Collage with commercial papers

by Jo Reimer

Where Do I Go From Here?
11 x 14"
collage on stretched canvas

This collage was created entirely of purchased papers except for the brownish red centers. It felt just a little bit like cheating to use these papers when I usually prefer my own hand painted papers. The bits of twigs and straw remind me of broken birds' nests.

The Birth of a New Tradition

Birth of a New Tradition (Author Unknown)
As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods – merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor. This year will be different. This year, Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans. There is no longer an excuse that, at gift-giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands.

It’s time to think outside the box, people. Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese-produced wrapping paper?

Everyone – yes, EVERYONE – gets their hair cut. How about giving gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?

What about a membership to an American gym? It’s appropriate for anyone who’s thinking about improving his or her health.

Who wouldn’t appreciate getting her car detailed? Small, American-owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a book of gift certificates.

Are you an extravagant giver who thinks nothing of plunking down big money on a Chinese-made flat-screen TV? Perhaps that American recipient would also like his lawn mowed for the summer, or his driveway plowed all winter, or a few games of golf at a local course.

There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants, nearly all of which offer gift certificates. But remember: this isn’t about the big national chains. It’s about supporting your fellow Americans in your home town or state, helping them keep their doors open and creating local jobs.

How many people could use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle from a shop run by an American working guy? Here’s the answer: Everyone who drives!

Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? She might love the services of a local cleaning lady for a day or two.

Could your friend’s computer use a tune-up? I know you can find a young American who is struggling to get his computer repair business up and running.

Oh, you were looking for something more personal? Local craftspeople spin their own wool and knit it into scarves. There are local artists who make jewelry and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes, and local painters and photographers who create original works of art. Give original artwork.

You can treat your favorite couple to a weekend at a romantic bed and breakfast right here in America. Buy them tickets to an area playhouse or locally produced ballet. Or hire a local musician to provide a private concert in their home or for their next party.

Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house?

When you buy that five-dollar string of lights, about fifty cents of it stays in your community. If you have that kind of money to give away, leave your local mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice big tip that they, in turn, will spend in your hometown.

You see, Christmas shopping – and shopping at any other time of the year – need not be about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city. Let’s make spending choices that show we care about the United States; choices that encourage American small businesses to keep plugging away, keep hiring, and keep contributing to our hometown’s success. When we care about other Americans and turn that caring into action, the benefits will come back to us in ways we can’t even imagine. Choose to make THIS the new American Christmas tradition.

Forward this in an email. Re-post it on your blog. Link to it on your Facebook page. Send it to the “Letters to the Editor.” Spread the word any way you can and make this a revolution centered on taking care of each other here in America.

Split Complementary Colors

12" x 15" Collage

This collage was an experiment with color. I chose the red/green complementary colors and then did a split, adding blue green and yellow green.. and then I played with the design until this evolved. 

The papers are my own painted papers with only one strip of a commercial paper.

Taking Measure. Collage

by Jo Reimer

Taking Measure

7.5 x 8"

Collage painting

Titles can be difficult, especially one that describes an abstract collage. If I was a poet I could write a poem that fits, but I'm not. So often the collages are simply attractive compositions, and that's perfectly all right. 

Sango Kaku... an acrylic painting

Sango Kaku

 

 

This acrylic painting was done on a cradled 12x12" canvas.

Our back yard is filled with beautiful trees, many of which are Japanese Maples that we grow at our nursery. The Sango Kaku, aka Coral Bark Maple, is amazing any time of the year with green gold leaves in spring and summer, turning yellow and then coral in autumn. Then after the leaves drop the twigs and branches turn bright coral red to brighten our winter landscape. 

I stare at the tree from my studio and kitchen windows and have taken several photos over the years. Finally I decided to paint it. Why render an exact copy in paint? That's not my kind of art. So I set out to paint my feelings about the tree. When I finished I thought I had failed, but today I realize that I managed to capture the essence of the tree. A burst of yellow orange. Accents of bright rusty orangey red at the edges. The afternoon light striking the leaves, making them glow. Coral bark. Blue sky reflected in the pond. 

I'm not so sure about the underlying grid... but that's part of my history and way of working. So there!

