Diane has asked me to remind you to begin collecting items that will help you be successful in your mixed media assemblage workshop with her. Start looking now for interesting things from nature, from the street, from the garage, wherever. Find old boxes...cigar boxes, old/ antique cabinets, and crusty old drawers make great "frames" in which you can create your assemblage. Go to the Goodwill Bins with your friends and buy a bunch of stuff that no one else wants...Find things that are haunted by their discarded life. Bring in things you want to work with, and things you can share or trade to others in class.I copied this from one of Diane's blogs to give you a sense of the kinds of materials that she finds most effective in her compositions:
"Rust and bones, broken toys and old text, game boards, gears and nests. Even as a child such odd, unwanted items evoked a pit-of-the-stomach response that bordered on exhilaration.
While I make no attempt to conjure up specific feelings in the viewer, the ambiguous juxtapositioning of familiar materials creates art that evokes half-forgotten, dream-like visions that beg to be interpreted by the viewer. The once-private discards of people's material lives that I collect for my art seem to carry universal memories with them, memories that can engage and mystify the viewer. Their beauty lies within the rust, the erosion, the wear, and the mere fact that they were once possessions."
While I make no attempt to conjure up specific feelings in the viewer, the ambiguous juxtapositioning of familiar materials creates art that evokes half-forgotten, dream-like visions that beg to be interpreted by the viewer. The once-private discards of people's material lives that I collect for my art seem to carry universal memories with them, memories that can engage and mystify the viewer. Their beauty lies within the rust, the erosion, the wear, and the mere fact that they were once possessions."
Should we stick to small items or is it also possible to use larger items as well?
ReplyDeleteThis isn't something I would usually do, but I am excited to try a project like this. I like the concept of taking something people don't really want to look at and turning it into to somehting they do.
ReplyDeleteyes! so excited to be done with clay!! this project is gonna be so fun :)
ReplyDeletethis sounds fun. amy do you know where a good jumk yard is cus i want to just go there and searsh for cool stuff?
ReplyDeleteThis sounds cool, Luckily I have an attic full of all my old toys!
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea with using random and old things we find. I hope to find cool things that work! I think everyone will end up having really different and unique things, so critiques and everything will be really fun.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a value village run is in store.
ReplyDeleteI think I will like this. It is nice to work outside of clay and get an idea of other materials that can be used besides clay.
The best things will be the oldest, and most worn.
im with michael. where could we go to find some really cool stuff to use besides goodwill?
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of working with mixed media again, the last project we did with that was fun so i'm looking forward to this one.
ReplyDeletei wasnt too proud of my last project that was "non-clay" so hopefully i will have more luck with this one! im excited!
ReplyDeleteI'm liking doing some projects that are outside of clay. It's cool to work with other materials and I'm finding some really cool old stuff.
ReplyDeleteI really like Diane's style and i'm not sure how successful my piece will be that is inspired by hers. but regardless i'm looking forward to her coming!
ReplyDeleteI love how she leave's the meaning of her pieces up to the viewer. That's an aspect of art that I've always loved and admmired. I'll start looking for things this weekend!!
ReplyDeletei agree with most people...its fun to explore different materials other than clay but im not gonna lie; im a little skeptical about this assemblage thing because it just sounds so random and i dont like making random art. but I'll keep my mind open...
ReplyDeleteyeah so far i haven't had much success so I'm going to really work to make this one supreme. Luckily it doesn't seem like she is very discriminate on what you can use so the possibilities are pretty much endless
ReplyDeleteAmy this seems to be like a junkyard theme, such as things you would find laying around in an atic or strange/unfamiliar place. Sounds cool since the possibilities of what you encouter are endless.
ReplyDeleteHi everyone, Diane Lou here. Great comments!
ReplyDeleteIn collecting materials, try to be completely open-minded. There might be something on the sidewalk that has been tossed, run over and rusted that might just be perfect for your project or someone else's. (My sister once found a flattened, dried lizard she sent me and which I used).
You can bring things for sharing too. While you might not see the potential of an item, it might be just what someone else wants.
Things can be metal (but preferably not too heavy as they can be hard to attach), wood, even plastic (which can be painted or rusted), fabric, paper, old pictures, letters. Don't overlook anything as having possibilities....a stone, a stick, a bone....your little brother's broken toy (grab those wheels)....you get the picture.
Look at things that can be disassembled or broken for interesting pieces. I most often disassemble things when I get them home so I can look at them for their shape or texture, instead of what they were in a previous life. It moves you past the obvious when you do that.
Part of what makes found object art fascinating to the viewer is that the objects are somewhat familiar but they are used in unfamiliar ways, creating sort of mental puzzle that the brain loves to try to figure out. And that varies according to the experience of the viewer.
I'm looking forward to seeing what you collect and bring. I'll be bringing lots of "stuff" for you to work with too.
Most people would consider the materials we will use only fit for the landfill, but I love the fact that the dregs of our materialistic society can end up being in an art gallery!
And to answer a question, you can work large or small. Where to look?...everywhere! I've found things in wastebaskets, at the bins, at Goodwill, on the street, in nature.
I'm looking forward to meeting all of you on the 19th.
Diane
The more I think about this project the more excited I become for the expierence to try something new! I have a couple of things that I have found so far and I am excited to see how I can tie them all together into one piece.
ReplyDeleteAnother good place to look is the dollar store, like Dollar Tree. Look through the kids' toy section at things that might be tacky as they are but which have an interesting shape or texture which could be brought out by a faux finish or painting. And yes, everything is a dollar....
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like it will be a great experience in trying something different.
ReplyDeleteI'm also really excited because I have some things that I found this weekend that will work great for this!