FUN event at the Galesburg Civic Art Center

The two-hour fundraiser at our local art center turned out to be a LOT of fun! Great food and drink, nice music playing, and nine artists creating artwork for a silent auction. I think everyone enjoyed seeing the working processes of the artists -- there were several mixed media artists, a woman making a necklace from her lampwork beads, and painters working in oils and acrylics at easels or on the floor. Sometimes you're lucky enough to get to visit an artist's studio, but to see them at work is even more of a rare opportunity! As I was waiting for a coat of matte medium to dry on my piece, I made a quick round of the art center to see how everyone else was progressing. My husband took some movies, too, so I was able to see a bit more of other artists' process. I may try to upload a movie once he's done some processing and editing.

The photos in this posting show me answering a question of one of the guests, my finished collage, and two of my fellow artist friends at work: Basia Krol is painting a flower in her composition from a reference photo and April Jackson is working on her abstract creation.

Making art for an audience...

I'm going to participate in a fundraiser tomorrow night at our Galesburg Civic Art Center along with eight other artists. We're to create a piece of art during a two-hour reception and our art will be purchased via a silent auction at the end of the evening. I've done a little over half of the base layer of this 11" x 16" collage -- piecing together three different alterations of the photo -- so that I can finish it and add 2 more layers of pieces during the event.

I took the photo (above) looking up the stairs on the north side of the Art Institute, showing a bit of the building and the buildings it faces on Michigan Avenue, Chicago. The famous lions in front of the Art Institute are hidden by large planters but we know they're there. I'm calling this piece "Avenue of the Lions." I'll have my hubby take pictures tomorrow night during the event as I finish the work.

Click on the art below to see how my collage is turning out.

2 small abstracts

Here are two small (6" x 6") abstract collages I've done in the past couple weeks. The one uses strips of paper from three different ledgers from the late 1800's along with some art papers; the effect is kind of an abstract cityscape. The other uses leftover strips from several collages I've made of Arizona imagery. I'm calling it "Dream of the Cactus Wren" as I think glimpses of desert plants might indeed be what a desert bird might dream about....

Another Chicago scene

After getting good feedback on the last blog posting and in email concerning the Chicago landscape piece, I worked with an interesting photo I'd taken in Millennium Park, downtown Chicago. This view stopped me in my tracks when walking through the park last autumn. All of the upward movement of columns and buildings intersecting with the sweeping curve ... the old architecture and the new... the unexpected angle of the tall building in the upper right corner overlapped by the bit of vine with red blossoms - wow! So, I made some digital alterations of the photo - including combining one with a filter called "acidic", which seemed appropriate for what city buildings deal with - and started combining strips. Interesting how I can divide an image into a series of horizontal pieces and the vertical thrust is still quite strong in the image!

And now for something completely different!

I wanted to see how my technique worked with a complex city scene, so I chose a photo I'd taken while riding on Lake Shore Drive into downtown Chicago from the north. Hmmm, we're hoping to go into the city later this month, so I think I'll be taking some more photos of street scenes and buildings....

It needed something...

After living with this 24" x 18" collage for awhile, I decided it needed something in the middle ground. I decided to add a rock into the grassland. Presto Change-o! I like it better now.  :-)

It all worked out

The woman who commissioned two pieces from me (see April 23rd post) to go with two others she'd purchased from Xanadu Gallery sent an email after they'd received the package. She said they really loved the barrel cactus close-up piece, but it wasn't working with the grouping and was like the song form Sesame Street "One of these just doesn't belong here..." HA! I told her I wondered if it would "play well with others" as it had a very dominant personality. She expressed interest in getting another 12"x12" landscape of mine at Xanadu, so we decided she should ship the cactus piece to the gallery and they would send her the landscape. She sent this photo of how the arrangement looks with the watercolor they already owned. They're very happy with the grouping and I think it looks great!