Collage: Art works made from an assemblage of different forms and materials, cut or torn and then glued into a new whole.
During the last decade of his life, Henri Matisse used a pair of scissors to transform gouache and white paper into a brand new world of plants, figures and abstract shapes called The Cut Outs. Matisse said he'd never fully expressed himself until he started to work I collage.
I, too, find collage exciting. First there's the fun of finding paper, cardboard and other materials. In my travels, I am always on the look out for shops selling handmade papers with unusual prints and colours. I gather scraps of paper here and there: bus tickets, restaurant receipts, the pages of decommissioned dictionaries, hand-scrawled notes, lines from a salvaged book of dancehall music. Cut into ribbons and shapes, laid down on paper and glued, all of these things come together as something else, something new.
During the last decade of his life, Henri Matisse used a pair of scissors to transform gouache and white paper into a brand new world of plants, figures and abstract shapes called The Cut Outs. Matisse said he'd never fully expressed himself until he started to work I collage.
I, too, find collage exciting. First there's the fun of finding paper, cardboard and other materials. In my travels, I am always on the look out for shops selling handmade papers with unusual prints and colours. I gather scraps of paper here and there: bus tickets, restaurant receipts, the pages of decommissioned dictionaries, hand-scrawled notes, lines from a salvaged book of dancehall music. Cut into ribbons and shapes, laid down on paper and glued, all of these things come together as something else, something new.
Blackbirds in the Cherry Tree
In the summer of 2021, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, when hardly anyone ever came over, we suddenly had a backyard full of guests. Our old sour cherry tree, which had been ailing, had put forth a glorious burst of fragrant white blossoms in the spring. And then in July, the tree was full of shiny red cherries, tart and bursting with juice. No sooner did the cherries begin to ripen than the blackbirds arrived. By the hundreds!!! They feasted on the cherries and cawed for their friends and relatives to join them. It was a non-stop picnic. We had to hurry out to rent long-handled poles and mesh baskets to harvest a little for ourselves. It was a race with the blackbirds, who got up before dawn to begin their day's work.
We managed to pick lots, too, and now there is sour cherry jam in the fridge and sour cherry liqueur in the pantry.
All that flying around and flapping of wings made me appreciate the blackbirds' beauty - their shimmering black feathers that shimmered in the sunlight, and their bright orange beaks. A collage series was born.
We managed to pick lots, too, and now there is sour cherry jam in the fridge and sour cherry liqueur in the pantry.
All that flying around and flapping of wings made me appreciate the blackbirds' beauty - their shimmering black feathers that shimmered in the sunlight, and their bright orange beaks. A collage series was born.
The Chinatown collection
Fruity
Fishy
Flora & Fauna