Autumn Landscape

Autumn Landscape
8x8 Collage Painting

I'm struck by the vivid colors of Oregon this autumn. The sky is such a clear blue and the sunsets colors are reflected in puddles and ponds. 

Her Shadow
6x6 Collage Painting

 Here I've used a photocopy of one of my shadow self-portraits along with some painted papers. Collage is so much easier and more interesting when one starts with painted papers. There's a complexity inherent in the papers that's simply not achievable with direct painting... and it's great fun, too. It appeals to the quilter/embroiderer in me and as a friend observed, I do like putting things together to make art.

Sweet Sixteen
7x7 Collage painting

Linda, I'm sure you recognize the paper in the lower left corner. Years ago Linda and I spent some days painting fabric with hand cut stamps, stencils and whatever came to hand, and we were smart enough to lift some prints onto paper before the paint dried. 


I'm sorry to see the last bit of that paper be used, but some time ago I lectured myself about the dangers of seeing art supplies as precious... saving them for some later use instead of using the best you have to create the best work you can in the present time. 

Gesso to transform magazine pages for collage

After the Storm

After reading a recent post by Martha Marshall about painting magazine pages to use for collage I decided to spend a few hours with my pot of gesso and a few decorating magazines. I ended up with a big stack of interesting paper which, coupled with some of my painted tissue papers, are great fun to use.  I called this one "After the Storm" because it reminds me of dark skies and whirling winds contrasted with blue sky and autumn color breaking through.

I particularly like this method of concealing the images on the original pages and changing them into something that shows my own hand at work, yet takes advantage of the ink colors.

(I'm having trouble with Blogger so I couldn't add the size to the caption... It's 6.5" x 8", matted in an 8x10 mat.)

I've had success with keeping a few different sized mats near my collage table to audition the art I'm making. As I work I view the piece through a mat window and it give me a good sense of what work is still needed or whether I'm finished.

How to Combine Collage with Photographs



Diving Platform at Cove Lake

While working on the Sketchbook Project last year I developed several ways to use my own photographs in my collages. This is one approach.

The little photo is of a stone diving platform in the lake where I swam as a teenager.

I chose papers in colors that echo those in the photo and then tore them to build the collage, using deli paper as my substrate. After trimming it to size I mounted it on board, ready to hang. The photo acts as the focal point in the composition.

Most of the papers are from my stack of hand painted papers. In future posts I'll show you a few other ways I've used photographs.

Bird and Lily Collage

Brown Bird Under Red Lily

6" x 6" (15.3cm x 15.3cm)

collage on paper

$30 with FREE shipping and handling in the US

E-mail me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

  

It's fun to be back to making whimsical collages. It feels like play.  Making a small collage gets the creative juices flowing and sets me up for other work. It's especially gratifying when I mount them on larger mounting boards, frame them, and see how great they look on the wall.

Saturday my husband helped hang 30 of my sermon notes at church and they look fabulous, though slightly dwarfed by the big building and high ceilings. There are 6 areas where the special hanging system has been installed with just enough space for 5 collage paintings in each area with plenty of room for people to get up close.  I will take pictures soon.

Phone 3211

PHONE 3211

 There's a lot of thinking going on around the One A Day studio. I'm sure that change is coming but where I'll take this blog isn't at all certain. It seems that I am not capable of keeping to a schedule like many of the bloggers I admire... my writing happens when I feel like it, when I have time for it, when I have something to share. 

I'm preparing 30 of my Sermon Notes collage paintings for a solo exhibit at my church. It starts Sunday and will be on the foyer walls until February. I wish you could all come see it, but I will take some pictures and post them here.  The church has invested in a hanging system so that art can be easily hung on the stone walls and we have an enthusiastic art director who will see that more artists have an opportunity to share their work as well as talk about why we work as we do.

Some of my newer collages are 6"x 6", but I'm making other sizes as the subject demands. I'll be offering some of them for sale on this blog. I've experimented with using deli wrap as my substrate, gluing the papers to the surface and trimming the work when I'm done, then mounting the collage on board or heavy papers. Both wet and dry adhesives seem to work well with this backing.  Here are a couple of the newer ones in the Dwelling series.

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