the most collected

it's been a while since i have posted.  i have been kind of taking a much needed break from making art. i think my brain needs a rest so it can catch up on gaining some creativity cells.  i think they were all gone after my whirlwind summer.

i have started some new boxes this week. they are in the preliminary stages, but at least i have started to work again.  no pictures yet.  they are just beginning.

 the antique mall called me the other day (big surprise) to start collecting some box fodder.  turns out all i bought was things made from wood. as i was standing in line ready to pay for my new wooden stuff, i realized that it has become the most collected thing i have.  except for maybe metal objects.  it may be a tie.

anyway, here is some of my wooden object collection.  many of the items are also in other categories, like miniature houses, santos, boxes, and things with drawers.  i have no idea why i love things made from generations of trees, but it all fits in with my love of anything touched, used, and loved by a human.  

enjoy!

tiny wooden box.  someone fixed it with a wire.  love that!!

doll house chair

wall cabinet with added wire mesh shelf.  other wooden stuff on top!

frame.  thanks tina!!

the virgin mary, sans nose

san raphael.  i like to give my santos some bling!

another virgin mary with wooden rosaries

doll cabinet

hand made house for a train layout?  bricks and stones drawn with graphite

official announcement

here it is. the post card we sent out this week, telling our friends that we are officially closing.  

we have had some terrific feedback, and lots of compliments about our little place on prince street.  please stop in and say goodbye!  we will miss you!

please keep in touch!

tomsarmo.com

teresabrookspottery.com

ruthfiege.com

oh, and by the way, all of our vintage items are now 20% off, excluding radios!!

new stuff at the shop and on etsy!

i've been busy assembling for the last few days.  i just listed the items above on etsy (click here for a link to my shop), and am going to bring them down to the shop tomorrow for public viewing.  

believe it or not, i am completely out of items to make any more game piece boxes, and the crosses aren't looking too good, either.  i think over 2 years of making these kinds of assemblages has taken their toll on my inventory of objects.  i have been scouring the antique malls, etsy, and ebay for the stuff i need to renew my stash.  and it's been quite frustrating, really.  i even drove up to fort collins this past weekend (thanks john for the company!xoxo) to see if i might be luckier there.  and i came back muy empty-handed.  so i guess what i am saying is that if you want a box, better get one now because the larder is looking pretty bare.

im thinking of maybe going to the midwest this spring or summer on a buying trip.  i was always lucky with stuff when i lived in iowa and missouri.  maybe it's the same deal there?  could the world of antiques and junk actually be running out of stuff??

ok.  time to get myself out of my PJs and into some sort of working mode.  oh, and i guess i still haven't had breakfast!!

junk

i have been on some junking trips lately.  and i have found some good fodder.  some of these things were real bargains, and some i had to pay the price for cool.  the good news is that i am honing in on some ideas for a new series of boxes.  i think (duh) they are going to involve drawers somehow.  i don't know if i will do a box within a box, or just let the drawer be the box on its own.

some great news today.  i went to the curtis arts and humanities center in greenwood village with teresa.  we met with the gallery director there about a show.  turns out that teresa and i will have a dual show in may.  the center was originally a one-room school house back in the day.  there are two rooms on the main floor of the building.  teresa will have one room, and i will have another.  i will be showing assemblage, teresa pottery.  how exciting!!

it's a bit overwhelming, really.  so much to think about.  i know the time will fly, and the next thing i know, it will be may.  so i better start getting the ideas rolling.  and assembled!

birthday prezzies!!

happy birthday, to me!  my sweet and thoughtful husband john gave me some wonderful gifts this morning.  he is a man after my own heart!  this is one of the vintage games he gave me.  the other one is called "hickety pickety" and involves hens and eggs.  they are a dang riot!  i love those old graphics, and i love the funny stuff on the box.  "a snappy game" ha!!

