Where have I been?

 In the studio cleaning...

Starting on some new work...

and bringing this just finished piece to New London's Hygienic Art Gallery for its 34th annual Salon des Independants exhibit.

© K. Johnson 'Sacred Ground' - 8.5"x 5.5" collage on paper

Every January, even on the coldest of nights, this show in New London draws a big crowd. You never know what might be on display when the rules are No Judge,  No Jury, No fee, and No Censorship.

Two Tuesdays - year end recap

2012 Collage Challenge

Hard to believe that 12 months have gone by since I was trying to come up with an idea that would keep me creating and blogging on a regular basis during 2012. 

A friend who knows that Tuesday is my day off and studio day came up with the name "Two Tuesdays" when I mentioned I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with completing one collage every week. Every other week did sound a lot more realistic so that became my goal. I was excited about the chance to work in collage all year and about trying out new ideas, new materials and colors until the what if 's started. What if I couldn't keep up, What if I ran out of ideas, What if... What if... Fortunately, I didn't let the what if's take control. After all I was the only one expecting anything and keeping track, so I got started and 38 collages later here we are on the last day of December.

Before I finished and set my focus on something new I wanted to make one last collage where I used fabric instead of paper. This uses scraps from my collection of fabrics and some new rust stained fabric that I made recently. 

© K. Johnson 'Standing Tall' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

Only a couple times did I think I might not be able to keep up with the challenge and with a sketchbook full of notes for things I didn't get a chance to work on yet, running out of ideas was not a problem. Not every collage created was a success as you can see from the pile of "rejects" in the picture below but I had a lot of fun and it feels great to have completed the goal I set in January. 

All the collages in this series can be seen here.

Two Tuesdays – Collage #25

2012 Collage Challenge



© K. Johnson 'Bringing gifts' - 5"x 7" collage on paper

Well, this is the second of the Two Tuesdays collages for December and the last one for this years challenge. I will follow up with my thoughts about this past years work in a recap post in the next few days. 


All the collages in this series can be seen here.

Two Tuesdays – Collage #24

2012 Collage Challenge

© K. Johnson 'Flourish' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

So far, all the Two Tuesday collages have been done using color. This week I limited myself to just black and white - not as easy as I thought it would be. I found I didn't have that many things in my collage stash that are just black and white. It took more time to find the elements that worked together and I spent more time than usual moving them around to find the right balance.  That said, it was still fun!

© K. Johnson 'Travel All Over' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

Have you heard of washi tape? I guess it's been all the rage for a while now but I'm a little slow to catch on to these things sometimes : )  It's a decorative tape that comes in every color and design imaginable. I found the black and white dotted tape you see below at a local craft store. The tape can be repositioned so it's easy to try different arrangements before making a final decision about placement. 

I used white artist tape to make some washi tape of my own. My tape is the horizontal stripe through the middle printed with black permanent ink using several different stamps I have or made.

© K. Johnson 'Chance Encounters' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

All the collages in this series can be seen here.

Blooming Cactus

 

I can't believe the show of blossoms on my Christmas Cactus this year. 

This plant stayed outside all summer long on the deck completely unpampered and ignored. I didn't even remember to bring it inside until after the second frost.

 

It is now enjoying a nice cozy spot by the window in my dining room.

Doesn't this blossom look like a butterfly?

Tis the Season

I enjoyed the opening of the Art=Gift show at the Hygienic Gallery on Saturday night. What a great job the show organizer and resident artist Susan Hickman did putting this show together. It looks fantastic!

Sierra Drift is the name of a new series of small mixed media pieces I worked on for this show. I'm so happy with them that I plan on doing several more before I call the series complete. Here are two of my favorites. 

 

 © K. Johnson 'Sierra Drift #2' 4" x 4" mixed media on wood



© K. Johnson 'Sierra Drift #3' 4" x 4" mixed media on wood
 

This was the first year the participating artists were given the option to make ornaments.
I was so excited when the email with this info arrived. I haven't done anything crafty like this in a very long time. It was so much fun. A nice variety of ornaments are now decorating the front windows of the gallery.

I found an old dressmakers pattern in a thrift store a couple years ago that had green and red cutting lines on it instead of the usual black. It was so interesting I had to get it and figured I'd use it for something someday.

 

To make this ornament I glued the pattern paper to the front and back of pages from a garden book and then cut out petal shapes when dry. The petals and small wooden beads are strung together with wire and finished off with a button and raffia ribbon for hanging.

The show runs through Sunday Dec 23rd. Stop by and see the works of other local artists including Laura Gaffke, Diana Sartor, Millie Donovan and Sadie DeVore. 

 

Two Tuesdays – Collage #23

2012 Collage Challenge

© K. Johnson 'Aqueous' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

Playing with some more painted tissue papers. Getting away from the fall colors from the past couple of weeks and working with one of my favorite color combos - turquoise blue and spring green.

All the collages in this series can be seen here.

Two Tuesdays – Collage #22

2012 Collage Challenge

© K. Johnson 'Late Fall' - 7"x 5" collage on paper 

Not many leaves are left on the trees in my yard after Hurricane Sandy came through last Monday. Tuesday morning after the storm was so strange. We had no power and looking out the window you could see debris everywhere but the sun was shining to start a new day as if nothing had happened. My home was lucky to have power restored by Friday morning as many in my town were still without.

My thoughts are with the many who have been deeply affected by this storm and send hopes for the quickest possible recovery.
 

© K. Johnson 'Transition' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

All the collages in this series can be seen here.

Two Tuesdays – Collage #21

2012 Collage Challenge

I love taking walks this time of year with the air is so crisp and cool. As I'm getting my exercise I take in all the colors of the leaves as I kick through the piles that accumulate across the sidewalk. I can't help but to pick up a few as I go and by the time I get home I have a handful of leaves that were just to pretty and special to leave behind. I always put them in an old phone book to dry and flatten for later use. Although most of the time I do use the actual leaves in my collage work this time I tried something a little different and used scanned and printed copies of the leaves. 

© K. Johnson 'Autumn Joy' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

© K. Johnson 'Settlin In' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

All the collages in this Two Tuesdays series can be seen here.

Two Tuesdays – Collage #20

2012 Collage Challenge

© K. Johnson ''Tangerine' - 7"x 5" collage on paper

Along with some gray rainy days it's been getting noticeably colder these past couple days so I thought I would put the brown bags to rest for a bit and have fun with some color instead.

All the collages in this series can be seen here.