My latest collage in progress on my work table, September 8, 2012. Don't know what I'll call it. It has to do remembering, forgetting and death. I feel it needs some text.
This week, in keeping up with my big re-org plans, I tended to a couple of challenging projects in my studio: cleaning out one large shelf/storage unit and sorting hundreds of magazine images and daily ephemera piled up on my work tables. All summer long, I’ve been dreading the thought of having to re-arrange the studio; the task seemed so daunting, but now that I’ve finally got the ball rolling, I’m feeling more energized and excited about getting things in order so I can begin new collage projects and workshops this fall.
In between cleaning I’ve been reading cartoonist Lynda Barry’s: What It Is: a graphic novel-like collage book drawn from Barry’s life experiences of making images, journaling and creative writing. It’s such a feast for the eyes! Every page is filled with tantalizing bits of visual information arranged on each page like a secret visual code Barry has invented for the reader to decipher. I could easily spend a good half hour reflecting upon all the thoughts just one page of her book conjures up! She’s such a brilliant collagist and writer. I can’t wait to tell you more about it later on. A big hug to my friend artist, Diane Salter, for recommending this gem!
This week I also granted myself a holiday by paying my first visit to the home/studio of my friend fibre artist Krystyna Sadej who lives in Navan, Ontario. Having a tour of her home was like travelling through a wonderland! Krystyna recycles and transforms virtually every conceivable bit of the material world into some kind of weaved wonder! Colourful tapestries, paintings and drawings created by Krystyna, her family members and artist friends adorn the walls of her home giving it a special feeling of warmth. In every room I uncovered visual delights! In her studio, she has woven discarded plastic bags into ice-age inspired marvels: hanging tapestries and a giant snow ball-like sculpture! In her daughter’s room, a skilfully chosen selection of necklaces looks dazzling upon a small section of a wall*. On the piano in the living room, Krystyna has woven old watch pieces into a display of colourful baskets – so magical! Her most recent work, an installation in progress (“to be continued” as she likes to refer to it), is in the backyard surrounding the pool… there she’s been collecting large water bottles and filling them with recycled materials of different colours and textures – on a hot summer day they make beautiful reflections upon the pool. It was such a memorable visit. Thank you for your hospitality, Krystyna! It was a wonderful day. I’m beginning to truly appreciate all the hard work that goes into weaving your incredible art pieces.
By the end of my week after reading Lynda Barry and hanging out with Krystyna, while sorting collage fragments on my work table, I dove right in and made my first collage in months! What release! What a relief to know that I could still collage! Believe it or not some days I have my doubts! I’m sure some of you must understand this feeling! This summer some of my life’s happenings have gotten me down but all it took to transform my attitude was immersing myself with work in the studio (cleaning is always so therapeutic for me! I’m hoping one day Kev will think so too! 😉 ) and drawing on the inspirational magic of friends to get back into the creative stream of things! Weeks like this, I feel so fortunate to be an artist.
*Note: Seeing Krystyna’s artfully covered walls made me think of Geraldine James’ book: Creative Walls. See my blog entry: Christmas by the Book for more on this.
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