i also got some other neat ephemera, including a book on penmanship exercises, and two report cards that belonged to alfred olsen in the 1920's.  alfred did make it on to 4th grade after this report, but i don't think his mom and dad were very happy with him on the ride! (click image for a closer look!)

how do i know that john is the man of my dreams?  well, because he got everything for under $20, and was happy to tell me!  now there is the perfect man for me!

no title yet...but another box finished!!

finished this one last night.  i have had the clown knock-down target for at least 5 years.  i bought it up in silverton, colorado, at an antique store there.   i loved the hand-painted surface, and the patina of wear.  at the time i paid $24 for him, the price tag was still attached!  i created the monoprint in the background with the same color scheme, and tried to get a whimsical, fun pattern to work with the clown.  the roulette wheel was purchased on ebay, it's really old, and is marked "made in england".  the front of the box is a loom of some sort, and each sawtooth-shaped spike was hand-cut with a saw.  the discs on the front are made from some old poker chips which have paper circles overlapping them.  i cut them from a monoprint.  

john made the box for me.  it's made from oak, and has beautiful dovetailed corners.  it measures about 10x15x3 inches.  it can hang or sit on the legs i have installed discretely on the bottom of the box.

there is really no story attached to this box, i just loved the pieces individually, and think they look really nice together.  sometimes when i create a box, i'm telling a story.  and sometimes i just like to play around with combinations of elements.  

here's an image of silverton from a 1950's postcard.  it still looks exactly the same!

silverton, colorado

she's no bird brain!!

i wish i had thought of this.  it's created with vintage negatives, sewn together.  you can see more of anne lemanski's amazing work at annelemanski.com.  i want each and every thing she has created.  period.

new stuff

sissy and buddy

in the mirror

a couple of new pieces. 

first,  a print (about 8x10") based on an old photo of my parents from the early 60's.  although my parents went by fran & joe at this time, i named the print for their nicknames from younger times.  this one is a bit more graphic than the others i have been working on.  don't know why, it just turned out that way.  i also did the print in a green/orange color scheme, which i like as well.

the second photo shows a new assemblage box (i think it's 8x10x3", but i need to measure to make sure).  this is the finished box i was working on in a previous post.  i covered the frame with old tickets from a restaurant.  i came across two sets of them in different greens, and mixed them up kinda crazy quilt style. inside the box is a "household hint" booklet, taken apart and used for the sides.  the back is layered with: 

1)  a monoprint i made and then overprinted with a floral/star lino block print

2)  an old leather-covered compact with a broken mirror.  it was given to me by a very nice woman named lucy who has been a great patron of mine

3)  a barbie dress i got on ebay.  it still has the original barbie tag inside.  i didn't use any glue to attach it to the box.  instead i sewed it to pieces of stacked foam core, and glued the foam core into place.  that way it is removable for anyone who cares to take it out in the future ( but i hope not!!)

4)  the broken pieces of the mirror sit in the bottom of the box, loose.

the box is kind of an exploration of womanhood, and the way we, as women, try to balance all of the things in out lives.  the broken mirror is a symbol of how sometimes  that balance is a bit tricky.  part of my boxes are trying to say something, and part of them are about getting the perfect balance of elements. many people don't quite "get" the whole assemblage box thing.  a lot of customers come in and want me to put family items together for them.  i always tell them i can't do that.  making a box is not just the time spent gluing the pieces in.  some of the boxes take years of serious collecting to get the right mix.  i'm a very picky collector!

in the navy

another print day.  i spent forever on this one.  in fact, i couldn't figure out why the dog kept coming in and looking at me longingly.  then i realized i was almost 2 hours late in feeding him.  he hates to come into my studio because of the laminate flooring.  i think he feels like he's going to slip or something...or maybe it's that hollow sound?  anyway, i got lost in the creative process and worked for hours uninterrupted. it was heaven.

