Blog Posts - Greg's Mixed Media Gallery

Recycle

8/28/2014

I check in with the website, RecycleArt, every now and then to see what new and interesting ideas are emerging with the use of recycled kinds of materials. I decided to submit information about some of my own work that had been created from my gleanings at the city dump during my art residency...find it here.

Glean

8/14/2014

This year's Glean artists are now showing their work at Disjecta. The Glean Program here in Portland exists to send five artists each year to the Metro Transfer Station (the city dump) for several months to glean for materials that the artists can then bring back to their studios for their own projects. I was one of the artists working in this residency two years ago, and continue to follow what is happening in the program each year. A few of us managed to get over to the gallery this afternoon and have a look at this year's art...all good stuff, and all of it created from trash!

gifs

7/18/2014

Creating a few animated gifs from one of my recent pieces:

Collage Show...Gallery 6 PDX

7/11/2014

If you live in the Portland area, check out this month's new collage show at Gallery 6 PDX, highlighting the work of Lewis Golland. A few photos from the opening reception earlier this evening:

Gleaning 2

6/15/2014

ReClaimIt is officially open. I volunteered at the store this afternoon for an hour, and took a few photos of some of the things that have been found by the volunteer gleaners at the city dump that are now for sale. I was really only an "emergency fill-in" this afternoon, and will probably do most of my occasional volunteer work at the Transfer Station. A few of the trashy treasures now available:

Gleaning 1

6/13/2014

Gleaning at the Metro Transfer Station
(the city dump)

I'm back at my old job (from two years ago) of gleaning at the city dump...only this time I'm volunteering my time to help find "art materials" for Portland's new recycling store, ReClaimIt, which is now open for business (Friday - Sunday). The city dump is a "treasure trove" of all kinds of materials, and several of us have now joined ranks with this season's five Glean Artists. In our case, we're finding quality trashed materials that can be resold at ReClaimIt and brought back to life in any number of ways. The story is always the same...we're constantly amazed at the kinds of things that get thrown away that eventually end up at the landfill. We're all on a mission of "rescue."

I met with Jane, one of the other volunteers, this morning for three hours of digging through the city's garbage.

We both entered the tipping floor with our carts...dodging cars, pickups, monster trucks, etc. We made quite a haul of good stuff in short order. All of it was stored in this holding area and soon to be delivered to the store, where it will go through a "cleaning and pricing" and then made available for sale.

A few of our finds:

As one of the Glean Artists working within the residency two years ago, I gleaned two to three time a week at the city dump for my own projects. I'm pretty sure that I won't be there that often now as a volunteer. I had a great time today with Jane, but it's HARD work!

If you live in the Portland area, ReClaimIt (1 N Killingsworth St.) is having their Grand Opening celebration on June 27th, from 6 to 9 PM.

New Work

6/12/2014

Deconstruct/Reconstruct

One of the "very odd" assemblage pieces that I made a couple years ago while working on my Glean residency (all materials used came from the city dump) was recently deconstructed. I had a bit of a love/hate affair with this piece, and finally decided to scrap it, while saving the horse for another idea. I had cut the toy plastic horse in half, attaching only the front part to the work. I brought it back to life in this much smaller "cardboard box" assemblage piece with other elements:

Another recently completed "cardboard box" assemblage:

I'm scheduled to be a part of a "two man" assemblage show at a gallery in Portland in October. I met with Bill Dean, the other artist, last night...one of his earlier pieces:

Besides bringing our own work, we've decided to try to do a collaborative piece for the show using this box...I'm going to get started on one side of the box, and Bill will do the other:

Stay tuned...this promises to be a fun project!

Assemblage Class

6/3/2014

Facetime
Portland to New Jersey

Several weeks ago I blogged about my facetime experience going into a high school art classroom in New Jersey...HERE! Through the magic of technology, I was able to "step into" their classroom and share some information about my own assemblage work. The students created assemblages of their own as a part of their classroom assignment. I now have a few more photos of the students' final work...hats off to all of you for your fantastic creations!!

Many thanks to art teacher, Joey Carradori and her students, for including me in this project which connected us through the many miles.

It appears that the school was hosting a culminating art show as the school year was moving toward closure...a few photos:

Bad News

5/21/2014

Devastation

I've been very fortunate to have had my work at the Cog and Pearl Gallery for the last four years. Cog and Pearl is little gallery in NYC that has sold much of my mixed media assemblage work as well as the work of other artists from around the country. I got an email from Kristen and Seth today...owner and curators of the gallery...they had a devastating electrical fire on May 1. The gallery itself was completely destroyed, and they lost nearly all their inventory. Because of some of the issues with the building they were renting, they had no insurance coverage for fire damage. They are small business owners, and have started their own online fundraising campaign in an attempt to get back on their feet after such a disastrous accident. I'm certainly wishing them well as they move forward!

Smoothies

5/1/2014

Green Smoothie Summer

My artistry has gone to the kitchen. I gave in to the lure of the NutriBullet (As Seen On TV, but sold at Costco) and decided that I wanted to dive headfirst into my own green smoothie concoctions. I actually made this purchase because I had wanted to make my own hummus (more on that in another blog), but today I gathered together my green ingredients for my first smoothie making project...and it turned out to be surprisingly good!

Without sounding too much like a commercial, it appears that the NutriBullet comes in different models...I bought the Costco model...and it has turned out to be one of those purchases that I'll be using often.

The ingredients:

Spinach and fruit (for sweetness), both from Costco (only a small handful of each).

A little cacao powder, handful of goji berries and a touch of flaxseed.

This may have been cheating a bit, but I added about a quarter cup of Tazo peach tea (some liquid is needed) along with some ice, and let the NurtiBullet (As Seen On TV) do its magic.

Yes, folks...my drink didn't turn out nice and green like the photo at the top (grabbed from a google image search). My drink was a nice "healthy" brown (probably from the cacao powder, which I'm going to leave out next time). The final product...delicious! I plan to add more spinach and fruit to my mixture next time, as well as some yogurt. I've noticed that there are all kinds of recipes online, as well as many green drink smoothie ideas on youtube. Stay tuned...I've also been making hummus for the past few weeks...and it's MUCH better than anything you can purchase!