Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Creating With Mixed Media

Here is a mixed media piece  entitled Why Not. It is  currently  in the       Born to Be Wild show at the Sedona Arts Center. 
I love to work with letters.They can be painted on or cut out. I also like working with clay, and metal. This piece started with that  circle of found metal. I wanted a rustic, outdoor feeling to represent the theme. What better canvas than wood? This is old barn wood, cut down, and fastened carefully on the other side.Strong wire using four eye hooks  insures it will hang well.
People ask where I get my materials. I can't always remember. As an artist, collecting can be a valuable asset. Who wants to go to a store when the creative urge is working? Sometimes the materials themselves inspire a direction in art. All I know is that these beautiful pieces of copper I got at the junk yard, seemed to envision themselves as letters. Ah, the beauty of tin snips.
The clay letters had to be created, fired, and attached. I used a bronze, low fire glaze for the color,adding some copper acrylic paint to emphasize the metallic hue. There is also a small ceramic face in the upper right, resting on metal, surveying all below. 
I am often asked what is the significance of the wording.  Perhaps it is the universal who, what, when , and for me, why, we are told to include in any writing.
Usually, when the inspiration comes, I just follow. 


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