i like the piece so far, but think i will work a bit on the face.  it feels a bit unlike the rest of the print, so i will wait a few days for it to dry and then do a little overprinting.

this is based loosely on a photo of my dad in the navy during WWII.  i still have that wool jumper, and actually used to wear it sometimes.  it looked great with a long grey shirt.  maybe i'll dig it out of storage and try it on again!  hopefully it still fits.  my dad was a very small man back then.  in fact, he still is!!

wedding day, 1947

i had an idea to further expand on the concept of the mug shot prints i have been working on.  i thought it might be interesting to open the series up to other photos from other eras.  then i could hang them all together in a sort of "installation" that plays on the idea of the photo wall.  you know, the kind at your grandma's house.  all of the kids, grandkids, cousins, and relatives are up there. it's not hung in a particularly professional fashion.  it's a bit off kilter, and the frames don't exactly match.  sometimes there are even those collage frames included in the mix.

so here is the new print.  it's about 9x12 inches, and is actually based on a photo of my mom and dad on their wedding day.  so even if the wall never comes to fruition, at least i spent the last day thinking of them as i re-created their special day in ink on paper.

btw, you can click on the image for a closer look if you'd like!

submission

shoot out, 12x12x4 inches

this is one of two pieces i will be submitting to the all colorado show.  i know i have posted this piece before, but i'm kind of in a strange place as far as work goes.  i have 3 new boxes that have never been seen in any venue, but am saving them for a show in october.  i have also been working on prints, but am saving them for october as well.  i made this box a few months ago, and thought it might be a good fit for submission.  john was nice enough to make the actual box.  he uses plywood, and then runs it through a dovetail jig to make the joints.  these boxes are very strong because of the dovetail joints.  i think they could probably survive just about anything.  anyway, on this particular box, i used old yard sticks for the trim on the front, and also to line the inside.  you can see the usual suspects in my choice of materials...old stuff, objects with numbers, metal things, boxes, toys, and old handwriting.  i'm not sure why i am drawn to those particular themes, but they show up over and over in my work.  i also like circles, and the outside of this piece is covered in them!  they also show up in the old ring toss target.

i read lots of artist statements, and everyone seems so smart, so deep, and so introspective when they write them.  writing the artist statement is really tough for me.  making art to me is explained simply.  i'm not trying to make a huge statement.  i like things with age and patina.  i like color.  i like to put elements together like a puzzle to make things that are beautiful.  i choose stuff because it calls to me, not because it is saying anything that is particularly significant in the world.  i also like a bit of humor, but not too cutesy.  hence, the headless cowboys, taking aim at one another, obviously beyond the point of no return.  i call the box "shoot out", but the name is really for identification, not to inspire deeper meaning.  

i don't mean to suggest that my work is uncomplicated.  i spend hours and hours getting just the right combination of elements.  assemblage, i think, is highly misunderstood.  many think you just stick stuff together, but it's a lot more difficult than that.  the magic word is puzzle.  it's a puzzle with no picture on the box top to help you get the pieces in the right order.  that's up to the artist to figure out.

another bird box

this picture is a little fuzzy.  i took it with my phone.  that's because it's a work in progress.  eventually the whole mess will fit into a frame.  as of now, i am glueing it all together in hopes that it will not be too deep for the frame i have planned.  by eye, it seems like it will work, but it's hard to set it all up loosely and truly know. the glueing on these assemblage pieces takes forever.  you have to do a bit at a time, make sure it's all secure, and then add pieces slowly.  i have tried all types of glue, but have finally settled on super heavy gel medium.  it's nice because it remains flexible when dry, but is really gooey when wet.  it kinda suctions things together in a way.  i have tried all kinds of jewelers glues and epoxies, but this stuff is the best for me.  the added bonus is that it's archival, so i don't have to worry about it yellowing things over time.  the only bad part is that it takes overnight to let each section dry.

