different images: Overhead freeway, underwater, reflected prism and bird feathers -- all with delicious colors. Because many of my collages take several days, it is fun to have a variety of one-day projects.

Deconstructing Monk

 What FUN!! One of my collage mantras is: invent a further step.  In other words, take what I've learned and stretch my skill by envisioning what else I could do to enhance my collage. Sometimes when something doesn't "work" the "failure" leads to more inventive solutions. One of the main aspects to my ascetic is combining apparent disparate themes and objects. Such was the case with these two photos by renowned contributors to National Geographic. (Apologies to them in advance -- I mean no disrespect by my creative alterations!)

When I initially saw the image of the monk traversing what appeared to be a life-less urban/industrial setting, I mused over how our perception of our environment changes because of our thinking -- a major component of Zen philosophy. The title for the collage emerged as I sought to weave a  "alternative view" into the grey architectural scene. Perhaps in the mind of the Monk he saw no disparity at all!

  

Mona Lisa and Jesus

 Continuing the adventure into cutting up "cut outs" and weaving images, I am documenting some of the steps of the process particularly as the possible iterations of each collage differ from one to another. Below are a few steps of the process during which I learned more about what works and where issues arise. The result was like a Tarot playing card with one image inverted. What may not be visible is the underlayer of a layer of mylar, that, when the collage is rotated, "flashes" between the interlocking woven images.

Merlin's Magic

 

Tangles and Troubles of Triangles

You can see a better image of this Collage blog: April 2022

In 2022 (for International Collage Day) I created a geometric pattern of triangles and created one of my favorite collages called "Cosmic Dream." It was based on colors of one of our hybrid hibiscus called "Cosmic Dancer" whose colors are hot pink, gold and reds. I struggled (a lot) fitting pieces together and, in the end, needed to use thin black outline tape to cover boo-boos -- but even that "fix" ended up strongly featuring the triangle shapes.

 

Here's the final outcome of my attempt -- this time I didn't need to apply tape to cover mis-matched parts.