50-50 art show @ Sanchez

Well well the 50 pieces of artwork in 50 days has once again started. Today is day 10. I am not as nervous or driven as the last time but I am determined to push it a little with my paper grocery bag collages. And as it so often happens the bags gave me a way in to do just that... I have gotten several one color, no design bags, a green, pink, blue, and a purple. Solid color bags do not offer any images to play off of, no arm, spoon handle, or bowl as a helmet, so I began cutting out my own images. Paper cutting means that if I want a car I cut out a car. And if I want a blue car that has yellow in the background of the windows, well I can do that by just putting a piece of yellow bag behind the cut out window. Wow, interesting. Also as I have said before, I have been experimenting with backgrounds, so, for example, dribbling and scribbling white out became thin curly strips of paper and in a couple of instances I have just added big squares of color (those darn solid color bags!), for no reason at all. This 50-50 show is a chance to experiment, to what the hell- go for it, to be brave, and let my collages go where they need to go... I hope to combine it all, the orig paper bag image inspirations, the paper cutting, solid color bags and new background appreciation to create something new... We shall see.

Art News

I worked diligently on the sketch book experimenting with backgrounds. I discovered that the backgrounds need to communicate with the collage on top and I decided to experiment with different media. I did find that I can usually translate the different media into paper bags so the sketchbook was a valuable exercise in discovering backgrounds other than white. I am not entirely happy with my sketchbook but I did write a poem about it called, Liquid Paper (see below).

Liquid Paper

I am an artist. I am an artist who needed a project. So I signed up with the Brooklyn Art Library’s Sketch Book Monthlies. The library sends you a 31/2 by 4 inch blank page journal. I am supposed to fill in the pages and send it back. I am a collage artist. I create paper grocery bag collages. I use the images off of the bags, I cut, I re-arrange, and I paste these images to create new ones, often on a white background. But for the sketchbook, I decided why not add a little color?

I tried paint.
The paper was too thin, it wrinkled, and I had to wait for it to dry.
Why not white out, it dries quickly, spreads evenly but well it is still white.
I tried colored pencil, not smooth enough.
I tried pastel, too smooth.
I scribbled, dribbled, and even added text.
I tried to think of these backgrounds as a clean slate.
But backgrounds and the collage on top have to connect, to communicate.
Kinda like, We The People of the United States
But look at the health care bill
Today the news is full of
Tea Parties
Reckless government spending
Obamacrats not democrats
Death threats to government officials
Tea Party patriots
Sheriffs with private militias
And technicals waiting for the end of days

And how is it that to support fairness is unconstitutional?
To support a little more equity is the road to socialism?

So I spent the day looking for white out,
Liquid paper correction fluid,
Fast drying,
With smooth even coverage

And do you know what?
White out comes in different colors

White out came out
And discovered that it was pastel pink, legal pad yellow, sky- high blue, everyman beige, money green and Caltrans orange

And all comes in the same 22ml size
Equity in a bottle

So I went back to my sketchbook,
I put my collages on
pinko pink, trickle up money green, and even everyman beige
All provided wonderful back grounds for my collages.
I now have the security of knowing that my blank pages will be covered.

That is when it hit me,
it just could not be plainer
White out is socialism in a bottle.