this piece is one that i am working on for the show in pagosa springs at shy rabbit in october.  it's a print show, and i plan to show actual prints in frames plus a series of assemblages that have prints as part of them.  so far this is #3 in the assemblage category, and all of them feature a print which has been cut, sewn, and placed in or on a metal box of some sort.  i have also used encaustic wax to cover the print, giving it a different spin on surface, and providing a depth a regular print doesn't have.  

ok...these are some of the objects in the piece: vintage wooden game pieces from various games, old casters, a kodak filter case made of bakelite, an old wooden box, a vintage "bird" block, a brass box, hard rubber/plastic numbers, and a vintage plastic bird cage toy with a brass bell.  

i plan to work on collecting the background materials and the paper to cover the frame.  but i don't want to get too far ahead of myself before i know if the frame is going to work.  two more boxes in the pipeline.  one with a vintage barbie dress, and one with a really awesome clown-shaped carnival knock down pin.  (the kind you throw balls at). 

new assemblage box

this is my new assemblage box.  it's called "x", for obvious reasons.  i found the hands at the local antique mall.  the letter has been hanging around with me for several years, waiting for its place.  the orange "halo" is actually a roll of elastic.  i got it at the pink attic cat in littleton.  i told amy, the owner, that i needed something round and orange.  and she had just the thing.  the print is attached to an old mint tin.  it has been covered with a thin layer of encaustic wax.  this is the second in a series.  i am working on others as well.  i don't think i can sell it yet.  i need to save it for a print show in the fall.  

on a very serious side note, things are pretty solemn around here.  my husband's dad, who is 90, had a stroke on wednesday.  john and his siblings are in wyoming with him.  if anyone is so inclined, a little prayer would be appreciated.  we just want the best for him, whatever that may be.  

we love you, jack.

new print on etsy

i listed this print on etsy today.  i made it in the studio at sk3tchbook a few weeks ago.  it was kind of fun, as a woman came in and watched me working on it for at least 30 minutes.  that's the kind of thing we are always hoping for at sk3tchbook.  people coming in and watching us create, asking us questions, and enjoying the process of art.  it was a great day.

the print is 9x12, and is mounted on cradled hardboard, which is painted black.  the process is long and almost unexplainable, but basically you layer oil-based printing ink over and over to create the print.  the images of the bottles are created with cut paper, which blocks the ink where it is placed.  the lines are done last, by scratching through the layers to expose the ink underneath.  they are monoprints, as you can only do one at a time, and the paper cut outs aren't reusable because they get covered with ink.

i was in a retro kind of mood when i started this print.  i had been looking at various catalogs, and it seems that bottles in retro shapes are all the rage.  i'm not sure why i chose turquoise, it's not usually a color i work with.  who knows, really!

i worked on two more prints on saturday at the studio.  it was a big zero in the creative department.  i threw both of them in the trash on the way home.  they were terrible.  i tried to print on primed canvas and black paper.  at least i know i don't have to make those mistakes twice.  oh well, live and learn!!

1930's inspired color scheme

i think i have collage on the brain.  i got up at 5:30, and started this right after my first cup of coffee.  the dog is looking at me with hope in his eyes.  he knows he should have had his morning walk by now.  it's after 8 now, so i guess i should go get my shoes on.  

this collage was made with a children's book from the 1930's.  i love the colors.  and the patterns have a really contemporary feel.  just goes to show you that what is old is new again.

collage day

health and happiness

i woke up tired as tired this morning.  my brain was not functioning, and i couldn't wake up.  i decided if i sat down on any soft surface, i would be done for the day.  so i decided to make collages.  i finished two, this one and another that i am going to use as the artwork for my artist packet.  

this one is constructed from pages of books, mostly first aid books and home medical volumes.  i also threw in some images from children's readers for some color.

