TOAF: The Collages

With just four days to go until the opening of The Other Art Fair in Brooklyn, I am still making art. The fair, presented by Saatchi Art, runs from 11/8 to 11/11 at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint. 130 juried artists are included in the show and I will be there in Booth 20 for the entire exhibition. 

I am including both new art and reworked pieces. One of may favorite series debuting at the fair is a collage series, created on sheet film holders from vintage cameras. I love how they have a built in hook at the top so they can hang as is. Although you cannot tell by the photos, some of the pieces have "flaps" that lift up revealing other collage material and text.

I  have 11 works completed...but may have 1 or 2 more by the time the fair begins.

CENTRAL STATION - sold

DREAMER - sold

FLOAT - sold

FRAGMENTS - sold

EXPEDITE - sold

IRON MOUNTAIN - sold

A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT - sold

SNOW DRIFT

 

JOURNEY HOME - sold

WELL RED - sold

WHAT ONCE WAS - sold

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The fair opens Thursday night 11/8 from 6pm to 10pm with a private view party. The exhibition continues on Friday 11/9 from 3pm to 10pm, Saturday 11/10 from 12pm to 9pm, and Sunday 11/11 from 11am to 6pm. If you would like to attend the VIP opening on Thursday night, please email me at shap97@gmail.com for complimentary tickets. If you would like complimentary tickets to attend the fair Friday through Sunday, click here and use code ARTIST.

The Exquisite Corpse: Part II

Last month I had the pleasure of co-teaching a five-day workshop with Holly Dean in Burritt's Rapids, Ontario - just outside of Ottawa. The workshop was originally called The Exquisite Corpse...but almost nobody signed up. We changed the name to Lovely Creatures and filled the seats. You can read about the town, the class and the experience here.

This post features the book I made in the workshop.

Measuring approximately 4.25 x 10.50 inches, this handmade book is based on The Exquisite Corpse, a game where three people draw on the same piece of paper - without seeing what the other has drawn. One draws a head, one a torso, and one a set of legs. The drawing is then unfolded to the amusement of all.  

The cover includes layers of collage, acrylic paint, ink and Vintage Beeswax Baked Texture, which gives it a faux encaustic and almost leather-like look.

Inside, the concept on the Exquisite Corpse was captured in the form of a flip book in three sections - head, torso and legs.

Turning each section individually leads to a variety of combinations of exquisite corpses lovely creatures. Here are just a few...

Happy to say that in 2019, I will be offering this as a 3-day workshop called Exquisite Creatures. Stay tuned for locations.

In This Century

An artist book...

(sold. thank you)

Small Talk: 2

It's a small world after all. My comfort zone in art is small. Really small. There is something about creating an entire world in a small space that I find intriguing.

Didn't officially measure this book, recently made in Australia using scraps laying on my work table. But I know it is less than 2 x 2 inches.

(sold. thank you)

SaveSave

Downloadable Collage Elements

As part of being the artist of the month for July at Cloth Paper Scissors...

I am offering downloadable, resizable and printable collage elements, each of which comes from a recent piece of my artwork. 

They are available free here. And if you use them, I would love for you to share the results with me.

5 Principles of Collage

I love collage. It is accessible, enjoyable and just plain fun. I look at collage as taking bits and pieces that do not belong together and using them to create a cohesive whole. By that definition, it is almost like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. I say almost because the pieces are not typically created to fit together, and in that lies the challenge. I often tell participants in my workshops that it is easy to make a collage. But it isn't easy to create a good one.

In my video workshop Seth Apter's Top 10 Collage Principles, I outline 10 approaches to collage to help guide artists to a more satisfying result. These are ideas to consider ion you are a beginner, a seasoned pro who is struggling with completing an individual piece, or if you find yourself in a dreaded artist block.

As Artist of the Month for July at Cloth Paper Scissors, I have written a guest post here on the CPS blog outlining 5 of the 10 principles and sharing an extra tip for each. Check out the post to read about Overlapping, Outlining, Repeating, Contrasting, and Guiding. 

And until the end if July, you can save 30% off this video workshop as well as all my other media products at Interweave.

Art Deck 6

After a long break focused on other work, I have had a chance to work on my Art Deck - 52 small artworks, all under 6 x 6 inches and available at accessible prices ranging from $35-$55. These pieces, numbers 40 to 45, are now in my online shop. You can see all the other work from the Art Deck here.

TIMELESS (sold - thank you)

TUESDAY MORNING  (sold - thank you)

SIMPLICITY  (sold - thank you)

BULLSEYE  (sold - thank you)

COLORBLIND (sold - thank you)

CROSSHATCH (sold - thank you)

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Bits and Pieces