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Assemblage Artist...April 2013

3/31/2013

A couple years ago I got acquainted with an assemblage artist from California, Jenifer Renziel, as a result of seeing her work online. After a few email inquiries, we decided to do a trade...one of her pieces for one of mine. This is the beautiful piece that I received one day in the mail!
Jenifer is coming to Portland for a few days! She'll be showing her assemblage work at Gallery 6 PDX through the month of April, with the opening night scheduled for Friday, April 5, 5pm to 8 pm. If you live in the area, please come...this promises to be one great show! I'm looking forward to finally meeting her in person, seeing her show, and having brunch with her on the 6th...I suspect that we'll get to have some "serious" assemblage talk!
You can see more of her work at her deviant art site here.

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The Big Doodle Mix

3/25/2013

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One labradoor plus one poodle...equals one labradoodle. The deal has just been sealed...a new "mini" labradoodle will be joining the family in June. The litter is soon to be born in early April from a breeder here in the area.

Photos of an earlier litter and young puppy from this breeder:

Stay tuned...more photos coming in June!

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San Francisco

3/16/2013

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I like to check in every now and then with the artists from San Francisco who are involved with the Artist in Residence Program...gleaning at their city dump for art materials. They seem to bring some very talented people to their Transfer Station who are able to create some pretty amazing work from trash. The program in San Francisco differs a bit from the program here in Portland. They work at the city dump for four months, putting in forty hours a week scavenging for materials. Instead of taking their found treasures home to their own studios, they work right there at the Transfer Station, where a fully equipped studio has been set up for their convenience. The artists are also responsible for giving tours of the facility. Their website is here. Their flickr website documents much of what has been happening with their program. By the way, you can check out flickr for Portland's Glean Program here.

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Smashwords

3/14/2013

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I've had the privilege of being included in James Ru's new book (ebook), Perma Artist...a series of interviews from artists around the world detailing the creating of art using a variety of resources and materials that lend themselves toward environmental awareness.

My interview with James centered primarily around my work with the Glean Program in 2012, an art residency which sends five local artists to the city dump for six months to glean for art materials, and then to create art from those materials, etc.

In my chapter of the book, James gave an overview of the Glean program, and then presented a few questions to me for the following pages:

1. As one of the Glean artists you got to go to the city dump and collect art materials for art supplies. Were you shocked by what you found at the dump?

2. What was most interesting about digging through all that stuff?

3. There are people in other countries making a living digging through city dumps. Have you seen the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra?

4. How long have you created art? What inspired you to get involved with Glean?

5. The artwork at the (Glean) show was very diverse. What was the response from the audience?

As the book is copyrighted and for sale by the author, I can only give you a "small" look at my chapter:

The link to James Ru's ebook at smashwords is here!

A few of the other artists and their interviews included in the book:

Alison Sigethy (glass artist)

Patrick Dougherty (sculptor)

Richard Shilling (land artist)

Pammela Springfield (curator-Cannibals Gallery, Portland, OR)

Strijdom van der Merwe (land artist)

Nancy Martini (eco artist)

Alex Sumerall (cob house builder)

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More Assemblage Art

3/9/2013

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A collage friend of mine, Liz Cohn, has just opened up her own gallery in the Portland area. Her collage work is bold and beautiful, but this is the month that she has dedicated to the showing of her latest assemblage pieces. I caught her in her gallery this afternoon (Gallery 6 PDX) and took a few photos. Liz has a "working gallery" of sorts... she sometimes works on new projects while she's on duty.

You can see Liz's show this month (March) at Gallery 6 PDX , 131 NE 6th Av., Portland, OR.
Gallery hours: Friday-Sunday 12-5 PM

Check out more of Liz Cohn's work here at her website! Liz is also featured in this book, Masters:Collage, published by Lark Books...available at Amazon

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Individuals Collective

3/8/2013

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I came across this amazing group of artists (Individuals Collective) who create work using all kinds of salvaged materials, much of it seems to be scrap wood. I'm thinking that these folks could easily benefit from a Glean Program at their own local dump! Their statement:

Using salvaged material we create sculptural installations occupied by large-scale or life-size characters and creatures. We have been influenced on varying levels by 1990's cartoons, animations, along with set designs and films. Creatures and anthropomorphic beasts have been the focus of our study, but compliment a mutual interest in creating environments and transformative art experiences. The narratives are fairly open, but encourage our viewers to be transported into the world of our sculptures.

You can see more of their work, and read their blog here.

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Glean 2013

3/7/2013

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It was one year ago this month that I received my art grant to glean at "the dump." The baton has now been passed. The five artist's for this year's Glean Program have already been selected. Check them out here. They have apparently already started their scavenging for materials at the Metro Transfer Station (the city dump). Their blog is here. I suspect that they will have MANY stories to tell throughout the next six months!

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Macro Photography

3/4/2013

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I've always been kind of intrigued with macro photography, and with those who capture such beautiful images. I've recently purchased a "portable" lens for my ipod which allows me to play with macro in my own not-so-professional way. I bought the Ollioclip (there are other brands available) which actually provides three lenses...macro, wide angle and fish eye. I went out to my studio to do a few practice macro photos of a few of those things that I use in some of my assemblage pieces. I'm thinking that I may want to do a similar type photo when I photograph new pieces that I complete down the road, thus adding a new visual dimension to the piece. After doing a few practice shots, I can see that it may be good to use some kind of small tripod to steady my ipod. So far, I'm quite impressed with the "power" of this little lens. A few samples:

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