it's 5x7 inches.  i'm thinking instead of selling it i might put it in the bathroom, matted up to 11x14 or 16x20.  of course i need to go buy a frame, as usual.  that size seems to disappear around here.  i have a collection of vintage first aid stuff in the guest bathroom--old glass doctor's jars, a metal first aid sign, and several tin first aid kits.  i think it might just work.

glam lady lamp

i have had this lamp in the shop at sk3tchbook! for a while.  i think she is amazing.  she used to be in our bedroom, but was just a bit too feminine for john.  i wanted to put her in my studio, but counter space is very very precious in there, so i opted for overhead lighting.  today i added her to my etsy shop.  i am hoping someone in the world will see her an recognize her glamness!!  she is ceramic, maybe porcelain.  she has gloved hands and pink (yes, pink!) hair in an up do.  i made her skirt with embroidered linen fabric.  underneath is the original crinoline she came with.  her original skirt is long gone.  over her head is a squarish cloth shade with a crystal finial.  she works great.  one bulb in the shade, and one in her skirt.  i usually don't light her skirt...just cautious.  the wiring is original but seems sound.  for extra protection, some people may consider re-wiring.

shoot out

this is  my new assemblage box.  it's called "shoot out".  lots of cool junk and ephemera.  i still have to install the plexi to keep everything safe.  then it will be ready to post on sk3tchbook.com.  it's 12x12x3 inches.  i used lots of rulers in this one.  can you see how fancy i'm getting with my 45 degree angle cuts?  just call me bob villa.

good news/bad news

the bad news?  my class with lynn perella was cancelled this week in taos.  i was really looking forward to a week-long retreat with other collage artists.  dang.  it seems like the weather in west texas screwed up the transmission of natural gas in the pipeline to new mexico.  so most of northern new mexico has had no gas since thursday. (today is sunday).  this is just awful, because most people depend on gas to heat their homes.  i am hoping that the end of this happens very soon.  we truly don't know when the gas will go back on.  so i'm saying a little prayer for the people there.

the other bad news is that my dear husband is sitting in our house in taos with no heat.  he left on friday, and is still waiting for the gas.  i guess they finally turned off the meter late last night (saturday), and hopefully they will be around sometime today or tomorrow to turn it back on.  they say that everything must first be turned off, then the pressure in the lines need to be restored, and then they have to once again go house to house and re-light the gas.  with over 30,000 people in need of these steps, it's gonna take a long time.  

the good news?  our pipes were saved by my hero from being frozen.  he has space heaters in the bathrooms and laundry room keeping it warm.  he's a bit chilly in the larger living spaces, but he has an electric blanket, and has figured out to heat water in the coffee pot to wash with.  he says he's bored silly, can't really leave the house because if he does he might miss the gas workers.  and if you aren't there when they come, they tag your house and then you have to make an appointment to get a re-light.  i know everyone is trying their very best, but it's a gargantuan mess.

the other good news?  well, you can see it in the photo above.  my most recent junk trip. i went to the antique mall and found all of this for under $20.  i am feeling quite proud.  i don't exactly know what i will do with all of these treasures, but they will show up somewhere in the near future.  

collage, collage

i've been putting together some collage packs at the shop.  i'm trying to get some really good stuff in each pack.  and i'm selling them for $3.  so far, i have sold a bunch.  seems like people know they are getting a deal.  

i guess this has put me into the collage mood.  i am waiting for my prints to come back from my shy rabbit class.  i am working on a series of assemblages which include prints.  so i'm kinda stuck until i get them in the mail.  anyway, in my spare waiting time, i am working on some little collages that include a figure in watercolor.  watercolor is not my medium, but i cleaned out the closet in my studio and found my watercolor palette.  so it inspired me to practice, which i need badly.

each little collage will be backed by the cover of an old book from my collection.  i think i might float them in a small shadow box.  or maybe they can hang directly on the wall?  either way, here they are in progress.  photos from my phone, so please understand the not so great quality.  i'm at the shop today and don't have the big camera!

betty bauer

i have to wear a coat