Hillsboro Farmers Market Entry

Hillsboro Farmers Market.  16x20".  Collage

I delivered this piece today, one of the 12 Finalists for Picture Hillsboro.  This is a competition to select one painting to be purchased and reproduced as giclee prints which the mayor will give visiting dignitaries and when he visits foreign governments. 

Boy, do I hope I win! But then, I've already won, haven't I? I'm so very thankful to have made the cut.

All 12 Finalists' paintings will be presented at the Hillsboro City Council meeting on February 6 an the final selection will be presented on March 6.  I plan to attend, yes I do! 

Jo

The Artist and Social Media

Disclaimer: I'm no computer expert.

• I learned to type in a back room behind my high school library on a manual typewriter and at best I hit 46 words/minute and haven't improved. 
• My fingers work slowly and that's a fact. 
• I bought my first computer in the late 80's. 
• My blog is 8 years old. 
• My Facebook account is about 5.
• Pinterest is my good friend.
•  Instagram: whoa, I'm still learning. 
• My etsy store is empty. 
• And I don't have a real website and don't plan to change.

What I do know is how to use my computer to learn stuff and share my art and ideas. Self-taught.

I have learned SO much by searching the artistic corners of the internet. There are some amazing sources out there and all one has to do it google a word or phrase or ask a question and you get hundreds of answers.

Here on my blog, over in the right side column, you'll find lists of collections of artists whose work I find helpful and links to their blogs or websites. Painters, sketchers, collage artists... those are my peeps.

I've just spent an hour checking out all the links so that clicking on any of them will take you to a special place and a talented and hard-working artist. Go look.  I plan to add a bunch more, especially in the areas of sketching and collage. There are lots of amazing people that have come to my attention.

Here's one of my daily collages but the disclaimer on this one is that I worked on it over about 4 days time, a bit at a time, because I had little time for art making over the weekend.

SEED PODS. 7.5 square. paper on paper

"Seed Pods" was made with 6 pieces of paper: one photograph, a magazine page where I used solvent to dissolve the ink, text printed backwards, 2 purchased handmade papers, and inked tracing paper.

Collage Plus Photography

Daily Collages:

I've been posting recent daily collages over on Instagram. Hop on over there and follow me if you wish. 

In last week's series I worked on 7 1/2" watercolor paper* starting with a tiny photograph from a grouping I printed at a drugstore where you can print several shots on one print.  I drew a loose grid on the paper, glued a photo where I wanted the center of interest, and proceeded to extend the content of the photograph outwards from there.

This is similar to the photo I chose for "Running Toward Home", a herd of horses in a pasture at SunRiver, Oregon.  And here is the finished collage:
 

TEARING 7 1/2" SQUARES":Watercolor paper in either 140# or 300# weight is a favorite substrate for my collages. It comes in sheets that measure 21+" x 30". This size can be folded or measured and torn into 7 1/2" squares with no waste. I keep a stack of these squares on hand. 

Here's how I get 12 squares out of one sheet of 22 x 30" paper with no waste...

• Fold in half along the 30" length and tear or cut along the fold, yielding 2 pieces that are 22 x 15. 
• Fold each in half and cut along the fold. You'll now have four strips measuring roughly 22 x 7 1/2.
• Now take each of these strips and measure and mark 7 1/2" and cut off this square.
• Fold the remaining strip in half and cut along the fold giving you two more 7 1/2" squares of paper. 
• I know 22 doesn't divide evenly by 3 but for my purposes, it's good enough to fudge a bit.
• Repeat with all the paper strips and you'll end up with 12 rough-cut squares.

Catching up in the studio

Feathering My Nest

I took an unintended sabbatical from this blog in 2017 but have good intentions to pick up where I left off.

2017 was not a good year in my house, hence little time or inclination to write to all you lovely people. I’ve enjoyed the best health in many years but no so my husband. He’s suffering from several compression fractures in his back and with chronic back problems there’s not much hope for much improvement. We manage, though, and mostly stay upbeat through it all.

Art-making has taken a bit of a back seat but creativity has not. Our September 2016 move into a smaller home sent me into a long period of being creative about how I feathered my new nest.. I dearly love this smaller studio.

As I was downsizing my studio I made some hard decisions. Goodbye to oil paint and bars, encaustic, pastels, and all but the simplest bookmaking. Supplies for knitting, fancy sewing, quilting, crochet, beading, dyeing, screen printing, embroidery, 2/3 of my library, and much more that I don’t want to remember were donated or sold. I decided that since I have many more years behind me than in front of me I will concentrate on my main loves: collage, sketching with ink and watercolor, acrylic painting, and simple sewing. Those choices have proven to be so good, so right.

As I told you, my studio was once a master bedroom. I store large canvases in the soaking tub.

One small closet holds my clothes and shoes and the other one is for storing supplementary art supplies.

Two cabinets contain collage materials with two of the drawers reserved for thread and interfacing.

My old wire basket unit is my colored paper palette and several 12x12 totes house the collage compost. And yes, I set up a reading corner with the bookcase and recliner positioned in a corner window looking out on the backyard.

My corner desk is bracketed by tables, one for sewing and paperwork and the other for drawing and sit-down collage.

 I have a tall Ikea table for collage and for cutting fabric, with a lower pull-out table underneath.

So you see I’m all set.

 During January I plan to make one collage every day. So far so good and here are a couple of the finished ones, both 7.5" square.

MAX tracks at 10th and Morrison

Running For Home

As for my art practice in general, I’m backing off from art as business. All that marketing is in the rear view mirror. That’s not to say that I will say no to opportunities to show or sell my work… not at all! I’ve submitted two large collages to a local competition, have rejoined a local gallery, and am ruminating about ways to sell online. Making a collage every day means the work will stack up and my small house doesn’t have enough wall space for it all. I’ll let you know when I have work to sell.

I'd sure appreciate any comment or hello or feedback you'd like to leave, even if it's just to let me know you're still out there and you care about reading One A Day.

JO

My new Blogger address is  https://joreimer.blogspot.com.